Page 37 of All of My Life

I eyed him. “Do you like your job, Officer?”

“Mr. Carver, if you care about that young lady at all, then you will answer a few questions for us before you go up to see her,” the other officer said.

“If you guys don’t get the fuck out of my way, I’ll have both your fucking badges,” I threatened, meaning every fucking word.

“Did you know that Jett Morgan is being abused?” the first officer asked, doing the one thing that I didn’t think that they’d be able to do, and that was to stop me in my tracks.

“What?”

“I’m Officer Montgomery, and this is Officer Tisdale,” he said, finally introducing themselves. “We were the ones that got the call about Ms. Morgan’s attack.”

“Attack?”

No fucking way.

“Someone better tell me what the fuck is going on now,” I hissed, my fingers curling into my palms violently.

“Ms. Morgan was attacked after school today,” he said, making my heart stop in my throat. “However, when the doctor ran all the standard tests, x-rays included, she found old injuries that consisted with prolonged abuse.”

“The only reason that we’re telling you this is because Ms. Morgan gave us permission to tell you,” Officer Tisdale added. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be speaking with you.”

“What in the fuck are you talking about?” I spat. “What old injuries?”

The officers shared a look. “How long have you been…friends with Ms. Morgan,” Officer Tisdale asked, and I almost decked him.

“Are you suggesting that I’m the one hurting her?” I asked, my blood boiling. “Is that what you’re getting at?”

“We’re just wondering if you’ve…seen or suspected anything,” Officer Montgomery quickly rushed out. “We’re not accusing you of anything, Mr. Carver.”

“Because you think that I’d let someone continue to hurt her if I knew about it?” I snarled, close to losing my fucking mind.

“She won’t speak to us,” Officer Tisdale said. “Apart from telling us that she wanted to talk to you first before saying anything, she’s not talking.”

“She also refused the rape kit,” Officer Montgomery added. “Do you have any idea why she’d refuse to submit to a rape kit.”

“Why does she need one?” I snapped.

“It’s standard,” he replied quickly. “It’s standard when a female’s been attacked.”

I took in several deep breaths, my palms slick with blood. “We had sex yesterday,” I informed them. “She probably didn’t want anyone to know.”

“Why wouldn’t she want anyone to know?” Officer Montgomery asked.

“Our relationship is…complicated,” I answered, hating the truth.

The officers exchanged a look again. “How so?” Officer Tisdale asked.

Trying to come up with a convincing lie, I said, “We’ve been together for almost two years, but Jett didn’t want anyone knowing. She thinks that my last name is…would make things harder than they need to be if people knew.”

They both nodded, writing their thoughts in their little notebooks. “How long have you two been having sex?” Officer Tisdale asked, eyeing me.

“That’s none of your fucking business,” I snapped.

“But it is,” he countered. “The girl has been suffering prolonged physical abuse, and if you’re sleeping with her, how could you have not noticed the injuries?”

I ran my bloody hands through my hair as I began to pace. “No way,” I said. “I would have known if she was being abused. There’s…something else is going on.”

“It’s not always obvious-”

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