Chapter 16: Chapter 16 - "Describe the scene, please"
After a few short minutes that seemed like hours, Enid returned to Charlie.
"You must be Ethan, nice to meet you!". Charlie reaches out to Ethan. "And you're Jessica, right?" He completed.
"Yes sir…". Jessica squinted her eyelashes trying to read his name tag. "Swan... Oh, are you Bella's father?" She completed.
"I am, do you know her?". Charlie asked.
"We do know, we studied her!". Ethan replied, getting to his feet.
"OK I understand. She doesn't tell me much about her school friends. You should know… Bella is kind of quiet." He said, with a short smile.
"So it is…". Jessica replied, and the mood got a little weird.
"Well, let's go to the point. You came here to report what happened yesterday. Ethan, do you want to go first?" Charlie asked, pointing to the room.
"I thought we were going together…". He said, confused.
"I need you to go separately so that one does not interfere with the other's testimony. You all know... In case anyone lies.". He said seriously.
"To lie? But they who were attacked? They didn't do anything wrong!" Enid replied, a little stressed about Charlie accusing her son.
"I know, Enid. They are just procedures that we need to follow, they are not my rules. Everything will be fine". Charlie responded calmly, trying to calm Enid.
Ethan stood up and raised a hand towards Jessica, quickly saying goodbye and following Charlie into the living room.
The two entered and in the room, there was only a silver table in the middle of the room, with a chair in front of the other.
"I know it sounds like an ominous movie scene, but don't worry, I just want to hear what happened that night, okay?" Charlie said, sitting down with some papers and a clipboard. "If you can describe the men of that day as well, it will help me a lot". He completed.
"So, I had gone to that cafeteria with my mother. I forgot his name…". Ethan said, thinking.
"The Sully's Burgers?". Charlie said, raising his eyebrow and pointing his pen at Ethan.
"YES! Exactly this one". Ethan said aloud, pleased to discover the name of the place.
"I mentioned this place to your mother. I love going there. I told her to go one day". Charlie said.
Ethan stared at him, confused by what he was saying.
"What? No, no. I told her to go with you, I didn't ask her out." Charlie responded indignantly.
Ethan continued to stare at him for a few more seconds and continued.
"It was about 8pm. We were eating and all of a sudden, I saw these guys tormenting Jessica across the street. So I ran out to help."
"Did you know it was her?" Charlie asked.
"No, no! I thought it was a random girl, but it just so happened to be her." Ethan answered.
"So you wanted to play hero…" Charlie said
"Huh?". Ethan was confused.
"Wasn't it easier waiting for your mother to come back from the bathroom? Since she's a cop. You wouldn't get caught." Charlie replied, giving him a little scolding.
"I couldn't wait. They were taking her away. I was afraid they would do something worse." Ethan responded firmly.
"Can you describe to me what they were like?". Charlie was taking notes on a clipboard.
"They were tall and white, about 6' 0, and the other was 6' 1". They were fat too, but they didn't look strong. I can't exactly remember the hair color, but I think it was brown. They were in dark blue jeans, I think, it was very dark at the time." Ethan said.
"Okay, go on, describing what you remember". Charlie replied, asking him to continue.
"The tallest one had a light gray sweatshirt, or was it white… With a black leather jacket. And the other one was wearing a dark purple sweatshirt and a black hat." Ethan replied, looking up, trying to remember more details.
"Right, and when you approached Jessica. What were they doing?". Charlie asked, writing down the traits Ethan had mentioned on the clipboard.
Ethan started to remember what was happening at the time, and he felt his body get hot again, as if the feeling of anger was returning.
"I saw them touching her, trying to get her clothes off. They kept pushing and then pulling hard. She was terrified." Ethan replied, head down, trying to distract himself from the bad feeling.
"And what happened when you arrived?". Charlie asked.
"I pulled her by the arm and the taller one punched my face." Ethan said, pointing to the bandage on his eyebrow. "I remember one of them pushing me to the ground and they both started kicking me. So Jessica tried to protect me." Ethan completed.
"Did they hurt her?" Charlie asked.
"I don't think so, I can't remember very well what happened after I fell." Ethan said. "I just remember them trying to grab Jessica again, so I got up and went at them…. And they ran away." Ethan completed.
"Did they run away?". Charlie asked, looking confused.
"Yes, I think it was because they saw my mother running after us, badge in hand." Ethan answered.
- That's the only logical thing to explain to him what happened. It makes no sense for him not to believe that. - Ethan thought.
"Right. I think that's all… Do you want to add something?". Charlie asked, already rising from his chair.
"I do not think so. That's all that happened." Ethan replied, also getting to his feet.
"See, it wasn't a big deal. Now I just need to call Jessica…". He said, opening the door.
Jessica and Enid were sitting talking. Jessica looked a little shaken as she spoke to Ethan's mother.
"Jessica!". Charlie yelled, calling for the girl.
"Charlie, I think I can talk to her instead of you, right?". Enid asked.
Charlie looked at her confused.
"You know, we are women. Trust me, it's better." Enid said quietly.
Charlie just nodded and let the two of them into the room.
Ethan then sat down on the chairs at the front of the room to wait for Jessica.
A few minutes later, he receives a message:
"Hey, everything alright for today?". Alice sent.
"Hi Alice. Sure, let's go! But I don't know any place for us to go. Do you have any idea?". He sent it back to her.
"It's ok :3 I have a great place for us to go!". She answered.
"OK! What time do I meet you? And the address too, lol". Ethan sent.
"Meet me at the movies at 7pm! I'll send you the address in a bit." Alice sent.
Ethan gripped the phone tightly, happy with the message. He spent a few minutes imagining what would happen in that meeting that he even forgot where he was.
After a while traveling in his thoughts, Ethan was interrupted by the noise of the doorknob being opened. He looked to the side and saw Enid walking out of the room with Jessica close behind, her face red and puffy. Apparently he'd been crying while giving the statement to Enid.
"Well, I think we're done here. Ethan, take Jessica home and then go straight home, okay?" Enid asked for her son.
Ethan got up quickly and nodded.
"But do you already have any idea who they are?". Ethan asked, before leaving.
"We have a few hunches, but either way, we'll let you know if we find out, so don't worry. Just be careful. The city is not as safe as it used to be." Charlie said, frustrated.
Ethan put his arm gently around Jessica's back and led her out of the police station with him.
They began to walk in silence to her house, which was close to the police station.
On the way, Ethan saw a small square with a barely functioning fountain.
"What a cute place". He said, bringing up the subject with Jessica.
"I also think. Too bad it's mostly abandoned. I used to play there a lot when I was a kid." She said, with a small smile on her face.
"Why don't we go there for a bit?". Ethan said, stopping in front of the square.
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