But that doesn’t mean we stay that way. You can choose your family. You can change your destiny. It’s the easiest and hardest thing in the world.
I hope Milo realizes that one day. I lift a hand in a half-assed wave and the headlights flick again and again. Is he frantic now? Worried? It would be so easy to go to him, but it’s not what I want anymore.
I turn around, walk the last twenty feet or so to the door, and open it, squinting under the fluorescent lights. Full-blast air-conditioning hits me and I shiver.
Or maybe I shiver because I know what’s coming next.
The officer at the front is half asleep, but by the time I put my hands on the desk, he’s sitting straight.
“Can I help you?” he asks, eyes dancing up and down my face. He’s trying really hard not to look horrified. It’s kind of hilarious.
“Yeah,” I say. “My name is Wicket Tate, and I’d like to confess my crimes.”
What Happened After
Norcut and Hart never saw it coming. That probably doesn’t say anything great about me, does it? No one ever thought I’d come clean. It was the one piece everyone counted on.
But I was able to use it.
Funny how that’s kind of my life’s theme until this point. People have used me and I’ve used them and now it stops. With me.
I gave the first set of officers my story and all the Looking Glass paperwork. They looked at me, looked at the files, looked at me, and started making phone calls. Or, at least, I guess that’s what they did because fifteen minutes later I had a set of detectives to talk to . . . and then another set . . . and then came the Feds.
I’m not sure who called Bren, but she showed up about two hours later with an attorney. After that, everyone started shouting. Did the police realize I’m still a minor? Why hadn’t I seen a doctor? How much longer was I going to be held?
Had I been arrested?
Bren’s attorney had a lot of questions. Four days later, we’re still figuring out the details. There’s a slew of stuff the government could charge me with, but as my lawyer keeps reminding them, I’m the one who came forward. I’m the reason they have this information. I didn’t have a legal guardian present during questioning. The police didn’t offer me a doctor right away. Was I even in my right mind when I came in?
Blah blah blah.
Bren sat with me during the interviews. She kept one arm around my shoulders, and somehow, it was enough to keep me going—even when they told me I’ll be facing charges. We still don’t know what kind or how many, which means we also don’t know how long I’ll spend in prison.
Yeah, I said prison. If it had been other crimes, I probably could’ve scored juvie. Being that the government is terrified of hackers, I’m looking at a trip to Club Fed. Ten years. Minimum.
The detectives initially thought I’d get a few days to prepare myself, “to get my affairs in order” is what one of them called it, but because I’m considered a flight risk, they’re holding me indefinitely. They did let me be the one to tell my family, which was nice of them, I guess. Bren, Lily, and Griff filed into the interview room to see me, and when I told them I wasn’t leaving, Bren wobbled like she needed to sit down. She got on the phone with another lawyer instead.
Probably just as well because, right then, I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to hear about our next legal moves. I just wanted to be next to Griff, and when I squeezed my hand around his, it felt like everything wonderful in the world when Griff squeezed back.
“Please,” he whispered.
I didn’t understand, and then he kissed me and I did. Griff kissed me with a mouthful of forgiveness and forevers and I promised him the same. This is how I am with him. This is always how I am with him, and when we broke apart, I realized this is how he is with me. They cannot take it.
Lily struggled with my decision. She was pretty angry with me. It hurt, but I understood. We worked so hard to keep me from getting caught and now it feels like I was always destined to be. Except it wasn’t destiny. I chose what would happen to me and I made the right choice.
She says she understands, but it’s hard. For both of us.
In the meantime, I answer police and Fed questions while I wait for my transfer to a full-time facility. I’m trying to be helpful, but I might have forgotten a few things.
Things like Milo.
Things like Alex.