Troubled love

37

Danny

I stand outside the building with mum and Dylan by my side.

"I don't know about this." I mumble as I lean on my crutches.

"We are just here to have a chat. Nothing has to come from this." Mum replies gently rubbing my back.

I nod and we slowly walk inside. We walk up to the receptionist desk and I look around the large room.

"We're here to see Vincent Smith." She says to the receptionist.

"Danny." Christian calls out. I turn as he jogs up to us.

"Hey." I smile as he hugs me. He kisses the top of my head before turning to Mum and dylan.

"They are waiting for us upstairs." He tells us. Mum and Dylan nod as they start moving towards the elevator. However I remain still. "Danny?"

"I- don't worry." I mumble also moving towards the elevator.

"Hey no. Don't do that. what's wrong?" He asks stepping in front of me.

"What if they say the same thing Malissa did?" I ask as my chest tightens in panic.

"Wha- oh. Trust me Danny no one else believes that but her." He replies softly. "I promise that none of them think that. If they did they wouldn't be here ok?"

I nod and start moving towards the elevator again. We get in and he presses the four. It's completely silent and I hate it. I feel like everyone's walking on egg shells and I hate it.

We get to the floor and hop off. A man in a suit is standing by the first door on the left.

"In here." Christian says pointing. I enter with mum and dylan behind me. Once we're all in the man outside closes the door. A group of men and women sit on one side of the table.

"Mr Cole good to see you again." One says as he stands up and shakes Christian's hand.

"Likewise. This is Danny, Mrs Robert's and Dylan. Guys this is Vincent, the head lawyer." Christian explains.

Vincent's shakes all our hands and we sit down. Mum sits on my right with Dylan next to her and Christian sits on my left. I instantly take christian's hand and find the cool of his rings soothing. I twist the ring on his pointer finger.

"Right. Mr Cole has explained some of the situation to us. We also understand that you're hesitant to press charges. Why is that?" Vincent asks.

"I want to put this behind me. I want to forget it happened." I reply softly.

"Ok. Is there any other reason? Did someone threaten you?" He asks.

"No." I answer honestly.

"Ok good. So the only thing is that you don't want this to be dragged out? You just want it behind you?" I nod and he writes something down.

I tighten my grip on Christian's hand as silence settles in the room. Even though it's brief it makes me uncomfortable.

"Mrs Robert's you witnessed Samual Lewis attack Danny correct?"

"Yes. Twice." She clarifies with a nod.

"Who pushed for Danny to see a lawyer?"

"I did." Dylan speaks up.

"Ok. Why?"

"I didn't want to see my brother hurting. He deserves to get justice." Dylan replies and I can feel tears welling in my eyes. "He did nothing to deserve this. It's not right that he's in pain when he did nothing wrong."

"I understand." Vincent replies before turning to me. "You have a very strong case Danny. Multiple eye witnesses and photos of injuries. And that's just the little bit of information we've seen. If you want to go through with this you have a massive chance of winning. The evidence is stacked against Malissa and Samual."

"How long would it take after filling a police report?" I ask.

"Probably a year. In all honesty it will be hard. It will be mentally draining. But as I said you have so much evidence. It's rare to have a witness in a rape case and you have multiple. One who actual saw the assault take place and the others saw you get drugged."

"What about Samual? He would just be charged with assault right?"

"Probably yes. If he inappropriately touched you then you could charge him with indecent assault. If you make a police report then they will open an investigation. They will have to speak to witnesses and see the photos. After that they will decide whether or not to continue with charges."

"What if Samual comes after me? After finding out I'm pressing charges."

"They will most likely issue a PVO." I wordlessly nod and just stare at the table.

"Thank you for meeting with us." Christian says as he stands up. "I'll let you know if we have any more questions."

"Of course." Vincent says also standing. "I hope everything works out for you Danny."

They all leave and I still remain silent. Christian sits back down beside me and spins the chair so he's facing me. Dylan stands up and starts pacing the length of the room behind me.

"What's going on in that head?" Christian asks softly.

"I don't know." I sigh dropping my head into my hands. "It takes so long and it's just going to drag it out."

"Ok. We can forget all about this if you want." He replies as his hand glides up and down my back.

"But I want them to be help accountable. I just- I don't think I can deal with the stress."

"If you do this I will do everything I can to make it as easy as possible for you. We will all be there every step of the way." I nod and take his hand again.

"Do you think I should do it?" I ask quietly.

"I can't make that decision. I understand both sides of it. You need to do what you think is right." He tells me. I nod and once again feel tears collecting in my eyes. "You don't have to decide right now ok? Take your time. Think it through and make sure you're doing the right thing for you."

"There's no pressure to make any decisions." Mum adds. "Why don't we go out for lunch and forget it for now?"

I nod and grab my crutches. We leave the room and get downstairs. Someone who looks like Samual is sitting on a chair. Fear floods me and my mind is made up.

"I want to press charges."