Chapter Thirty Six

We all made our way into the library so we could get more comfortable while Pretty Boy and Jake accounted for their whereabouts during the past several hours. I almost laughed when Esme still held onto Pretty Boy's ear while she practically dragged him along. Jake wasn't fairing much better with his dad. His toes were constantly getting run over by Billy's wheelchair as he was pulled by a strong hand latched onto his wrist. Jake had to slouch way down just to be able to walk and keep up with his dad's quick wheeling. It was quite comical to see the two large males being handled in such a way.

Once a private room was made available for us, Dad started his interrogation. Edward and Jacob may not have been suspects, but he was treating them as if they were. He was relentless with his questioning and continued until he knew the details of every second they were gone. I was sitting there speechless as they rehashed the days' events. I couldn't believe they had been such idiots. Normally, they seemed like rather smarts guys.

According to their account, they spotted James as they were following me into the library. Since they figured I was safe inside the public building, they both took off after him. Jake accused Edward of showboating because he had gone after James first and told Edward to stay with me. Pretty Boy stated there was no way he was going to trust Jake to catch James, so he had ignored Jake's command. There was also some indication that Pretty Boy had issues taking orders from Jake in the first place. I suggested that if they ever decided to do something like that again, they should play Rock-paper-scissors to see who would stay and who would go. At least they both stopped scowling at each other long enough to give me incredulous looks. I thought it made as much sense as what they had done. Whatever.

After that part of the story, things got a bit confusing. Each boy had a slightly different view of events, and it was impossible to figure out exactly what happened because of that. Neither was willing to change even one aspect of his account, so we had to put the pieces together as best we could. I was pretty sure they both wanted the glory of catching the guy who was wreaking havoc on my life, and they definitely both took off chasing someone they very much believed to be James. Once they caught up to him; or didn't, depending on whose story was the most truthful, they proceeded to threaten him and push him around. When cornered by them, James lashed out, hence their disheveled appearance when they returned. Of course, that also could have happened, or been made worse by, the fight the two of them got into when they realized James had gotten away from them.

This was where the story got really muddled. Jake insisted he had a handle on James and was leading him back toward the parking lot when Pretty Boy ruined everything. Edward was adamant that he was the one who gained control of James, and it was Jake who was to blame for James pulling free from his grip. Either way, James escaped and they ended up fighting over who was at fault.

When Dad was satisfied there was no more information to gather from the two, he dismissed them and told them they were lucky James hadn't been able to get a hold of me during their escapades. His sharp words made them both take on looks of complete guilt, thus making my dad smile in gratification. His work being done, Dad turned to me and told me to get in his cruiser. There was no way he was letting me ride back with anyone other than himself.

The rest of that day and night was spent at home under constant watch. Dad didn't let me out of his sight except to use the bathroom. He even peeked in on me three times during the night, at least that I heard. I wondered if he had gotten any sleep at all. Over breakfast the next morning, he made me promise not to take any unnecessary risks and not to lose sight of my guards again. Reluctantly, he let me go when Pretty Boy showed up to take me to school that Monday. A cruiser was parked in front of the school when we arrived, and was there again, or still, when we left that afternoon. Dad was not taking any more chances.

I later learned that James' dad had been arrested due to failure to comply with the terms of James' release or something along those lines. All that legal jargon went right over my head, but I figured that was basically the reason behind his being locked up in the city jail. Apparently, James' mom had left town a few days after James attacked me and hadn't been back since. Dad said he talked to her a couple of times, but she really wanted to stay out of things as much as possible. She claimed she was staying with a sister in California and seeking therapy to help her deal with the guilt she felt regarding her son's behavior. I almost felt bad for her and was glad she wasn't around to see her husband taken away in handcuffs. I couldn't imagine that would help her feel any better about the situation.

That night Pretty Boy climbed in my window again. This time, I let him stay and hold me while I slept soundly for the first time since the incident.

Disclaimer: Mrs. Meyer is the who owns the Twilight gang. I'm just trying to get initiated...

A/N: Hi everyone :-) Thanks so much for the continued support you give this story by reading and reviewing. Your words spur me on and make me trudge through the silent treatments the characters sometimes try to give me. They listen to your demands for them to talk to me more than they listen to me! Humph.

Writtenbyabdex shined her light on this one too. She is truly a blessing to me!

Thank you,

~SP