“Do you not think that since the first time I kissed you, I knew all of those things could happen? Did it stop me?No. Then we must accept that actions have consequences. It’s shit, but it’s life.”
There was no talking him out of it. Evan had made his mind up, and that was that. Together, they drove to the police station. Jain cried when Evan parked, trembling uncontrollably when he cut the engine.
“Jain, I need you to be calm. Please, for me.”
She tried, she did. But when they walked into the station, hand in hand, the thought of leaving without Evan made her feel physically sick.
Two hours later, he was finally taken into a room alone with an officer. Despite the reassuring smile he gave her before he walked into the room, Jain felt like she was being destroyed from the inside out. His eyes saddened when he nodded to her, mouthing that he loved her.
The door closed, and Jain allowed herself to break down completely. There was nothing for it—Evan was going to pay the ultimate price for their relationship. Her stomach burned with twisted anxiety, soft sobs escaping her lips when she realised she would have to be without him again.
For how long?
Jain didn’t care what people thought. But he wasn’t a paedophile. He wasn’t a predator. He loved her, and she loved him. Less than an hour later, the officer left the room with a stern expression on her face before returning with another officer.
Jain sat up straight when they both walked into the room, craning her neck desperately to catch a glimpse of Evan, but she couldn’t see him. She began pacing the floor,biting her nails down anxiously. Her phone rang countless times, but she had put it on silent, not wanting to speak to anyone.
It felt like days before the door finally opened, and Evan walked out, his hands cuffed together behind his back. Jain’s heart jumped in her throat as she leapt up, running over to him in tears.
“Jain, I’ve got to stay here. Please relax, it will be ok,” Evan murmured, his eyes searching hers as the officer to her left placed a hand on her arm.
“Miss, take a seat in that room for me. We need to ask you some questions.”
Jain couldn’t breathe as she watched Evan being led away, tears blurring her vision. Everything she had ever done had been to protect him, not her. She didn’t want him to ever lose his job, or his clean record, over her. She slumped down in the seat that was still warm from whoever had sat in it last, and she tried to calm her nerves. Jain had never been in a police station before, and now she was being interviewed in one.
The walls were painted a depressing grey, the floor a similar colour. The single table and four chairs surrounding it were off-white, and Jain noticed the table was secured to the floor. The door opened, and Jain was surprised to see two men walk in that she hadn’t seen before.
“Jain Martin?”
“Yes?” Jain gulped.
“I’m Officer Freid, and that’s Officer Casey. How are you doing? Would you like a drink?”
Jain shook her head as they sat down in front of her, the man to her right sighing as he glanced at his partner, who shuffled through some paper in his hands.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Miss Martin, this is astrange situation. Mr Silver has just confessed to having a relationship with you when you were his eighteen-year-old student, is that correct?”
He lifted his eyes to Jain after making some notes, and she nodded miserably. He smiled kindly before gazing at her.
“We will ask you some questions. Then we will let you go so we can decide what we will do with Mr Silver.” He exchanged a look with his colleague when Jain cleared her throat.
“What could happen to him?”
The officer to her right frowned before offering her a sympathetic smile.
“Well, under the sexual offence act of 2003, he has committed a crime against a child.”
Jain grimaced, wishing they wouldn’t use that term.
“I wasn’t a child—”
“In the eyes of the law, Miss, you were. The age of consent is sixteen, unless the person you are engaging with is in a position of authority—for example, a teacher or a doctor.”
Jain was silent then, knowing better than to argue with a police officer. He glanced back at his colleague before continuing.
“If convicted, it carries a term of a maximum sentence of five years and an unlimited fine—”
Jain gasped, her head swimming with the thought of Evan being in prison for five years. She drained of colour, and the officer reached over to touch her arm.
