Page 83 of Shattered Silence Duet

I don’t know how long we sit there while I cry, but I hear the sound of feet running in our direction. I tense against Gideon, my heart racing all over again.

“Where are you guys?” Max calls out and I let out the breath I was holding in relief.

“Back corner!” Gideon yells over my head. The feet pound again, getting louder as they run toward us.

“Oh my God, is she okay? Sweetheart, are you alright?” Max asks, dropping to his knees beside us, trying to look into my eyes. My sobs come out harder as I bury my face against Gideon again. I feel so broken right now and hate him seeing me like this.

“Tucker called us and said we’d better be the ones to escort her to the office,” Jasper adds when his hand touches my shoulder, offering my support and letting me know he’s here for me too.

“Good idea, it probably wouldn’t be good for me to be seen holding her like this. Love...” Gideon’s face presses to my head.Did he just kiss my hair?

“I want you to go with the twins. I will be walking with you, but I can’t be seen holding you like this right now. Do you understand?” I do. In everyone’s eyes, I’m his seventeen-year-old student. Yet if he’s not supposed to touch me, why is he doing it now? He probably pities me.

I lift my head and nod, finally making eye contact with him. “Mina, it’s going to be okay, we’re going to take care of you,alright?” he says, holding my face in his hands. I do the only thing I can think of to show my thanks and wrap my arms around his neck, giving him a hug. He hugs me back, and it hurts my back, but right now I don’t care. It still feels nice through the pain.

I let go and turn to Jasper, who is closest. He takes my hands and helps me stand. Max pulls the hoodie off his back and pulls it straight over my head. It’s huge on me and instantly makes me feel safer—like another layer of protection from everything. I give him a small smile of thanks.

“I really want to pick you up and carry you there. But you might want to walk?” I know what he means. I want to be wrapped in their arms, but I don’t want the other students to see me so weak being carried through the halls. I use the hoodie sleeve to wipe my face clean and offer both twins my hands to hold. They give me tiny smiles, the worry evident on their faces. As we pass my bag, Max grabs it and we head to the office.

I keep my face down the whole way there, but I have the impression everyone is staring at us. It’s lunch period, so there aren’t too many students in the hall, but I can still hear a lot of whispering as we pass.

I’m taken to the main office and the twins and I sit in Gideon’s office while Gideon and Tucker speak with the principal. We sit silently until Gideon comes in, followed by a female police officer. My hand grips the boys even harder. I’m terrified of the police. What if they think it’s my fault? My mother has told me so many bad stories about them. I’m not sure if they’re true, but they left a lasting impression.

“Hi Mina. I’m Officer Graydon. Is it okay if I speak to you alone for a few minutes about what happened?” Alone?! No way. I shake my head and keep my death grip on the twins’ hands.

Officer Graydon looks a little surprised at my reaction. “No, do you want your friends to stay with you?” I nod my head emphatically.

“Okay, that’s alright. Mr. Hargrove explained that you can’t speak. Is that correct?” I nod.

“Can you write?” I nod again. She pulls out a pad of paper and a pencil and places them on the desk in front of me. “Alright, can you explain to me, in your own words, what happened in the library today?”

I stare at the paper as the memory of Brad pressing me against the bookshelves flashes in my mind.I can’t do this.

Chapter 52

Max

“Alright, can you explain to me, in your own words, what happened in the library today?” Mina stares at the pad of paper for a few seconds before bursting into tears.

Jasper immediately pulls her up so he can sit in the chair and hold her in his lap. She clings to him, and my heart breaks. We don’t know exactly what Brad did. All we know is what Tucker told us—that Brad attacked her.

She doesn’t seem injured, so I don’t imagine it was that sort of attack. Her clothes all seem in place too, so hopefully, she’s just in shock and he didn’t actually do anything, not that it makes this situation any easier.

Jasper keeps soothing her while Officer Graydon watches patiently with a sad look on her face. “Shh, shh, it’s okay, Angel, it’s okay. I’ve got you now.” Her breathing hitches, and I can tell she’s trying to control her sobs.

“Sweetheart, just take your time. It’s best you do this now; otherwise, you’ll have to do it later or tomorrow. I’m sure you just want to put this behind you,” I say, and she nods into Jasper’s chest.

“It’s okay, Mina. Just take a few minutes, and when you’re ready, you can start writing. Take all the time you need,” the officertells her kindly. Eventually, Mina calms down enough to compose herself. She turns to the paper, not looking like she has any intention of leaving Jasper’s lap. He keeps his arms wrapped around her, offering her his silent protection, which she clearly needs right now. It doesn’t take her long to write something down, and she passes the notebook to the officer.

Officer Graydon reads it quickly, then looks at Mina sadly. “I’m sorry, Mina, but I’m going to need much more detail than that. We’ll arrest him for what he’s done, but we need more specifics about what happened.” She hands the pad back to Mina, who nods. It takes Mina about ten minutes to write it all down. She constantly has to stop and take a few deep breaths before continuing. It’s clear this is hard for her and I’m so proud of how well she’s handling it.

When she’s finally finishes and goes to hand it over, I gently grab her wrist, getting her attention for a moment.

“Wait—Can… Can we read that first?” She shakes her head, looking worried.

“I don’t want to make you do it if you aren’t comfortable with us knowing, but, Sweetheart… We need to know what happened to help you heal, and I don’t want to make you write it out again.” She thinks for a minute, then passes it to me.

“I’m going to take a photo,” I tell her, pulling out my phone and meeting her eyes. “The others will want to know, too.” I hope she understands I’m referring to my brothers. She nods once, and I take a photo and pass the notebook to the officer. I read it at the same time she does.