meep

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Three houses down from my own dwelling was a dingy, white shack of a residence. The windows, smeared with dirt, were always dark and absent of any activity; however, today the windows reflected blinking lights of red and blue. One officer lumbered towards the run-down house, while his partner hovered near the vehicle. Thaddius Clutch, a lanky young man with dark and shaggy hair, sat in the back with his head bowed. Unkempt grass loomed over the sidewalk where Mrs. Clutch stood as the officer approached her.
Peering out through my window, I watched Mrs. Clutch press a hand to her mouth as wrinkle contorted over her forehead. The officer spoke to her as if a burden weighed down on him, leaning back on his heels and resting his hands on his hips. He gestured to the vehicle containing Thaddius occasionally, and Mrs. Clutch’s shoulders began to tremble. This continued for a few more minutes before the officer retreated back to the car, disarmed the lights, and pulled away from the curb with Thaddius still in the back. Mrs. Clutch remained on the lawn for quite sometime. My heart went out to her, yet I couldn’t remove myself from the window, rather I just watched as she cried before dragging herself back into the house.
Persistent murmurs buzzed through the halls the next day of Thaddius scandal with the police. A perk of living in a small town was everyone knew your business typically before you even did. In this case, speculations of Thaddius’ arrest ranged from the most innocent of delinquent acts to some high-class felonies.
“I heard he snatched a woman’s purse at a gas station.” said one boy.
“He threatened the woman with a knife, right?” questioned by another bystander.
“No!”cried Alice. She flicked her hair ba...

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...on the sidewalk. I was ready to apologize, but the words died at my lips as I looked up. It was Thaddius. Anger lit up his face, but it softened once he recognized it was me. There was a cigarette pinned loosely between his lips, but he took it in his fingers and flicked it away. Slowly his eyes connected with mine, and the world seemed to slow. I saw a familiar glow in his eyes, yet they belonged to the face of a stranger. Perhaps I couldn’t stand Alice or anyone else who slandered Thaddius’ name because he reminded me of myself. He reminded me of everyone. He reminded me of the individual who had fallen because no one was there to help. He couldn’t face or conquer his demons like others could.
“I like your freckles.” I blurted, attempting to kill the silence between us.
His eyes found my shoes as a half-smile graced his lips.
And he still liked my sneakers.

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