C h a p t e r   1 6

Chase's POV

"Get in!" The policeman yelled while shoving me inside the cell.

This stupid manacle was making my wrists ache. I groaned in frustration and shook my head before grimacing at the police officer already on his back allowing himself to leave. My anger gradually shrunk after seeing his bulbous butt. However, his uniform made me uneasy with how fitted and uncomfortable it feels with just seeing it on his portly type of body.

One of the policemen recognized my car and license plate on that night with Nikki where we were being chased down the road. To my dismay, I was claimed on performing a drag race when all I ever did was to be a hero and help them on their job.

Moments later, I happened to bethink what Nikki did after asking me to stop the car earlier. She just ran away a couple of seconds before a police took me. Whatever her reason was, I somehow blamed her for this.

Looking up at the long-in-the-tooth ceiling and trailing my gaze down on the rusty bars, I averted my gaze with disgust. The walls were painted dark gray with just a few bulb letting out a feeble light.

"Enjoying?" A raspy voice from a man mocked.

My brows furrowed in confusion before making an eye contact to the one who just spoke. The man was in the other cell across the room while wearing a face of an addict. He had a dark skin, hulking built, but with short appearance.

He's not much of a threat, is he?

"Overjoyed." I snorted.

Have I met this man before? I asked myself.

The man smirked, playfully gripping the bars with his bare hands. "Caden, would be delighted to see you here, you know?"

Caden?

Nevermind him. Why is his bars newly painted? They're like new sets of ladies earring.

"Let's just say it may ruin your... reputation." He trailed off, interrupting me from my deep thoughts.

Just before I could berate the man, a scrawny, can't-kill-an-ant looking police officer entered the room making us draw our attention to him.

"Chase Grey." He spoke with his deep round voice, delineating that he could kill a cockroach.

I did a nod even if he had been staring at me when he walked in. Why does he have to ask if he already knew who I am? I could have saved that nod for something more important.

The cop walked towards me, unlocking the cell with just a flick of his wand, I mean key.

"Come with me." He commanded, along with getting rid of the handcuffs on my wrists.

"You're going down, Grey! You'll see!" The unknown man repeated in a dramatic way while letting out a stereotypical laugh after we exited the room.

Never gets old. I shrugged, smirking while we ambled over to a hallway. The dull grey wall coating before turned bright as white. We past by a couple of photo frames hanging on the wall with cops in uniforms awkwardly smiling behind each wiped glass. I don't get how people get to smile at work when it all ever did was to stress you out. I knew it, because of my dad.

"You know each other?" The policeman pried while it sliced through my thoughts.

I rolled my eyes before spilling out an answer. "Bff."

The policeman looked at me with askance before shrugging. I didn't care giving false information about this guy. It was not his business anyway.

"...I don't want anyone from the outside to know about this, got it?" Great. That's obviously dad.

He never liked my bad behaviours hitting his company down. Although, he would say, it was our company. Working wasn't me. I am who I am right now.

"Chase, check your car if you still fancy it a ride." Dad said as he noticed me entering the office.

I silently nodded and just continued my steps.

"You okay?" He stopped me just after I passed by him.

"Of course." I did another nod while receiving a weighted tap on the shoulder from him.

"Wait for me outside."

Releasing a wearisome sigh, I walked out of the police office and went to my car, dragged across two parking spaces.

Ignorant people. Don't even know how to park a car properly. I shook my head and checked for any scratches, or any damages it may have caused on the pulling.

Bending down, I searched for dents on my bumper and noticed my front tire with a parking boot.

I groaned and walked in front, breaking the boot. "How do they take these off?"

"Chase, have you had your dinner?" Dad's voice suddenly filled the air as he sauntered towards me while fixing his tie with a cop following him behind.

"Yes." I lied.

I disliked eating with my dad because all he often offered me at home was meat, when he knew that I had to take green leaves in my body to maintain my fitness. He silently nodded and remained quiet for a moment still standing on his ground.

"I'll take that off, sir." The cop offered, walking towards me before sloping down.

A heavy wind reeled on us after a ten wheeler truck, running over a hundred kilometer per hour, rushed down the road. In a matter of seconds thereafter, wailing of sirens filled the surroundings. The irritating buzz of red and blue flickering lights left the area as they chased the truck who broke a speed limit of sixty. Sighing, I stood up and spontaneously set my gaze on the hood of my car.

"No, shit." I cursed, seeing a six inches scratch on it as it reflected through the sun setting down.

"I'm only doing my job sir, you don't have to cuss on me." The policeman said.

After snorting out a laugh, I rolled my eyes letting him finisn his job before walking over to the front of my car, and rubbed the mark as if it would magically disappear.

"Something wrong?" My dad asked before approaching me.

"Scratch."

The cop vanished as I glanced on my tire already freed from the parking boot.

"Well, let's take your car to Bernie before I head home." Dad suggested, turning on his heels and walking in the direction of his car while I hopped inside of mine.

I let out a low grumble, reclining on my seat as exhaustion gushed through my veins. Silent, yet deafening fluctuation filled the car which made me turn on the radio after starting the engine.

Sigh for a long day. I sighed, before hitting the accelerator pedal.

Hailey's POV

Nikki had been mourning and crying nonstop since I came here. Her eyes were swollen. She had been hugging a picture of her with her grandparents for hours now while I tried bargaining her attention into different stuffs like, Sally, but she cried more.

Inwardly slapping my forehead idiotically, I thought. Of course she'd cry more! It's her grandma's cat!

"Nikki..." I trailed off, gently rubbing her back to soothe her.

Their neighbour Mrs. Queencie contacted me about the whole thing and asked me to accompany Nikki for the night. That same time Nikki's Aunt Crissa also asked me to do the same, so I hurriedly ran my way here. But moreover, she was my friend. I would be here for her, always.

"Hailey... how am I suppose to live now that my grandparents left me? I'm all alone." Nikki sobbed, looking at me with misery.

Her glassy eyes sunk in tears, and her nose turned red from crying too much and excessively wiping it with a toilet paper. She almost consumed five rolls of them.

I pulled out a sympathetic smile while resting my hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm still here."

"...Hailey, you can't replace my grandma, my grandpa, as well as my mom and my dad! You're just a fr--" Nikki exclaimed with a hoarse voice but stopped midway, while I stared at her, shockingly.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I... didn't mean it, Hailey. I'm..." Nikki tried her best to say each words clearer between her sobs but ended up crying on her palms instead.

"Nikki, it's okay. I understand..." I engulfed her with comfort, while feeling her heartbeating calm in every passing second.

"You should go to rest."

Nikki gradually nodded and pulled away, sniffing. "Hailey, please stay... Don't leave."

"I won't." I hugged her again, before she laid her back on bed and pulled the covers.

Silently getting up, I decided to clean Nikki's room. No second thoughts. I might not usually do this on my own but I would do it for my bestfriend. Skimming around the four cornered structure, I began to select a part of it to start with. I mean, everything was just a mess.

Toilet papers lying on the floor, her soaked socks and clothes wearing earlier at school with dried up mud and blood has been exchanging dirt on her fluffy carpet. I should use a vacuum but that might disturbed Nikki up, so it would be a hand work from here.

A/N: Short chapter, but this is just a filler, probably for our other character's point of view. I also think this chapter sucks.. sadly, cuz' I'm too exhausted on thinking too much. I feel like I'm about to burst out in a minute, but HEY, it's midnight. Pretty much explains my exaggerations ATM..

One more thing, if you noticed the boring title of this chap, I'm glad you noticed it cuz' I wanted to ask for a help on changing it. I couldn't think of anything better other than sleep. I mean, who doesn't love sleeping, right??

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