Discovering April (11 page)

“Are you stupid, Mr. Officer?”

Mr. Driver flat out erupts into a fit of laughter in his partner’s face. Twisting my head so I can take them all in, the driver is obviously younger than his passenger partner. He has a full head of hair, his blue eyes gleaming with laughter, and his uniform looks freshly pressed. His partner, on the other hand, looks worn down, definitely borderline retirement age. There are donut remnants on his collar and, by the look of things, cold cases have taken all his hair.

“Don’t mind him; he’s just mad he had to work tonight,” Officer Hot Stuff tells me.

“Where’s the fat ass from the bar?” I ask as we turn into the station. My head lolls uncontrollably against the window.

“That ‘fat ass’ said he wanted to press charges against you!” Baldy informs me.

“PFHHH, are you kidding? I’m like half his size and my little punch knocked him on the floor? Uh, no, I think you got yourself an actor, buddy!”

He smirks. “That may be so, but you did lay your hands on him.”

“He laid his hands on me first!” I scream as they exit the vehicle. I vaguely hear footsteps before my door opens. I don’t realize my head is still against the window until I topple out of the car, face-first.

“Hmm, surprising.”

I look up from my awkward spot on the ground to lock eyes with Officer No-Hair before he disappears, leaving me with the cute driver. Hottie loops his arms under mine and lifts me right side up again. I take a deep breath, trying to get my stomach right before he guides me to the door. Guide is the wrong word; he’s pretty much carrying me. He places me on a bench in the high-ceilinged station house and props me up. My head is on the back of the wall and my hands fall through the bench space more comfortably. Satisfied with my position, he leaves me alone.

Drunkenly, I watch as people come and go in a blur all around me. I just want to fall asleep but the racket around me makes that impossible. Finally, I see Officer Hot Pants coming through the doors.

“Good news and bad news!” he hollers across the room.

“Lay it on me.”

“Well, Shamu decided not to press charges after I told him he’d have to sit in a court in front of a judge and explain to them that a little blonde girl punched him on his ass.”

I smirk at the memory. “What’s the bad news?” I blink a few times, trying to get a stable look at this guy.

“We can’t let you leave without a ride. You have to call someone to pick you up.”

“But… I don’t have anyone,” I whisper as I feel the tears building up.

“Call someone for a ride; otherwise you have to sober up here in a cell. It’s procedure.” He comes to sit on the bench beside me.

“Okay,” I mutter, reaching my hand out. “Gimme your phone.”

“Uh, no you have to use the station phone.”

“What’s the difference? They pay both bills, Give. Me. Your. Phone. Officer!” I enunciate every syllable of the last sentence.

He smirks before un-cuffing me. Pulling his phone out, he hands it to me. I punch the buttons to the house number my drunken mind somehow remembers from my childhood.
I hope it’s still the same
. I pray as it begins to ring.

“Fingers crossed,” I mutter with the phone against my ear.

He answers on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Don’t hang up!” I scream, maybe a little too loud. I place my hand to cover my mouth over the phone. “I know you hate me right now, but can you pick me up?” I hiccup.

“Where are you?” His tone is serious.

“The police station.”

I hear the dial tone as he hangs up on me.
Was that a yes?

I turn to the officer, handing him back his phone.

“Someone’s coming?” he asks.

My face scrunches. “I don’t know.”

He laughs at my nonchalance.

“So, Mr. Officer, what is your name?”

“Officer Smith,” he replies, leaning over to place his phone back in his pants pocket.

“I asked your name, not your rank, sir.”

“John. John Smith.” He smiles at me, and it takes me a few extra seconds to process this before I break into hysterical giggles.

“Well, slap my ass and call me Pocahontas! Your parents were real original, weren’t they?” I holler and it echoes throughout the entire precinct.

A few officers look up curiously from their desks to watch our interaction, but Officer Smith never takes his eyes from mine.

“Are you usually this funny or are you just inebriated?”

“Who says I’m inebriated!” I gasp dramatically.

“Hmm, maybe the margarita on your breath, or the fact that your eyeballs can’t stay in one place for two seconds. And then there’s the fact that you haven’t been able to keep your head up on your own since we picked you up.”

“Well, Sherlock…” I pause, processing my next words. “You caught me!” I shake my index finger in his face. “What’s next? The jigsaw killer? The war on terrorism?”

John Smith laughs at me. “You really are something, April Landau. You know that?”

I pause for a second and things begin to clear up slightly. I notice his eyes looking into mine and I slowly blink back at him.

Suddenly, I jump as the doors burst open. Jared scans the floor, looking for me. When his eyes lock on me sitting next to the officer, he tries to calmly walk over, but I can see the panic behind his eyes, even with my blurry vision.

“Officer.” He nods in acknowledgement. “Is she in trouble?” I see his eyes scan the space between us on the bench.

“Nah, she’s free to go. Just need you to sign her out.” They both leave me on the bench alone as they head over to a desk.

I’m just starting to close my eyes when they both reappear. “Your girlfriend here is really something, Mr. Hoffman. Take care of her.”

My eyes fly open at those words. Jared’s mouth is open but no response comes.

“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend. We just have donuts!” I mutter, climbing up from my seat. Jared bites his lip to keep back the laughter.

“Donuts? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Officer Smith has laughter behind his blue eyes.

“It’s been a pleasure, John Smith. Until next time!” I drunkenly curtsy to him before Jared pulls my arm.

Officer Smith’s eyes never leave mine as we exit the station and step outside. We take three steps before Jared releases my arm and swings around to face me head on.

“What is going on with you, April?” he stops right in front of me, putting his hands on my shoulders to steady me. I shrug, trying to shake out of his grasp. “You get trashed and punched a full grown man. What if he—”

“Okay, first of all that jerk tried to
touch
me! Second of all, I’m a college student. I’m supposed to be drunk!” I scream, throwing my hands up before locking eyes with Jared.

A part of me can’t believe he came. I thought he hated me. Maybe a part of him likes me, too. Without warning I lean forward and place my lips to his. His hands on my shoulders tighten before he jerks me back. I glare back at him; did he just turn me down? What the hell! Rage burns inside me and I’m debating punching him too, when suddenly I begin to feel my whole face turn green. I tumble away just in time to hide my face before all my drinks from earlier come back up into the bushes outside the station steps. When I feel like there is nothing left inside me, I collapse to my knees and feel Jared’s arms wrap around me. He picks me up and I hear a door slam shut.

MY HEAD IS STILL pounding when my eyes flutter open the next day. My brain is throbbing inside my skull and I punch the pillow underneath me, scaring Jinx out of his slumber. He meows in protest before hopping off the bed. Looking around, I’m in my bed. How did I get here? I groan in pain as I prop my pillows up and lean my head back against them. It’s then that I feel the eyes on me. Tilting my head straight again, I glance out my window. My eyes lock with those big brown eyes of Jared’s across the way. He looks down to his phone and back up again. My phone chimes with an incoming text.

“UGHHH!” I moan, blindly reaching for it. It slips a few times before I grasp it between my fingers and look down to read.

How are you feeling?

Closing one eye, I text back,
Like someone ran over me with a truck, then backed up and ran me over again.

Lowering my phone, I watch as he smiles from my text and disappears from view. I’m trying to piece last night back together; it’s like a fragmented mirror that has shattered all over the corners of my mind. I remember laughing with Ro about her sexual conquests and then I remember red and blue lights and… Jared. Starting to feel hot, I throw the covers off of me and lay like a starfish, trying to get my mind to focus. Glancing down, I notice I’m wearing my pajamas. Before I can process any further, the door to my room creaks open. Jared walks in with a cup of water and a closed fist.

“How did you get in?!” I yelp, trying to sit up in bed, and pulling the covers back over my braless tank top.

“I left the back door open when I left last night,” he informs me as he opens his fist to show me he brought a hand full of Advil.

“You brought me home last night?” I rub my head before reaching for the pills and water.

“Yup, after you called me to pick you up from the police station.”

“I WAS WHERE?!” I scream as water comes spraying out of my mouth.

“Police station. Apparently, you popped a guy in the face.” He smirks.

I squint my eyes, vaguely remembering the heavyset guy that tried grabbing my ass in front of the bar.

“Whoa!” I have to lean my head back against my pillows when the information begins to become too much for me. “If you took me home, how did I get into pajamas?!”

The smile that crosses Jared’s face is a mixture of a blush and a sly smirk that makes my insides twist with anticipation and excitement. “Jared…”

“That… you did on your own. I had nothing to do with that!” He holds his hands up in surrender.

“What? I just stripped in front of you!”

“Well, once you got your shirt off, there was really no stopping you…” he teases and my eyes widen in embarrassment.

“Oh my God!” I slump down, pulling the covers back up to my face. “Did we… ya know…” I mutter, completely mortified now.

“Uh, that would be a no.”

“Oh, thank God!” I sigh.

“Thanks a lot!” He comes to his feet now, turning to look out the window.

“Not like that, it’s just … I don’t like to do things I’m not conscious for.”

“Yea, completely plastered girls that get arrested and throw up in bushes are really sexy!” His voice drips with sarcasm.

“I threw up?!”
This just gets better and better
.

“Twice.”

“Twice?” I’m mortified, staring at his amused face.

“Well, after the first time I thought maybe you needed something to eat.”

“Oh no…”

“Yeah… I’ve never seen someone eat a Big Mac that fast before…” He stares at the wall as if remembering my weak moment.

“Oh my God!” I groan, throwing the covers over my entire body. I curl up in a fetal position, planning to never come out again. The room grows silent. It’s starting to get hard to breathe under the sheets when I feel the mattress by my feet cave slightly.

“Come on, it’s not that bad. We all have our moments.” He pats my feet through the sheets.

“Just when I think I’ve reached rock bottom, things just seem to drop out from under me and I’m at an all new low!” I roll over, trying to pull the covers with me, but Jared’s weight prevents it. My head comes peeking out as I roll over, facing away from him.

“April, I think I just determined your major.”

“What?” I curiously twist to look at him again.

“Drama. You’re such an actress. Now, put your big girl panties on and get up!”

I stare at him for a second; did he just say what I think he said? He waits about two seconds before getting up and opening a drawer to my dresser. “Are they in here? Nope!” He closes it and opens another.

“STOP!” I scream, stumbling out of bed, horrified.

“How ‘bout this one?”

“Okay! Okay! I’m up!” I slam the drawer closed just in time to save myself further embarrassment when Jared eyes my plain old undergarments. I sigh when the pounding in my head launches my stomach into action and I collapse onto the corner of the bed.

“You okay?”

“I refuse to puke again!” I respond, taking another deep breath. “Jared…”

“Yea…”

“I could use some donuts.”

“Okay.” He pauses for a few seconds, looking down at his feet before adding, “I’ll be outside then.”

And he leaves me in my room, alone.