The officers watched the footage. “Yes, you can,” Officer Simmons said and held out his card with his info on it. “Can you send a copy of this to me?”
I took the card and my phone back. “I can give you their names.”
“I’ll take them,” Officer Cortez said, putting his pen to his notepad.
“Amber Thorn, Gabe Harris, and Cassy McAllister.”
His pen froze when I said Cassy’s name and looked from his notepad to me. “‘McAllister’ as in Sheriff McAllister’s daughter?”
I looked at Creed and saw him grimacing. He had told me that Cassy’s father was a cop, not the sheriff.
“Yes, that’s her,” Creed said.
The two officers glanced at each other before Cortez cleared his throat and asked, “Are you wanting to press charges?”
“Oh yeah I am. Do you not see my car?” I asked caustically.
They looked at each other again until Simmons finally said with a tone full of dread, “I’ll go fill out the report,” and walked to their squad car.
Officer Cortez finished writing on his little notepad and tucked it into one of his vest’s pockets. “I’m going to need to take pictures of everything,” he said and went to the trunk of their squad car and pulled out a camera. While he took pictures of my car and the front window of my house, Officer Simmons went over the report he’d filled out and had me sign it.
By the time they left and I took my own pictures of all the damage, I was exhausted. I stood in my living room, staring at the broken window, thinking of all the things I’d have to do tomorrow to fix everything. There was no way I’d take the medicine Dr. Bolton had prescribed tonight. Not with my window like this.
“Babe,” Colt said, walking in from the front porch with Creed. The four of them had been talking out there when I had come in. “Keelan and Knox ran to the hardware store to get some plywood to put over your window,” Colt announced.
“The store is still open?” It was a useless question, but it popped into my head.
“It closes in about twenty minutes, but they’ll get there in time,” Creed said. “I think you should stay at our place tonight.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I said and took a seat on the couch.
“Why?” Creed asked with a frown.
“It’s because of Knox, isn’t it?” Colt said, being too perceptive for his own good. He glanced at Creed. “They haven’t talked.”
Creed looked at me. “It’s not like you’re going to be sleeping in his room.”
I winced at that and they both caught it.
“You know, he wouldn’t tell us what went down with you two or how this fight with all five of us started,” Colt said. “By that reaction, I feel like something bad happened.”
I got up from the couch. “What Knox and I did together is our business.”
“So you two really did do something?” Creed asked as the two of them followed me down the hall to my room.
I didn’t respond as I grabbed a purse out of my closet. I began stuffing things I’d need to stay at the guys’ inside of it. I knew they weren’t going to take no for an answer. I grabbed my pills and phone chargers.
“I’ll take your silence as a yes,” Creed grumbled.
“Just let it go, Creed,” Colt said.
It wasn’t long before Knox and Keelan returned with a big piece of plywood and boarded up my window. I avoided looking at Knox as we all walked into their house. Creed grabbed my hand and started to lead me to their side of the house. Before we could get far, my other hand was grabbed, and I was pulled out of Creed’s grasp.
My back bumped into Keelan’s chest and he wrapped his arm around my waist. “Wait a minute,” he said.
Creed turned around and frowned at his brother.
Keelan ignored him and looked down at me. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like you to stay with me tonight.”
“I haven’t slept with my girlfriend in over a week,” Creed grumbled.
“She’s never spent the night with me,” Keelan grumbled right back.
Colt snorted.
Creed glared at him. “Don’t get me started on you. I saw your back in gym today.”
“Creed!” Colt and I snapped at the same time and Creed winced, looking guilty.
“What’s wrong with his back?” Knox asked, who had been watching us silently.
“Nothing,” Colt insisted.
Knox looked from Colt to Creed. “What’s wrong with his back?”