A lost slumber

XIX

I opened my eyes to see that I wasn't shot, Lexie was. A bunch of police swarmed the room, untied Ezme, handcuffed Lexie, handcuffed Renzo, and handcuffed Daniel. I was rushed out of the building in handcuffs to be further investigated. After I handed the police my phone and let them listen to the recording , they let me go. I went to go find Ezme and she met me with a tight hug. I want to hug her for a long amount of time , but honestly my nose won't let me. I push her away saying , " Sorry you kind of smell like mold."

She lightly pushes me and says , " I'll let this one slide because it's true."

" Are you okay?" I ask.

She sighs and says, " No. I feel like a fool."

" There's nothing to feel foolish about this as the french say 'C'est la vie.' You liked someone and you got betrayed. There's not much you can do about it except press charges. You can always look at the bright side though." I say to her.

" And what's the bright side?" She asked , fiddling her fingers.

" You got saved , you can live to tell the story , and be glad that others aren't telling the story for you." I say , somber.

" Well there's always that." She says.

" Can I ask how you got here?" I ask.

" I don't exactly remember how , but I remember bits and pieces." She says, pausing for a second to collect her thoughts. " After I talked to Mr.Peterson, I left the school. Renzo told me that he'd come get me with Lexie. He said that we'd take one of Lexie's cars that had a chauffeur. I didn't think anything of it because Lexie's rich. I got in the car and saw Renzo. Then we went to the party and he kept offering to get me drinks. I should've known there was something off about that, but I just kept drinking them. I thought I was drunk and Lexie offered to take me to your house. I lied to my mom and told her I'd be with you. We took the same car we arrived in so I didn't think anything would happen. I passed out and the next I knew , I was tied up in a chair."

" Oh Ezme, I'm sorry this happened to you." I said , sadness washing over me.

" Don't be." She says as she reaches her hand out for mine. " I'm just glad you were there to get me."

" Yeah me too." I say while I give her my hand.

We sat there for a while talking about the events of the last couple of weeks. Ezme couldn't believe that they thought I was her kidnapper and I told her I couldn't either. Eventually her parents came for her and I spotted my dad. " I have to go," She said.

" Me too ," I said pointing to my dad.

" See you later?" Ezme asked with uncertainty in her voice.

" Yeah." I said confidently.

She turns to walk away and then she stops. She turns to me and shouts , " Man. I can't wait to take a shower!" I laugh as I head towards the direction of my dad.

As soon as my dad sees me , he embraces me in a tight warm hug. We stand there hugging as the rain pours harder. " Um dad?" I ask.

" Yeah , sweety?" He asks , still not letting me go.

" Can we hug somewhere less rainy?" I asked.

" Oh yeah. I forgot about that." He said. " Let's sit in my car. How come you're not wearing a coat?"

" I didn't think about that." I said sheepishly.

" Well next time think about it. We don't need you getting sick again." He says , sternly. He gives me a light nudge on the shoulder as we start walking.

" Okay, okay." I say.

When we get to the car , my dad gives me one of his spare jackets that he left in his car. " Thank you." I say.

" You're welcome , but we need to talk." He says.

" About what?" I ask.

" First don't ever do that again." He says hitting me on the shoulder.

" Hey!" I shout.

" Sorry , but you deserved that." He said.

I can't get that mad. I did kind of need a wake up call after what I just did. " Okay." I say.

" The second thing we need to talk about is if you're happy here." He says.

" What do you mean?" I ask.

" I mean that I need you to tell me the truth before we drive back to the house. You're my little girl and it's always been my priority to keep you happy." He says turning his face to mine.

" Well to be honest I'm happy that you're there , but I can't help but feel unwanted by mom." I say pausing to catch myself. " Is that okay for me to say?"

" Yeah. It's okay for you to be honest with me." He says as. He gives me a warm comforting smile. " You know I love your mom, but I don't love how she treats you."

" That's okay , but why did you want to talk to me about this?" I ask.

" I want you to forgive me. I love your mom , she's my wife and I love you too. I want to be happy , but I don't want my happy to hurt your happy." He says.

" It's okay , dad. I'm happy when you're happy." I say.

" Your sweet kid , but I said I wanted you to be honest. I can't make you put up with what hurts you." He says , pausing for a couple of seconds. " Do you want to stay in Paris for a while?"

" What?" I ask, shocked.

" It's completely up to you. I want you to be happy and safe. I don't know if that is what is here for you." He says.

" Oh okay."

" I have some family over there that I really want you to meet. It could be great and I could come with you too. If you want." He says.

" No it's okay." I say. " I'll go to paris. You can stay here."

" If that's what you want." He says.

" Yeah. It's only for a while right?" I ask.

" Yup and you'll love it too." He says , warmly.

" Yeah. I think I do need a break. Thank you." I say as I lean in to hug him.

" You're welcome." He says, returning my hug. The hug was exactly what I needed. I'm really glad my dad was here to help me.

I pull away from him and ask , " Now what are we going to do about the car?"

" Um, let the police have it?" My dad suggested.

" Not again!" I whine.

" Okay, okay." My dad said laughing. " We could let them take it with the tow truck and get it in the morning."

" That sounds great." I say, leaning back into my chair. My dad started his car and started driving. I'm glad we didn't sit there for that long since the storm was really starting to hit. We headed home and I started counting the days until I'd go to paris.
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