HIDDEN (Hide Or Die)

Chapter 50

ANDREW'S P. O. V.

The fluorescent lights of the police station cast a harsh glow on the worn-out faces of Kyle, Patrick, and me as we sat across from a policeman, he was a tall bulky man. Patrick, still shaken and pale, sat very still next to me, clutching a cup of water.

"Good day, boys. My name is Detective Ramirez Diego. Tell me your story. So, who wants to go first? When I raised my hand, the man nodded.

"Alright, Andrew," Detective Ramirez began, clicking his pen, "Tell us everything from the start."

On our way here, I had asked Kyle to let me do the talking, but when the time came, it felt like my heart was going to burst out of my mouth. God, if nervousness was a person, it would have been me.

I took a deep breath and glanced at Kyle for support. Kyle nodded subtly, his eyes red from the emotional strain.

"You've got this. I'm here my love."

I heard Kyle in my head and suddenly I felt a surge of determination rise in my stomach.

"Officer, it all started a few months ago when Julian and his friends found out that Kyle and I were dating." I started, my voice trembling a bit. "They began bullying Kyle relentlessly. He would come home with bruises, and it broke my heart to see him like that. Matthew, my best friend, often had to step in to protect us. He’s a big guy and usually scared them off and sometimes even threatened to call the school authorities on them."

"They'd corner me in the hallways, call us names, shove us around. It was horrible but Matthew never let them get too far and we didn't think it would escalate more than what they were already doing to us," Kyle interjected, his voice trembling as well.

The detective nodded, jotting down notes. "Go on."

I continued with a cracking voice, "But that afternoon after school, Kyle decided to take the footpath shortcut back home. It seemed safer, less crowded so I decided to join him." 

Kyle's voice cracked more as he picked up the story, "That's when Julian and his gang ambushed us. They came out of nowhere, surrounded us, and started shouting awful things. They said they were going to 'beat the gay out of us.' It was terrifying. They... they beat us up so badly, we couldn't even fight back."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I spoke. "They did horrible things to us, Detective. Punched, kicked, spit on us. Then they threw us into the trunk of Daniel's car. We couldn't see anything, but we felt every bump and every turn." God, I was definitely going to hell.

I paused, wiping a tear from my cheek. " It was cramped, and we could barely breathe. When they finally stopped, they dragged us to an old shed deep in the woods. They tied us up and left us there. The place was cold, dark, and smelled like mold, and we were so scared. They kept coming back, torturing us, laughing at our pain."

"It was a nightmare officer, we thought we were going to die in that shed," Kyle added, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Was that too much?"

I heard Kyle in my head again.

"No, you're doing fine honey,"

  I replied.

I took a deep breath and went on, "Days passed. We were hungry, thirsty, in so much pain. Then last night, they brought in another boy, Patrick. He was drugged, and they tied him up just like us but it seemed they were in a rush because his rope wasn't tied properly. When he woke up, he managed to untie himself and then us. We knew we had to run before Julian and his friends came back."