I was shivering. I was shaking. I was cold. I was angry.
This was the first time I had been in a police car. This was the first time I had spoken to a police officer. This was the first time I had gotten arrested. This was a first time for everything and I never thought I would be in this position. We ran away from the police; that had to be an offense.
The trip to the police station was silent and it felt like forever since we left the school. Liam looked calm and collected. His face was blank and it was clear that he had been in this situation before, which scared me.
When we got to the police station, we were grabbed by the arms and dragged to a single room where we were seated in silence. The door closed behind one of the officers. The room had one large table with a chair behind it and the two chairs we were sitting on. It had a large window in front of us and from what I had gathered over the years from movies was that the people behind the window could see us, but we couldn't see them. I couldn't help but to break into tears.
Liam rolled his eyes. "Would you stop crying? This isn't a big deal."
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and sniffled. "Not a big deal? We got arrested, Liam! Are you thick!?"
Liam said nothing as the door opened loudly. "You just shut up and let me do the talking." Liam said in an angry whisper. I was hoping he would get us out of this. I was feeling okay about it, Liam would help us.
"So," a bulky man strolled in and took a seat, "Liam Gilbert, we meet again. This doesn't surprise me." He wore a police uniform and he looked to be in his thirties. He had black hair and a small pot belly. I wasn't surprised that he knew Liam. "And who is this?"
Liam stared blankly at him. "No one."
I stayed silent, hoping Liam had a plan. Officer Barnard sighed. "Why were you trespassing at your high school?"
"We wanted to have some fun. Having fun isn't an offence, is it officer?" Liam tested the officer and I flinched at how this was going.
"This is very serious and it will have some serious consequences." Officer Barnard shook his head and placed his attention onto me. "You're new to town. How did you end up getting caught in Liam's mess?"
I looked from Liam to the officer and swallowed. "I-"
Liam cut me off. "We're not speaking until we have lawyers present."
The officer sighed. "Very well, I'll call your parents. Until then, you'll be in a holding cell." That scared me so much that I was about to pee my pants and my wet hair dripped onto my back which was icy cold. I was nervous and I was freaking out, but I was also wet and tired and I just wanted to go home.
The officer escorted us to an empty cell which smelled like pee and alcohol. There was a toilet that hadn't been cleaned and it was out in the open. No matter how badly I had to go, I promised myself that I wouldn't go the bathroom. A police officer was sitting at a desk outside of the cell, looking at security footage whilst we waited for Liam's parents.
Liam took a seat on the single bench that was inside the cell. I was pacing, biting my fingernails and feeling the cold air hit my skin from the open window that was above the toilet. I was thinking of Mason and wondering what he would be saying to me right now. He would laugh, then he would be disappointed.
"Would you stop pacing?" Liam snapped, cutting me from my thoughts.
I slowly walked over to the bench and took a seat next to him. I covered myself with my bare arms, trying to keep myself warm. "What do you think your parents will do to us?"
Liam leaned back and rested on the wall behind us. "Probably ground us or worse, leave us in here for the night."
My eyes widened in shock. "What!?"
He laughed. "I'm just kidding. They'll probably ground us."
I whacked his arm, causing him to yelp in pain. "This is not a joke, Liam."
He rubbed his arm in pain. "Lighten up, it's not the end of the world. Just think of it as a funny story."
I was beyond mad at how Liam was handling this. "A funny story? Are you out of your mind!?"
Liam shrugged. "You will laugh about this one day."
Before I had the chance to say anything to his response, officer Barnard came in and stood outside the cell. "Your parents have been called. They'll be here in twenty minutes." I was not happy about the time frame. I was cold and wet and I regretted this night and I didn't want it to exist anymore. The officer left and it was silent between Liam and me; I was lost for words and I didn't have anything else to say to him.
"Xanthe is going to kill us." I finally spoke my thoughts in a whisper.
Liam sighed. "I wouldn't worry about her." I rolled my eyes and the conversation stopped there. I knew we were screwed. So, so screwed.
*
Twenty minutes later, or what felt like an eternity, Xanthe walked in. She was still wearing her purple dress, but her hair was flat and her expression was hard to read. "You snuck into the school to go swimming!?"
Yep, she was mad.
"Calm down," Liam said without a care in the world, "at least we aren't boring like you."
I hit Liam again and he moaned in pain. "Xanthe-"
She shook her head, cutting me off. "I expected this crap from Liam. But from you? To say I'm surprised is an understatement. What the heck were you doing?" I wanted to come clean about the whole situation, but I couldn't find the correct words.
"We were just trying something new," I explained, "so I could get the full American experience." It sounded a lot better in my head.
"Sneaking into the school for a swim is not the American experience," Xanthe crossed her arms over her chest, "I had to leave my date early because I got a call from mom and dad saying that you two were at the police station."
"I'm sorry, Xanthe." I said, tearing up.
Seconds later, Liam's parents walked through. Mr. Gilbert showed an angry expression and Mrs. Gilbert showed a disappointing one. "We raised you better than this Liam." Mrs. Gilbert said. "And I expected better from you, Louisa." She finished.
"I'm sorry." I said again with my head down.
"We need to speak to the officer Barnard," Mr. Gilbert showed no emotion towards us, "we won't be long." Liam's parents walked off shortly after.
"They'll get us out of here," Liam said, "they're lawyers."
Xanthe rolled her eyes. "Maybe this time it won't be so easy."
Minutes later of silence, Liam's parents walked back with Officer Barnard, who opened the cell to release us. He gave us our things back that we left at the pool and I finally got my glasses back. Liam's parents walked quickly out of the police station with Xanthe by their side as Liam and I followed shortly behind.
Once we all piled into the car, Mrs. Gilbert sighed. "I am really considering sending Louisa back to England."
"What, why?" Liam asked in a yell. I said nothing, listening to the conversation unfold.
"Because," Mrs. Gilbert said, "you both have been skipping school, your grades are slowly dropping and now you got arrested for trespassing!"
Xanthe gasped. "You've been skipping school with my brother!?"
"Okay, yes." I admitted. "But only because I wanted Liam to study so we made a deal with each other." I tried to explain, but I knew they wouldn't listen. Why? Because we just got out of jail.
"Oh my gosh," Xanthe said, "a deal. They made a stupid deal." I wasn't sure if she was talking to her parents or to herself.
Liam decided to intervene. "I got an eighty five on my last test," he said, "why? Because Louisa helped me study."
No one said anything to Liam's statement and I sighed quietly to myself. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I hoped that I would get to stay and maybe I knew the reason as to why I decided to help Liam with his studies in return by ditching with him.
I knew exactly why.
*
Once we got home, Mr. and Mrs Gilbert summoned Liam and I to the kitchen table to discuss our punishment. Xanthe sat down as well, glaring at the both of us in disappointment. I swallowed hard, looking at them and waiting for someone to speak.
Mrs. Gilbert cleared her throat before speaking. "We have absolutely no idea why you would break into the school just to swim in the pool. That's trespassing, which is illegal. We had to pull a lot of strings just to get the two of you released and because you're underage, you both got a very serious warning. If this happens again, there are no more chances."
I nodded and so did Liam, listening to every word. "There are no excuses for what happened tonight." Mr. Gilbert said with no emotions whatsoever.
"We understand," I said softly, "we're sorry."
Mrs. Gilbert seemed to ignore that. "We already have decided on your punishment," she said, "Liam, we are taking away your car and we don't know when you're getting it back. We're also taking away your phone and grounding you for a very long time. You go to school and come home, that's it. You take the bus like your sister does." She finished and I was waiting for my turn. "Oh, and since Xanthe has got straight A's, you'll be studying with her and we expect your grades to rise within the months."
"What!?" Xanthe and Liam both said at the same time. "I never did anything, why do I get to be punished?" Xanthe almost yelled, looking extremely angry with her brother and parents.
"I'm sorry, Xanthe," Mrs Gilbert said, "you'll be allowed to drive Liam's car in exchange for studying with him."
Xanthe's anger died down and a small smile appeared on her face. "Fine by me."
"Hold up," Liam butted in, "she gets my car?"
"You got arrested," Mr. Gilbert growled, "you don't get a say."
Liam scraped his chair angrily and got up. "We make one mistake and this happens! I hate this family!" He yelled and stormed upstairs where his bedroom door slammed shut.
I sat quietly, watching as Mrs. Gilbert put her head down with a sigh. "What about my punishment?" I asked after a moment of silence.
"Why would you do it, Louisa? You're a good student, why go down hill and let Liam influence you?" Mrs. Gilbert said softly and I could tell she was sick of yelling.
I shrugged. "I guess I wanted to try and have some fun in America before heading back to my boring life back in England. I said no to Liam at first, but I made the wrong decision by saying yes the second time. I wanted a distraction."
"You did make the wrong decision." Mr. Gilbert pointed out.
"A distraction from what?" Mrs. Gilbert asked, her tone softening.
I sighed, trying not to tear up. "It would be my boyfriend's birthday today. He would've been eighteen."
"I don't understand." Mrs. Gilbert said as Xanthe's eyes began to soften.
"My boyfriend died of heart failure eleven months ago," I told them, "but I don't want any special treatment. What I did was wrong, I know that. Please give me a punishment, just don't send me home."
They both nodded. "Okay," Mrs. Gilbert said, "no going out. You go to school and you come home, that's it. We'll give you until the Christmas break is over."
I nodded. "Okay, fair call."
"We're very sorry for your loss." Mrs. Gilbert said.
I faintly smiled. "Thank you."
After that, everyone went to bed. I dreamt of Mason and his smiling face and although I was distracted a lot today, he was always on my mind.