Page 6 of The Sweetest Surrender

“Hey!” Phoebe shouted.

“Get your hands off of her!” Selena and Eden chimed as they reached to protest the officer’s arrest.

The officer took his handcuffs out and Selena grabbed one of Phoebe’s arms to pull her away from the officer while Eden did the same on the other side. They struggled and tussled before Selena instinctively sent a hand pushing into the middle of the officer’s chest as to say back off.

The second officer grabbed Selena and pulled her hands behind her back.

“Hey!” Selena shouted. “What are you doing!”

“You’re under arrest for assault on a police officer.”

“What!?” They all shrieked.

Just then the double doors opened, and Phoebe and Eden’s third doppelganger sailed through the door with Claudia, Octavia, Santana, Carla, and the rest of their crew, which consisted of friends and extended family members. There was still no sign of Jonas or any of the men.

“What’s going on here!?” Jasmine shouted, coming to the side of her sisters.

“Ma’am,” an officer said, getting frustrated. “Your sisters and friend are under arrest.” The first officer glanced at his partner. “We may need to call for backup.”

“Whoa, nobody’s calling backup,” Claudia said right behind Jasmine. “What happened?”

“They’re arresting Phoebe because the owner of the bridal shop said she stole this freakin’ dress. Can you believe it!?” Eden shouted, continuing to wiggle and tussle with the officer retaining her.

The women’s eyes all widened in shock.

“That’s ridiculous!” Claudia shouted.

“We know, that’s what we’re trying to tell them, but they won’t listen!” Selena hissed.

“Wait,” Jasmine said, “surely we can work this out. I can call the owner right now and pay for the dress over the phone.”

“You’re free to do so,” the officer said, “but we still have to take her in.”

The group all gasped.

“Why?” Jasmine and Claudia chorused.

“Because we were called. Somebody’s got to go.”

Frustration seeped into their bones.

“What about Selena and Eden, why are you detaining them?”

“For assault,” Selena said, rolling her eyes. “I barely even touched him.”

The officers didn’t say another word; instead, they moved with purpose through the group of women. The first officer had one grip on Selena’s arm and another grip on Eden’s arm. The women trailed the officer as all three of the girls were handcuffed and taken outside to the police cruiser.

Jasmine and Claudia whipped out their phones, calling their own set of backup while the rest of the women looked on in shocked horror.

“All right!” Selena shouted as one officer attempted to force her head down into the back seat.

“You don’t have to do all that,” Jasmine quipped. So many times, she’d tried to tell her sisters that the system was set up to destroy them. But they always suggested she was over exaggerating. Jasmine was mad as hell now. The audacity of their claims was just downright ludicrous, and she’d have Al Sharpton on the phone in no time.

Side by side, Phoebe, Selena, and Eden sat in the back seat, shoulder to shoulder, cuffed and buckled down. They all peered at the rest of their bridal party as the cruiser drove away to the downtown precinct.

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