Silent Desires (Shattered Silence Duet Book 1)
Silent Desires: Chapter 52

“Alright, can you explain to me, in your own words, what happened in the library today?” Mina stares at the pad of paper for a few seconds before bursting into tears. Jasper immediately pulls her up so he can sit in the chair and hold her in his lap. She clings to him, and my heart breaks. We don’t know exactly what Brad did. All we know is what Tucker told us—that Brad attacked her. She doesn’t seem injured, so I don’t imagine it was that sort of attack. Her clothes all seem in place too, so hopefully, she’s just in shock and he didn’t actually do anything, not that it makes this situation any easier.

Jasper keeps soothing her while Officer Graydon watches patiently with a sad look on her face. “Shh, shh, it’s okay, Angel, it’s okay. I’ve got you now.” Her breathing hitches, and I can tell she’s trying to control her sobs.

“Sweetheart, just take your time. It’s best you do this now; otherwise, you’ll have to do it later or tomorrow. I’m sure you just want to put this behind you,” I say, and she nods into Jasper’s chest.

“It’s okay, Mina. Just take a few minutes, and when you’re ready, you can start writing. Take all the time you need,” the officer tells her kindly. Eventually, Mina calms down enough to compose herself. She turns to the paper, not looking like she has any intention of leaving Jasper’s lap. He keeps his arms wrapped around her, offering her his silent protection, which she clearly needs right now. It doesn’t take her long to write something down, and she passes the notebook to the officer.

Officer Graydon reads it quickly, then looks at Mina sadly. “I’m sorry, Mina, but I’m going to need much more detail than that. We’ll arrest him for what he’s done, but we need more specifics about what happened.” She hands the pad back to Mina, who nods. It takes Mina about ten minutes to write it all down. She constantly has to stop and take a few deep breaths before continuing. It’s clear this is hard for her and I’m so proud of how well she’s handling it.

When she’s finally finishes and goes to hand it over, I gently grab her wrist, getting her attention for a moment.

“Wait—Can… Can we read that first?” She shakes her head, looking worried.

“I don’t want to make you do it if you aren’t comfortable with us knowing, but, Sweetheart… We need to know what happened to help you heal, and I don’t want to make you write it out again.” She thinks for a minute, then passes it to me.

“I’m going to take a photo,” I tell her, pulling out my phone and meeting her eyes. “The others will want to know, too.” I hope she understands I’m referring to my brothers. She nods once, and I take a photo and pass the notebook to the officer. I read it at the same time she does.

It’s… not good. It could have been worse, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic. Thankfully, it seems Gideon and Tucker got there before it could escalate any further.

After asking a few follow-up questions, Officer Graydon leaves. Jasper hugs a quiet Mina to his chest and I pull out my phone, opening our guys’ group chat.

Tucker: Brad attacked Mina in the library. Me & G caught him in the act, and I took him to the office. Police have been called. Gideon and the twins are with her now.

Ben: Is she okay?

Atlas: We’re coming.

Dom: Is she hurt?

Tucker: I don’t think she’s physically hurt. I haven’t seen her since; she’s still with the others.

Gideon: She’s in my office with the twins, waiting for the police officer to take her statement.

Ben: She shouldn’t be doing that without a parent or guardian.

Gideon: I told Principal Clarkson and the officers that her mother isn’t attentive and would be at work anyway. They agreed not to contact her, for now, thankfully.

Dom: Good idea. Keep us updated.

Gideon: A female officer is with her and the twins now.

About twelve minutes passed with no new messages before Dom texted again.

Dom: Update?

Atlas: This radio silence is killing me.

That’s it, I’m coming in.

Tucker: No.

You can’t bust in there when she’s talking to the cops, nor do you want to be seen on campus by any suspects.

I finally jump into the conversation.

Me: Hey, she’s done with the officer now. Hopefully, we can leave soon.

Ben: How is she doing?

Max: She’s been crying a lot, but she’s calmed down a bit now.

Atlas: I’m going to kill Brad.

Dom: Get in line, brother. We’re in the parking lot. Bring her to us as soon as you can. I need to see her with my own eyes.

Max: She wrote her statement, and I took a photo.

Atlas: Send it.

Tucker: That’s probably not a good idea. Maybe we should wait until you’re home with a punching bag in front of you.

Dom: Send it.

I send them the picture, and nobody texts again for a while as they read and process what she just went through. I hang my head at this shitshow. It’s my fault. I overheard some guys talking about a friend in college who liked dating high school girls, so I called Jasper in so we could listen in more to the two guys who had mentioned it. Locker rooms are where you’re most likely to hear the sort of gossip we need to solve this case.

I hear a bit of commotion outside the office and grab my phone, sending a message.

Me: Tuck, what’s going on?

Tucker: Police just got a call and have to go. They’re taking Brad with them and charging him.

Gideon: I heard the radio. It said it was a 1-8-7.

Fuck, that’s not good. We might not be police officers, but we were familiar with some of the major codes, in case we were monitoring the police radio for information. And a one–eight-seven was one you didn’t want to hear. It meant that someone had died.