The Journey Taken Together

Chapter Seventeen

**Dedicated to SomeNovelWriter**

Chapter Status: Edited

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~Dennis~

I begin to drive home while sobbing. 'How could I be so stupid?!' I think as I reach the driveway to my house. I step outside and hear banging. I look towards the house to see Daniel banging on my front door. Balling my fists, I walk up towards him.

"What did I say about messing with Thea?" I say, grabbing him. His eyes go big, and a punch is thrown at my arm. I throw him on the ground, stepping on his chest with my foot.

"Leave...me..alone!!! You are the one who stole MY fiancée!" Daniel says while kicking at me.

"I didn't steal shit! You are the one who raped her you son of a bitch!" I say, kicking him in the groin. He groans with pain and rolls over. Suddenly, I hear police sirens. Fumbling with my keys, I frantically try to open the door. I find the right key and open the door.

"Put your hands where I can see them!" someone yells. Board cover the front door, I sigh. In one, swift motion, I shoulder bash the door. I run inside and lock the door. I start up the steps to my room and begin panting.

"Thea?!" I yell, looking around for her. I go into my room and find the closet door open. Sweating, I run to Steven's room. When I find the room empty, I sit on his bed.

'What the hell happened...?' I think to myself. That's when I hear footsteps on the stairs. Placing my hands on my forehead, a single tear runs down my cheek. I look up and see a gun pointed at me.

"Get on the ground!" the cop says. I do as he says and handcuffs are placed around my wrists.

"Ow! Could you make them a little loose? You are hurting me," I hiss. The cop ignores me and brings me downstairs to his car.

"Your name sir?" he asks with an attitude.

"You didn't say the magic word," I say, smirking at him. What do I have to lose?

"Sir, you either cooperate or get charged more," he replies. I look down and sigh.

"Dennis. Dennis Ford," I admit, biting my lip. He shuts the door, and I look up to see a crowd around Daniel. A different cop opens the door.

"Sir, could you please tell me what happened here?" he asks. Pulling out a pen and notepad, he stares at me intently.

"All I know is that creep raped my girlfriend and threatened her not to tell me," I start saying. The cop writes it down and nods.

"When she did, he blackmailed me saying that he was going to kill her. I warned him to stay off of my property, but I came home to him banging on my door. So, I kicked him in the balls," I explain. He finishes writing down my information and closes the door. Through the small crack in the window, I can hear Daniel yelling at the officers.

"No! That man assaulted me, you can't charge me!!!" he says while being dragged to a car. The cop who took my statement opens the door.

"I will bring you down to the station to give me a full statement, so we can charge the man. As long as you have a witness that can tell your story, you are free to go," he says.

"Okay," I say. Two cops get in the front seat and pull out of the driveway. As they talk on the radio, I see someone standing outside of my house. Squinting my eyes, the person gets closer, and I immediately recognize who it is. She waves the phone in her hand and smirks. I have a feeling that this is not going to end well.

~Thea~

Steven pays for the bus, and we get on. He picks a seat in the very back and slides next to the window. I sit next to him and look out the window as we depart the bus station.

"Steven, what is going on?" I pester. Desperately wanting to know the answer, I shake his arm. He turns his head from the window and looks at me.

"Not here," he hisses, causing me to frown. My heart begins to beat rapidly, and I slide my hand up to my chest. The feeing of hopelessness washes over me. 'What could possibly be wrong?' I think to myself.

The dreadful silence fills the whole bus as it stops at multiple stations. I feel something warm on my hand and look down.

"Thank you," I say, squeezing Steven's hand. He gives me a small smile and returns his attention to the window. Steven has always been a very honest person. He has always told me important things, and I never regret it. I just hope I don't regret this.

We reach our stop and get off the bus, walking towards the hospital parking lot. It is very convenient to have a bus stop by a hospital, in case visitors do not have a car. We get to my car and get in. I pull out of the hospital and into the Quick Trip across the street. Having gas stations close to a hospital is not necessary, but whatever.

Suddenly, my phone buzzes. I pull it out and unlock the screen to find a message from an unknown number.

"Steven...look at this," I say, handing him the phone.

"Thea. Your precious Dennis is in jail, and oh man, does he need you. Well, that's not exactly going to happen. You are going to go to the police station and lie. You are going to say that Daniel never raped you, and you are also going to cut ties with Dennis. Only then will you know Dennis's true secrets. If you refuse to do this, you will be severely punished. Have fun," Steven finishes, and I stare at him with wide eyes.

"Now will you tell me what's going on?!" I yell, becoming more agitated by the second.

"Fine. After you guys broke up, he sort of had a thing with Gigi," he says, trailing off. My heart drops into my stomach, and I immediately become sick.

"Is...is he a virgin?" I ask, trying to hold back my tears. He slowly shakes his head, and I place my head in my hands.

Everything he has ever told me.. his virginity, no history with Gigi...is a lie. I bite my lip and feel arms around me. I hug Steven for a good ten minutes, not knowing what to do next.

"What now?" I ask quietly.

"Well...I suppose we have no other choice but to lie. We don't know the extreme of what Dennis has done, and frankly he hurt you, so who cares," he says. I nod my head slowly and pull out of the gas station.

This is gonna be a nightmare.

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