Writers debate: Fiction

As he ran faster and faster he realized that he wasn"t being chased, but he knew that if he didn"t get away he would have been brought in by the police for questioning. At twenty three he has seen two tours of duty, once in Iraq and again in Afghanistan. He was tired, but he thought quickly on his feet. He couldn"t go home, but he could go to his girlfriend"s apartment. He"d left shoes there and a change of clothes. Above all, he could clean up. But, his girlfriend was inside off from work that day. "Jason, what are you doing? The police are looking for you and your house is on the news!" She exclaimed. "I"m running, Katie. I have to run. They think I did it and they"ll put me in jail." He stammered as he spoke, struggling to catch his breath. "I only killed my dad though, after he killed my mom. I had too. I just fvcking had too." "Was it self defense?" Katie threw her arms around him. "No, or-" Jason paused. "-I don"t know what it was. I saw him kill her and I just... I just reacted. I don"t know what it was. Don"t call the cops though." Katie told Jason to go clean up, and he showered and changed into clean clothes and walked back into the the living room of Katie"s apparent. "Do you have a plan?" She asked. "I have no idea." He sat down on the sofa, leaned over and put his hands behind his neck. "I just have no idea." Katie could see that Jason was holding back tears, and that the magnitude of seeing his parents dead before him, and knowing that he was responsible for one of their deaths, was beginning to set in. "You know you can"t stay here. The cops will be here looking for you any time. I"m surprised they aren"t here already. Everyone knows we"re together, Jason." Katie put her arms around him as he tried harder and harder not to break down in tears. "I know." He replied. "I"ll be gone. I just need to sit here a few more minutes." Katie pulled her iPhone out of her purse and searched for a lawyer. She dialed the number, and the call was ringing. Jason didn"t realize what was happening before she handed him the device. "Talk to them. They"ll know what to do." Katie hugged him, and went into the kitchen to get them both something to drink. Jason explained what had happened and where he was. The attorney instructed Jason to wait where he was, and that he would send a car to pick him up where they could discuss what came next. As he waited for the car, Jason paced Katie"s apartment in desperate helplessness and when the car arrived he looked outside the windows to see if any police were outside. After seeing that everything was clear, he kissed Katie goodbye and left. Upon arriving at his attorney"s office, a tall man with silver hair in a dark grey chalk-striped suit, striped shirt and bold red tie walked up to greet him. "You must be Jason. I"m Trent Hamilton, of Hamilton-Winston." "Hi." Jason didn"t know what else to say, but he followed as the man tuned and walked down a dimly lit but ornately decorated hallway. As Mr. Hamilton turned and opened what appeared to be the door to his office, he motioned for Jason to sit in a leather wing-backed chair. "Do you have a dollar?" Trent asked. "Yeah." Jason confusedly replied. "Give it to me." Trent held out his hand. "That"s your retainer. It means that everything you tell me is protected by attorney-client privilege." Jason reached into his back pocket, retrieved a dollar from his wallet and handed it to Trent. After explaining everything that had happened again, Trent crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. "What happens next is the hard part, Jason. You will need to turn yourself in. The police will book you, process you and take you to a holding facility. It won"t be pleasant, but it"s what has to happen. They will take you into an interrogation room, and you will sit across from a police investigator. That"s when you ask them for me. I"ll come in, and the meeting will be over. You"ll make bail the next day." "That"s it?" Jason replied. "That"s it." Trent stood up, walked out from behind his desk and placed his hand on Jason"s shoulder. "It will be fine, son. Just do exactly as I"ve told you." "Why are you helping me?" Jason asked, still confused. Trent turned and faced out a window. His voice took a wistfully nostalgic tone. "Your mother was the only woman I ever loved." Trent turned back and faced Jason. "And now, she"s gone."