I am sitting on the hospital bed when the nurse comes in. There isn't another patient with me, but the nurses still have the curtain drawn in the middle of the room. There is a police officer stationed outside the hospital room. This nurse is an older lady with short curly blonde hair. She holds a clipboard with a long pen hanging from it. She smiles only slightly at me.
"Charlotte?" She asks me quietly like she is afraid to startle me.
"Yes," I say, "That's me."
She reaches to draw the privacy curtain to the wall, "Your knuckles, they may have some of your attackers DNA on them. Can I get a swap of them?"
I look down. Red is smeared across my knuckles like thinned paint. I didn't even notice it. I assume it is because I am coming down from the shock. I nod my head and extend my arms to her.
With gloved hands, she carefully swaps over the blood with a q-tip. She shoves the swap into a long plastic bag and ties it off, "Thank you."
The door of the room flings open. My nurse pulls back the curtain.
"Sir, I'm sorry" She begins, "I'm sorry sir you can't-"
My fathers face appears on the other side, "This is my daughter"
Instant relief floods over me, like a wave. I instantly feel like I'm lighter.
"Dad!" I say, I can feel the tears flow down my cheeks, as I open my arms to him.
"Charlie," He says, and rushes to collect me in a hug. When he moves, I can see who he has brought with him.
It's Dominic.
The nurse assesses the situation and determines that I am not in any threat. She collects her samples and excuses herself out.
"Are you hurt?" My father questions, examining the blood on my hands.
"The blood isn't mine, dad," I explain.
I see dad's gaze relax into almost a smile, "That's my girl. Those sons of bitches-"
"I'm fine dad. Really," I assure him. I look over at Dominic, who is perched up against the wall in uniform, "Hi Dominic,"
He shoots up, and watches me cautiously, "Hi Charlie,"
"Parker is here to take your formal statement," My dad explains,
Dominic pulls out a small notebook from his jacket, "Is it okay if I ask you a few questions?"
"Yeah, I guess," I say, staring into him.
He looks up at me, for a moment we don't say anything, but an exchange of knowing glances.
"Can you tell me what happened tonight, after you left the precinct?"
I close my eyes to better recount the events, "Well, after I left, I was walking to the car when I noticed the two guys standing there. I ducked behind the car so that they wouldn't see me, I don't know why. They were talking about killing someone-"
Dominic interrupts, "Killing someone?"
"Yes," I continue, "They were discussing 'dropping a body.'"
"Did they mention a name?"
Tears begin to well in my eyes once more, as the details began to come back, "Yes. Robert Evens."
I look to my father, half expecting him to be shocked by the thought of someone trying to harm him, but he isn't. He wipes my tears, and nods his head to me in reassurance, "It's alright sweetheart, what happened next?"
YOU ARE READING
The Strangers in Apartment 32
Fiksi Remaja"Remember baby, my family kills people," His face is so close to mine, I can almost taste him. He back me slowly towards the open balcony doors, not touching me, but somehow making me move. "Axel, don't you take another step towards me," I scold h...
