ELIZA

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE: POLICE

"How did you do it?" I asked with a lump in my throat. "You haven't teleported."

"Of course not," Cosmo continued to hold my hand. "I was on the same plane with you. Unfortunately, by the time I took the car to the parking lot and returned to the hall, you'd already gone further and there were no empty seats on the plane next to you. I've passed you by a few times, but you haven't seen me."

It was true that I was so absorbed in melancholy that I paid no attention to passing passengers. But how could I be so blind? And that turbulence...

"We could've crashed, " I pointed out as if it was his fault, then took a step back. "And anyway, what are you doing here? You..."

"I know," he interrupted me. "But I couldn't do otherwise."

I had the impression that something was left unsaid. It was like he didn't mention something on purpose. Usually my hunch was right, and it was also like this this time.

"The police will be here soon. I called them a while ago."

I stood with my mouth open, trying to understand why he had notified them. And then, frantically, I whispered.

"But they're not here yet. Buy a ticket and go... "

"No. It doesn't make sense anymore. I won't run away. Just..." he hesitated. "Be gentle to me in court."

As soon as he said it, everything happened like in a movie. Someone shouted to me: "Get away from the suspect!", another pushed me away from Cosmo, and before I knew it, three policemen and a woman were surrounding me, and Cosmo was out of my sight. The woman was repeating the words like a mantra: "Are you okay? Please look here."

"Cosmo!" I called, trying to push forward, though they wouldn't let me.

I saw him again, one brief moment. He was handcuffed and led outside.

The woman continued talking to me, which made me very angry.

"Please stop!" I ordered. "Where are they taking him? He didn't do anything to me."

I tried to stand on my tiptoes to see more, but there were not only policemen and a woman next to me, but also bystanders who pointed at me and even, some of them, took pictures of me. I hid my face with my hands, and the policemen, like my bodyguards, surrounded me, so that the prying eyes of other passengers wouldn't reach me.

"How was the trip?" The woman was still unfazed by my silence. She even grabbed my luggage. "We'll go to the police station, the officers must question you."

"But why?" I bristled. "I have nothing to say. I don't understand what you want from me at all."

We kept walking straight ahead until we reached the airport exit. Police cars were waiting for us there, but I didn't see Cosmo. Had they already taken him? I felt furious.

"I know it was very hard for you, especially in the beginning."

"Yeah, you know it..." I wasn't normally rude to people I didn't know, but the woman next to me was really getting on my nerves.

"Do you have a wish with whom you would like to see first?"

"With Cosmo," I replied with the obvious statement. "I repeat again. He didn't do anything to me. I was on vacation with him."

The woman exchanged a cold glance with one of the policemen. I don't think she believed me. I had to be more convincing.

"You're taking my boyfriend in handcuffs to the police. How am I supposed to feel? What did he do?" I asked dramatically.

"Listen," the woman said to me in a motherly voice just before they sat me into the police car. "He kidnapped you. It's normal for you to defend him now, but think about where it all started. It was not according to your will. He drugged you."

How did they know about it? Was I that easy to read? I bit my lip. What am I supposed to do now?