Page 6 of Belong With Me

“Are we getting pulled over?” I ask as Jason signals and slows to the gravel shoulder of the road. “You weren’t speeding!”

The irony isn’t lost on me that the first time I got in his car, he very muchwasspeeding as police cars chased after him with sirens blaring while he refused to pull over, and now he’s driving like a law-abiding citizen and is getting pulled over anyway.

“The car was waiting for us as soon as I pulled out of the school lot. Passed a bunch of other cars and cut people off to get behind me and make that last turn before turning the sirens on.”

Jason shifts into Park and takes his license from his wallet before checking the mirror again and stiffening.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“What?” I ask for what seems like the millionth time today, finally turning around to see what’s got Jason’s jaw grinding. A police car is parked directly behind us on the shoulder of the road, lights flashing but sirens off, and there’s a uniformed officer walking toward us, but the car is too low and he’s too close for me to see above his shoulders. The occasional car drives past as we wait, but for the most part we’re on a low-traffic street.

The officer stops beside Jason’s window and knocks on it, waiting while Jason rolls it down all the way. The officer ducks down to survey the inside of the car, and when I meet his bloodshot eyes, I suck in a breath to stop from cursing.

Officer Liu. My neighbor, Lily’s dad, and the man who hates my mom, knows about my past with Stan Roven, and isconvincedI’m somehow involved with his daughter’s disappearance, is standing there with a righteous smirk after pulling us over for no reason, knowing full well there’s nothing we can do about it.

“License and registration,” he greets us, acting like he doesn’t know exactly who we are and like this is any other traffic stop when it clearly isn’t.

Jason hands him what he’s asked for. “Is there a problem,Officer?” The title is said sarcastically, which Officer Liu doesn’t seem to appreciate.

He ignores the question and gruffly barks, “Keep your hands on the steering wheel.”

It’s begrudging, but Jason complies without complaint.

Last time Officer Liu interacted with us alone under the pretense of doing his official duties, he wrongly arrested us, then held me in an interrogation room without a guardian and accused me of being involved in his daughter’s disappearance. As much as it pains me, I have to behave, because I don’t want to give him an excuse to repeat what happened, and Jason’s compliance tells me he feels the same way.

“Do you know why I pulled you over?” Officer Liu asks, and I clench my teeth to stop myself from yellingbecause you’re an obsessed, power-abusing stalker!

Jason’s much more controlled than I am and evenly replies with a simple “No.”

“You were speeding. And in aschool zoneat that. The fine is double.”

“He wasn’t speeding!” I exclaim, then snap my mouth closed when Officer Liu zeros in on me excitedly like I’ve done exactly what he wanted.

“Siena.” He makes a sweeping gesture with his hand at the space beside him. “Are you going to be a problem?

Do I need to ask you to step out of the vehicle?”

I sink into my seat like it can protect me from the memory of being pressed against the hood of the car while metal cuffs are tightened around my wrists, from the memory of being trapped in the backseat of a cloying cop car, where there’sno air.

“I wasn’t speeding,” Jason says calmly, taking the attention back off me.

“But you were. And I’m an officer of the law, so if I say you were, then youwere.”

“But weweren’t!” I shoot back before I can think better of it.

His gaze snaps to me, a calculated look on his face.

“Okay, maybe I want to be nice, maybe I want to help you and pretend you weren’t speeding. You’d have to give me something I can work with, some information I can use.”

“Like what?” Jason grits out.

Officer Liu shrugs casually. “Maybe your girlfriend feels like remembering something that happened the night my daughter went missing. Maybe she decides to confess something that’s been burdening her.”

“For themillionthtime,” I exclaim, exasperated, “I didn’t have anything to do with Lily’s disappearance!

You’re wasting time harassing us when you could be findingrealinformation!”

To Jason, Officer Liu asks, “Should I add a broken headlight to your ticket as well?”

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