Stockholm Syndrome

A Familiar Case

My eyes widened in surprise as I took in the officer who'd spoken, a friendly smile peek out from behind his full mustache as he extended a hand put to me. "I'm Officer Sherman."

"Niall Horan," I said as I took his outreached hand and gave it firm shake.

"Well Niall, I got a report saying that you wanted to report a crime." He said as I released his hand from mine. His grey eyes met mine a questioning gleam.

"Uh, yeah. I need to report a crime... or maybe several?" I stammered, my hand unconsciously raised to comb through my hair nervously, but I stopped myself when I remembered how tangled it was. I didn't need to make it any messier than it already was.

"Several?" Officer Sherman ask with a raised eyebrow this time.

"Well... I don't really want to go into the detail here..." I trailed off as my eyes glanced at Steven and Lisa. Lisa was nice enough, but I didn't want to burden her with my problems. Steven on the other hand... I didn't trust him at all. It was also a really personal thing for me... talking about what happened with Max made me feel vulnerable and weak, and I wanted as few people to know as possible. I'd already seen what lengths Tom and Max would go to protect their secrets.

"Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself," Officer Sherman chuckled as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "We do interviews back at the station. My boys, Officer Smith and Officer Collins, and I were sent to escort you back to the station safely."

"Right... well I guess I'd better say goodbye then," I smiled slightly at Lisa.

"Oh sweetie, I hope everything works out for you! You stay strong and keep on fighting," she murmured as she drew me into a warm embrace.

I was tense with surprise at first, but when I realized her intentions I relaxed and returned the gesture. It didn't feel awkward to hug a woman wasn't a family member, a girlfriend, or a fan, but instead it felt comforting. In a way, Lisa reminded of me my mom, who was probably a wreck after not hearing from me for so long. I wasn't able to get in touch very often due to our crazy band schedule, but I called at least every week. I can't even imagine what magazine articles had been published about Lou and I disappearing mysteriously. My mom must be worried sick, not knowing if I was okay or not. I think she'd feel worse though if she knew the truth about what Max had done to me. The thought of my mom worrying about me brought tears to my eyes, but I fought against them with everything I had and was able to force them back. I couldn't cry... not in front of all these people. It felt like a few minutes that we stood like that, hugging each other, but in reality it was much shorter.

"Thanks for everything Lisa," I smiled weakly as I pulled away and let out a deep breath.

"Don't mention it," she shrugged before adding, "Take care of yourself of Niall."

"I'll try my best," I answered honestly. Behind us Officer Smith and Officer Collins waited patiently for orders from Officer Sherman, who was patiently waited for me to finish saying my goodbye to Lisa. I didn't feel the need to say anything further to Steven, considering how he'd refused to help me in any way whatsoever.

"So... you said that we were going back to the station for an interview?" I asked as my attention turned back to Officer Sherman.

"Well... not like the interviews you're used to, but yes. We'll sit down in an office and ask you some questions, you'll answer them to the best of your abilities, and we'll go from there," he explained as he started walking towards the library's entrance.

I simply nodded as we stopped in front of the police car. Officer Sherman unlocked the door to the back seat, where the suspects usually sat, and motioned for me to get in. I felt a bit uncomfortable, having to sit in the back behind the wire fencing that separated the front and back seats, but I didn't question it. I'd watched enough Netflix to know that it was for both my safety and the police officers.