Being in a police car, for any reason, is pretty scary.
I hopped in the passenger seat, besides Jeremiah, my stomach pitting. I was very nervous. Why wouldn't I be? My son was arrested, and I was seeing him. He wasn't exactly on my list of people to run into, right after I denied to stay at his house with his family. Luckily, for me, he didn't say anything the entire car ride. It was rather strange actually. It was like it never happened. When he pulled into the police station, I thought I was going to get away with not mentioning the incident. When I tried to get out, the doors were locked. I looked up and he was staring at me. No real emotion was enveloping him. Well, he just looked serious. But he didn't look mad or anything. I asked him to unlock the door but he shook his head, saying he needed to speak with me. I sighed and leaned backwards. He fiddled with his shirt before continuing.
"You know, our offer still stands if you want to stay at our house for a while." he said calmly. "I understand you don't want to intrude, but I wouldn't want to see you out on the streets. It's dangerous." I shrugged.
"I know. I appreciate your offer. I really do, but I found a place. A small apartment on the other end of town." I said. He didn't believe me and questioned why I was at the homeless shelter. "I spent the night there." A sad look crossed his face. I didn't want to have to tell him that, but he asked. Jeremiah insisted that I would've been allowed to spend the night at his house. He said the homeless shelter isn't a safe place for lonely women. I resented the adjective 'lonely' but I figured he had no other description for a divorced woman wandering the streets alone. I ignored it and looked out the window. He let out an exasperated sigh, seeing he wasn't getting to me, and unlocked the door. Quickly, I jumped out of the car like it was on fire. Jeremiah followed closley behind me. As I was about to open the door, his hand snaked out besides me and opened the door for me. I mumbled a thanks and walked in. It was busy. Police officers and secretaries were scurrying all about. Jeremiah walked past me, gesturing for me to follow. I obeyed and we entered a lone hallway. No one was down here. He came to a window and pointed in. The window looked into a small interrogation room. I was familiar with that place.
My son was sitting there. He looked afraid. His blonde hair looked disheveled. I knew that my son always messed with his hair when he was nervous. He was fidgetting, looking around wildly. I knew he couldn’t see me, but I could see him. My nervous wreck was breathing very heavily and tapping the table annoyingly. I asked Jeremiah what happened. The frog didn’t look angry or upset. He actually looked slightly amused. “He admitted to mostly everything. Note, I said mostly. He said that he caused the shortage of Bells at the bank, from a generator he found. I asked him where he found it, and he never said. Maybe you could get it out of him.” I didn’t say a word. When did my son get a generator? How did he scrap the money together? These were all unimportant questions. I needed to know if my son committed this crime. Supposedly, he and the other officers say he did. I have my doubts, but we’ll see. Jeremiah waved his hand. “He has the generator and sack of money with him but I think he’s covering up for a friend.” I rose my eyebrows. “You’ll have to ask him if he’s involved with anything illegal. He won't speak to me, but you're his mother." I nodded with understanding. Jeremiah stood back and gestured for me to enter. I didn't hesitate to open the door. My son looked up with a haggard expression when he saw me. He stood up suddenly and stared with wide eyes.
"Mom! What are you doing here?" he asked, grabbing my shoulders. He was quick to grab me, but I noticed his weak grip. I removed his paws from my shoulder and led him to the seat. He slowly sat down. He looked panicked. Like you know how someone is very hyper after drinking a lot of coffee? That's what my son looked like. I felt sad for him. He was clearly suffering. I'm sure he wasn't here for his health, but he was obviously stressed out from the ordeal. He fidgetted again, picking his nails consciously. "Mom...these police people keep asking me the same questions over and over, like I told them what happened but they won't listen to me and I've tried to tell them that's all I know and to let me go, but they won't let me leave, and I wanna go home, because I'm tired and--" I didn't want to do this but I slapped my son across the face, interrupting his crazily long run-on sentence. The slap resounded across the small room. He stopped and his mouth formed an 'o'. He gulped loudly and I mumbled an apology. "It's alright. I'm just panicking, Mom." I sat down in front of him.
"I know, Rodney, but you have to tell me the truth. What happened?" he said nothing. His eyes just bulged. I stroked his shoulder awkwardly. I wasn't great at the whole affection thing. I tried to be a good mom, but we can see how good that's gotten me. He said nothing and I looked him in the eye. "Please tell me...did you steal that money?" Tears rolled down my son's face. I felt so bad for him. I didn't want him to be in pain, but I needed him to tell the truth. Slowly he nodded. My face fell. He tried to explain himself quickly but I stood up and turned away. He stood up too and grabbed my arm. "How could you do this?" I mumbled. I whipped my head around to face him. "How could you?! Was it because we're poor? Because of your father's and my divorce?" I asked sharply. Rodney shook his head.
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Thank you for the Reese memories (7/9/13-9/27/17)
"Let me explain, Mom!" he grabbed my shoulder. I tried to shake out of his grasp, but something held my strength back. What was going on? I surely could've thrown my son to the floor. I had survived on the streets before. I could handle my own if someone tried to rob or attack me. For some reason, I couldn't muster the strength to do this to my son. Obviously, I wasn't going to pin him to the floor and immobilize him, but why was this happening? Was I going soft? Becoming weak? Or maybe it was this strange feeling I had heard mothers get. It's called maternal instinct. I never really had it. I just cared and provided for him, because Moose didn't. Anyways, he looked at me in the eye. I couldn't tear myself away. "I didn't know the generator did that. I swear, Mom. I didn't put the two together until I got downtown. I didn't know the generator could do that, you have to believe me." I broke down. The door opened and Rodney and I snapped out of our trances. Jeremiah stood there, looking amused but surprised at the same time. The blue frog crossed his arms and leaned on the doorpost with a smirk on his face. I stared at Jeremiah, wondering what he was doing, Rodney faced the police officer. "Do you believe me?!" he half-yelled. Jeremiah nodded. I could see my son visibly calm down. He let out a sigh of relief. Jeremiah straightened and looked at Rodney seriously.
"Of course I believe you. I can tell if you're being truthful; however you shouldn't have been messing with the generators. They're very dangerous. Not many people know but they've been outlawed. There are a select few that still make them, but we have a special unit hunting them down. How did you get a hold of this generator? It looks old." he noted. My son looked nervous, like he didn't want to get the guy in trouble. However, he spoke up. His voice sounded childish compared to Jeremiah's deep crooning.
"It was a homeless man. I don't know how he got it, I didn't ask questions. I don't even know what street I was on." Jeremiah and I raised my eyebrows. The frog asked my son what he was doing by a homeless man. "I was just wandering around." Rodney said, brushing a hand through his hair. "I had gotten fired and I was just really out of it. I didn't notice much. He just said that he had a generator and I got it for cheap." Jeremiah shook his head and asked if Rodney had an idea where he was. My son scrunched up his face, trying to rack his brain for any memory. After a few seconds, he nodded. "Yeah...um I think I was by Lector Avenue." Jeremiah nodded.
"I'll take note of that and send a unit out there to see if they can find this man. I'll be right back. Stay right here. We'll go through some processing. Bree." his sudden utterance of my name shocked me and I looked up. Jeremiah's warm eyes seemed cold in this moment. "Do you have enough money to bail your son out? If not, he'd have to stay in jail for a few nights." I felt bad. I didn't have enough money. My son would have to stay in jail. Maybe this would teach him a lesson. He shouldn't be causing trouble like this. However this could also elicit the negative attention he wanted. Oh well. He'd have to stay there. I shook my head, my eyes dripping with shame. Jeremiah stopped in his tracks and looked at us sympathetically. "You know what...don't worry about it. I'll foot the bail." At that, he left the room and shut the door. Rodney's eyes bugged out. My heart skipped a beat. I quickly followed Jeremiah outside the room, shutting the door behind me. I could see Jeremiah at the end of the hallway. I called out to him and he turned around, staring at me. His warm expression had returned.
"You don't have to pay for my son's bail." I blurted out. "He did something bad. Maybe going to jail would be good for him." I said. Jeremiah shook his head, smiling and slipping his arm over my shoulder.
"Don't worry about it. I feel I have to do something for you. You won't stay with us, so I figured this could be my good deed of the day." he turned and walked away. Before he got far, he looked back. "Besides, I've seen worse people in this world. Your son isn't a criminal. He practically confessed before he got here. We just didn't have solid facts because he was really afraid." I lowered my head and mumbled a thank you. Jeremiah smiled and hugged me. I was shocked into speechlessness. Jeremiah said nothing and continued to walk down the hallway. I stumbled back into the room. Rodney asked what happened and if I was okay. He grabbed me and sat me in the chair, noticing my dazed countenance. I slowly nodded and could barely utter the words to describe this ultimate kindness. Like no one has ever done this for me or my family before. I smiled. Tears brushed my cheeks. Rodney was visibly worried. I had to calm him down. Wiping my eyes, I looked at him.
"You're not going to jail."
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Thank you for the Reese memories (7/9/13-9/27/17)
Nice chapter, Liv! I feel so bad for Bree... just because you made some mistakes as a teenager dosen't mean that people should treat you bad for the rest of your life.
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I wanna contribute to the chaos
Thank you, LeeAnn. And you're right. Nobody deserves that. However, it proves that actions have their consequences. Sometimes things people do stupidly as a teenager (i.e something that makes their criminal record) will mark them and affect them for the rest of their lives.
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Thank you for the Reese memories (7/9/13-9/27/17)
I had been quiet for a while. My recent discoveries mystified me, and stunned me into silence. Spirits couldn't be real. The whole thing just sounded surreal, like a giant joke. I couldn't believe that my father's aunt had decided to reveal her identity to me. Me of all people. Plus she said I had much purpose. What is this purpose? I don't exactly believe in divine interference, however I just can't help but think that something is going on. I can't tell what at this time, but it scares me. I can't tell anyone. Even if I could, they wouldn't believe me. Ryan is one of the most imaginative boys I know, but he wouldn't believe me. He also probably wouldn't believe I could have an imagination. Usually I was the one who suppressed my brother's imagination. My daydreaming was shattered when my brother jostled my shoulder. I looked up and saw the tiny house. I'm not even joking. This place was very miniscule. The roof was red. The door was brown. The sides of the house were worn off. It had probably endured much weather. My grimace must have been pretty blatant, Uncle Lobo had clapped a hand on my shoulder and smiled.
"Don't look now, but I see a spoiled rich girl looking down at a cute cottage." I blushed and smirked at him. Uncle Lobo's mouth curled into a grin and he laughed. Everyone strode past me as I stared at the outside. It just looked so dilapidated and broken down. I guess no one else cared. I slowly walked in. My shoes squeaked over the hardwood floors. They were newly installed, I could tell. But besides that, the house needed some upgrading. We walked right into the living room. It was quite a change from the large foyer at home. I looked straight at a peeling wall. Through a small doorway was the kitchen. I could tell there was enough room back there for a dining room table. I wandered into the kitchen. Mom was already in there. We were both staring at the primitive kitchen. It looked like caveman's compared to ours. Gross countertops, appliances and just complete filth appalled me. The table looked like the newest thing in the house besides the flooring. I tried to ignore the practical poverty this house was in, compared to our old house.
Come on, Mel. Quit acting like a spoiled little brat.
It's just difficult. I sounded spoiled but I had been like this my whole life. This whole "moving to Cocoville to get away from our old life" thing is new to me. Meanwhile, my family adjusted very well. We were moving some furniture in that my parents ordered from Nook. I saw Toby again. He carried a red sofa in and lay it down on the hardwood floor. The raccoon wiped a bead of sweat off his face and looked towards the door. He called to someone outside to come in. A tall skinny raccoon ambled in. He looked around my age. The boy was carrying a brown side table. Gently he set it besides the couch and wiped some sweat off his brow. I smiled at him. I apparently caught his eye, and he smirked back. We maintained eye contact for a few moments before Toby yelled at the boy to keep working. The teenager lowered his head.
"Yes, father." he mumbled before hurrying outside again. So this boy must've been Toby's son. Interesting. I tried not to be distracted as the boy kept carrying things in and out. At one point, the adults were outside talking. The boy was doing all the work. Ryan was upstairs in the attic, probably lounging on a bed. The raccoon was obviously very tired. When he slowly made his way out to the moving truck again, I followed him out there. The adults didn't notice. The raccoon was startled to see me. He smiled again. "Hello there." he said shyly. I blushed.
"Hi. I'm Melody." The raccoon had such perfect teeth. I couldn't help but stare. He brushed a hand through his hair.
"I'm Trevor. Melody is a very pretty name." I thanked him, shook his hand and told him it was nice to meet him. Maybe I shouldn't have shaken his hand. That made the whole flirting thing kind of awkward. Wait, were we flirting? I don't even know. I don't want to think about it. It will make everything seem more awkward. It already is awkward, but having the situation more awkward would be--My thought were interrupted. Toby yelled across at Trevor and me. Trevor flushed a pale red and lifted a television box out of the truck. "I better get back to work." he gripped the box in his arms. For being lanky, Trevor was also strong. I watched him carry the box into the house. I followed awkwardly behind. I didn't have anything else to do. I felt bad for not helping but I didn't know where to start. He set the box down in front of the couch and hurried outside again. I was just standing there. I must have looked so stupid. A loud raspberry made me look towards the stairs. Ryan was leaning on the banister, sneering down. I folded my arms and glanced at him.
"What's that look for?" I asked. Ryan scoffed and said I knew. I narrowed my eyebrows. "No. I don't know. Please explain." I swear, little brothers are just put on this earth to torture their sisters. He went on and on. The more he talked, the more embarassed I got. I'm sure Trevor heard, but he tuned it out. Ryan kept talking about how Trevor and I are going to be sitting in a tree, doing you-know-what. He even burst out into the song. I threw a pillow at his head and he ran back upstairs. Someone cleared his throat. I twirled around and my father was standing there. A knowing expression was plastered on his face. I mumbled an apology. He said nothing and strode into the kitchen. I followed. He opened the fridge and pulled out some bottles of root beer.
"For the adults." he mumbled. He tossed me a bottled water. I drank it voraciously. Dad started talking. "Don't be so hard on your brother." he stated. I rolled my eyes.
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Thank you for the Reese memories (7/9/13-9/27/17)
"Dad! He was implying I have a crush on Trevor!" I exclaimed. I might have said that a little too loud. Whoops. Trevor had just walked back in the house with some decorative picture frames. He placed them on a long but skinny decorative table near the door. They were pictures of our family, something to give this cottage a little homey touch. Dad glanced out the doorway at Trevor. The raccoon was going back outside again. Dad asked about him. Being overprotective and all, he wasn't happy to hear there might be a potential boyfriend for me. Dad proceeded to lecture me. He told me how I was too young to start dating, and that we needed to focus on calming our life. I rolled my eyes again. "I know, Dad! Just...ugh. You don't understand anything." I turned on my ankle and stormed upstairs. When I reached the attic, my brother was already up there. He was lying on his bed, reading some comic books. There were four beds in the attic. One for me, one for Ryan, one for Uncle Lobo and one for Mom and Dad. Curtains were installed in each corner for privacy. However it wasn't nearly enough. Like what about sound and stuff? I don't know. Maybe I'm just really into privacy.
Ryan looked up from his bed. His corner was already messy. I noticed we each had a dresser. His suitcase was lying empty on the floor. His clothes were stuffed messily into the drawers. Comic books, video games and shoes were thrown all around the base of the bed. I scoffed at my brother's lack of cleanliness and organization. I trudged to my corner and plopped down. My suitcase was already there. Uncle Lobo must have carried it up. I talked out loud to myself. "Where will we do school? Have privacy?" I mumbled. Ryan looked up from reading his comic book.
"I think Mom and Dad will pay off the loan slowly." he answered. I squinted my eyes.
"Why slowly? We're rich. We can do it as quickly as possible. Then we can have more space to...you know...live." I ended my sentence awkwardly. Ryan sighed.
"Are you just stupid? Or are you shallow? The reason we came out here was to be less superficial in our life. Even I know that." I didn't say anything. I know Ryan is right. It's just easier for him to adjust to this all. He's just a little boy. He never needed much. As long as he has us, his video games and his other simple things, he'll be fine. I on the other hand was used to living the fine life. I guess I was spoiled. It will be difficult for me to go through with this, living like we're not something. It's hard to avoid being who you are. You know what I mean? We're famous. We're celebrities. Everyone knows our name. We can't run away from that and just pretend we're normal people. We're not normal. We're...us. I don't understand why our parents are trying to dodge this. I said nothing at the time. All these thoughts ran through my head. I sat on the bed, feeling the soft green blanket. My brother and I sat in silence. Finally I spoke up.
"I'm not stupid. I just feel like it's unnecessary to run away from this. We came out here to be closer as a family. I figured that Dr. Howell meant that figuratively, not literally. We're going to be sleeping in the same room!" I yelled, pointing around the attic. It wasn't small but it wasn't large either. Everyone has a small area for their personal items. Otherwise, the room isn't private in any way. Curtains won't suddenly give you some privacy. I folded my arms and lay in bed. The pillow was comfortable on my head. I wanted to drift to sleep. So that's what I did. I don't know how long I drifted off for. When I woke up, Mom was huddled over me, shaking me gently.
"Mel. Get up, it's time for dinner." she said softly. I moaned but got up. I walked downstairs and everyone was sitting at the dining room table in the small kitchen. There was a large bowl of salad on the table and some fish. Looked freshly caught too. Uncle Lobo or Dad must have reeled it in. I didn't argue as I sat down at the table and begin to chomp down. However, Mom held out a hand. I looked up mid-bite and saw everyone glaring at me. I cautiously and unlady-like spit the lettuce out on my plate. Mom cleared her throat. "Mel, let your father say grace." she said. I rolled my eyes. We never said grace before. Now all the sudden my family wanted to be spiritual. I obliged and sat back. Dad rubbed his beard.
"Thank you, Jackie. Um, I would like to give thanks for everyone being here safe and sound. I hope we have a fun new life in Cocoville. I'm sure it will be a fun learning experience for everybody. Thank you, Lobo, for this delicious fish we have before us. And Jackie, you did a tremendous job on the salad..." he trailed. Mom smiled and kissed him. Ryan gagged. I couldn't help but laugh. Dad smirked that impish grin I always saw on Grandpa's face. "Let us eat." We all dug in. It was one of the best meals I had ever eaten. I'm serious. The fish was like some kind of flounder or something. The salad had grilled chicken strips mixed in. It tasted so good. Plus there were fresh vegetables. Dad commented Toby had lent some to us. He must have a garden.
Something about this new life suddenly appealed to me.
It peeked through the back window and grinned at me.
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Thank you for the Reese memories (7/9/13-9/27/17)
Oh, yes! I'm loving this whole idea of a relationship between Melody and Trevor!
You know, it's kind of funny, but I could tell instantly when he was introduced that Melody was going to wind up having a crush on him. Hooray for intuition? I've had that similar hunch with other characters in books and movies before, and they've all wound up correct, so, I guess we'll see. :3
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Don't use Sound on Lured Cogs!
Toontastic! Toontastic!
I couldn't believe Trevor was staring at me through the window. Luckily, no one else had noticed. I had gotten up and shoved the dishes in the sink. I glanced out the window. Trevor placed his finger to his lips and gestured for me to meet him around front. I was hesitant, but I could get away with it. I nodded and turned back to the table, asking if I could be excused. Mom said yes and continued her conversation with Uncle Lobo. I hurried outside and shut the door gently. I didn't want to make it look like I was in a rush or anything. That would just raise suspicions. Trevor was leaning against a tree a few feet away. I walked closer and nervously broke the ice. He looked up and his face flushed red. He began to mumble incoherently. It was a few seconds before he could form words.
"I-I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't be here." I told him it was okay and insisted he continued. He sighed and turned to face me. "I couldn't help but hear all that going on in the living room earlier today." he blurted out. That's when it occurred to me. He was talking about my brother and dad insinuating I have a crush on him. My face paled and at this exact moment, I could have killed my brother. Trevor ran a hand through his hair. "I'm one of those guys that has to get everything out. Like no secrets here. Um, while I think it's sweet you find me attractive or whatever...my love life is rather complicated." I couldn't stifle back a laugh. I winked at him and jabbed him in the shoulder.
"Isn't every teenager's love life complicated?" I asked jokingly. I was trying to make things less awkward, but Trevor wasn't having it. He pulled away from me.
"I mean...I have an arranged marriage." My stomach pitted and my eyebrows rose. How barbaric. How controlling. How...I can't even describe this anymore. Arranged marriages are like from the medieval ages or something. Trevor burst into an explanation. "My family has always had them. No one else does, it's just something we do. Since all raccoons are Nooks, and we have to keep our marriages within our species, we have to resort to marrying distant cousins." I wrinkled my nose. Gross. My mom and dad don't have any siblings...well alive siblings so I can't relate to the whole cousin spiel, but it sounded gross. Trevor sighed. "I hope you understand. My dad arranged me to marry a very distant cousin from 3DS County." I nodded, trying to understand. I'm sure he never even met her before, but that's regardless. He was taken and I had to accept that. Not like there was anything to accept, right? I mean, I didn't have a crush on Trevor...I don't think.
"Don't worry about it. That was just something stupid my brother said, and my dad misconstrued everything. You know how little boys are." Trevor smiled finally.
"Yeah. I have three little brothers. They annoy me to death." I laughed. It seemed like Trevor had lightened up. He turned his shoulder away. "I better get going. Father will eventually find out I snuck away." I gasped and told him he didn't have to sneak out of work. He shrugged. "It's fine. I just felt the need to tell you that. I didn't want you to get led on, and have your heart broken." I told him I understood. "Good. Well, I'll see you around, I guess." he turned on his heel and sprinted through the woods. I was surprised his feet didn't make a sound as he soared over grass, twigs, rocks and dirt. Even though I didn't think I had a crush on Trevor, and even after he told me he was in an arranged marriage situation, something felt empty inside of me. I had no idea why. For some reason, my heart felt broken and I couldn't explain the cause.
Rodney's POV
Quite some time had passed. After Jeremiah had said he would pay my bail, I was shocked and frozen for the duration of the time. So was my mom, I think. She just sat there, dry tears lingering on her face. I felt bad. I shouldn't have put her through all this. However I had no idea this would happen. When the blue frog came back in the room, he wore a light smile. My mom had gotten up and crossed the room. Her arm slung around his shoulder. They talked in whispers and I couldn't hear what they were saying. A few moments later, when they came back, Jeremiah had a larger smile on his face. Mom looked a little nervous but I brushed it off. Jeremiah sat down where Mom was sitting before, and began to explain some things to me. It was going through one ear and out the other. My mind was spinning. I wouldn't be able to remember any of this later. That's how much I was stuck in a blur. Jeremiah was talking about how he had paid my bail, and then he began to lecture me a little. I didn't really need the lecture, but I was expecting it. Jeremiah was explaining to me how lucky I was, and that I really shouldn't pull stunts like this in the future. I resented the frog calling my simple mistake a stunt. I didn't know that would happen. How was I supposed to know the generator would rob a bank and transfer the money directly to me? Of course, I knew that the money had to have come from somewhere.
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Thank you for the Reese memories (7/9/13-9/27/17)
Posted:
9/17/2012 3:57pm
But yeah, Bree is totally the doom of gloom right now. 
