Page 22 of Relapse

One of them opened his mouth, then paused, and that pause sent a tremor throughout my entire being. That pause continued, leaving me to envision nothing but the worst. I realized, suddenly, that whatever they were about to say was going to be exactly that. Something had happened and there was nothing I could do to change the outcome. I could feel it as certain as I could feel my increased heart beating in my throat.

My life as I knew it was about to end abruptly, and even though I was still standing there, still breathing, I had already lost something.

Chapter seven

Suspect Number One

NOAH

The fluorescent lights in the ER waiting area hummed like they were inside my skull. The long bulbs above my head twitched, and I swore they had their own sound. Looking at them made my eyes hurt.

I wished I had drank some alcohol at the party. Or took a hit of my vape. This would have been the moments that I needed my cigarettes—my faithful friends—to calm me the fuck down. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking, so I sat on them, trying to appear less restless for the conversation about to take place. It didn’t help. Nothing helped.

I kept thinking if I blinked hard enough I’d wake up in my room, laying on the floor next to my small metal box, pondering life. Maybe the party hadn’t even started. Maybe nothing was real anymore.

Instead, there were two uniforms in front of me and Damian to my left, standing instead of sitting. Of course he had refused to sit down. That’s how he filled the space around him: confidently, as though we had nothing to lose. He kept his badge clipped to his belt, a constant reminder to the other officers who preceded them in rank.

“Let’s just go through the events again,” the male cop said.

I released a shuddered breath. I didn’t even know his fucking name.

He had a notepad out, continuously clicking his pen like he was priming a detonator. “You were hosting. Approximately how many guests?”

“Our father was hosting,” Damian corrected. “This was a family event.”

“Couple hundred,” I said. My tongue felt thick. I tried to swallow but the sensation caught in the back of my throat. “It was an honorary masquerade. To celebrate…our father. People came and went.”

“Two hundred?” The female cop raised her brows. “That’s a lot of coming and going.”

“It’s a big house,” Damian said smoothly. “We’ve hosted larger events without incident.”

I dug my fingernails into my palms. There was definitely an incident. David’s body on imported marble. Blood spidering across the foyer like it knew where to go.

“Noah,” my eyes shot to the male cop at the sound of my name rolling off his lips.

He smiled. “I’m officer Blake by the way, and this is Richmond. Sorry we didn’t introduce ourselves before. I’ve worked with your brother for a while now.”

I nodded, wishing I could stop the nervous twitching of my legs and arms. I had gotten into so much trouble in my life, and yet, this interaction was scaring me shitless.

“Walk us through when you found him,” Blake urged, eyes on me.

“I didn’t find him,” I blurted too fast. “I mean—I saw him earlier at the party. He was fine. Laughing. Drinking. Everyone was dancing and having a good time.”

“Were you drinking, Mr. Hansen?”

Before I could open my mouth Damian snapped, “He’s nineteen. Of course he wasn’t drinking.”

“But he’s had issues with drinking before,” the female—Richmond—questioned with a sarcastic little sneer. “Correct?”

Damian released a heavy breath. I could see the muscles in his forearms flexing. “Correct.”

“What does that have to do with the party?” I asked, and I felt Damian nudge my chair with his foot. His silent way of telling me to just shut the fuck up.

“I am so glad you asked,” Blake continued, a bit too happily, scribbling unknown letters onto his paper. “Potential past situations could lead to motive. It is no secret, Mr. Hansen, that you’ve operated outside of the law quite a few times before.”

“Somewhat,” I added. My heart was thudding so hard I worried they might see it in my throat. “During the party, I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I brought a date, I danced, and then—”

Damian shifted beside me. It was subtle, but to me, it felt like another warning. My words were lost.