I'd always thought the hardest thing I'd ever do was love Jenny from afar and end up watching her go to someone else.

Turns out I was wrong.

The hardest thing I'd ever do was fall in love and have to leave her behind. 

No, it wouldn't be forever, and we were still... something. We'd never defined what we were, but we were together in some way, and that would have to be enough for now. That, and the memory of how soft she felt against me, like something fragile that I could have easily broken. 

Was I wrong for kissing her like that?

I rubbed my face as I watched the asphalt slip past. Guilt was weighing on me. She said to not make things harder than they already were. That wasn't my intention. All I wanted was one last kiss before we went our separate ways. I should have known, though, how it would make her feel. What was it that she quoted? Parting is such sweet sorrow? I got it now. 

The miles wore on, and eventually I found myself getting tired. I pulled over into a hotel about halfway home and stayed the night. However, instead of sleeping, I couldn't help but wonder what was going on back in Denver. Were Jenny and her mom clicking like I thought? Did her new stepdad welcome her? I kicked myself for not staying to meet him. The last thing I wanted was for someone else to abuse her. Though, judging by her mom, he was likely a nice guy.

At some point during my restless night, my thoughts turned towards what was likely waiting for me at home. I was done with being the family pariah, and done with my cousin Charlie, so I had punched him for talking about Jenny like she was something to be used and thrown away. At the time, I felt justified in doing it. Even my parents didn't say anything when it happened. Now... 

Now I was starting to feel the gravity of everything I was going home to. I was coming down from the high I was on thanks to Jenny, and facing reality felt like hitting the ground. What if the police were looking for me? What if Charlie decided to press charges when he saw me again? But if either scenario were the case, wouldn't I have been picked up already?

By the time the morning sun was filtering in the window, I was already packed and ready to get back on the road. The night had been long and I was even more tired than when I checked in, but I couldn't stay any longer. I had to get home to put my mind at rest. 

I stuck my bag in the trunk and got back behind the wheel. Sometime later, I found myself pulling into my driveway. The miles in between were a blur. I wasn't exactly sure how I made it home, but I did. 

Everything looked just how I'd left it. Mom's car was in the garage, and Charlie's car was pulled up near the guest house that was slightly behind the main building. Dad's car was gone, which I knew meant he was at work. As usual. If he was home, I would have been worried. 

I got out and retrieved my bag, looking forward to lying on my bed for a while. There wasn't anything quite like lying on your own bed after spending a long time away from home. When I went into the garage, though, a squawk of walkie-talkie noise made me jump. A hand grabbed my arm and I dropped my suitcase. 

"Brayden Milton?" asked an authoritative voice that I recognized. 

I turned and looked a former classmate dead in the eye. He looked very different in his police uniform. "Yes?"

"I need you to come down to the station with me."

"Am I under arrest?"

He frowned at me. "Should I be arresting you for something?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, but I need to know."

"I would have read you your Miranda Rights if I were arresting you. I still need you to come on down to the station, though."

"Okay. Can I just put my bag in my room first? You can follow me there if you need to."

"No. You can bring it with you."

"That's fine. I'll just leave it out here." I shoved it into the corner near the the stairs where it could be seen but wouldn't be tripped over. "Let's go."

---

"Do you know this girl?" The officer - Officer Moore - slid a photo of Jenny across the table to me.

"Of course. She's worked at my dad's store for a couple of years, and she's my girlfriend." I still was unsure why I was being questioned, let alone about her. No one would tell me anything. 

Another picture, this one taken at a bus stop. I saw myself reaching to her, but not touching her. "Is this you?" he asked.

"Yes. Where are these questions going?"

"Have you been stalking Ms. Herrington?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"No? Who said I was stalking her? Is she pressing charges against me? What's going on?"

"We have a lot of evidence that you've been following this young lady around, and now she's up and disappeared. Have you been following her around?"

"No more than I follow anyone else. Rapid Falls is a small town. I also know where she is. She asked me to drive her somewhere, so I did. I left her there at her own request. She's eighteen. She's legally allowed to go anywhere she wants to. I can even give you a phone number to call and speak with her. She's not missing."

"Someone sure thinks she is. Why would she ask her stalker to take her somewhere? Did you coerce her into leaving with you?"

"Absolutely not. She's not missing."

"Let's have that phone number and see if what you're saying is true." The other officer in the room produced a piece of paper and a pen. I pulled out my phone and wrote down the number she gave me. They took it and left the room leaving me alone with the camera and its blinking red light in the corner. 

I hoped her phone was charged and that she would answer. All kinds of 'what if' scenarios came to my mind, only to flick to the next one as soon as it came to me. I rubbed my face and yawned. I was beyond exhausted, and I wasn't sure what I would do if they actually arrested me. How would I even explain myself?

A few agonizing minutes later, the officer that brought me in came back. He pulled out a pair of cuffs and said, "Stand up and turn around, please."

I did as he said. "What's going on?"

"You're under arrest for assault and kidnapping. You've got the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney of your choosing or the court can appoint one for you."

"I didn't do anything! I swear! Did she not answer her phone?"

"The phone doesn't even belong to her," he said as he forcefully tightened the metal around my wrists, making it bite into my skin. "We checked. It belongs to a current inmate. I'm sure you guys will find something else in common while you wait for sentencing." He grabbed my arm and turned me towards the door. 

"Did you call her, though?"

"No one answered," he said as he roughly led me through the hallways. We eventually came to a cell block inside the station somewhere. Inside, I recognized some of the people likely picked up for public intoxication, including the guys that had been drinking at the bus stop the morning I stopped them from harassing Jenny.

We stopped in front of a cell with one man in it who looked like he was in his seventies. The officer opened the door and shoved me inside. I flinched when the door shut with a loud clang. The man in the cell looked up and I could somehow tell he wasn't as old as I had thought. He also looked very familiar somehow. 

"I'm sure you two will get along," the officer said snidely. "You guys have a lot to talk about."

I watched him turn and leave before I faced the man in the cell with me. He was probably in his fifties, fat, and looking at me like he wanted to squash me. "What did he mean we got a lot to talk about?" he grumbled. "Better not have anything to do with that daughter of mine."

As he spoke, I had a flash of a photograph in my mind. My parents had a picture of Jenny and her parents in one of their albums. She was probably ten when the picture was taken, and I was pretty sure her mother had a bruise peeking out from under that turtleneck she wore. It had long bothered me, and done so so much that my mother had removed the picture from the album years ago. I was pretty sure she'd kept it - especially knowing how much they card about her - but there was no denying this was her dad. 

"Hey!" the man shouted. "Answer me when I talk to you. What does that idiot mean?"

I cleared my throat and held out a hand. "I'm Brayden Milton. My dad owns the grocery store your daughter works at." I wasn't going to tell him where she was. Something told me she would want him in the dark. 

He squinted at me. "You know anything about her going missing?"

"They think I had something to do with it since I left on a business trip around the time they said she disappeared, which admittedly does look bad on my part." I gave him a smile and shrug.

He sighed and looked out of the cell forlornly, seemingly concerned about her. What a hypocrite. "I just hope she's okay."

"I'm sure she is. My impression of her has always been that she was resourceful."

"I hope you're right." He turned to me, expression dark. "Now tell me, did you have anything to do with helping her do things behind my back?"

I swallowed reflexively. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"School. Prom. Leaving town. Any of the above."

"I took her to prom at the urging of my parents. I didn't have anything to do with her going to school. I've been away at college until last year, and I didn't have anything to do with the store until this year."

He cracked his knuckles and eyed me like a predator sizing up his prey.

I've never thought of myself as a coward, but right at that moment, I knew I'd lose any fight I had with him. 

"Brayden Milton," an officer announced as they entered the holding area. Marvin quickly scurried back so he wasn't mid-lunge right as the officer rounded the corner. The cell door opened and she stepped aside. "You're free to go."

I looked at her suspiciously before slowly leaving the cell. "What do you mean?"

"Jenny called the station. She told us everything. You're free to go home."

I let out a sigh of relief. She led me through the building to the front where I collected my belongings and walked outside. It was beginning to turn evening, and I suddenly realized I had no way home. 

Well, walking was good for the body, and the town wasn't that big. I made my exhausted body move. Even at a slow walk, I knew I'd be home before dark.