The Convict

Crumbling

They were bluffing. It's the only explanation I can think of as to why the cops haven't come busting down my door. There is no private investigator. There never was. They were bluffing to get me to admit it to them, and I fell for it.

Dakota's parents knew there was only one person Dakota would turn to, one person who would still accept Dakota for what she's become. They knew from the moment she escaped where Dakota would run, they didn't need to hire a private investigator for that.

Unless they did.

Unless the police are just waiting for the right moment, gathering all the evidence they can to put me away forever. Maybe they are waiting for me to crack, come to them begging for immunity. Maybe they are writing the warrant as we speak.

The waiting is killing me.

Slowly.

Softly.

Each day that passes my anxiety goes up tenfold.

What if this and what if that?

When will it all come crumbling down?

The nightmares are awful, the panic attacks common now, and don't even get me started on seeing Antonia again. The stress of it all is eating me alive. I'm barely holding on. But I don't want to tell that to my family and friends. They already don't approve of my choices as it is. This would give them the excuse to turn Dakota in behind my back.

I shoot awake in bed in the middle of the night, another nightmare about all my teeth and hair falling out. I turn in bed but Dakota is not next to me like she usually is. My heart skips several beats in fear and I am frozen where I sit.

Where is she?

Did she run away?

Is she going to kill again?

Before I can go into a full-on spiral she walks back in the room, shoving the last bits of a cherry pie into her mouth. She looks at me like a deer in the headlights, caught in her act of late-night snacking.

I sigh in relief.

"Sorry, I got hungry, want some?" she asks.

I shake my head no and wipe the stray tears away from my nightmare.

She looks at me in concern before getting back into bed and gently pulling me into her arms.

"You okay?" she asks.

"I hate this, I hate waiting. If they are going to arrest me, let's just get it over with already." I whimper.

"Don't say that," she brushes my hair down.

I relax into her arms.

"I don't get why they haven't arrested me yet," I say. "I am sure they know everything by now."

"Don't think about that stuff." She chastises me.

"How can I not? Antonia's family is relentless, they are all over social media, on the news, calling for your capture. They are going to figure it out. Everyone is."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Honestly, I don't care when they come, I'm glad I got to spend as much time with you as I have. As your friend, your girlfriend, your wife, and not your kidnapper. This time we have together means everything to me and I am going to cherish every second I get to spend with you. When they come for me, at least I'll always have these new memories, untainted, happy, real memories to hold on to."

"Dakota," I fight back tears and nuzzle into her.

Sometimes she can be so sweet.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed," she lies down.