I stared at my shoes as I sat at the deputy's desk, in what I assumed was the man's office. The room wasn't much; at least, it wasn't much compared to the police departments I'd been in once upon a time. Those were large, filled with desks and large holding cells in the back. The ones I was used to had so many officers on duty, sometimes they would skip past me and forget to book me in.

But this small-life deputy in a tiny town way out of the city limits didn't waste any time. The second I was dragged out of his brown squad car, he dropped me in the metal fold-up chair that squeaked on impact. I was still in cuffs, too tight, and couldn't move much. the deputy had to reach inside my back pocket for my wallet and ID. A little invasion of privacy, but in Harmony, what could I do?

I didn't struggle. Not once.

"So, Brian Miller, hm?" The deputy slid his hands over his blonde hair as he made himself comfortable in the seat in front of his computer. He placed my open wallet beside him to type in the needed information from the visible ID.

No scanners, huh?

I was still focused on my shoes but nodded. I couldn't help it; my mind was elsewhere.

I stared at my laces. The last time I was arrested it was because of a fight. Same, like tonight. The guy had said something awful about Rianne and that wouldn't fly with me.

So, I stood up and hit him. But I did it so hard, ai broke his nose. I heard after that I dislocated his jaw, too.

Regret ate me up then, but I swore to myself no one would ever get the chance to hurt someone I cared about. Not emotionally, not physically; they'd have to answer to me. Sometimes, words were the deadliest of weapons. And Mario used them on Jun. My brother-in-law. Which in turn would affect Kay.

Can't have it.

The deputy chuckled as he typed away at the computer's keyboard. "Well, look at here..."

I lifted my gaze. The smug look on the deputy's face meant he'd pulled up my old records. Fun to look at, wasn't it? The fight I had protecting Rianne had been the last, but there were plenty before that. A few from my early twenties, some from college. When Katerina's father warned her not to marry me, he had grounds to say so. I wasn't the best guy, but I worked on being better.

Kay makes me better.

I closed his eyes and took in a breath.

And I'm not honoring her today, am I?

"Assault and battery, hm? That's pretty hefty," the deputy said.

I kept my eyes closed. "Not where I'm from," I said.

"Hm? Oh, city boy, huh? What's hefty then?" The deputy grinned as he drummed his fingers on his desk. He did it enough, hard and loud, to get my attention. When I looked at him, the deputy had to laugh. "Tell me, I'm curious."

I stretched out a leg to my side so I leaned back against my chair as comfortably as possible. The cuffs around my wrist were old and cold. They started to bother me.

I wondered why this small-town sheriff station still used them. Whatever happened to zip ties? Did Harmony not get the memo?

"It's all right." The deputy placed his hands on top of his head. "I've got all night."

Inhaling slowly, I pressed my tongue into my cheek and scanned the room again. There was a certificate on the wall; the font was too small for me to read, but a medallion hung off the front of it. Beside that was a tall file cabinet with trophies on top. I started to wonder if this was really the sheriff's office or a school's coach lounge.

Snorting, I shook my head. "I bet you do have all night," I said, looking back at the deputy. I made sure to scan the name tag on the front of his uniform considering I hadn't had the opportunity all night. "Benji."

The deputy, Benji, glanced down at his name tag before looking back at me with a smirk. "City boy can read."

"I can." I forced a smile. "City schools and all."

"Right, right." Benji dropped his hands before turning in his seat to stand. I thought he would've focused on booking, but it seemed Benji was more interested in a story. He walked over towards the corner desk where a coffee machine had a piping hot pot already brewed. I could smell it.

Pouring coffee into a white mug that read 'Harmony,' along the side, Benji focused on me. "So, hefty crimes are what? Murder?"

I snorted. "Sure is, I guess," I said. "I've never murdered anyone, though."

"Murder isn't a laughing matter." Benji cocked a brow as he reached for the cream and sugar to add to his cup. "Is that what city folk find funny?"

"No." Kicking my shoe, I leaned forward to try and move my arms. My elbows needed a break; they were screaming. "What's funny is how small-town people think city folk are so alien. We're like you," I cocked a brow, too, "just with bigger buildings, more streets."

"Hm." Benji turned, leaned against the desk, and sipped his coffee. "Sure, if you say so. That record, though?" He used the mug in his hand to point at the computer screen a few feet to his right. "That shows me what the city really looks like."

I clenched my jaw. If his past fights and altercations, some misdemeanors, were equal to murder in the small town of Harmony, I wondered what the actual crime was compared to here. Based on what Mario was screeching at the festival, murder had been the topic. Kay's father murdered Jun's father. And based on the look on Jun's face earlier, Jun believed him. And knew exactly where it had happened, too.

I can only put two and two together.

I couldn't help but try to think the murder had something to do with the break-in that happened when Jun and Kay were kids. Would their parents admit it, though? Were Kay and Jun able to even ask yet?

"You seem so relaxed about this." Benji returned to his seat. "Just sitting there without complaining."

I shifted back and tried to crack my back. I was uncomfortable. "What do I need to complain about?" I looked at Benji's face, the scar on his eyebrow. "You've got me here on some bullshit crime, so I'm here."

"Bullshit?" Benji pursed his lips. "You think this is bullshit?"

"What's bullshit is that I'm the only one in cuffs." I jingled my handcuffs against the back of the chair. "I wasn't the only one fighting, you know."

"Hm." Sipping from his coffee cup, Benji returned to the computer in front of him. He tapped at a few more keys before shaking his head. "Well, whatever you think you know, you don't. You were the only one I saw fighting tonight."

Bullshit. Mario was about to swing again.

"As I said," I sucked my teeth, "bullshit. But I'm not going to fight you about it. Just do what you do."

"Whether you think it's bullshit or not, that's not going to change you'll be in the cell tonight." Benji slammed the enter key down with too much force, and the keyboard slid away from him, closer to the monitor. "So, I'll do what I do."

***

[Thank you for reading <3]