With Shane gone, Rose released a pent-up breath as she turned her attention to the growing line of people in front of her. Shane’s presence rocked her core, as it had during and after their date. His anger toward her seemed as if it would never end.
As the sun dipped into the sky, the park filled with people. Most of them sat in front of the movie screen on blankets and lawn chairs, ready for the show to start. The line at the popcorn booths had tripled, but a few of the veteran vendors walked through the already seated crowd to bump up their numbers for the vote.
‘Are you staying for the movie?’ Rose asked Missy. They’d already packed up all the perishable food into coolers and Brody had gone with his girlfriend to get his truck.
‘Are you?’ she asked.
Rose glanced at the crowd. The familiarity of the sight elicited a wave of gooseflesh across her arms. She’d always looked forward to this night, but without Pearl and the expectation that she’d run into Shane again, she wanted to be anywhere else.
‘I don’t think so. If you want to stay, then I will.’
‘Aren’t we a pair of old ladies?’ Missy asked. ‘Going home to an empty house while the town enjoys a movie isn’t what I’m looking for. Let me get a blanket and meet you over by that tree.’
‘Sure thing,’ Rose said.
Rose headed over to the tree. Most of the tourists wanted to be as close to the screen as possible, while the townies knew that the best spots were at the back, closer to the speakers. The picture was smaller, but the dialogue and music were crystal clear instead of muddled by the distance.
She’d missed the first few minutes of Splash but fell into the story quickly.
When Missy joined her, she spread the blanket on the ground, and they sat, stretching their legs in front of them.
‘This movie never gets old,’ Missy said.
Rose opened her mouth to agree, but nearby shouting caught her attention. She glanced at Missy whose focus was on the scuffle in front of them.
Two young teens argued with someone, pointing their red plastic cups at the person. Rose guessed that they weren’t sipping on lemonade.
Shane’s voice struck her as the darkened figure between the boys. With a flash of movement, one of the younger guys had his hands behind his back, and the metallic clinking of handcuffs snapped over his wrists.
‘Shit,’ Missy said, standing up.
Rose stood, but her entire body chilled as two other officers and Patrick sprinted to the group. Everyone nearby turned to the scene of the action, while some near the front were blissfully unaware, until the unhandcuffed friend started cursing at Shane. Soon enough, there weren’t many eyes on the screen at all.
‘You want to go to jail, kid?’ Shane said as he struggled to keep the handcuffed one under control.
‘We didn’t do anything,’ the kid said. ‘Let him go.’
‘How about we settle this away from the movie,’ Patrick said. It was quiet enough for only a few to hear.
Shane didn’t back down. ‘You’re worried about the movie when these kids are underage drinking? Where is the law around this place? Everyone is untouchable around here.’
‘Shane, that’s enough,’ Patrick hissed. ‘You’re making a scene.’
Rose’s skin crawled. Just listen to Patrick, Shane.
Shane dragged the kid out of the crowd and towards the road. So much for her wish.
Several of their friends followed and eventually, most of the onlookers went back to watching the movie. The air charged with confusion and excitement, but Rose clutched her hands together, wondering how far Shane would take this.
Rose knew she should stay out of it, but she didn’t fight her legs propelling her towards the action. Missy was on her heels, but her friend didn’t protest about pushing themselves into the situation either.
The boys were at fault for drinking, but it was an unspoken rule during the event. She’d imbibed when she was a teen too, with no consequences.
‘Stay back,’ Missy said, grabbing Rose’s arm.
They moved behind a tree, blocking them from Shane’s view. The handcuffed kid sat on the curb while Shane and Patrick stood face to face in the road. They were far enough away that she couldn’t hear exact words, but the message was clear.
Rose had never seen Patrick so angry. There was a lot of finger-pointing from the chief’s end. When it came to rank, Patrick was still Shane’s boss. Shane didn’t back down right away, until a few minutes later when he stormed off from the situation, disappearing into the night.
Nearby streetlamps were turned off to give the best experience for the event so there was no way she’d be able to find him easily even if she wanted to.
‘Come on,’ Missy said. ‘Let’s see if we can help out.’
Rose tagged along. ‘What are we supposed to do?’
‘So now you don’t want to be involved in police business? It’s hard to keep up with you, Rosie.’
The teens gathered in a small group while Patrick took the handcuffs off the one kid. ‘I don’t want to catch any of you with plastic cups, or I’ll make several personal phone calls to your parents.’
They trudged off, leaving Patrick and two other officers standing nearby. Patrick wiped a hand over his head and dug the other into his hip.
‘Everything all right?’ Missy asked him.
He blinked as if he hadn’t noticed them nearby. ‘You two can get back to the movie now. Nothing to see here.’
Missy and Rose shared a look before they returned to their blanket. Around them people were talking, guessing what had happened.
The speakers were loud enough to drown them out, but Rose found herself focusing more on the conversations than the movie.
‘He shouldn’t have done that,’ said one woman to the man next to her.
‘Seems like a lot of trouble if you ask me,’ he said. ‘What about Bobby Peters? He’s a good cop. He’d be a good replacement for Patrick.’
Various agreements came from all around, and even though Rose hadn’t done anything, her shoulders pulled forward as if she’d uttered the words from her lips instead of listening to them. Should she stick up for Shane or just let the gossip roll off her? She didn’t owe him anything, especially after he’d accused her of obstruction.
Leaving it alone felt like the best thing to do. Shane could defend himself if he wanted to – it wasn’t her job. He’d told her to back off, and that was what she intended to do.