The Journey Taken Together

Chapter Eighteen

**Dedicated to FetchingPenumbra**

Chapter Status: Edited

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~Dennis~

We get to the police station, and the officer takes the handcuffs off of me. We head inside, and I instantly smell coffee. Sighing, I sit in the waiting area to give my statement.

I keep my head down, trying to ignore all of the stares I am getting. I look up to see a girl with tattoos and piercings staring at me with a smirk. She begins to walk over to me, and I hold my breath.

"Aye, watcha here for?" she says, sitting across from me. I look at the handcuffs around her ankles and wrists. Biting my lip, I think of the possible answers to give her.

I'm getting blackmailed..

I just cheated on my girlfriend, and I beat up her ex...

"I'm here to give a statement," I say softly. She furrows her brow at me, and I give a small smile.

"That's it?" Wow, what a waste," she says, walking back to her original seat. 'What a bitch,' I think.

The officer that drove the car I was in walks up to me. "Alright son, we can take your statement now." I get up, and he leads me into your typical interrogation room. Black walls surround me, and I feel the room getting smaller. I sit down in the metal chair across from the dusty, wooden table and breathe slowly.

"You have the right to refuse any of these questions, however they will be marked down as that. Do you understand?" he says, sitting down with his notepad.

"I do," I say, getting comfortable in my chair.

"Okay son, please answer these questions with honesty," he says.

"Okay," I reply.

"What is your name?" he starts, pressing the pen to the pad. After giving him my basic information, we start getting into the more important questions.

"Did Daniel ever threaten you or your family?" he asks, looking at me sternly. I gulp and lick my dry lips.

"Yes. He raped my fiancée, Thea Bartholomew, and threatened that he'd kill her if she told anyone. After she told me, we began to get blackmailed by him and his friend named Gigi," I say slowly.

"Why didn't you or Thea report the rape?" the officer asks, looking at me with suspicion.

"We were both afraid that he would kill her," I explain. He nods his head and continues writing.

"Tell me what happened when you came home today," he says. I explain to him that I found him pounding on my door, trying to get to Thea.

"One last question and we will be done here," he says. I nod and he continues.

"Do you know where Thea Bartholomew is? We searched your home and didn't find her," he exclaims.

Thinking of all the possibilities, one finally pops into my head. "The-" I start to say, but am interrupted by a knock on the door. The door opens, and an officer stands before us.

"Sir, Thea Bartholomew is here. She has a statement she'd like give," the officer says, and I sigh with relief.

"Tell her I will be right out," the officer in front of me replies, turning back towards me.

"Thank you, son. You've been a great help," he says, getting up and walking out of the door.

Now...I wait.

~Thea~

I walk into the police station with Steven and head up to the desk. "Hello, is there someone I can see right now? I have a statement to make about Dennis Ford and Daniel Bachman," I say, looking at Steven. He takes my hand and nods, letting me know everything is going to be okay.

"Yes, give me a moment," the lady says. She gets up and walks into the back of the room. After about five minutes of staring off into space, she returns with a police officer.

"Can I take your name?" he asks.

"Thea Bartholomew," I reply. He nods his head to the lady and directs me to a room with Steven. Blocking the door, he looks at him.

"And you are?" he persists.

"I am her boyfriend, Steven," he says, causing me to bite my lip at the lie. The cop let's us both in, and we take a seat in the room. Dullness surrounds me, and my head starts spinning.

"The officer who is going to take your statement will be with you in a few minutes," he says and leaves the room. I feel Steven grab my hand and with a tight squeeze, he reassures me.

After ten minutes of waiting, a different officer enters the room. He takes a seat with a notepad in hand. "Nice to meet you, Thea. I'm Officer Kurt, and I will be taking your statement today. Do you understand your rights?" he asks, and I shake my head.

"You have the right to refuse any question, however they will be marked as so," he explains, and I nod.

"Yes," I simply state. He begins to ask me basic information and writes quickly onto the paper.

"Has Daniel ever hurt you in any way, shape, or form?" the officer asks. I bite my lip, feeling guilty about having to lie.

I slowly shake my head. "No," I state sternly. After a few more questions, we are let free. We walk out of the room and an idea pops into my mind.

"Wait, Officer Kurt?" I say, walking toward him.

"Yes?" he asks, puzzled. I look down at my engagement ring that Dennis gave to me and sigh.

"Can you please give this to Dennis?" I ask. He opens his hand out and nods as I slip the ring into his palm.

"Thank you," I say, walking out of the police station.

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