Countdown Romance

Chapter 20: I'm Safe Now

"Help!" My throat hurt from trying to yell. I couldn't move. I heard the door click to the entrance of the police department. 

"Miss? Are you okay?" a concerned voice sounded from the doorway. 

"No, my name is Allie Thomas."

I heard a gasp. "Are you the girl who went missing?"

"Yes, I need to talk to a police officer, please."

The man helped me up, and half-walked, half-carried me into the building. My heart pound in my chest. What if they don't believe I was kidnapped?

The man helped me to a small interrogation room and sat me in a wooden chair. A metal table sat in front of me. 

"Someone will be here to talk to you in just a second."

A click of the door sounded announcing the man had left. I tried to focus on the room around me, but everything was blurry. I assume after all the hits to my head something must have messed up my vision. My legs ached from where I fell out of the car and being tied to the chair. I struggled to stay awake. Lettuce and bread were not satisfactory to live off of. 

The door clicked once again, and I heard footsteps. "Allie Thomas? I am Officer Winston. We will be recording you during this talk for evidence. Why did you come to the station?"

I tried to focus on the man in front of me. My voice hurt, but I had to tell them. 

"I was kidnapped, officer. Two days ago. Two men showed up at my door threatening me to come with them. One named Alex, and another who I did not recognize." I decided to keep Darren's identity a secret. Even though he made bad decisions, he helped me out. This was just a favor back. "I ran back into the house and attempted to call my boyfriend. From what I gathered, I was hit with a brick, blacked out, and taken to a building where I was held, hostage."

The officer nodded. "Have you ever been in contact with these two men before that day?"

I shook my head. "No, but their boss, Mr. Alan Han had been threatening my boyfriend and me to keep our relationship a secret weeks before now. He threatened if the secret got out, I would be disposed of. Out of fear, my boyfriend and I did what he requested."

"Where is your boyfriend?"

"From what I gathered, he was also taken hostage and locked in his music studio. His name is Brooks Grant the popstar."

The officer asked me more questions, and I told him everything I could. The officer filed a report and called my mother to take me to the hospital. 

-.-.-

Whispers and mutters flew around the room. Nothing really stuck as words, but there were certainly people in the room. I opened my eyes, immediately cringing at the light. My vision was still slightly blurry, but I could make out people now. 

I saw my mother standing beside a person in a white coat. My mother looked tired and depressed. Her hair hung in a low bun with stray hairs everywhere. A large sweater was pulled over her small frame, and a pair of leggings peaked out from under the sweater. I noticed some dark circles under her eyes. 

I can't imagine what my being kidnapped must have done to her.

"Mom?"

"Allie!" My mother rushed over to the chair beside my bed and held my hand. "How are you feeling, dear?"

"Tired," I responded with a small crack in my voice. I tried to pull a small smile. I have a feeling it looked more like a grimace. 

"Oh, honey, I was so worried about you. You are so strong."

I nodded but winced at the pain that shot through my head. 

"Try not to move your head. You had a lot of head bruising and cuts."

"Yeah, I was hit with a brick," I replied bluntly.

"The officer told me. I'm so sorry."

"I'm safe now. Is Brooks okay?"

My mom let a childish smile appear on your face. "That secret boyfriend of yours?"

I bit my lip. "Yeah."

"The police released him from his studio. He's in the waiting room. Do you want me to get him?" 

I replied yes, and my mother left the room. I was surprised by how chill she was with my boyfriend. Though, it might have something to do with me being missing for the past few days.

"Beautiful?" the deep voice I knew asked.

I turned my head slightly ignored the small pain. "Hey, handsome. What brought you here?" I ask with a goofy smile.

"Well, you see, there is this girl who I adore, and she got kidnapped and is now in the hospital. So, I thought I'd stop by to be with her." A similar grin crossed Brooks' face. 

He moved over to the chair my mother was sitting in before. He took my hand as he sat beside me. His smile slowly faded from his face. 

"What's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry, beautiful. This is all my fault." Brooks' eyes found the floor as he frowned. 

I squeezed his hand. "Brooks, look at me." His eyes found mine, but they still filled with guilt. "It's not your fault. This is Mr. Han's evil doing. You can't blame yourself. I'm safe and here now. That's what matters."

Brooks nodded his head slowly. "Okay."

"Okay."

"ALLIE!" I heard the squeal from the doorway. 

Brooks squeezed my hand as I looked over to see my best friend grinning at me.

Faith bounced over to my bed and gave me a gentle hug. She looked at me, and tears brimmed her eyes. 

"I can't believe you're okay," she said weakly," I thought you were dead."

"Yeah, that's a trend lately. I'm okay, Faith. I'm here." I gave a small laugh. 

She smiled as a tear slid down her face. "You had me so worried!" She stomped her foot playfully as she crossed her arms.

"I promise to never be kidnapped again."

I looked back between Brooks and Faith. I then looked over to see my mother at the doorway smiling softly. I'm finally safe, I'm here, and I'm surrounded by the people I love and care about. I know whatever comes next, we can handle it. 

And to think, this is all because of a countdown romance.

A/N: The End. Eeeee! I can't believe it's over. 20 chapters later and here we are. I finished the story. Wow. I am pretty proud of how this story turned out. I certainly didn't see this being how it ended, but I think it works.

Let me know what you think about the ending and this book in general in the comments. 

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Be safe, and if you need another book to start reading, go check out my other book They're My Gang.

Thank you guys so much for the support of this book and for finishing this story with me!

-anniejo05