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Carlos shivered, watching as policemen wandered back and forth wordlessly, while his mother sobbed in the chair next to him.
He frowned lightly when one of the officers crouched before him, a sad smile on her face as she draped a blanket around his shoulders.
"Hey there, big guy," she said, ruffling Carlos’ already sleep-tousled hair, "do you wanna maybe come with me and get some hot chocolate?"
Carlos blinked at her, glanced at his mother, then nodded his assent, before sliding off the rather uncomfortable plastic chair he’d been sat down on upon their arrival, and took the officers pro-offered hand. He clutched the blanket around his shoulders, wishing in the back of his mind that his mother had had the forethought to have him put his shoes on before she whisked him out of the house and bundled him into his auntie Gracie’s car. His toes were beginning to get cold.
"Why don’t you take a seat," the officer gave another uncomfortable looking plastic chair a pat, "while I get you a cup, okay?"
Carlos nodded as he pulled himself up onto the chair, tugging the blanket around a little as he got himself situated. The blanket dragged a little across the floor as he walked, so it wrapped rather oddly around his legs when he sat himself down.
"There we go," the officer chirped as she set a steaming styrofoam cup of instant hot chocolate in front of Carlos. He watched as several strands of hair that had escaped her bun swayed in through the air.
She smiled warmly at him, and nudged the cup towards him, so he figured she must have really wanted him to drink it. He wrapped his fingers carefully around the cup, making sure not to spill even a drop as he gently blew across the surface of the liquid to cool it.
After he’d taken his first few sips, and successfully burning a few taste buds from his tongue, the officer spoke again. “Do you understand what’s happened?” she asked him quietly, like she was afraid it was a taboo question.
Carlos glanced up at her with a tiny frown, before nodding.
"Do you want to tell me what you’ve been told?" she prompted, tilting her head a little.
Carlos scrunched up his nose a little, before shrugging in consent. “Auntie Gracie said Dad was drunk and crashed,” he supplied bluntly, watching in mild confusion as the officers expression screwed up a bit.
"That…Seems a little blunt," she murmured, causing Carlos to snort into his hot chocolate. She stared at him for a moment, obviously contemplating something. "What’s so funny?"
Carlos watched her, tipping his head slightly as he chewed on his chocolate stained lower lip. “Miss, I’m nine,” Carlos stated, as if it were the most obvious and important fact to be known, “You don’t need to treat me like I’m four. My dad died in a car crash that he caused, I heard the officers telling my mom and she’s now out in the hallway crying, so you thought I’d be upset by that. You brought me in here to try and comfort me, but you don’t understand why I don’t seem upset, so you’re trying to figure out why. You can just ask me plainly.”
The officer blinked down at him both in surprise and confusion, before letting out a quiet chuckle. “All right,” she hummed, smirking faintly at him, “Why don’t you seem upset? Your mother certainly is.”
Carlos sighed, glancing back towards where his mother was. “You know you could get in trouble for talking to me without my mom around, right?” Carlos asked, sipping at his now cold hot chocolate.
"Do you not want to tell me?" the officer prodded, arching an eyebrow, "And I know that. But I’m not interrogating you or putting anything you tell me on a record, if that makes you feel better."
Carlos finally offered the officer a grin, before setting his half empty cup aside. “I don’t know why mom is upset,” Carlos began, tugging the blanket around his shoulders tighter, while pulling his knees up to his chest, “she and dad pretty much fought every night. And, Miss? You really can’t tell anyone this, since my mom told the doctors I fell out a tree.” Carlos shifted to show off the cast still around his arm, before tucking the blanket back around his shoulders, “I don’t like to climb trees.”
Sudden understanding dawned on the officers face, before her expression darkened considerably. “Ah,” she hummed, nodding a little. “That would explain why you’re not upset.”
"Yeah," Carlos murmured, glancing up as his mother came in to collect him. He offered the officer a tiny smile as he was lead away, earning a sad smile from her for his effort.
When Carlos got back home, and his mother had locked herself in herself in her bedroom, he let the blanket he’d kept from the police station fall to the floor as he crawled up onto his bed. He yawned widely as he snuggled under his own familiar sheets, a smile on his features. For the first night in as many as he could remember, he felt safe letting his guard down.
A set of glowing purple eyes and a wide set mouth of sharp teeth grinned in the darkest corner of his room, quietly dragging away the stolen blanket, before vanishing.