Afraid to love

Chapter 37

At the station, they question me once more. Every detail. They make Daniel and I give our statements in different rooms. At one point, they ask if I've ever met the attacker before. This is where my heart sinks. Yes. I know the attacker. He hurt me. But worse, is that he's about to hurt her. My friend. He's about to break her heart. I sent Nina a text earlier to come down to the police station. I didn't explain why. I couldn't through text.

"Alright" the officer says when we're finished, "thank you for your statement. I am so happy everything ended well for you. You will need to go to the hospital, to get your injuries taken care of. Would you like me to organise for someone to take you there?"

"No, thanks. I will go with Daniel"

"I am not sure they will be letting him out anytime soon" my head snaps up, my eyes meet the police officer's,

"Why not?"

"He physically assaulted another man"

"A man that had a gun. A man that abducted me. Shot at me. He shot Daniel in his shoulder. Has anyone even looked at the gunshot wound?"

"I know. We are aware he was shot. You told us all a few times about that. However, Daniel insists he's feeling fine, and he willingly agreed to give a statement"

"Then why aren't you letting him out?"

"You might not be aware, but Daniel has a criminal record"

"He saved me from a maniac!" I raise my voice, "he literally saved me!"

"We are aware" the officer speaks calmly, "please, stay calm for me"

"I am not staying calm" I shake my head, standing up. The movement makes me dizzy, I hold ontot he table,

"We can take you to a hospital-"

"I'm not leaving without him" I hold,

"Okay. Alright. I will check how his interview is going, alright? And then I will let you know"

The officer leads me to the waiting room. Nina runs towards me when she sees me.

"Are you okay?" she cries, "you've been hurt!" I can see the horror on her face. I wonder what I look like? Is it that bad? I haven't even seen myself,

"It's my fault" she's crying now, she pulls me into a hug, her hands are shaking, "it's all my fault! I told Daniel where you were! I thought I was doing good! And look what he did to you!"

"No! No! Nina, it wasn't Daniel. He didn't do this to me"

"He didn't? But – then, it was someone else. The stalker! The stalker attacker you?"

"Come with me. I say, pulling her away from the prying eyes of everyone around us, "I need the bathroom" I pull her to the public bathroom, luckily empty. I can't resist looking into the mirror when we enter. There is a large bruise forming on my cheek, there is some blood on my temple. My hair is a mess, my eyes red. It looks horrible. But it could have been worse.

"What happened?" she cries,

"The stalker. I was in the parking lot, after my dance lesson"

"Daniel! It was Daniel! I sent him to pick you up!"

"No. Daniel saved me, Nina. It wasn't Daniel"

"Tell me everything"

"Nina. The stalker, he... he..."

"What? Tell me! You're scaring me!"

"It was George" I say. Her face goes pale, her mouth open, mid sentence, she's looking at me with tears in her eyes, her head shakes left and right,

"N-no" she stammers, "it wasn't. It couldn't have been"

I pull her into a hug. When we're both calm, I tell her everything that happened. She listens without stopping me. When I am done, she whispers,

"So, it was him"

"Yes"

"I can't believe he'd do that"

"Me too"

"I am so sorry, I never believed you-"

"You saved me, Nina. If it wasn't for you, Daniel never would have come after me. Do you understand that? You saved me"

Later, we return to the waiting room. Realising George was her boyfriend, the police officers bring Nina in for questioning too. An hour or so later, she's released. But Daniel is still in there. The police offers once more to drive me to the hospital. I refuse to leave without Daniel. Nina and I wait. An hour. Two hours. Lara arrives with Elias. We spoke on the phone. She knows everything. Then Phil comes. The five of us fill the small waiting room. Phil tries persuading me to go to the hospital, he will wait for Daniel. But I refuse. Insisting I'm not leaving without him.

Finally, about eight hours after my initial questioning. They decide to let Daniel go. He exits the interrogation room with his head held high. He pauses, shocked to see the five of us on the other side. His eyes move to Phil, Lara, Elias, Nina, and then finally to me,

"Why are you all here?" he asks,

"Because this girl wouldn't leave without you" Phil responds, motioning towards me. A satisfied smirk appears on Daniel's face, he walks over to me and lifts me into an embrace. I never want him to let go.