AN:/Hi, chapter 6 is finally up. It took a while but it didn't take as long as the last one...

Thank you so much for your support and to all who's been reading and reviewing, favoriting and following. I got one reviewer who wondered if I ever read you reviews and the answer is; YES I do:) They're literally what keeps me going. If it weren't for you people supporting me and encouraging me I would never have written any of this... So Thank You for believing in me:)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kickin' it.

Chapter 6

Being Questioned

"Jack, what is it?" Kim asked again as I watched the black Volvo leave the parking lot. Unfortunate I couldn't get a good view of the driver. It looked like a man but it was hard to tell. I couldn't see the registration plate either, as other cars were in the way.

"Jack?...Hellooo? Kim shook my arm and I turned to look at her. "What's wrong?" She wondered as soon as she got eye contact with me.

"Nothing…" I mumbled, deciding that there was really no point in telling her about the car that was already taking off down the street, disappearing in the distance. She would just think that I was imagining things again and it would only give her a reason to call me paranoid…

I forced a smile, trying to cover the worry I felt as I put my arm back around Kim's shoulders.

"Let's go," I said and started heading home with Kim closely by my side.

"Mum, we're home!" I yelled through the house as I closed the door behind us. Kim removed her jacket and threw it over the chair in the hallway like she always did, before walking further into the house. Kicking off my shoes and dumping my bag on the floor, I heard the familiar footsteps making it down the stairs as my mother came to greet us. I looked up, meeting her gaze. Her expression held a mixture of concern and relief when she saw me, making me feel a little worried. Something wasn't right…

"How was practice?" she asked putting on a smile, just like she has done hundreds of times before. This time however I could tell that she really wanted to know, since it was my first time training in the dojo after everything that had happened.

"Not too bad, actually." I said, walking into the kitchen.

"He did great." Kim said and took a seat by our kitchen table. I smiled a little at Kim's compliment, leaning back against the counter.

"I'm glad to hear that." Mum said truthfully. She must've been just as worried as I'd been for how my first practise would turn out.

An awkward silence erupted, which was odd considering how well we all knew each other. I figured mum wanted to ask more about the training. But it would be hard for her to do that without bringing up my physical condition, which in turn could potentially lead up to talking about the abuse I'd gone through. Something that I knew she tried to avoid, which I was grateful for.

Mum suddenly took a deep breath, breaking the silence.

"There's something that I need to tell you…" She said to me, her face serious. I looked at her, suddenly worried. "Chief Inspector Graham called today when you were at practice." Kim eyed her warily at the mention of Mr Graham. "He wants to meet you… I'm driving you down to the station after school tomorrow." The worry came washing over me instantly, causing my stomach to ache. I didn't want to meet him, knowing the one subject he would like to talk about… I was far from ready to speak with anyone about that. And just the thought about going to the police station made me feel sick. I wanted to shout out loud that I refused to go there. But as my inside was having a riot, my outside was completely still as I stood stiff as a board, not managing to do anything more than giving mum a nod.

"Okay…" I whispered.

I took my books and followed the crowd of students leaving the classroom. So far I hadn't gotten anything out from any of my classes today. I didn't have any memory of what the teachers had said or what the texts that I'd read were about. Frankly I wasn't sure if I'd read anything at all. The day had been a blur...

All I had been thinking about was my meeting with Chief Inspector Mr Graham later that afternoon. I had met him once before at the hospital, but I hadn't exactly been able to give him any useful information, being too groggy to think straight. I had figured that it would only be a matter of time before he would want to see me again, but that hadn't stopped me from hoping that I would never have to come face to face with him. It wasn't anything personal against Mr Graham himself. It was what a meeting centring on my time with Mark might awaken in me that I really worried about…

Walking down the hallway, my locker came into view. Kim was already there, talking to Milton. I approached them just as I always do, hearing parts of their conversation as I got closer.

"…I've got everything that we need for that, I think," Milton said. "But I can't find anything on this guy."

"Have you gone through all the relatives?" Kim wondered.

"Yeah, without any luck. He must be some…" Milton abruptly stopped talking when he saw me. He looked surprised and a little scared as if he'd said something that he hadn't meant for me to hear. Kim noticing Milton staring followed his gaze until she found me.

"Jack?!" she exclaimed, her voice slightly high-pitched. Quickly she covered up her surprise with a smile. "Good, you're here. I'm starving." She continued to ramble, making sure that I wouldn't get the chance to ask what was going on. "Hurry up Jack. I wanna get to the cafeteria before it gets too crowded." I raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief as I made it to my locker, unlocking it. Usually she never hurries at lunch time. And even if she's really hungry she barely eats the food Marge serves anyway…

"Hurry," she said again as I stuffed in my things in the locker before closing it. Kim and Milton were obviously hiding something, but strangely enough I didn't care about it that much. I had so much to worry about as it was already and whatever they were talking about didn't really interest me at the moment. Besides I trusted Kim. If she was keeping something from me she probably had her reasons. Maybe she was planning some kind of surprise for me…or maybe I was just imagining things again…

We made our way down to the cafeteria, meeting up with Jerry and Eddie on the way. And before we'd even gotten in line for the food I had already forgotten about Kim and Milton's strange conversation, once again being too occupied with worrying about the meeting with Mr Graham…

I glanced at the clock. In just one hour this would be over and done with and I would be able to walk out of the police station again.

"It's gonna be fine. Don't worry dear." Mum said when she saw the worried look on my face. I tried to give her a smile but it was hard with the sickening feeling I had in my stomach. Adjusting into a bit more comfortable position on the hard chair I was sitting on, I looked at the man sitting by the desk next to us. He was going through some files, paying no attention to us as we waited for Mr Graham to arrive.

I didn't like this place. It was too quiet and the atmosphere was tensed. And even though I knew I was innocent I felt almost like a criminal, just waiting for a cop to come up and accuse me for something that I hadn't done. I can't believe that people are actually being able to work in a place like this. All I wanted was to get out of there as soon as possible and it felt like forever before the officer we'd been waiting for finally sowed up.

"Good day, Mrs Brewer." He offered his hand. Mum quickly got to her feet and shook it.

"Good afternoon." They had barely exchanged glances before they both looked at me. Feeling their eyes upon me I fought back the urge of just sinking lower into the chair and slowly stood up. Mr Graham smiled.

"Jack Brewer, is it? How are you?" I hesitantly gave him a handshake.

"Fine…thanks" I said, trying to sound more confident than I was.

"Good," He said and turned to mum. "I'd like to speak with your son in private, if that's okay." By the choice of his words it sounded as if he was asking for permission to talk to me, but by the tone in his voice and the look in his eyes it seemed more as if he was demanding it…

"Of course," mum said, giving him a nervous smile. I don't think she didn't trust him. She was probably more worried about how I would handle the situation, knowing what the conversation would be about…

I was worried too and I wanted to say that I wasn't okay without my mum by my side, but I couldn't find the courage to say anything.

"Very well," Mr Graham seemed satisfied with that. "Fred, will you show Mrs Brewer here to the cafeteria, this may take a while." He said to the guy behind the desk, who quickly got up from his seat and escorted my mum down towards the entrance. I swallowed, trying my best to stay calm.

"Jack, follow me." Mr Graham said and started heading in the opposite direction from where mum had gone. I didn't like it at all as I walked behind him, keeping my eyes on the floor and trying to ignore the people who were staring at us as we made it through the building.

"I think there should be a room available here somewhere…" Mr Graham mumbled, as we got to a fairly long corridor. He pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the second door to the left. I watched him nervously as he peeked inside. "This will do." He said and turned to me with a smile, holding the door open for me to enter. Hesitantly I stepped inside the room, which was exactly as horrifying as I'd feared. It was one of those rooms that you see in movies with nothing but a table surrounded by a few chairs. There were no windows on the grey-bluish walls leaving the room very dark before Mr Graham turned the light on.

"Have a seat," he gestured towards one of the chairs as he closed the door behind us. It sounded as if the door locked itself when it closed, making me feel trapped.

I sat down slowly. The chair was even more uncomfortable than the one out in the office. Mr Graham walked to the other side of the table and took a seat, throwing a file with the text 'Missing boy, Jack Brewer' written on it on the table. It felt surreal to see it, let alone to grasp what it meant. I'd been missing… I'd been the victim of one of the most awful crimes a man can do…

Although I didn't dare to look at Mr Graham I kept my full attention to him, listening to every move he made.

"Could you please turn your cell phone off," He said, again the words coming out more as a demand than a question. I nodded, feeling even more insecure by the way he tried to isolate me from the world outside. Trying my best not to show anything though, I did as I was told. "I don't like to be interrupted…That's why I chose to have this conversation here and not in my office…" He stated before continuing. "So Jack, you probably know why you're here." I nodded, not being able to find my voice. "Good, then we can get started." He smiled. "Would you mind if I used one of these?" he took out a small tape recorder and placed it on the table. I looked at it, not knowing if I was okay with him recording the conversation. "This is not an ordinary interrogation. Don't worry. The only thing that I want you to do is to tell me in your own words about the entire time you were held captive, from beginning to end. And I'm just gonna sit here and listen." I shifted nervously in the chair, receiving a sympathetic look from the officer. "I'm gonna record your story so that I can listen to it again, in case I forget something. No one who is not authorised to work with this case will ever hear it. Is that okay?" I nodded hesitantly. There wasn't much of a choice for me anyway. I would never dare to argue with him.

He seemed satisfied and pushed the record button, giving me a nod.

I wasn't really prepared and it took me a moment to realize that he wanted me to say something. I swallowed.

"You…you want me to start?" I wondered, the uncertainty being clearly heard in my voice. Mr Graham nodded. I took a deep breath, going back in my mind, searching for the things I'd tried so hard to forget. With a slight tremble to my voice I began to speak. "It all started on Sunday the 24th of April…I was at Falafel Phil's with a couple of friends…"

I told him how I had gotten drugged and blacked-out, how I had woken up in the cell like room in Mark's basement and how I at first had thought that Mark had helped me and taken me to the basement of the mall for me to rest. I told him how I had quickly come to realize that Mark had no intentions of letting me go as he'd brutally beaten me down when I'd attempted to leave...

I was careful not to mention how scared I'd been and how lonely I'd felt, knowing that I would break down and not be able to finish if I did. Besides I don't think Mr Graham was really interested in what I had felt and what I was still feeling. He wanted facts and anyone with a little bit of brains would figure that I hadn't like the way Mark had treated me, so there was really no use in me telling him anyway.

Continuing with the story I finally came to the night when Kim had come to visit me…

"I heard voices from above," I said. "I believed that maybe they could help me so I started calling for help… I yelled as loud as I could…" Looking around the room I tried to get something to focus on, feeling uncomfortable under the pressure of Mr Graham's intense gaze. "They…they must've heard me, because someone made it down to the basement. At first I thought it was Mark, but it turned out to be Kim…" I stopped, seeing clearly the picture of her standing in the doorway to my cell before my eyes. I remembered the mixture of happiness and confusion I'd felt when I saw her, the comfort and love I'd felt when she'd held me, the relief I'd felt when she'd cut my restraints and the terrible fear and heartbreak I'd felt as Mark had come back and taken her away from me…

I felt a lump starting to grow in my throat and I immediately focused on a mark on the wall, where the colour had fallen off. It kind of looked like a bird if you used your imagination. Keeping my eyes on it I tried to suppress the tears that I felt was starting to fill my eyes.

"And…?" Mr Graham said, urging me to continue. I composed myself, refusing to break down in front of him.

"She tried to free me, but Mark came back before she could. He tried to shoot her but she got away." I spoke quickly, my voice flat and without any emotions as if I'd just told him what kind of weather it was outside. I left all the details out on purpose, knowing that I wouldn't be able to hold it together otherwise.

There was still a feeling of shame in all of this. I felt ashamed over not having been able to fight back, over having let Mark hurt me and Kim. I felt ashamed over the humiliation he'd put me through and over the countless tears that I'd shed.

I wasn't ready to tell anyone about it yet, still I wanted them to know so that Mark could get what he deserved… Giving Mr Graham a quick glance I saw him eagerly waiting for me to go on.

"Mark realized that Kim knew where I was and there would only be a matter of time before they would come for me…so he decided to move location. That night he drove me up to the cabin…" I stopped again. Not sure how much more I would need to tell him. When realizing that I probably didn't intend to say anything more, Mr Graham asked;

"Was that all?" I nodded.

"You know the rest already, don't you?" I said, knowing fully well that he'd talked to Kim and Austin right after I'd gotten rescued. He scratched his chin, thinking for a moment.

"You were in pretty bad shape, when they found you…" He said, raising an eyebrow. "They say that you were dehydrated…Didn't you get the chance to drink?" I shook my head slightly.

"Back in the basement I could drink from the tap above the sink…but in the cabin I was only offered something to drink a few times…" I looked down at my hands, praying that this would be over soon.

"Hm…You had numerous cuts and bruises." He said as I shifted in my seat. "Would you mind telling me how you got those?" I glanced at him. I actually did mind telling him. I didn't want him to know how weak I'd been. I didn't want to put words to the images that went through my head. It would only make them seem more real and I would have to face my memories again.

"He…beat me." I said hesitantly, hoping that he would let me off the hook with that. After a moment of silence, Mr Graham sighed and turned off the recorder.

"Jack," He said, his whole posture changing into a more dominant one, being through with just passively sitting there and listening. I sank further down into my chair. "I've already figured out that he beat you. Your friends even saw it… My question is though; were there any others or did Mark work alone?" I thought about Alan and Tess for a moment, unsure of how I should answer that question.

"He was the only one I saw…" I said, deciding that it would be too complicated to bring Mark's alter egos up and it would only make this conversation longer than it needed to be…

The Chief inspector looked at me as if he was trying to determine whether he should believe me or not, before reaching out and opening the file that lay between us on the table. I eyed him carefully.

A flash of sadness showed on his face as he found what he was looking for. It was very brief though, making me wonder if I'd just imagined it. He took out a photo and placed it in front of me.

"How well did you know her?" he said emotionless, although his eyes were staring intensely at me. Cringing slightly under his gaze I looked at the picture. It was the same that Mark –or Tess actually- had showed me back in the cabin. I was smiling at the camera with my arm resting around the shoulders of a shy looking girl with ginger-hair. In the picture we almost looked like friends even though I'd never met her before it was taken.

Leaning closer to it I could almost feel Alan's fingers entwined in my locks, having a steady grip of the hair on the back of my head, forcing me to look at it.

'That girl was everything to Mark. He loved her more than anything' a deep voice rang in my ears, making me shiver. 'If it wasn't for you Tess would still be alive…You KILLED HER!' I jumped back, hitting the back of my chair, having half expected Mr Graham to reach out and slam my face down against the hard surface of the table. The man in front of me gave me a curious look as I tried hard to get my pulse back to normal.

"How well did you know her?" He repeated, piercing his eyes into me.

"Barely at all…" I said quietly. Not daring to not answer him still not daring to speak any louder. "I know who she is by name, but that's it. I've only met her once."

"It's funny you'd say that, because she seemed to know you pretty well." He said, raising his eyebrows and waiting for my respond.

"She…she was a fan…I guess." I scolded myself for tripping over the words, knowing that it made me less believable. I spoke the truth and I had nothing to hide, still I couldn't help but feeling nervous, fearing that he might twist it all around in a way that would frame me for something I hadn't done… Although I don't think that was his intention, I found him very threatening in the situation.

"Fan…?"

"Yes…I do karate and…" My voice died out. Why was it so hard to speak?

"Well…" He started, straitened up in his seat and began to search through the file again. "It seems to me that she was a bit more that just a fan…" He pulled out two more pictures and handed them to me.

My eyes widened and my heartbeat speeded up. I opened my mouth, but was unable to say anything, leaving it agape as I tried to comprehend what I was seeing.

In the first picture I saw myself sitting on that bench behind the gym. I was resting my elbows on my knees as I was looking up at a tall ginger-haired girl. We were laughing, looking as if we were having fun in each other's company. I had absolutely no memory of this happening at all though. I'd never talked to Tess, let alone hung out with her.

The next picture was even worse. It was a close-up showing only our faces. I was in the centre of it and Tess was leaning in, pressing her lips against my cheek. A rather goofy smile played on my lips as I seemed to be enjoying her kiss…

Now that for sure had not happened. I knew for a fact that the only females who'd ever given me a kiss were mum, my aunt Stacy, grandma and Kim…

Kim…God I wished she was here…

Mr Graham cleared his throat, growing impatient.

"I…I…I don't… I don't know what this is." I stuttered, starting to get real worried as I tried to figure out how in the world pictures like this could ever exist.

"We found them in her room." He said, watching my reaction closely.

"They must be fake." I said, feeling the lump in my throat coming back as I had a hard time handling the pressure his intense stare was putting on me. "This never happened." I clarified, trying to sound as convincing as I could. Mr Graham didn't say anything. He just looked at me. Did he think that I was lying?

Somewhere in the back of my mind I suddenly remembered what our social studies teacher had said. 'Everyone who is being questioned by the police has the right to ask for a lawyer. And as soon as a lawyer is requested the police must cease all questioning immediately.' Having found a quick escape from this uncomfortable situation, I hesitantly placed the photos on the table.

"I… I want a lawyer," I said quietly, throwing Mr Graham a quick glance. He looked surprised at first, but soon his expression changed into an amused one.

"You say so, son?" he chuckled. "It's a shame this ain't a real interrogation." He shoved his chair back, creating a screeching noise as the furniture was slid across the floor, and stood up. I jerked startled, looking fearfully at him. "I'm off duty…" He walked around the table, stopping right next to me. I followed him with my gaze until he was hovering above me, too close for me to dare to look at him any longer. In the corners of my eyes I could feel the tears starting to form as I braced myself for whatever he might do.

"This is not a police matter." He said and bent down, placing his hands on his knees so that his face was level with mine, looking me straight in the eyes. "This is personal."

The meaning of his words was disturbing, still it was the way he'd said it that really scared me. Just wanting, needing to get away I attempted to stand up, but he noticed my intention and quickly grabbed my forearm, urging me to stay in the chair. He held up my arm vertically between us, his hand having pulled back the sleeve when he grabbed me, revealing the faint marks around my wrist. His eyes immediately examined the scars, his grip tightening slightly. I eyed him carefully.

"You know…" he said. "I really hope for your own sake that you aren't hiding anything." I swallowed, my throat aching a little. Was he threatening me?

I pulled on my arm a little, trying to get free from him. His grip was strong though and I did everything that I could to not freak out when I noticed that he had no intentions to let go.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice cracking as it had began to get harder to keep it together.

"The truth, Jack. The truth." He said, staring intensely at me.

"I've already told you. I don't know her," I said, on the verge of crying, trying again to get him to let go. "Please. I swear I don't know her."

Suddenly the door opened behind us. Mr Graham immediately let go of my forearm and stood up. I pulled my arm towards my body, hugging myself as I brought down the sleeve again so it would cover the scars. My vision had turned all blurry from the water filling my eyes and I kept my gaze to the floor.

"Oh, sorry," came a male voice I didn't recognize. "I thought this room was available…"

"It's okay." Mr Graham said. "We're done here anyway." He placed a hand on my shoulder making me tense. Giving me a light push he signalled for me to get up which I did. I threw a brief glance at the door just to see that there was more than one person standing outside, waiting to enter. Mr Graham took the file and the recorder from the table and walked towards the exit. I followed close by, eager to leave the unpleasant room. I barely saw the ones we passed in the hallway, not wanting to reveal my watery eyes, but I did notice they were four. Three of them police officers and the forth obviously some kind of criminal. His hands were cuffed and he was held by two of the policemen. He looked like the typical gangster to be honest. His head was shaved and there were tattoos covering larger parts of his muscular arms. There wasn't any fear in the blue eyes of his, only coldness. I shuddered; this place and the people around it were giving me so many bad vibes that I would've taken off running if it hadn't been for Mr Graham walking in front of me, blocking my way.

After a few turns, we finally reached the cafeteria where mum was waiting, sitting at a table with a cup of coffee in her hands. She smiled when she saw us. I tried to smile back but failed, although it was a huge relief to have her around again.

"Did everything go well?" She wondered as soon as we'd made it over to her.

"Oh yes, it did." Mr Graham said. "We're about done here. I'll call you if there are anything more that we need…" There was a moment of silence and I could feel them both looking at me. I avoided their gazes though, focusing on composing myself. "So I should probably get going before my wife gets all worried…"Mr Graham chuckled, breaking the silence. "Good day Mrs Brewer." He nodded towards mum.

"Good day" She answered and got up from her chair. The man turned and moved over to me. Placing his right hand on my right shoulder he leaned closer to my ear.

"I'll be keeping an eye on you," he whispered, giving my shoulder a squeeze. "Good day Jack." He said in his normal voice again and left.

I stood frozen on the spot, fighting back the tears. Why was he acting as if I were the guilty one?

"Jack?" Mum came up to me. "Are you okay?" I didn't answer her question, not wanting to admit that I wasn't, but still not wanting to lie to her.

"I need to use the bathroom," I said quietly, my voice stiff. She observed me for a moment, probably seeing right through me.

"Okay," She said softly, "it's over there…" She pointed in the direction. "I'll be waiting right here." Without looking up at her I started to walk towards the bathroom that was located next to the cafeteria. The lump in my throat was huge now and I quickened up my pace. I swiftly slipped through the door to the bathroom. Pulling it closed I turned the lock. As soon as it clicked I brought my hands up, covering my face. The tears came instantly. The entire meeting with the chief inspector had been horrible. I'd thought that he wanted me witnessing against Mark, but it turned out that he obviously held me responsible for something. My shoulders shook as silent sobs escaped my lips.

I was scared. Scared for what might happen. What did he want from me? Why didn't he believe me? Couldn't he tell that the photos were fake? He's a cop. He's supposed to notice things like that. And even if the photos were real -which they definitely were not- what bad could it be. I mean it's hardly a crime to be friends with a girl my age. I hadn't done anything wrong.

'You killed her…' the familiar voice came. I shook my head.

"No," I whispered, new tears trailing down my cheeks.

'Tess is gone, and it's all your fault.'

"No"

'She's dead because of you.'

"No, I didn't do anything." I whimpered. "Please, stop." I covered my ears, pressing my hands hard against them, but it still wouldn't shut out Alan's deep voice screaming out the accusation against me.

'You KILLED HER!'

I shut my eyes hard, a new wave of sobs wrecked my body almost causing my legs to give in beneath me. I tried to be as silent as I could though. The last thing that I wanted was to draw attention to me.

I wiped away the tears that kept coming, my hands getting all wet and sticky. I'd endured so much since all of this started and I didn't know if I could handle much more. I sniffed. What was I supposed to do now when even the police had turned against me?

That's it for now guys. Hope you liked it...

Thanks for reading and as usual there'll be a sneak peek for those of you who review:)

/MJ