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“I’m a … friend,” he says, his gaze straying to mine.
“Are you sure about that?” she asks, jotting down something on her handheld device with a stylus. “Because you seem unsure.”
Alex carries her gaze. “I’m sure. And to answer your next question, I wasn’t with her when she OD’d.”
The officer raises her brows. “Who said I was going to ask that?”
“Weren’t you?” Alex questions with a challenge.
I throw him a pressing look and mouth, “what’re you doing?”
He barely glances at me, keeping his gaze fastened on the officer.
“Look, Officer, we both know part of the reason you’re here is to see if we’re the ones who gave Payton the drugs, so I’m gonna make this real simple for you. This girl right here”—he nods at me—“whose name I’m sure you already know, was looking for her sister and came to me for help because she suspected she was at a party. And since I’m pretty sure you know what my last name is, I can guess you understand why she’d come to me for help with this. Am I right?”
The officer frowns but nods.
“Okay, good. Then that saves me some time having to explain who I am,” he continues on. “Anyway, I found out where Payton was, and Hadley and I went to pick her up because we were worried about her. But when we got there, Payton was passed out with a needle in her arm which, if you want to double-check, is what I told the nurse when we arrived here.”
I can’t believe how he’s talking to her. Then again, this is Alex, and with everything I’ve heard about the police in this town, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
The officer taps her stylus against the handheld device. “Do you remember the location of the party?”
Alex shakes his head. “Nope. My mind is always kind of iffy when it comes to remembering stuff.” He taps his temple with his knuckles. “My dad says it’s because he dropped me on the head when I was a baby, but who really knows for sure.”
I gape at him, totally wide-eyed with shock.
A slight smile pulls at his lips as he glances at me from the corner of his eye, but he quickly presses it back and crosses his arms.
“As for who gave her the drugs, we don’t know that either,” he continues. “We also don’t know what kind of drugs are in her system, but I’m sure the doctors will know soon.”
The officer sighs then scribbles down a couple of things onto the handheld. “Thank you, Alex. You’ve been very helpful.”
That hint of a smile still tugging at his lips, he tells her, “I’m sure I have.”
She sighs again then glances at me. “Now, I need to ask you some questions that Mr. Porterson can’t answer for you.”
I grow fidgety, knowing where this is probably going. “Okay.”
Her gaze slides to Alex. “How about you go get yourself a coffee and give Hadley and me a minute to talk.”
“Nah, I’d rather stay here”—he drapes his arm around my shoulders—“and support my best friend.”
It takes all of my effort not to roll my eyes.
“Your best friend can handle being without you for a couple of minutes.” She points the stylus at the exit doors. “The cafeteria is that way, and I hear they have a wonderful selection of bagels.”
Alex hesitates, glancing at me.
It’s strange, but I kind of want him to stay with me. He handled the officer’s questions so well, and I’m worried I might screw it up. But deep down, I know I need to handle this on my own, so I motion for him to go ahead.
“I’ll be fine,” I tell him.
He briefly hesitates before nodding and walking away, pushing out the doors.
The officer blows out an exhausted sigh as she sinks down into a chair. “You know, I was warned about the Portersons being intense when I transferred here, but those warnings didn’t do justice.”
I sit down beside her. “They really are. A little advice, for the next time you have to deal with them. It’s better to throw their intensity back at them. It confuses them, which is not only fun but kind of counteracts their intensity.”
