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TIME PASSES INCREDIBLY slow when you're out on the sidelines. It made sense for Judy to stay by the car, so Shoupe can't see the state she's in, and encourage him further to spill her secret. So, instead, she dawdles back and forth on the sidewalk. Chewing her nail beds, and then cursing, because she very clearly needs to take a long hot shower in order to dissolve the disgusting reek still clinging to her body.
It's dark now. Crickets are chirping, and realistically she should be waiting inside the car, not outside of it. But she can't stand the smell of herself, and the anticipation of what happens next now that they have cold hard evidence is stifling. Quite frankly, the fresh air in her lungs is like ice water on a hot day.
But she feels like she's been pacing there for hours, and the anxiety in her belly is nauseating. She can't stand not knowing what's going on, and her feet instinctively travel up towards the entrance to the station.
Taking a deep breath in, she exhales it as the door squeaks open and she enters. The walls are grey and the furniture is all off-white. She feels as though she's just stepped on the set of a cop show sit-com, and she wishes it was for a much lighter reason.
Perusing the area, Judy follows the sound of muffled commotion and halts just outside a separate room. Through the square window of the door, she can see Shoupe seated on a grey swivel chair behind a desk, with Kiara sitting opposite him, and both Pope and JJ hovering on her left.
The latter removes his cap, scrunching it between his fisted palms as a muscle in his jaw jostles. He snaps away to glare at the wall, and Judy immediately knows that whatever has him worked up, it isn't good.
Kie looks exhausted, and visibly on the brink of tears, while Pope seems to be keeping his emotions in check.
"Are you at least gonna send it in for ballistics n' shit? Or are you just gonna sit on your ass?" The female exclaims, gesturing down to the weapon on the table. The evidence. Her sentence is vaguely muffled, but just loud enough for Judy to make out.
JJ says something which causes the man in uniform to jump up out of his seat, while Pope presses a hand into his friend's chest, yelling at him to shut up.
Disappointment gnaws at Judy's insides, and she can't stomach watching any more. Spinning on her toes, she sprints out of the building with a hand clamped over her mouth.
Frustrated tears blur her vision, and she wants to scream into the crevices of her palm. Why can't anything ever go their way? Why is nobody in their favour? She just wants her big brother back, safe and sound, cleared of all these false allegations.
