The Truth In His Eyes
1151 Words
The police station felt different this time.
Or maybe it was just me.
Last time, I came here confused. Lost. Not knowing what to believe.
This time…
I came with questions.
And I wasn’t leaving without answers.
---
The officer at the front desk looked up when I approached.
“I need to speak to Jason,” I said.
He frowned slightly. “Are you family?”
“No.”
“Then you’ll need permission.”
“I just need a few minutes,” I insisted.
He hesitated, then sighed. “Wait here.”
---
I sat down, my hands clasped tightly together.
My heart wouldn’t slow down.
What if he refused to see me?
What if Michael was right?
What if I was making a mistake?
---
“Jessica.”
I looked up.
The officer stood there, watching me.
“He agreed to see you.”
My breath caught.
“Follow me.”
---
The hallway felt longer than before.
Colder.
Each step made my chest feel tighter.
What am I doing?
---
We stopped in front of a small room.
“Five minutes,” the officer said.
I nodded.
Then he opened the door.
---
Jason was already inside.
Sitting at the table.
His hands resting in front of him.
Still.
Calm.
---
He looked up when I walked in.
And for a moment—
neither of us spoke.
---
“You came,” he said finally.
His voice was quiet.
But there was something else in it.
Something I couldn’t name.
---
“I needed to talk to you,” I said.
The door closed behind me.
The sound echoed louder than it should have.
---
I sat across from him.
Keeping distance.
Trying to stay focused.
---
“I saw the messages,” I said.
His expression didn’t change.
“What messages?”
“The ones between you and Lucy,” I replied. “You argued. You were supposed to meet her that night.”
He looked down for a second.
Then back at me.
“I told the police everything.”
“That’s not what I’m asking,” I said.
---
Silence.
---
“Did you meet her?” I asked again.
His jaw tightened slightly.
“No.”
The answer came quickly.
But this time, I didn’t look away.
I watched him.
Carefully.
---
“She was meeting someone else,” I said.
That got his attention.
His eyes sharpened instantly.
“What do you mean?”
---
“There were messages from another number,” I explained. “Someone she was afraid of.”
For the first time, I saw something real in his expression.
Not anger.
Not defensiveness.
But surprise.
---
“She didn’t tell you?” he asked.
“No.”
He leaned back slightly, running a hand through his hair.
“Of course she didn’t,” he muttered.
---
“What does that mean?” I asked.
He looked at me again.
Longer this time.
Like he was deciding something.
---
“Lucy wasn’t as simple as you think,” he said.
My chest tightened.
“She was my sister.”
“And that means you knew everything about her?” he asked.
His tone wasn’t harsh.
Just honest.
---
I didn’t answer.
Because I wasn’t sure anymore.
---
“She was dealing with something,” he continued. “Something she didn’t want anyone else involved in.”
“What kind of something?”
He hesitated.
“I don’t know everything,” he admitted. “But I knew enough to know she was in trouble.”
---
A chill ran through me.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
He let out a quiet breath.
“She didn’t want me to.”
“That’s not a good reason.”
“I know,” he said. “But it was her choice.”
---
Silence filled the room again.
But this time, it felt different.
Less tense.
More… real.
---
“You still think I killed her?” he asked suddenly.
The question caught me off guard.
---
“I don’t know what to think,” I admitted.
His gaze didn’t leave mine.
“Look at me,” he said quietly.
I frowned slightly. “What?”
“Just look at me.”
---
I hesitated.
Then I did.
---
His eyes were steady.
Focused.
Not avoiding.
Not shifting.
Just… there.
---
“If I did it,” he said softly, “would I be sitting here like this?”
My heart started beating faster.
“I don’t know,” I whispered.
---
He leaned forward slightly.
Not too close.
But enough to close the distance.
---
“I didn’t hurt her,” he said.
There was no hesitation this time.
No doubt.
Just certainty.
---
And for the first time—
I believed him.
---
I looked away quickly, my thoughts spinning.
Because if he didn’t do it—
then someone else did.
---
And that someone was still out there.
---
“Jessica.”
His voice was softer now.
Careful.
---
“You shouldn’t be doing this alone,” he said.
I looked back at him.
“What do you mean?”
“Whoever she was involved with… it’s not safe,” he said.
---
A small, uneasy feeling settled in my chest.
“I can handle myself.”
He shook his head slightly.
“No, you can’t.”
The words should have annoyed me.
But they didn’t.
---
Because he wasn’t saying it to control me.
He was saying it like a fact.
Like he was worried.
---
“Then what do you suggest?” I asked.
---
Another pause.
---
“Let me help you,” he said.
---
The words hung in the air.
Unexpected.
Dangerous.
---
“You?” I asked.
“You don’t trust me,” he said. “I get that.”
He leaned back slightly.
“But I knew her in ways you didn’t.”
---
That stung.
Because it was true.
---
“And I want to know who did this just as much as you do,” he added.
---
I studied him.
Carefully.
Trying to find a lie.
A crack.
Something.
---
But all I saw was someone who looked just as broken as I felt.
---
“I’ll think about it,” I said finally.
---
He nodded once.
Like that was enough.
---
A knock on the door broke the moment.
“Time’s up.”
---
I stood up slowly.
My heart still racing.
---
As I turned to leave, his voice stopped me.
“Jessica.”
---
I looked back.
---
“Be careful who you trust,” he said quietly.
---
The words hit harder than they should have.
---
Because for some reason—
they reminded me of someone else.
---
Michael.
---
And suddenly…
I didn’t know who I was supposed to believe anymore.
- Writer
