Toni POV
The goddamn news vans. There's three of them parked at the front of the college with reporters and camera crews waiting for the college day to be over.
They're not allowed on the property but they're practically as close as they can get.
The homicide investigation has taken completely off and the search for whoever killed Mounterbanker is in full swing. I've never seen such a public interest in this case.
And with public interest, comes a lot of pointing fingers and people believing they know exactly who committed this crime.
The news about Cheryl getting assaulted by him became widespread news. I tried to stop it from getting out. But my boss said it was "important information for the case." Everything spiralled out of control shortly after that.
Everyone's eyes turned to Cheryl and almost every person who knew about the case believed that Cheryl was the killer, that she was getting some type of revenge for what he did to her.
Isn't that insane? He's dead yet he's still somehow ruining Cheryl's life. Day by fucking day.
As soon as I see the reporters and a few shouts of Cheryl's name, I take off to her dorm room. Her and the rest of the girls should be finished with their classes by now. That's if they even attended. I wouldn't blame them if they didn't.
The door swings open shortly after I knock and I'm greeted with all 4 girls. Betty waves me in and closes the door behind me.
"What the fuck is going on out there?" Betty asks hurriedly.
I sigh and run my hand through my hair, trying my best not to make eye contact with Cheryl. I know how terrified she is and it kills me that I can't help.
"Well, the reporters are trying to get on site. They're trying to get exclusive interviews with people and some of these college people seem desperate for a bit of attention. There's people doing interviews out front. But that's not who they're here for." I trail off, reluctantly lifting my head to look at Cheryl.
"I don't know what to do." Cheryl sighs. "I guess we have to get out of here don't we?"
"I'll drive," Veronica volunteers. "You can, like, hide in the back or something."
"Or we can stay here till they leave," Josie suggests. "Wait them out."
"They're not gonna leave. They're desperate." I say. I've learned it's best to always be honest with these girls. And that's the truth. Reporters are fucking brutal, especially with a case like this.
"I hate this," Cheryl says.
"Come with me," I say. "I've got my motorbike with me. We'll cut down Sinclair Street. They won't see us that way. I'll take you somewhere and Veronica can pick you up later or something."
Cheryl's face seems to brighten at this idea as Veronica nods and says "That'll work. Text me when you need me."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Betty mutters. "If they catch Cheryl, a suspect, with you, a cop, it'll be ten times worse."
"They won't catch us," I say shortly.
Betty seems unconvinced but nods anyway and goes to hug Cheryl. Josie and Veronica also hug Cheryl and tell her that they'll see her later.
Cheryl walks close to me as we head out the back door to the parking lot. No cameras. No reporters. Nothing.
I hand her my helmet and wait for her to settle herself on my bike and loop her arms around me.
"Wanna hold on any tighter?" I ask teasingly as her arms are practically in a death grip around my waist.
"Don't tempt me," she says.
I laugh and kick start the bike. I take back roads for a couple of miles until we arrive at the mall. We should be okay here. Everyone's too focused at the college because they think Cheryl's still there.
I ease my bike into a parking spot as far from the entrance as I can get. Cheryl takes the helmet off and hands it to me, squeezing my arm as she does. She swings her legs onto the pavement, her cheeks flushed slightly and her hair tousled.
"Thanks Toni, you're really saving me recently."
"I'm gonna do everything in my power to protect you." I say, completely honestly.
She looks at me, eyes filled with what can only be explained as adoration.
My hand reaches out and catches her around the waist, pulling her towards me. Her breath hitches and I can't stop looking at her lips whilst I wait for her to back away. She doesn't.
When I manage to tear my eyes away from her lips and look into her eyes, it feels like the breath is pulled right out of my lungs.
Two thoughts run through my head. One, I want to kiss her more than anything. And two, this is probably the completely wrong time to do so.
Before I can decide what to do next, a van screeches into the spot next to us and we both jump, bracing for the camera crew to jump out. But it's just an ordinary soccer mom van filled with screaming kids.
Cheryl clears her throat and moves away. "Now what?" She asks.
Now wait until they're gone and kiss me. But she's already walking towards the entrance of the mall. "Buy me food for saving your ass," I say instead. She laughs and grabs my hand, dragging me through the entrance.
We head for the food court and she doesn't let go of my hand the whole time. She actually insists on buying me food which I find amusing.
We sit down to eat and I can't help but feel normal for the first time in a while. Until something crosses my mind and I know I have to talk to her about it.
I lean across the table so that she can meet my eyes. "There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."
She raises her brows, interested, until I say, "I'm worried about the fact that you don't have a lawyer."
She swallows a bite of her food and avoids my eyes for a moment. "Why?"
"Because this whole thing is starting to blow up. My boss thinks the news coverage is only going to get more viral. The pressure is on and you need someone good in your corner."
"I have you." She says simply.
My heart quickens a little at hearing this and I send her a small smile. "Of course you do. But i'm just a cop Cher."
She sighs and runs a hand through her hair. She does that when she's stressed. It's happened a lot lately.
"What happened to innocent until proven guilty?" She asks tilting her head inquiringly.
"Nothing. But they're trying damn fucking hard to prove that you're guilty. It's a cheap way out. They focus on an easy suspect to pin this all on and then, case closed."
She scoffs frustratedly. "So I get assaulted and suddenly I'm the easy suspect. Not even a fucking victim. I'll tell you who the easy suspect is. Veronica."
"They don't know anything about Veronica though." I mutter.
"Well I'll tell them!" She shouts, so that people at the next table look over and she lowers her voice. "I'll tell them."
"Isn't Veronica like, your best friend?" I ask. "You really think she has something to do with this?"
Cheryl meets my eyes. "Don't you?"
