Falling Down Under (I) #Wattys2016

Part 6

It was already light outside when I woke up. Tom was still asleep. He looked so peaceful. When my kids' footsteps and their arguing voices sounded into the bedroom, I hurried to find some clothes to put on. I wanted to avoid them finding out about Tom and made a mental note to discuss that with him.

"What's Hannah doing downstairs?" Emma asked. Of course, I wouldn't be able to hide everything from them. I explained to the twins that Hannah wasn't well and needed some rest. That amount of information seemed to be satisfactory to them. I only hoped the police wouldn't show up before the kids left for school. Not for anything in the world did I want them to find out about all that was currently going on.

Both kids reminded me of their play dates in the afternoon before running out the door toward the waiting car of their friend's mum.

I quickly made my way downstairs to check on Hannah. She was already awake when I entered her room, still looking terrible, with bruises covering her body. "How are you feeling?" I asked her the obvious.

"Been better," she moaned in pain. "What happened to Patrick?"

"Last thing I heard is that he's been taken to hospital under police guard. They'll be here any moment to talk to you. You should get ready now, if you're up for it."

I helped Hannah out of bed and into the upstairs bathroom for a shower. She had slept in her dirty clothes, so I put some of mine out for her. Since I'd lost weight, we were about the same size, although my body was sportier, while Hannah's appeared more naturally slim. Then I left her to it and went into the kitchen to make coffee.

"Good morning!" an irresistible scrubby Tom whispered in my ear, hugging me from behind to place a kiss on my cheek, just as I finished making the pot of coffee. Yes, I hadn't changed over to fancy machines with tabs. A good old can of filtered coffee had to do the job for my guests.

"I can't believe it's past nine again. I never sleep this much," Tom defended himself.

"And this must be..." Hannah had finished her shower and was now standing in the kitchen doorway. She looked much better, clean and fresh, but her bruises on arms, legs and head were proof of what happened to her the night before. She even managed a slight smile.

"Tom," I finished her sentence.

"That's me!" Tom responded exuberantly, offering her a handshake. "I hope you're feeling better, Hannah!" He tapped her slightly on the shoulder while heading for the bathroom. Hannah went red. I could tell she was flustered. Wasn't it for her sad appearance, I'd be rolling on the ground laughing: Hannah blushing at the sight of a male creature. That must have been a first. I expected some kind of comment from her as soon as he'd left, but she kept uncharacteristically quiet.

I just finished with my cup of coffee when the police arrived. Tom was still under the shower. It was the friendly, young officer and the female officer from the night before, as well as another, Constable Delauder, who was doing most of the talking. I assumed he was in his early fifties, probably working mostly in the office. His initial intimidating appearance softened after a while.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, I offered everyone a coffee, while Constable Delauder started questioning Hannah: How did she meet Patrick, what happened where, when and how. The female constable took notes again, even though we had agreed for the interview to be voice recorded. Tom joined us after finishing in the bathroom. Wearing blue jeans and a casual white shirt, he looked unbelievably yummy. His presence made everyone look up, and I could tell that even the male officers blushed a bit. There was just something about his whole appearance that made people realise immediately that he was out of their league in every way possible.