Thank you for all the wonderful comments, everyone. I have to make this fast, since I have to leave for work in a few.
Please let me know what you think!
CRIME OF THE CENTURY [Part Two]:
For Alison, the weeks that followed the shooting passed by in a slow blur. She was placed on administrative leave, as was the norm for any officer-involved shooting. For three weeks, she barely did anything other than sit on the couch in her living room, and only left the apartment when she had to. She met three times with the department psychologist, who somehow deemed her mentally healthy, even though Alison felt as though she was crumbling on the inside.
Images would randomly pop into her head, forcefully reminding her of that horrific night. She had performed CPR on the man after he had stopped breathing, and had somehow managed to keep him clinging onto life until the paramedics arrived. After completing a lengthy report at the police station, Sergeant Lawson had graciously taken Alison home.
“We’ll call you when we receive an update on your leave status,” he told Alison, then noticed the scared look on her face. “Hey, Zig, don’t worry about it. You did the right thing, the same thing that I, or any other officer, would have done. Everything’s going to be fine.” Alison nodded at her boss, and then had walked slowly into her apartment, plopping herself down on the comfy sofa. For hours, she simply stared at the wall in front of her, her body completely numb.
Three weeks later, she still hadn’t heard anything from the department other than the occasional “Internal Affairs is still investigating the case” phone call. With each passing day, Alison got more and more worried that the department would decide to let her go, that her career would be over prematurely. The thought alone scared her to death; she had no second career choice. Her dream had always been to be a police officer, and she couldn’t picture doing anything else with her life.
As she sat in front of the television mindlessly flipping through the channels, her cell phone rang out from its spot on the coffee table. A flicker of hope swelled inside of Alison; this had to be the police department calling. But one look at the screen extinguished the chance of Alison being asked to come back to work. The phone number wasn’t the department’s. The unfamiliar number wasn’t even from the same area code. Curious, Alison flipped her phone open.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Alison?” The male voice on the other end of the line sounded vaguely familiar, but Alison had no idea who it could have been. She’d barely talked to anyone in the past several weeks, and she definitely hadn’t had a date, so it wasn’t a current beau that was calling.
“Yeah, who’s this?”
“Joe Jonas,” the man stated. “Do you remember me?”
Alison’s jaw dropped slightly. Of course she remembered the rockstar. It wasn’t easy to forget a famous heartthrob, especially one that you had shot someone for.
“Yeah,” she replied, her voice a low whisper. “How could I forget?” A thought struck her. “Wait, how did you get my phone number?”
“Um, I called your work.” Joe’s voice sounded … odd. He seemed distant, distracted. “They told me that you‘ve been gone, and it took a lot of convincing but they finally gave me your phone number.”
“Oh, okay,” Alison replied, surprised that Joe had gone to so much trouble to get a hold of her. “What‘s up?”
“Alison, do you think you could meet me for lunch?”
“Wait, you’re still in New Jersey?” Alison may have not been the most clued-in when it came to Jonas Brothers knowledge, but she knew that they were in the middle of a nationwide tour. They were supposed to leave for the next city the night of the shooting. So why, three weeks later, were they still in Atlantic City?
“I’ll explain over lunch,” Joe replied. “Rosario’s on the pier?”
Alison sighed, not wanting to leave her spot on the couch. But it was obvious that Joe wanted to talk with her, so she couldn’t say no.
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
As Alison strolled into the small café, her eyes scanned the room for the middle Jonas brother, and her heart began to race when she spotted him in a booth near the back. She quickly glanced down at her outfit, praying that she looked presentable. She’d put way more thought into her clothing choice than she normally would have before meeting someone for lunch. But when you were going to be dining with a celebrity, a little extra time and effort was required. She’d finally settled on a old, fitted Lynard Skynard tee, frayed denim shorts and a simple pair of black sandals. Her straight, blonde hair fell loosely past her shoulders.
Joe looked up and spotted her, and a bright smile lit up his face. He motioned her over to his table, and Alison inhaled a deep breath before making her way to the back of the café.
“Hey, stranger,” Joe said as Alison slid into the booth across from him.
“Hi,” Alison said quietly, then focused her attention on the menu in front of her. An uncomfortable silence fell over their table; neither one was sure what to say to the other. A waiter soon appeared at their table, a welcome interruption in the awkward quietness.
“I’m not really hungry,” Alison said when the waiter asked for her meal choice. She set the menu down in front of her. “Sorry,” she softly mumbled to Joe.
Joe set his menu down as well and looked at Alison. “You know, I’m not that hungry, either.” He stood suddenly, causing the confused waiter to take a few steps back. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Alison gratefully followed Joe out of the stuffy restaurant into the bright sunshine that beamed down on the pier. The two of them walked in silence down to the beach below, where Alison removed her sandals. The warm sand felt wonderful underneath her feet, and she walked close to the water’s edge, allowing the cool saltwater to lap at her ankles.
“Thank you,” Joe said, breaking the silence. Alison looked up at him as they walked side-by-side.
“For what?” she asked, confused.
“For saving my life.” A soft ocean breeze blew Joe’s messy locks out of his face, and Alison could see the obvious emotion in his eyes.
“I was just doing my job,” Alison replied, tears springing to her eyes as the memories from that night again began to replay themselves in her mind. Joe stopped suddenly and lightly grabbed Alison’s arm, softly pulling her around so she was facing him, their bodies just inches apart.
“I know,” Joe said, his eyes burning into hers. “But I could tell that it affected you when it happened, and I can tell that it’s still bothering you. Hell, it’s still bothering me, and I wasn’t the one who had to pull the trigger. That’s why I’m still here, and not back on the road. Because every time I see that man’s angry face in my mind, I wonder about you and how you’re doing. I couldn’t leave without talking to you. I had to make sure that you were okay.” He brushed Alison’s hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “But you’re not okay, are you?”
Alison’s lower lip began to quiver, and the tears in her eyes were on the verge of overflowing. Within seconds they spilled out, and Alison was overcome with emotion. The horrific events of that night three weeks prior finally got to her, and she began to sob uncontrollably. Joe wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him, his hands smoothing her soft hair.
“Shhh, it’s okay,” he assured her as she cried into his chest. “It’s going to be okay.”
After a couple of minutes, Alison’s tears had began to subside and she pulled away from Joe’s chest slightly.
“I don’t know if everything is going to be okay, though,” she said, wiping the mascara from under her eyes. “I’m still on paid leave, and I haven’t heard anything from department. The man I shot is in a coma in the intensive care unit.” Alison looked up at Joe. “Do you know why he came storming down that hall?” Joe shook his head. “He had just gotten in a fight with his daughter over how obsessed she was with you and your brothers. He blamed you three for tearing apart his relationship with his child. Something in his brain just snapped.” Tears filled Alison’s eyes again. “God, Joe, what if he dies? Or what if he has brain damage from being in the coma for so long? I did this to him. It’s my fault.”
Joe put his hands on either side of Alison’s face and tilted her head up towards his. “Don’t even blame yourself. This is not your fault. You did exactly what you had to do, and you saved my life. You were so brave, Ali. So brave.” Joe removed his hands from Alison’s face and placed them back on her petite waist, pulling her slightly toward him. The gesture comforted Alison, and being in the embrace with Joe caused the demons that had haunted her to slowly escape her mind. A small smile played on her face, the drying tear stains cracking on her skin.
“I thought your brothers were supposed to be the sensitive ones,” she said softly, causing Joe to chuckle. Alison began to furiously wipe under her eyes. “I’m sorry, I probably look like crap right now.” Joe shook his head, his face full of seriousness.
“No, you look beautiful.”
Alison stopped rubbing her eyes, and instead put her hands against Joe’s muscular chest. She closed her eyes as Joe’s face dipped down and his lips softly collided with hers. Her hands slid up to the back of his neck and her fingers tangled in his hair. The slow, hesitant kiss began to intensify, and Joe pulled Alison in closer to his body, their torsos crushing against each other. Emotion ran through Alison’s body, and she put every ounce of it into the tender kiss.
She’d only known Joe for less than a month, most of which didn't even count since she had only talked to him twice, but it seemed like he had been in her life forever. Never before had she felt such intense feelings for a man so quickly. But she felt completely connected to Joe.
The shooting had brought them together, and because of it they shared a special bond. But the rush of passion that Alison was feeling as Joe kissed her wasn’t triggered by her pulling the trigger on the gun.
It was unexplainable. It was just there.
And it was too strong for either of them to ignore.
