Promise // Mullette

chapter 24

- Hercules -

Staying home with Laf wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Sure, it was weird to not go out or leave the apartment, but I had his company and that was enough for me.

We passed a lot of time watching movies and starting new TV shows. He taught me how to cook some traditional French recipes with our freshly delivered groceries, and we invited Alex and John over to hang out and keep us company. Overall, this whole thing didn't seem so bad.

As much as it was fine for me, I knew that Laf was having a difficult time with everything. He was awake constantly, similar to how I was sleepless while he was in King's custody. I woke up to find him gone from next to me, pacing around the living room, his phone in his hand. He jumped and was startled at any odd noises and practically dove for a phone whenever it rang, desperately hoping it was the police station calling about King.

I felt bad for him. I couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of stress and fear he's facing right now. I know that I made the right choice by telling him that we could stay in and not go anywhere.

Today, we had decided to take a break from our movie and TV marathons and read some books. The past few days were so filled with watching a screen that we both agreed that our brains were probably melting. We had the idea to have Alex and John stop at the library for us and get Laf's favorite book and mine. We were going to swap so that we could both experience each other's favorite.

So here we were, sitting on the couch in my living room with him curled on one side and me stretched across the other, our phones on the coffee table in front of us along with some snacks and of course, more books for later on. I was just about to start Chapter 7 of my book when my phone suddenly began to ring.

I jumped a little, almost losing my spot in the book as I scrambled for my phone, knowing that the longer it took me to answer, the more stress Laf had.

"Hello?" I said, not checking who had called before answering and greeting them.

"Hello, is this Hercules Mulligan or um... Mar-keys of Lafayette?" A woman asked, obviously very confused by Laf's excessively long full name and pronunciation.

"Yes, this is Hercules Mulligan speaking. May I ask who is calling?" I said. Once I said my name, Laf perked up a little more, and I couldn't help but hope that it was the police station the way he was hoping it was too.

"This is the Chatham Police Department. We have an update on the status of your case." She told me. I felt my heart leap in my chest and I looked to Laf before putting my phone on speaker.

"What's the update?" I asked. He glanced up to me and we waited for her answer.

"The suspect, Mister George King, from New York, is now in police custody. He is currently being questioned and they will call you in a few days to have you come in. They recommend you start searching for a lawyer for this court case, but they think it'll be a breeze for you guys." She said. Yes, yes, yes! This is exactly what we needed to hear. I saw a small smile begin to creep across Laf's face, and more than anything, I wanted to kiss him.

"That's great news, thank you so much. Have a great day." I told her before hanging up and tossing my phone onto the couch.

"Oh my God." Laf said, giggling a little bit.

"Oh my God!" I said, running my hands across my head with a smile.

"They got him, you're safe now. They got him." I said as Laf came closer to me. I held my arms out, allowing him to fall into them. I kissed the top of his head and he began to speak.