Saving Lotte Sullivan | Collingwood/Carlton

85: Custody

A/N: this chapter, and quite a few afterwards, do involve legal topics such as corrections and judicial systems, and sexual abuse/assault. Viewer discretion is advised.

...

'I fucking hate myself, I fucking hate myself, you fucking idiot, it's all your fucking fault, you're the one she should have stabbed, you fucking idiot'

Nick Daicos continued whispering this mantra as he paced inside his tiny police cell, confined to the four metal grey walls. He leaned against one, and slid down, head in hands.

'I hope Josh is okay, god I fucking hope Josh is okay' he whispered, leaning his head against the wall, deliberately banging it.

'Ginni' he added, thinking about the rough shape his teammate had been in, and the little player clambering on top of him, desperate to save him. Nick couldn't remember who or what anymore. He'd had the few most stressful nights of his life. A growing concussion on top of the list certainly wasn't helping anyone. But he knew one thing: the police had told him Ginni was alive, but in a critical condition. A small, mainly unheard player by the name of Trent Bianco had saved his life, and then the paramedics had gotten him to a hospital, safely. But Nick didn't know for sure. The last thing he'd seen was a hoard of men beating his older brother into oblivion. And then he was chartered away in the back of a police van, handcuffed.

'You fucking idiot!' He yelled, pulling at his hair. His wrists were still sore from the handcuffs he'd been forced to wear every time he left his cell, which was usually just for interrogation purposes. Two members of the police team had given him brutal enough beatings so badly he'd woken up on the floor of his cell with his head on fire and bleeding, he could barely move. He was sure his right wrist was broken. He was a rising star, who was allowing such treatment of a Daicos? Why weren't Collingwood or the AFL standing up for his rights and letting him out? And mostly, what the hell had he done to end up in this position?

'FUCKING HATE YOU!' He screamed, slamming his fist against the tiny, disgusting mirror against the combined metal toilet and sink. The mirror cracked, but didn't smash. Nothing smashed. It was impossible to commit suicide in here. Nick didn't want to. But the thought had crossed his mind. Especially if Josh....

'HEY! Do you want me to come in there?' Officer Ashton asked, pulling back the window to Nick's door and glaring in at him. Nick immediately turned around, facing him in tears.

'IS MY BROTHER OKAY?' He yelled, running to the closed door desperately, trying to see outside into the corridor. Where were his parents? Maddie? Did Ashlyn still want him now that he might've had a criminal record? Not one single person had visited him. He'd never felt so alone.

'I don't want to hear anymore noise out of you tonight, every time you go off, you set about another 10 into hysterics. Just lay down and be quiet!' Officer Ashton yelled, looking in at him sternly.

'Please just tell me if Josh is okay. Please, I won't ask for anything else and I'll behave. Please. No wait, PLEA-'

Ashton slammed the window shut and left Nick's wing, the rattling of his cell keys becoming even more faint until Nick couldn't hear anything at all.

The 20 year old burst into tears and collapsed into a heap on the floor, uncharacteristically hitting himself over and over. 'It's all my fault. This is all my fucking fault.' He chanted, almost in some sort of trance with blaming and harming himself. He just wanted to know if Josh was okay. And then he wanted a decent bed to sleep on, instead of a metal slab.

His mind hadn't stopped in four days: he was all over the place. Was Josh alive? Did Jack make a full recovery and wake up? Where was everyone? Surely his parents and sister were with Josh at the hospital and that's why nobody had been in to see him. It couldn't be because they were angry and thought of him as a killer. Was Ella free, or did they catch her? Was she locked away in the cell next to him? Wait, if Ella was locked up too...then where was Rhiannon? Was she okay and safe? Did the fans know Nick didn't do anything wrong? Why was he being treated so poorly? What could he do to stop his head from hurting so bad? Why on earth couldn't he remember a single thing from the day, besides the fight and Ella stabbing Jack? Why was the rest all a big blur?