Eroshay expected a police response. She even expected one soon, but somehow, she remained unprepared for it. Vito and Klaus were hardly happy when she was strolled off to the police station. Shay wasn't happy either. She was jittery. Hands shaky and clammy. Heart hammering far too much. And she felt a complete and utter disdain at not being allowed to say no.
The little Rosales wouldn't even talk to the other officers, beyond requesting Angelo. He was the police officer she trusted most, despite that he was no dirty cop. This was a delicate situation that never should have been. Why protect Nick? Shay asked herself mentally, all while knowing that it wasn't Nick she was protecting. The thought made her queasy, so she focused on anything else but the reason she was actually here.
That was twice that she had been in this station and it hadn't even been a full year. Christ. No one ever mentioned that reviving was much nastier business than just staying dead. Everything was confusing, and Shay was having a constant tightness of chest that she had gotten far too good at hiding.
When Shay saw Angelo, she smiled ruefully. "Hey, Fluffy."
He didn't look good. Shay would dare say she looked better than he did. But then, she had had two days to clean herself up before she was back. She thought about which story she might give. Something close to the truth, maybe.
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Angelo had not expected to be slapped in the face with a big case the moment he was promoted. He was expecting to take it slow and easy, not to be called in by the chief of police and told that Eroshay Rosales had gone missing and that he was now abruptly in charge because at least that way there was a change that the family would work with the police.
Angelo had not had a good week.
Angelo wasn't even at home when he got the call that Shay Rosales had been found, even if people obviously assumed he was. Instead he was in the back, curled up on a couch, with a blanket pulled over him as he slept. The phone woke him and it took him more then ten agonizing seconds to answer with a bleary whuh to get the news.
Angelo was only slightly more put together by the time Shay arrived at the station. He'd gotten his uniform in some semblance of order and pulled his hair--even messier than usual--back in a loose ponytail.
"Oh christ, Shay," should probably not have been the first words out of his mouth, but they were anyway. She was alive and okay and hadn't been taken out by one of her father's rivals, and his first instinct was to hug her, even if he pushed it down.
It wasn't professional, and he might need to swab her clothes for evidence anyway.
He didn't waste time sweeping her into a side room, the usual security camera in the corner still on. He wished he had a better room, but the station wasn't exactly the most comfortable place to be, so he settled for dragging two chairs in with them so he could sit with her, rather than across the table from her.
It probably wasn't appropriate on the island, but Angelo crossed himself quickly anyway.
Might as well give God his due. She was back alive, after all.
Angelo had not had a good week.
Angelo wasn't even at home when he got the call that Shay Rosales had been found, even if people obviously assumed he was. Instead he was in the back, curled up on a couch, with a blanket pulled over him as he slept. The phone woke him and it took him more then ten agonizing seconds to answer with a bleary whuh to get the news.
Angelo was only slightly more put together by the time Shay arrived at the station. He'd gotten his uniform in some semblance of order and pulled his hair--even messier than usual--back in a loose ponytail.
"Oh christ, Shay," should probably not have been the first words out of his mouth, but they were anyway. She was alive and okay and hadn't been taken out by one of her father's rivals, and his first instinct was to hug her, even if he pushed it down.
It wasn't professional, and he might need to swab her clothes for evidence anyway.
He didn't waste time sweeping her into a side room, the usual security camera in the corner still on. He wished he had a better room, but the station wasn't exactly the most comfortable place to be, so he settled for dragging two chairs in with them so he could sit with her, rather than across the table from her.
It probably wasn't appropriate on the island, but Angelo crossed himself quickly anyway.
Might as well give God his due. She was back alive, after all.
It was a good thing Angelo didn't hug Shay. She would have been too shaken up for it. At any other time, Shay might have accepted a hug from Angelo Genovese (despite some massive confusion and surprise), but today was not a good one for it.
God, Shay hated this place. She hated all the cameras, and she hated how it felt like the ball wasn't in her court, even if it very much was. Shay was surprised when Angelo sat with her and even more astounded when he crossed himself.
Shay had always assumed they weren't friends. And maybe they still weren't? Angelo was normal, and Shay was not. It felt funny to say that about an ex-mafioso, but he was put together. He knew boundaries, and he had a simple enough life (she assumed) before she'd come in with the Rosales and scrambled it all up.
He should have been happy she was gone. It meant less of a headache for him.
It was all so confusing that Shay didn't even notice that her powers weren't working on him. They hadn't exactly been at their one hundred percent since her death, but even this would have been a little much.
"How does this work? I'm not even sure we have anything to talk about. Tried to tell the cops that when they dragged me off here from home, but, well, here we are."
And because she needed to say it, if only for herself. "I'm fine. But you don't look like you are. " She'd have asked if something happened, but that would have been daft on her part. "Surprised they put you on the case."
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If asked, Angelo would not have said they were friends, but he'd have had a hard time picking a word. Family friends? Something like that. Either way, he worried about her, but it certainly wasn't a really even relationship.
"We talk," Angelo said. "And depending on what you say, we can go for there. You were gone for a week and everyone was worried about you. A lot of theories, a lot of searching, and we got a whole lot of nothing."
A lot of nothing. Missing people always got a lot of effort spent trying to find them, but missing fourteen year olds? That was a whole other level.
"I shouldn't have been," Angelo pointed out. "It's a conflict of interest, and someone else should have taken it. But considering your family, the brass decided to prioritize making sure Klaus and Vito would cooperate, and they thought they had the best chance of getting any relevant info if I was in charge."
It was all for nothing in the end. Neither had any useful information, and Shay had appeared on her own.
"Tell me what happened Shay. Where'd you go?"
"We talk," Angelo said. "And depending on what you say, we can go for there. You were gone for a week and everyone was worried about you. A lot of theories, a lot of searching, and we got a whole lot of nothing."
A lot of nothing. Missing people always got a lot of effort spent trying to find them, but missing fourteen year olds? That was a whole other level.
"I shouldn't have been," Angelo pointed out. "It's a conflict of interest, and someone else should have taken it. But considering your family, the brass decided to prioritize making sure Klaus and Vito would cooperate, and they thought they had the best chance of getting any relevant info if I was in charge."
It was all for nothing in the end. Neither had any useful information, and Shay had appeared on her own.
"Tell me what happened Shay. Where'd you go?"
Shay pulled her feet up on the chair with her so her knees were against herself and she could rest her chin on them. She watched Angelo. "What if I just want to go home?"
It felt strangely manipulative to Shay that the police force would set Angelo on the case at all, but Shay was sensitive right now. She closed her eyes with a sigh. Too many nerves here. Wasn't a parent supposed to be with her? No, that was only if she was in trouble.
"I died," she told him casually, figuring she outta stick close enough to the truth that she wouldn't be caught in a lie. "Not hard to guess why with the family business and all. Then I came back. Before you ask, no one brought me back. It just happened, and it took awhile."
Shay stopped there. That was her story, that was all she had to give Angelo. It was more than any other officer would have gotten out of her, lie or not.
"No charges to be pressed. Things are done." She said it with meaning, in a way that suggested it was taken care of.
"Am I allowed to go home now?"
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Shay looked so young when she pulled her legs up like that. A little girl who'd seen too much too many times. She deserved a quiet life away from all that had happened, but she wasn't likely to get it.
Even if Angelo knew that Klaus really did care for the kids he adopted, he couldn't help but feel about Klaus the way he felt about his own 'father' - that people involved in organized crimes, for whom death was a regular part of their lives, shouldn't be involved in the raising of children.
Even if Klaus loved her, he was exposing her to danger.
"It's not as easy as going home," Angelo pointed out. "Nothing's ever that easy."
Not in life, and not in death.
Angelo's eyes widen when she said she'd been murdered. Not kidnapped, but murdered. Dead and returned, apparently.
"I hate to tell you, but the victim doesn't get to decide about pressing charges for murder, Shay. The police pursue the case regardless of the feelings of the victims. They're not going to be eager to stick their nose in your father's business, but they should anyway. If someone was willing to kill a child, that means they're not playing by the rules most mafia members follow. It means they might have killed other people, before you. Even if they're already dead, we still need to know who they are so we can make those connections."
He knew Shay wouldn't want to, but she had to anyway. It wasn't as easy as saying I'm telling you it's not an issue and being done with it, after all.
Angelo paused for a moment, then offered his hand--for her to take if she wanted, but not otherwise. The option was there, either way.
Even if Angelo knew that Klaus really did care for the kids he adopted, he couldn't help but feel about Klaus the way he felt about his own 'father' - that people involved in organized crimes, for whom death was a regular part of their lives, shouldn't be involved in the raising of children.
Even if Klaus loved her, he was exposing her to danger.
"It's not as easy as going home," Angelo pointed out. "Nothing's ever that easy."
Not in life, and not in death.
Angelo's eyes widen when she said she'd been murdered. Not kidnapped, but murdered. Dead and returned, apparently.
"I hate to tell you, but the victim doesn't get to decide about pressing charges for murder, Shay. The police pursue the case regardless of the feelings of the victims. They're not going to be eager to stick their nose in your father's business, but they should anyway. If someone was willing to kill a child, that means they're not playing by the rules most mafia members follow. It means they might have killed other people, before you. Even if they're already dead, we still need to know who they are so we can make those connections."
He knew Shay wouldn't want to, but she had to anyway. It wasn't as easy as saying I'm telling you it's not an issue and being done with it, after all.
Angelo paused for a moment, then offered his hand--for her to take if she wanted, but not otherwise. The option was there, either way.
Any heat that Shay had kept bottled up was let lose then. She pulled back at the offered hand, face red in frustration. "I don't know what else to tell you then, Angelo. That's all there is. Nothing else. So if you want to pursue it, have fun." Shay would have said, 'but you won't get far.' if that didn't sound so damning.
"And if you plan on keeping me here, I want Klaus or Vito with me." In the sparse times, they had been in each other's company, Shay couldn't think back to a time she'd purposefully made things challenging for Angelo, or looked at him as someone on the opposite side of a war, but she did then.
She curled up tighter into herself. Feeling like she was on trial, walking right into a trap. Enemies on all sides. Her chest felt tight, and her breath came hard. Shay squeezed her eyes shut, willing any tears gone.
"I want my dads. I want my dads now."
And then an idea struck. Angelo said she couldn't leave? She had to talk? Well, what would he do if she just got up and headed for the door? Surely he wouldn't grab her and lock her up. Not a victimized kid and not a child of Klaus and Vito Rosales.
She stopped making a fuss and looked at him blankly for a moment before slowly uncurling herself and standing making way for the door. "I'm going home."
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Shay was shutting down. It wasn't just that she wasn't answering the question, it was that she was going silent herself, pulling back from his attempts to reach out to her.
She was pulling away, and Angelo frowned when she said she wanted her dads. He would get them, if that was what she wanted. Klaus might even help. He seemed to like Angelo well enough.
Her declaration that she was going to leave, though, was something else. She was a child--he could hold her if he chose to. But the guilt was already starting to weigh on him.
He hadn't helped her when she needed it. Not then, and not before she'd gotten involved with Klaus Rosales.
"Alright," he said simply. "But you have my number if you want to talk."
Angelo didn't move to stand up, simply stayed sitting where he was.
She was pulling away, and Angelo frowned when she said she wanted her dads. He would get them, if that was what she wanted. Klaus might even help. He seemed to like Angelo well enough.
Her declaration that she was going to leave, though, was something else. She was a child--he could hold her if he chose to. But the guilt was already starting to weigh on him.
He hadn't helped her when she needed it. Not then, and not before she'd gotten involved with Klaus Rosales.
"Alright," he said simply. "But you have my number if you want to talk."
Angelo didn't move to stand up, simply stayed sitting where he was.
Wow, it had actually worked. Why didn't more people do this? Was she allowed to be doing this? She turned once she reached the door, stared at Angelo with angry tears at the corners of her eyes and reached up to viciously wipe them away.
"I've told you all I remember. I'm sorry, I can't help you."
But Shay wasn't sorry. Just like she wasn't sorry that she'd fingered some rival gang leader as her murderer to Klaus and Vito. And she wasn't sorry that he had a fate worse than death. She wasn't sorry, but she should have been.
Did that make her a bad person?
Shay wasn't sure she'd have been sorry if she was that, either.
Without anymore to be said, Eroshay opened the door and walked out of the station without a glance backward. She just had to think about walking and getting back home where things were nice and cozy.
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