Set Me Free

'...he would live in my memories forever.'

"No matter how much suffering you went through, you never wanted to let go of those memories."

I tell my mother everything.

I tell her about the warehouse, about the way I was treated. I tell her about the fear I felt being there and how every day I thought may somehow be my last.

I then tell her about Daniel.

About how he saved me, about how he protected me. I tell her about the times he made me laugh when I was too scared to even smile, about the times he made me feel like home in such a terrifying place. Finally, I tell her about how he escaped.

"I told him to run, to leave and never look back. He didn't deserve to be carted off like the rest of them, he wasn't one of them. Honestly, he was more of a prisoner than I was. He was a good guy surrounded by bad and he made me feel safe," I finish, thinking about the times that Daniel had been there for me over the last couple of weeks.

"Oh my god," I mother breaks me out of my daydream, "you love him, don't you?" Once again, my mother manages to see right through me.

"I do," I admit. It still felt weird to say that out loud, to actually admit that I was in love with a man I had only known for a short period of time. But I knew I did, I knew that I loved him. It doesn't matter about how long you know a person, all that matters is how they make you feel.

"Wow," she sighs, clutching onto my hand. Once again, I reminded about how good it feels to be here with my mum, to have her hold my hand.

"So where is he now?" She asks.

"I have no idea," I admit, "he never told me where he would go if given the chance. I don't even know if he has anywhere to go." The thought terrified me. Daniel was out there somewhere, alone. Apart his father, I wasn't aware of any family he had, and since he had been kept hidden for so long I doubted he had any friends. He probably has no where to go, no one to look after him.

"Mum, what if he's alone out there? What if he has nowhere to go? What will he do?" I panic, the machine monitoring to my heart rate showing this for me.

"Okay, calm down hunny, calm down," my mother soothes, "I'm sure he's fine, okay. He probably has somewhere he can go, someone he can run too."

This didn't make me feel any better. I honestly believed he had no one.

The door opens then, revealing two police officers dressed in uniform. The first is tall, maybe around six foot, with kind eyes. He smiles gently at me as he enters the room. The other is younger and a lot smaller. He takes the room in as he enters, looking at everything, including me, with immense detail. He looks like he would rather be anywhere else in the world right now than standing in my hospital room.

"Good afternoon, my name is Officer Reid and this is my partner, Officer Hanson. How are you feeling Miss Nicholl?" The taller officer asks me, standing before my bed as he smiles gently at me.

"Better, thank you."

"Excellent," he responds, "if it's okay with you, we have a few questions for you about your time in the warehouse."

I knew this was coming, that at some point I would have to talk to the police. I just never imagined it would happen so quickly after I was released. I believed I would have a little time to gather myself, to get my head around what happened to me before I would have to share these details with strangers. However, they were here now, and I knew that I had no choice but to give my statement of events.

The Officer Reid asks all the questions while Officer Hanson takes detailed and hurried notes. Occasionally, he looks up from his notebook to give me a look of disbelief, as if I am making up the story of my kidnapping. I can't help but want to throw my pillow at him every time he gives me this look.

"I just have one question," Officer Hanson finally says after Officer Reid declares that he is finished, "one of the men is talking about a fourth man being apart of the organisation. He is saying that this man fled once the raid started happening. Is this true Miss Nicholl?" He looks at me intensely, as if he is waiting for me to lie to him. I meet his eyes as I give him my answer.

"No, there were only three men that kept me captive and you have them all in custody," I tell him. He narrows his eyes at me, reading me to look for any signs that what I told him was in any way a lie.

It wasn't.

There were only three men that kept me captive. He never asked me if there was another prisoner.

"That will be all Ma'am," Officer Hanson smiles tightly at me before turning around and leaving promptly. Officer Reid smiles gently at me once more before following suit.

I felt like I had just been under interrogation, like I was the criminal, not the victim. My mother senses this and once again, takes my hand in hers.

"I'm proud of you hunny, well done," she tells me before gently kissing me on the forehead.

Not long after that the doctor enters and tells my mother that visiting hours are over and she must leave. She puts up a fight for a while, insisting she must stay, before finally admitting defeat once the doctor tells her that I was be okay to go home tomorrow.

Home. Somewhere I hadn't been in such a long time. I knew my mother would want me to go back with her, to stay at her house. But all I could think about was my bed, in my flat, with my best friend in the next room telling stories through the walls. I wanted my real home.

Finally, after much dragging of her feet, my mother leaves and I'm left alone.

My thoughts drift to Daniel and whether or not he really was safe. Had he found anyone to be there for him? Was he enjoying his new found freedom.

I wasn't sure whether I would ever see him again, but I knew then that I would always think about him. Whether I wanted to forget about the whole experience or not, I knew that somehow it would always be there, nagging me in the back of my mind, reminding me of how strong I was. Along with these memories is where I would find Daniel.

He would always be remembered by me as my first love, as the boy who cared, as the one who was there for me. I knew that for as long as I lived, I would never be able to forget him.

Like it or not, he would live in my memories forever.