How Does It Feel?-2
“Nothing’s going on here.”
Joel frowns and looks at my mother. “Your mother called us on allegations of grooming
and domestic abuse.”
I snort. “My mother?”
The detectives look at eath other like I’m the insane one here.
“You know she’s been in Italy for the past three months.”
Marcus takes in a slow breath and jots something down on his notepad.
“You know she’s an alcoholic, too, right?”
They keep their expressions still. Jake shifts, looking at me with curious eyes. Aiden wants to smile, but he’s holding it back. My mother, however, does not stay quiet.
She smiles sweetly at Joel. “Oh, these kids. They don’t know much.”
Marcus shoots her a questioning glare. “In my two decades on this job, I’ve rarely found
that to be true, Mrs. Matthews.”
I bite down, keeping my eyes on the detectives. “I’m not a child. I’m a legal adult. I have been ever since we stepped foot in Arizona.”
The two men shift, clearly uncomfortable.
“Well, this sounds a bit messy. I’m not entirely sure why we’re here,” Joel mutters.
I give a bitter laugh. “Yeah. A messy life isn’t a crime, though. Is it?”
They look at each other. Marcus sighs. “Look, from what we can tell, there’s no reportable offense here. No signs of abuse. No assault.”
My mother scoffs, stepping closer to the detectives. “He’s fucking my daughter! My husband is fucking my daughter!”
Joel and Marcus turn to Jake, then to me. Joel is the first to speak. “Ma’am, you have a
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How Does It Feel?-2
cheating husband and a messed up relationship with your daughter. There’s really not much we can do.”
Jake shifts uncomfortably but says nothing, of course.
I cross my arms tighter.
Marcus reaches for me, a card in his hand. “I’ll leave you our card. If anything changes, let me know. But right now, there’s just nothing criminal here.”
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