All I Want

17

He did what?! He- he purposely called the police? And and the way he looked at me, I haven't seen that look in four years.

"He's gone now. He's never coming back, I promise, Mai." He gave a broken smile.

"He?" I mumbled.

I couldn't believe it. The side of Taehyung that inflicted so much hurt in my life was suddenly gone? No, no way, this was probably some sinister trick.

"Here, try sitting up. I'll go get you some water." He said, then quickly ran into the kitchen.

"W-wait!" I yelled, shooting up from the bed and tried running to him, but the sudden rush made me stumble.

"Mai-" He said worriedly as he caught my fall.

"You- you called the police? Are are they coming to save- I mean, get me?" I stuttered over my choice of words, thinking maybe if this was a trick, saying I needed saving would trigger some sort of nerve in Taehyung.

"It's okay, Mai. Yes, they are coming to save you." He responded with the most broken and ashamed looked I've ever seen. "They'll be here any moment now, so just rest until they get here, okay?"

Taehyung then helped me back to the bed, gently lifting my legs up and placing them under the covers. He was so gentle, it's was like he thought I'd shatter if he touched me too roughly; the polar opposite of the Taehyung I had become so accustomed to.

"Why are you doing this? Why now?  Why turn yourself in?"

And as I waited for a response, I heard the ear piercing sound of sirens gaining closer until they completely surrounded the house.

"Because I deserve it." His voiced cracked as his eyes flooded with tears.

He looked at me with such sorrow, yet with so much love. It was like he was a completely different person.

"Kim Taehyung! This is the police! We have the premises surrounded!" A voice yelled from the other side of the front door.

I jumped after hearing a loud thud as the men barged inside.

"It's going to be okay now, Mai." Taehyung said softly.

Suddenly, two officers raced in and tackled Taehyung to the ground; he mumbled out grunts of discomfort as they roughly cuffed his hands together behind his back.

"On your feet!" One of the officers said as they yanked him up forcefully.

"Ma'am, are you alright? Let's get you to our ambulance so they can take a look at your neck."

The officer picked me up and carried me outside. He sat me inside the open ambulance as I watched Taehyung being pulled towards one of the many squad cars. They pushed his head down while he took a seat in the back. And when the door shut, Taehyung looked at me through the window. I could feel it, his regret and shame for what he's done, for what his other side did to me.

"What's going to happen to him?" I asked the EMT who was checking up on me.

"Well, jail of course, and maybe a life sentence at that, maybe even the death penalty if his court date doesn't go well."

"Will I be there? In court, I mean."

"Hun, you don't watch much TV do you? Yes, you will be there to plead your case against Mr. Kim."

And with that, the squad car holding my psychotic capturer locked inside, drove off. That was the last time I'd see Taehyung until he was in an orange suit, pleading in font of a judge at court.

"Mai Yung, we're contacting your parents right now. You'll be staying with them for awhile after we get you finished up at the hospital." The officer from before explained.

Was this all actually real? It happened so- so fast. Was I dreaming? Maybe dead and was stuck in some kind of limbo? Merely a few hours ago I was being choked to death; not even an entire day has gone by since I saw my fiance mauled by a rabid dog and shot dead. And the last time I thought it was over, it really wasn't, just a road block on the path to my everlasting unhappiness. I had no words, no emotions or true thoughts about it all. I was just... there.

After the ambulance drove me to the nearest hospital, which was about 45 minutes away, I was checked for all the same things as the last time I was rescued from Taehyung: x-rays in case of any bone breakage or sprains, trauma related scans and tests for internal damage, dehydration and how well my pupils dilated, blood work and urine samples for any kind of forced drug use, and the worst of the testing was the pregnancy tests. I was checked for any damage or tearing from rape and if I was pregnant. I knew I wasn't, but I apparently "was not in my right mind" to decide anything for myself I guess.

I was then greated with the tightest hug from my parents at the hospital. My mother cried as she held me in her arms, relief flooding her as the thought of her baby being dead or worse was no longer there. My dad cupped my face in his hands as I watched him cry. After a while of being with Taehyung, I forgot how much my parents loved me, they never even really crossed my mind while I was there now that I think about it.

"Let's go home, yeah?" My mother suggested, sniffling as she lead me to the car.

Despite being rescued, despite being treated at a hospital and being with my family once again, I couldn't stop thinking about Taehyung. He said he got rid of him. What does that even mean? I began to think about the trial, about how I'm supposed to tell everyone how Taehyung treated me. But, was that really Taehyung who kidnapped me and killed Jace? Was that really the boy I met all those years ago in college? How do I tell a room full of the people of logic, truth, and justice that the Taehyung they know and hate is no longer here? Even more so, how do I convince myself of the same thing? How do I not let my hatred for his other side influence whether or not he lives or dies?

All I do know, is that I have until court to decide what to say and how to feel about my capturer, Kim Taehyung.