Learn To Love Again

Chapter 20

I was at Cornwall Regional for what felt like forever getting various checkups from the nurses before I finally got to see a doctor. The doctor ran some other tests and informed me that I was okay. However, there were a few bruises on my body and my right palm was cut in two places from holding the fragment of broken vase. There was also a minor wound on my head that probably resulted from falling down half a flight of stairs.

The doctor dressed and bandaged the wound on my head and the cuts on my hand. She informed me that they should be better within two days and I could remove the bandages then.

When I left the hospital room, detective Sterling was still in the waiting room. He offered to take me home.

When we were on the road, I asked him, "What's going to happen with Malcolm?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"On your statement," he said. "We don't know what we can charge him with yet. Except for attempted murder, of course. I'll let you rest for tonight, then you can come to the station tomorrow to give your statement."

"How did you know Malcolm was at my house?" I asked.

"The officers in charge of keeping an eye on him notified me that they lost track of him. They didn't know where he was. I called your cell but didn't get an answer."

"My phone's on vibrate," I said. "I must've left it downstairs when I got in."

"When you didn't answer, I drove straight to your house. I heard the commotion inside and entered."

"What if he gets a good lawyer? Could he go free?"

"The best he can do is lessen his sentence. He'll be going to jail. I'll make sure of that."

"That's very reassuring," I said.

He laughed. "Why do you always have to be so sarcastic?"

"What?" I said with a smile. "I'm not being sarcastic."

"That's very reassuring," he mimicked.

"Firstly, that doesn't sound anything like me. Secondly, there was not a hint of sarcasm in my voice. I do believe you'll make sure he goes to jail."

"That's very reassuring," he repeated.

I rolled my eyes. "Now who's being sarcastic?"

We approached my house and he pulled over at the end of the driveway.

"Would you like me to come in and help you clean up?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "Nah. I won't be doing any cleaning up until tomorrow, I'm exhausted. Thanks, though."

"Okay. Don't forget to come give your statement tomorrow."

"Okay." I opened the door and exited the car.

When I reached the front door, I heard him drive off. The door was closed, but not locked. I turned the knob and pushed it open, then stepped inside and locked it behind me.

The living room was a mess. I stepped over whatever was in my way and made a thorough search of the house. I found nothing out of the ordinary there. I then made a quick call to Erika and Monique and told them what happened. After assuring them a billion times that I was okay, I hung up and took a shower. I then set an alarm and went to bed.

My alarm woke me up at 7:00 in the morning. My body felt numb. I crawled out of bed and got two Panadols from the bathroom. After taking them with a glass of water, I got started on cleaning the house.

When I was done, I fetched a vase I had gotten from my mother for Christmas but never knew where to put it. I gathered the flowers that had once been in the broken vase and placed them inside it, then placed it on the coffee table.

By then, it was a few minutes after eight so I started getting ready for work.

***

I pulled up at the station at about 6:15 that evening. I parked and, after talking to the security guard at the gate about why I was there, entered the building.

Like before, I was greeted with the scent of fresh coffee. There were a few people inside the room, all of whom seemed busy doing something or another. I approached a seemingly middle aged man sitting on a metal chair and going through a file and asked him to direct me to detective Sterling's office.

"See that hallway right there?" He asked, pointing somewhere behind me.

I looked to where he was pointing. There was a doorway to one side of the room that opened into a hallway.

"Yes?" I said.

"Walk to the end of it and ascend the stairs. His office is the third door to the left."

"Okay. Thanks."

I followed his instructions, and when I approached the office, the door was slightly ajar. I could see detective Sterling sitting behind his desk, seemingly deep in thought, with some loose papers on the table in front of him.

I knocked on the door. He looked up and saw me.

"Hi," he said with a smile. "Come in."

I entered and took a seat on a chair on the opposite side of his desk.

"Would you like some horrible-tasting coffee?" He offered.

I laughed. "No, thanks."

He straightened in his seat, picked up a pen, and opened a notepad on his table. "So, what happened last night?"

I explained to the best of my recollection what happened from the moment I left my car the night before to when detective Sterling entered the house. He took notes while I spoke, and when I was done, he closed the book.

"Wow, that must've been terrible for you," he said, that look of concern creeping back onto his face.

"It was."

"I'm not sure how long Malcolm will be going to jail for," he said. "But I can already think of about half a dozen serious offenses that he can be charged with."

"Like...?"

"Let's see..." He seemed to think about it for a while. "Breaking and entering, possession of an illegal weapon, attempted rape, assault, destruction of property, attempted murder, and a lot more."

"Interesting," I said.

He leaned forward in his seat. "Malcolm is going away for a long time."

________________________________________________________________________

A/N:

Thanks for reading. Don't forget to let me know what you think.

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★It's Carmen. Love y'all! ★