The Darkness Within

Chapter One

Hello my lovely readers, thank you for reading my story! :) I just recently started this one and I would really appreciate some feedback on it. I have two other stories on wattpad that you can check out: Broken Ice and Good Guys are the New Bad Boys. The picture in this chapter is Arie Finnigan (Barbara Palvin). I hope you enjoy! :)

*************************************************************************************************

Arie's P.O.V.

I woke up to the sound of pounding fists on my apartment door.

I jolted awake, slightly apprehensive due to the vicious knocking that was coming outside my door. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and slipped out of bed, pulling on a pair of sweatpants.

The pounding at the door only got louder.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I grumbled to myself, trudging through my darkened apartment to the waiting door. I glanced at the clock in my living room, only to discover that it was 5:00 am.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Who would be knocking at my door at 5:00 am?

Shaking my head slightly, I unlocked the front door and swung it open. There were two policemen dressed in their crisp uniforms with guns hung loosely at their sides. It was Tommy and Joey. A good year before I was recruited for the FBI, I worked with the Seattle police department. Tommy and Joey were my partners.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise at them. "What are you guys doing here?"

They traded sorrowful looks, before looking back at me with stone-cold expressions. My eyes caught that move. In only a couple seconds, I knew that whatever they were here for, it wasn't good. I knew that because I read them.

People are easy to read, if you know what to look for.

Joey cleared his throat awkwardly, before speaking. "Arie, we're going to need you to come with us." He finished his order with a pointed stare, a look he only gives to those he's arresting.

I crossed my arms, my eyes narrowing. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me why you're here."

Guilty looks flashed on both of their faces, making my heart pound with anxiety.

"Arie, we have to take you in," Tommy announced, the pitying look on his face only making my blood boil.

"For what? I didn't do anything," I defended myself, irritation spreading through my body.

Joey sighed deeply, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, pain was shining in his sea-colored eyes.

"Arie, they want to send you away to a mental hospital."

My heart sunk in my chest. It felt like I couldn't breathe; my throat was clogged. My body suddenly seemed weaker, unable to hold itself up. The floor seemed to cave beneath my body, threatening to send it into the darkness below. I stood frozen, staring blankly at the two men I once considered my friends, praying that this was some kind of sick joke. Judging by look on their faces, it wasn't.

"What?" I gasped out, feeling like I was thrown into a lake of icy water.

Joey stepped forward, grabbing my arm. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, before cuffing me. I was in too much shock to even fight back, to even say anything.

I just stared unblinkingly ahead, as they dragged me out of the apartment complex and into the cramped police car.

It was weird being the cuffed one in a police car. I was usually the one saving the day.