Happy Everly After

Chapter 34

The police officer who led me into the small room must've been nearing retirement. His kind, grandfatherly demeanour put me at ease.

"Take a seat, Miss King", he gestured, settling into his chair across from me. " Can you start by telling me what this is all about?" My throat felt dry as I nervously brushed my hand against it. "Hang on, Miss", he said before exiting the room and returning with a steaming cup of tea.

"Thank you", I murmured, taking a sip and trying to calm my nerves.

"Please, start at the beginning", the officer encouraged.

I raked through it all over again, only pausing when the fear I'd felt when he'd attacked felt fresh.

The officer looked at me with empathy. "It sounds like you've been through the mill, let me start by taking some names. We'll need to get witness statements from others who were at the party.

I mentioned Riley's name and added, "It's O'Connor. Riley O'Connor".

here was a subtle change in the officer's facial expression - a slight curl of his lip and a disdainful glare that quickly disappeared.

"Bear with me for a moment while I check some details", he said in a strangely cold tone.

That was weird, I thought.

I couldn't help but feel something was off as he left and returned with a young female officer. They both sat down and she began speaking. "Sergeant Reynolds has briefed me on the situation and we will—"

"What Constable Bailey means to say", the first officer interrupted condescendingly, "is that we'll look into it. Is there anything else, Miss King? As you can imagine, we're quite busy". He seemed bored as he glanced between us.

Confused, I looked back and forth between them. "So, you're not going to arrest Riley?"

"There doesn't seem to be enough evidence for that", he replied unconcerned, "but we will have a conversation with him".

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "A talk? Seriously? I can't believe this", my voice shook with anger and cynicism. The female officer, Constable Bailey, looked just as confused as I felt, but she remained silent.

Sergeant Reynolds stood up, gesturing for me to do the same.

"Do I at least get a crime reference number?" I asked.

"Not at the moment", Sergeant Reynolds dismissed me, "we haven't established if a crime has taken place".

I scoffed in disbelief. "This can't be right", I muttered as he held the door open for me to leave. Fuming, I stormed out of the station and marched back to the car . Something wasn't right. Once he knew it Riley O'Connor his demeanour changed, and I was going to find out why.

I got into the car and slammed the door. "What did my car do to you" Owen smirked.

"Sorry", I grumbled, "let's just go".

"You're not going to tell me what happened in there?" he probed.

"That's the thing, Owen, nothing happened. I got the impression they're going to do absolutely nothing".

His eyes widened while he worked through what I said. He shifted in his seat.

"Wait, they're not even going to question him?"

"I don't think so, no".

"This is bullshit. I'm going back in there", he reached for the door handle, but I grabbed his arm.

"Don't bother, there's something off with that, Sergeant Reynolds. He was fine until I mentioned Riley's surname. I can't explain it. It was just weird. His colleague even looked like what the fuck".

"We can't just let this go", Owen insisted.

"I know", I replied as we buckled up and drove home in silence. Each of us trying to come up with reasons why the police would dismiss my statement so easily.

Getting out of the car, I went to give him a quick kiss on the lips when his phone flashed with her name. My brows almost pressed together with confusion. "Why is Cassie still messaging you?" I asked feeling a pang of jealousy.

He quickly grabbed his phone and locked the screen.

"Oh, so that's not suspicious at all", I said, unable to control the rising pitch of my voice.

"I think we've got more important things to discuss", he replied coolly.

"What like the girl you were dating recently that's still messaging you, even though you assured me it was nothing".

"If you really want to know what it says, here read it", he said with a hint of sarcasm, unlocking his phone and tossing it in my direction.

I angrily threw it back into his lap. "Fuck you Owen", I spat before storming out of the car and slamming the door shut behind me, knowing it would piss him off.

He called after me, but I was done with this game. He was right - there were more pressing matters at hand. I had already confided in my closest friends and the police, and now I needed to tell my parents. Riley wasn't going to get away with what he did. He had been living his life as if nothing had happened for months while I struggled to cope with the trauma. But now, I was determined to seek justice. No matter how painful or difficult it may be, I refused to fade into the background and try to forget.