Crushing (18 page)

“Hmm.” He looked like he was trying to decide if he should get someone anyway.

“No, I’m okay, really.” I gave him a small smile.

He nodded. He listened to my heart and took my pulse. He sat back on his heels and looked at me for a second.

“You’re all right, kid. No black bags for you today.” He squeezed my hand and turned to talk to the policeman.

I looked to see if I could see Gage. He was facefirst on the hood of the police car, and they were frisking him. As I watched, they cuffed him and put him in the back of the police car.

“No!” I went to jump out of the front seat and go to him.

“Hold on there.” The policeman grabbed my shoulders. “It’s okay. It’s standard procedure. Calm down.” He pushed me gently back in the seat.

I watched as the police car drove away, and I saw Veronica jumping up and down at the edge of the crowd trying to get my attention.

“Rory! Rory!” She was waving my purse in the air trying to get my attention.

“Please, can my friend bring me my purse? It has my phone and my stuff in it. Please.” I pointed at her. He sent another officer to get Veronica and bring her over.

She rushed over looking frantic. She shoved my purse at me.

“What is going on? What happened? Why is Gage in that police car? Why are
you
in a police car?”

If I hadn’t been so freaked-out, I would have laughed; she was so agitated.

“Holden grabbed me in the parking lot right when I got to your car. He pushed me into his car, and Gage grabbed him and they started fighting. Holden is drunk, a really scary kind of drunk.”

“Are they arresting Gage?”

“I don’t know. They were really hard on him, and all he was doing was protecting me from Holden. I need to call his uncle.” I started digging around in my purse for my phone.

“Can I do anything?” she asked. Veronica needed to be helpful. It was what she did.

“Can you call Jackson and tell him to meet me at the police station?” The other policeman was getting in the driver’s seat.

“Okay, I will, and I’ll meet you down there.” She grabbed her phone and started punching numbers.

The policeman shut the door and started the car. As we drove, I called Nathan on the number he gave me the other night. He answered on the second ring.

“Rory, is everything all right?”

“No, Mr. Elliott, it’s not.” I felt the tears wanting to start again and blinked hard. “I think Gage is being arrested. Holden Cosgrove attacked me in the parking lot at school, and Gage pulled him off. When the police got there, they cuffed him and put him in the back of the police car. Holden’s uncle is the police chief.” I shot a look at the cop driving.

His jaw was set, and he was staring straight ahead.

“Where are you now?” Nathan asked. He sounded like he was trying to control his voice from sounding mad.

“In the police car on our way to the station. They have to question me.”

“I’ll be right there. Don’t worry, Rory. It’ll be fine.”

“Okay, thank you. I’m so sorry to cause Gage trouble, Mr. Elliott.”

“Rory, this is not your fault. I’m on my way.” I heard what sounded like the bell when you turn on a car, and then a car door slammed.

“Okay.”

I put my forehead on the glass of the side window. I let the tears come. I had a few minutes to get them out, and then I had to be done. I didn’t even want to think about what had just happened. What if Gage hadn’t come? What if he had been a few minutes later? What would Holden have done? My whole body got the shivers. I felt clammy.

And now Gage was in the back of a police car on the way to the station. I hoped they would listen to my side of the story and not just Holden’s. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to Gage because of me. I couldn’t believe how much drama I had caused him since he got here. Why did he even want to be around me? I’d been nothing but trouble. Well, it was time to set it right. I could not let any of this affect his future. I would make sure the police understood what really happened.

When we arrived at the police station, a female officer escorted me into another one of those interrogation rooms. She took some pictures of my face and my general disheveled appearance for the file.

“Can I get you anything, Miss Atherton?” the officer asked.

“No, thank you. Can you tell me what’s happening with Gage Maddox? He really didn’t do anything wrong. Holden is the one who attacked me. Please, you have to tell someone.” I felt myself starting to shake. They had to believe me. I couldn’t let what happened to me ruin Gage’s life. I was scared and upset about what Holden did, but Gage had stopped him, and that was the important thing. It could have been so much worse.

“Miss, you are going to have to calm down. He’s fine. They are going to get everything straightened out. Someone is going to come in here to take your statement in just a little bit.”

“My brother is coming. Will they let him come in as soon as he arrives?” I needed to stay calm so they would take me seriously, but I felt like my bones were going to shake out of my body.

“Yes, I will make sure.” She gave me a small smile, then left the room and closed the door.

Now that I was so worried about defending Gage, the room felt different. Small. Airless. More menacing. I sat staring at the four walls, one of which had to have been a two-way mirror. I got up and paced. I sat back down. After what seemed like forever—but was in reality probably twenty minutes—a young man in a very nice well-fitting suit and carrying a briefcase came through the door, followed by another guy in a rumpled suit carrying a file folder. What was going on?

The guy with the briefcase smiled at me and held his hand out. “Hello, Miss Atherton. I’m Stephen Lowell, your representation.”

I shook his hand. “My what?” Now things were starting to get weird.

“I’m your attorney,” he said, and handed me his card. He sat down next to me. The smile disappeared when he spoke to rumpled guy. “I need time to consult with my client.”

Rumpled guy just rolled his eyes. “I’ll be back in ten.” He went out and closed the door.

Attorney guy didn’t even acknowledge him. He turned in his seat to look me in the eyes.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m worried about Gage. Is he all right?”

He nodded. “His uncle is here, and he has representation also. He’ll be fine.”

“If you’re sure. Who sent you here? My brother?”

“Mr. Elliott hired me to represent you for now. He knows your parents are out of town, and he wanted to be sure you were taken care of properly. Now my job is to take care of you.” He opened his briefcase and took out a yellow legal pad. “Did you receive medical attention at the site of the incident?”

“Yes, the paramedics checked me out.” This was going to be tedious. I wanted to tell them my story so they could let Gage go.

He made some notes. “Can you tell me exactly what happened? Are you up to it?”

“Yes. Gage didn’t do anything wrong. It was Holden. Gage was just protecting me.”

“That’s good. Why don’t you tell me the story from the beginning?”

I started from when I walked out to the car and related the story as best I could. When I got to the part where Holden pushed me into the backseat of the car, I started to breathe fast.

“Take your time. Are you all right? Do you need to stop for a minute?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Let’s get through it then.” He nodded for me to continue.

“Holden pushed my arm behind my back, and I was about to scream, and then he was gone. I got out of the car and saw Gage and Holden fighting. A couple of other boys helped break it up and that’s all. He was trying to stop him.”

“All right, when the detective comes in, tell him what happened, and it will be fine. Okay?”

I nodded. My throat was clogged with tears, but I took a deep breath and pushed them back.

He pushed a box of tissues on the table toward me.

“Thanks.”

The door opened, and rumpled guy came in. Right behind him was Jackson. I heard a ruckus going on down the hall and saw Jackson wince and glare behind him. Ahh. He must have brought Jeremiah. Crap. Jackson came around the table and grabbed me out of my seat as if I weighed no more than a sack of groceries. He hugged me so hard I couldn’t breathe.

“Are you okay, Sassy?”

I hugged him and breathed for a second. “I’m okay.”

He put me down and pushed me back so he could look at me. His eyes narrowed when he saw the bruise on my face. He turned to the attorney.

“Who are you?” he barked.

The man stood up. “I’m her attorney.” He put his hand out. “Stephen Lowell, Bancroft and Associates.”

Jackson looked back at me. “How do you have an attorney so fast?”

“Mr. Elliott.”

Jeremiah came in loud, overprotective, and with no concern for manners.

“What is going on? Why is my sister in here and not at the hospital?”

“Jeremiah, it’s fine. I’m fine.”

He came around the table, too, and picked me up just like Jackson had. It was getting crowded in here, and the policeman was looking at us like we were a bunch of monkeys.

“You all right, Shrimpy?” He ran his hands up and down my arms and got the same squinty look when he saw the bruise. Well, they were identical twins.

I put my hand up to it. “It’s fine, Jer, really. Relax.”

He nodded but didn’t relax. Another policeman came in, brought in some more chairs, and left again.

“All right, if you could
all
sit down, we can get started,” Rumply said. “I’m Detective Saunders. Miss Atherton, I have some questions about what happened.”

We all got settled around the table. Attorney Lowell on my left and my brothers smushed in on my right.

“Of course. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” I nodded

“I’d like it if you could tell me your version of the story from the beginning, and then I will ask you some questions at the end.”

I told him the whole story starting from when I walked out to Veronica’s car. My brothers were shifting around in their seats and clenching their fists when told the part about Holden shoving me in the car and the details about that, but overall we got through it pretty easily, and when I finished, I didn’t feel like crying this time.

I was glad because I knew my brothers were already beyond upset. I could feel the tension coming off them in waves. I knew they were trying to be adults and mature by not saying anything or reacting, but it must have been killing them.

“I have a few questions for you. Why did you ask Tyler Munsen to interfere with the altercation between Mr. Maddox and Mr. Cosgrove?”

“I don’t like fighting. I didn’t want anyone to get in trouble because of me.”

“Who did you not want to get in trouble? Mr. Cosgrove had just attacked you. Were you worried about him getting in trouble?”

Here was the tough part. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and make Gage’s situation worse. But I had to tell the truth.

“I just wanted the fighting to stop. A lot of people were around. I knew someone was calling 911. I wasn’t in any danger anymore. I wanted to let the police handle it.”

“I see. Did you feel like Mr. Maddox was overreacting to what had happened?”

Jeremiah had apparently reached his limit. I was surprised it had taken him this long.

“Beating the crap out of that creep was not an overreaction. Holden was attacking my sister. If I had been there, Holden would look a lot worse than he does now. He deserves whatever he got. Y’all should be giving Maddox a medal.”

The detective gave Jeremiah a beady stare. “When I want your opinion, Mr. Atherton, I’ll ask for it. Only one of you needs to be in here to represent your sister, so either calm down or leave.”

Jeremiah sat back in his chair and smirked at the detective. “I’m calm. I’m just tellin’ you the way it is.” He folded his arms across his chest. He looked relaxed, but I think everyone knew better. He wasn’t intimidated by the detective. He may have come from a fairly wealthy family, but when it came down to it, he was a good ol’ Southern boy, and backing down was not in his nature.

“Don’t be thinkin’ that Cosgrove is the injured party here. Just look at her face. He’s the guilty one, and don’t you go forgetting it because of who his family is. And since there’s obviously a killer loose in this town, you might want to consider who has shown violence against young girls. You might want to consider adding to your suspect list.”

“Jeremiah!” I couldn’t believe what he was saying. Holden was out of control, but a killer?

The detective ignored Jeremiah’s comment and looked back at me. “Do you have anything else to add to your statement, Miss Atherton?”

“Holden was drunk. A mean, scary kind of drunk, and he’s obviously underage. I just want you to know that Gage was only trying to protect me from what was happening. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Well, that is not up to you to decide, miss. If we have any more questions, we’ll be giving you a call.”

Mr. Lowell shoved his card across the table at the detective. “Actually, you’ll need to contact
me
if you would like to speak to my client. And we’d like to know what charges you are bringing against Mr. Cosgrove. I will be discussing pressing charges with my client and her parents when they return from Atlanta.”

“We haven’t decided what, if any, charges we will be bringing against Holden Cosgrove. It is pretty much a he-said–she-said situation at this point, as we are unable to interview Mr. Cosgrove until he is finished receiving medical attention. So, until then, the investigation is ongoing. We will let you know.” He stood up. “Thank you
all
for coming in. Someone will be in contact.”

I looked at my attorney. “What does he mean by ‘he said, she said’? Don’t they believe me?”

He stood up and motioned for us to move out of the room. “No. It’s not that. Let’s have this conversation outside.”

We made our way down the hall. I kept looking around to see if I could tell where they had Gage, but all the doors were closed, and the whole place looked a bit like a maze. I wanted to know what was happening. Were they going to release him?

We went out into the lobby, then out the doors to the parking lot. Mr. Lowell herded us over to his Mercedes.

“Here’s the deal. No one saw the attack or Gage dragging him off of you. All anyone saw was Gage pounding Cosgrove into the pavement.”

“Why wouldn’t they take Rory’s word for what happened?” Jackson asked.

“It isn’t quite that simple. Holden could say any number of things that would discredit her. And since Mr. Maddox has already had problems with fighting, and Cosgrove’s uncle is the police chief, this is not going to be an open-and-shut situation. You can push to press charges, but that means a trial. And for you that means testifying in court about what he did to you. It is not a pleasant thing to go through, and it could drag out for a really long time. Right now we need to just wait and see what the DA says. They may just call it a draw. When will your parents be home?”

“They’ll be home later tonight,” Jackson told him.

I was stunned. It couldn’t be this easy for Holden to get away with what he’d done, and on top of it Gage would be the one to suffer.

He handed my brothers his card. “Have them call me as soon as they get home, and we can discuss it. I may have more information by then.”

“Thank you so much.” I shook his hand again.

“Yeah, we really appreciate all you’ve done.” My brothers shook his hand.

“No problem. Hang in there. It’ll all work out.” He gave me a small smile and got into his car.

My brothers practically carried me to the car. They were making the biggest fuss.

“Let’s go right to the hospital, Jack,” Jeremiah told him as we got into the car.

“We are not going to the hospital!” I said. They were overreacting. “I’m fine. The paramedic checked me out.”

“Well, we need to be sure,” Jeremiah insisted.

“I’m sure Dad can look at me when he gets home. There is no reason for the hospital.”

Jackson looked at Jeremiah. They did that annoying twin silent conversation. I hated it when they did that. Jackson nodded, then looked at me in the rearview mirror.

“Okay, but if anything changes you’ll let us know.” It was not a question.

“All right, all right. I will.” Ugh, they were crazy.

We drove home mostly in silence. I could tell my brothers were angry and upset.

“I told Veronica to meet us at the house. I left her the new key. I thought it might be better for you to have a girl around,” Jackson said as we pulled into the driveway. I saw Veronica’s car was parked out front.

I had to smile. My brothers looked so uncomfortable. I knew they wanted to help me but didn’t know how. They would normally just beat up or threaten whoever hurt me. Since that had already been handled, they were out of their comfort zone.

“Thanks. That’s perfect.” When the car stopped, I popped my head between them in the front seat. “I’m okay. I love you both for being here. You’re the best brothers.” I kissed them both on the cheek and hopped out of the car.