Stalker ||fillie||

Chapter 12

Finn refused further treatment unless he was allowed to see her every day. They were reluctant at first, but he meant what he said, he was willing to pull out drips, refuse pain medication, refuse to have his dressings changed. So they let him sit by her bed. He held her hand, talked to her, sometimes just sat there for hours in silence, listening to the machines monitoring her heartbeats, keeping her alive. He threw himself into the physical therapy designed to help his body recover. His shoulder was weak but he was lucky that it wasn't badly damaged, his leg on the other hand had had nerve damage and he had to relearn how to use it properly, his body compensating for the loss of feeling.

There were also the statements he had to give the police. He hadn't been deemed medically or mentally fit to talk to them at first, but he'd had a remarkable turnaround since finding out she was alive. "Ok Finn, we need to take a statement from you. I know it's traumatic, what happened, if you like you can have someone with you."

The thought of talking about it, reliving it made him feel physically sick. "Can...can Charlie, Millie's brother, stay?" he asked. Charlie looked at him quizzically, "her family deserve to know what happened, first hand, not from anyone else. They must have a lot of questions" he added. It was Charlie's turn to look sick, but he gave a slight nod in gratitude, knowing that his parents couldn't deal with listening to it right now.

"Millie asked me to come see her, I got there and she said she had something to tell me, to show me. I assumed it was more messages, so when she just got up to go to the other room to get something, I stopped her and told her not to bother. I was sick of her hiding the messages from everyone, she wouldn't listen to me about reporting them or at least telling her family, she thought she was protecting everyone" he looked guiltily at Charlie, "everyone except herself."

"She got really upset and...kicked me out, she said I didn't deserve to know, I dunno what she meant. When I got back to my trailer I felt so bad, the idea that it was me that made her cry. I knew she needed some time alone, so I waited till the next day to go back and say sorry, and that's when...that's when I interrupted them. The way she said good bye to me...I knew, I knew what was wrong. I was so scared, but I couldn't leave her. I tried to get her out of there, but he knew that I knew. He tied me up, he made me watch when he...when he made her..." he stopped talking, instead looking at the ceiling trying to contain the tears that were threatening to spill.

"Finn, we know this is hard, but we need the details for the records, we need to know what to charge him with when we can, the whole story, ok?" said the detective.

Finn swallowed hard, not really paying much attention to what the detective had just said, but knowing he had to go on anyway. He looked at Charlie briefly, who looked on the verge of tears himself. This must be hard to hear about your baby sister, I'm so sorry Charlie, I couldn't protect her. Finn squeezed his eyes shut, permitting the tears to fall. "He made her kiss him, then when she didn't do what he wanted he punched her down. He then made her stand and take off her top...he said he was going to show me...how a real man handles her." Finn tried to wipe away the tears, but it was pointless. "He made her lie on the bed, he was going to...but, I managed to get out of the chair, I picked up a vase and whacked him over the head. We tried to leave, but he grabbed her, held a knife to her. She...she tried to get away, but he slashed her arm and then he..." the image flashed into his mind and he choked on his words, "he stabbed her, in the stomach, I saw her face...the noise" he held his head in his hands, crying hard. He couldn't even look at Charlie, the guilt weighing him down. Suddenly he felt a strong arm around his shoulders. Looking up he saw Charlie, eyes red.

"It's ok, Finn. Please carry on, for Millie, ok?"

"I jumped on him, told her to get away, which she did, then he stabbed me here" he said, pointing to the side of his chest. "I couldn't breathe or move, and he went after her. I managed to stand up and followed him out, he was behind Millie so I jumped on him, I shouted for her to run, but I don't think she could. He got me again in the leg and the shoulder, I...I saw him turn towards her, I couldn't get up so I grabbed his ankle, but he kicked me off. I think I passed out for a few seconds, when I came round Millie was on his back, trying to beat the crap out him" he smiled sadly, she's so feisty.

"That's my girl" said Charlie, quietly.

"He threw her on to the floor, then picked her up and shoved her against the wall, then he...he...I can't" he said, shaking his head, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

"Finn, you can do it" said the detective.

He took a deep, ragged breath, and keeping his eyes shut, reliving the memory in his head. "He stabbed her, again...and again. I saw someone tackle him...and she fell...I thought she was dead," he whispered the last part, the memory was still raw and painful.

"That's great Finn, thanks, we've got statements from everyone from that point on, when Charlie Heaton and Joe Keery tackled him to the ground, you can go for now, ok. If we need anything else we'll be in touch." With that, the detectives left he and Charlie alone. The silence was stifling.

"I'm so sorry Charlie."

"What?"

"I let her down, I'm so, so sorry" he whispered.

He was shocked when Charlie pulled him into a tight hug. "You saved her life Finn, if it wasn't for you he'd have killed her, and...and worse. Thank you, Finn, thank you."

*~~~~~~~~~~*

A/N sorry, bit of a filler chapter, but kind of necessary