Only chaos remains

Chapter 7

Hannah let go of me but I didn't move. I looked at her with shaking hands. She started to follow Alan in the corridor. I wanted to stop her, ask her what she saw, but if I did this, it would have endangered Jake. My heart was pounding fast in my chest and my breath was uneven; Jake was alive. I felt the corners of my lips begin to curl up imagining myself meeting Jake, but a loud shout suddenly brought me back to earth. 

We all went out of the room and saw Alan and Hannah facing a man and a woman. Lilly walked past me in a hurry and put the woman in her arms. Cleo leaned slightly over me and said in a low voice, “It’s Mr and Mrs Donfort, I guess they heard Alan would come to arrest Hannah,” And it was true. Hannah’s father seemed pretty angry while her mother looked more concerned about what would happen to her eldest daughter. M. Donfort and Alan started to argue but it was clear that Alan would have the last word. I couldn’t help but look at M. Donfort, wondering if Jake would look like him. He was tall with pitch-black hair mixing with some gray strands. He had the same look as Lilly, and didn’t really look like Hannah, except for his hair — a common trait he probably also shared with his son.  Anger rose in my chest thinking that man had abandoned his own son years ago. I clenched my jaw, it certainly wasn’t the time to interfere in other people’s affairs even though I wanted it badly. At least, the man seemed to be pretty protective with his two other kids.

Thomas, who looked at the scene from the doorstep, slowly moved toward Hannah and grabbed her hands. I saw him tell something to his girlfriend but Hannah shook her head with disapproval. She pecked Thomas on the cheek before turning to her father. Slowly, she talked with a soft but firm voice. I looked at Cleo with an interrogating look on my face. She slightly winced before talking, “Hannah just told her father the same thing she told us. That she was ready to face what she did ten years ago.” 

While everyone started to cry and protest, I noticed Cleo didn’t flinch a bit. She looked sad but stood strong, knowing they had no choice. I gently took her hand and she squeezed it hardly, the only sign showing how hurt she also was. We all started to head toward the hospital’s entrance. Once we were in the parking lot, Hannah and Alan walked to the police car that was parked in front of the building. The sky was cloudy and the first raindrops began to crash on the pavement. Lilly took one last time her sister in her arms, holding her tightly. As soon as Hannah entered the car, I saw her parents almost running to their vehicle. 

Lilly quickly came to us, “I’m going to the police station with my parents. We can’t let Hannah face this alone!” Cleo and I nodded while Thomas joined us.

“Lilly, I’ll drive you there, I can’t stay behind.” Lilly shyly smiled at him and they both left to reach Thomas’ car.

I turned to Cleo, “We have to warn Jessy and Dan about this.” Between what Hannah told me and the fact she had been arrested, I was totally lost. I desperately wanted to look for Jake, but if what Hannah told me was the truth, that meant he was safe. I sighed with relief at that thought but a bad feeling was still stinging my stomach. If Jake was safe… Why didn't he try to contact me? In any case, I had no other choice but to wait before I eluded that question. We had to tell Dan and Jessy what happened to Hannah. 

"Cleo, could you write to Dan to tell him we'll pick him up at his apartment in less than thirty minutes." Cleo nodded and took her phone while we rushed to my car. 

I drove fast. Luckily, people were still at work so there wasn't too much traffic. It took me almost thirty minutes to reach Dan's apartment though. When we rang his door, we didn't have to wait before Dan opened it as if he was waiting for us right behind the door. "So, what happened that you two are in such a hurry?" he asked. 

"Wait before we're at Jessy's. It's better if we tell you at the same time." Dan frowned but didn't insist and we came back to my car. We helped him to get in the car and Cleo put his wheelchair in the trunk while I started the engine. Less than ten minutes later, we entered Jessy's building. This time we took the elevator which seemed to never reach the third floor.