Chapter Text
Carol wasn’t quite sure how she had ended up here, bruises darkening on her neck, wrapped up in a crewneck jumper that didn’t belong to her, tensing and relaxing her jaw as she leant upon her knees, sat on the bed which hung from the wall, staring at her cheese sandwich and bottled water that lay untouched in the middle of the cell…
Except she was entirely sure of how she got here. She knew each step, each decision, and each misplaced action that had landed her to the very spot she sat in. Cold, alone, and wondering at which point it went all wrong.
And once she had driven herself into a circle she began thinking of all the signs she had missed that had forewarned this very ending. There were many. And as voices approached her, ones she vaguely recognised, she realised that she would have to relive them all.
The key in the door clanked and proceeded to open once unlocked.
“Mrs Aird.” She flinched at the name.
“Please…” She said holding up a shaking hand.
He felt sorry for the blonde whose hair was crinkling into natural ringlets, untamed, chaotic, and spiralling in and out of each other. “We need to bring you in for a few questions. Any information could help your case.” He said picking up the abandoned meal.
“Aren’t I entitled to a lawyer?” She said, looking up for the first time in a long time.
“This is off the record Ma’am. You can give a detailed confession with a lawyer present at some other time which will be on the record and could be used in evidence in the court of law, but right now we have to make sure our information is as accurate as possible.”
She nodded, thankful she wouldn’t be getting herself into any more shit. “How long has it been?” She asked, needing to know. Time moved slower when you were on your own, and even more so when you were worried out of your skin.
“Since when?” He asked checking his watch.
“Waterloo.” She said simply. As if she could be asking about anything else.
“Around 9 hours give or take.” He quickly calculated.
“9 hours…” She sighed. It had been too long. She should have been told something by now.
“Ma’am…” He said, stepping aside, outstretching his hand to gesture her to the door. So she stood, and he clasped a cuff around each wrist before she walked from the cell, into the well-lit hallway.
Here she was, making more decisions. She wondered if the ones from here on out could make life even worse, since their potential consequences were giving her butterflies in her stomach. However it would be more appropriate to say the butterflies felt like wasps.
She was unshackled and asked if she could sit which she did because she felt like this may take a while. He placed a cup of water in front of her and she watched droplets cling to the side of it, slowly losing grip.
“How are you feeling?” He asked, wondering if she would even be able to keep up a conversation in the emotional state she was in, let alone physical what with her neck.
She blinked once. Twice. “Utterly and irrevocably… fucked over.”