One less lonely girl in the world

Chapter 4

Chelz P.O.V:

2 weeks later:

It was a Saturday morning, and I'd just woken up when the doorbell rang. I slipped my jumper on and went to answer it. It was Officer Draught, Officer Sun and Officer Patio again. I hadn't seen them for a few weeks now. I let them inside and offered them a drink. They asked for tea. I went into the kitchen to make it and bought it back in to the living room. I set the cups down on the table. 

"I'll just go wake my sister up." I told them, quickly dashing upstairs to get Cher. She followed me downstairs with her blanket wrapped around her. She said hello to the officers and sat down next to me.

"We have some good and some bad news. Mostly bad though, I'm afraid." Officer Sun began. My sister and I nodded for him to continue. "Well, the good news is that we've found your mother." Our faces lit up. "The bad news is that, unfortunately, we were too late. I'm so sorry for your loss girls." He finished and gave us a sympathetic look. I couldn't believe it. 

"Oh my god. Does... Does this mean that we have to go to an orphanage?" I asked hesitantly. Officer Patio shook his head.

"That's another bit of good news. You're sister is eighteen, correct." I nodded. "Exactly, she is of legal age to live by herself, which means you can continue living with her, go to an orphanage or stay with a relative." 

"Cher, can I stay with you, please?" I asked, turning to her. She looked shocked.

"Of course, you're my sister. Remember, whatever happens, we'll have each other forever and always." I grinned at her. 

"You're the best, and only, sister I've ever had. We'll make it through this together." I hugged her. 

"Sorry for interupting, but there a few more things we need to discuss with you two." Officer Draught said to us.

"What are they?" I asked him.

"For starters, here are some of the things your mother had on her when we found her." He handed over a plastic bag with our mum's jewellery and bag. "And if you're planning on having a funeral, we can help you organise it." I nodded. "Also, I consulted with our Chief back at the station and he thinks, and we all agree, that maybe you should have bodyguards for a while." 

"What? Why would we need bodyguards?" Cher asked, confused. I didn't say anything, I knew why.

"Well, I need to ask you something first. Do you know of anyone that doesn't like you or just wants to hurt you?" Officer Sun asked us. Cher shook her head. I hesitated and looked at the ground. 

"Ms. Berry, is there someone? We need to know, please. And we need to know why they would be targeting you." Officer Sun encouraged.

"Well... I don't know if he would actually be doing this but, my ex-boyfriend, Darren Plant. We were going along fine, until I found out that he was cheating on me with my 'best friend'. When I found out, I told him that we needed to talk, and so we went out to the park near our old house in Australia. I told him that I knew about him and her, but he acted dumb, pretending that he had no idea what I was talking about. I broke up with him and he got really mad. I tried leaving, I really did, but he wouldn't let me go. I tried running away from him and back home, but he grabbed onto my arm and pulled me towards him. Then, he tried to rape me, but I kept pushing him away until he finally gave up. Instead, he started kicking and punching me. When he had finished about 15 minutes later, he said and I quote, 'You'll be sorry, you know. I'll do whatever it takes to get revenge on you. So beware, and watch your back!' When I finally got home, I told mum, Cher and dad. Dad called the police and told them everything. And then, a few weeks later, dad went missing. The police found him in a dark alleyway, about 2 weeks later, with a broken nose, a broken left arm, a broken left leg and a bullet wound to the head..." I trailed off, sobbing quietly to myself. "The last time I saw Darren, he was  making out with my ex-best friend, smoking and doing drugs, I think it was Marijuana. A few days after our dad was found dead, Darren left school."