When We Were Young (Haim in High School)

Chapter 30: All That Matters

Este's POV

I strolled into the kitchen, having slept well the night before. Danielle was making pancakes for Alana and I, since our parents were at work. She smiled at me as I came in.

"You'd think by now we would be pretty bored of pancakes, " Danielle spoke to me softly.

"Hell to the no, sister!" I replied, grabbing a plate. Alana walked into the room soon after me. As we ate, I reflected on how happy I was about my sisters in general. Danielle had returned and Alana wasn't depressed anymore. The only obstacle we had left was the trial. The trial which could define Alana's life.

I wasn't pregnant, thank God, and the doctor I met was a decent guy. I couldn't help thinking about what might have been, if I were pregnant. I don't know why I would be pregnant anyway. I hadn't had sex in ages. Or at least from what I can remember. The day Danielle had yelled at me, I got really drunk at a bar. That guy Jonas was there, that's all I knew. I think he took me home. I think.

"So, have you two seen Ally since last night?" I remembered that Ally was his sister, and that she had taken off last night without a word. Alana looked straight up at me, eyes excited just at the thought of her. I observed how Danielle turned away from us both at the mention of her name.

"She left me a note, " Alana told me, "Maybe she'll come back tonight? She probably will. Definitely" She had so much hope and love for Ally.

"You bet, Lans," I smiled back, turning my attention to Danielle. She wasn't looking at either of us, just finishing off her pancakes in silence.

"You okay, D?" I asked her. She looked at me, her blue eyes showing what could be tears threatening to come down her cheeks.

"I'm...fine," she coughed, her voice suddenly hoarse. I frowned at Alana and she mirrored my confused expression.

"Seriously. You can tell us, " Alana put a hand on her arm.

Danielle didn't react to either of us, she just got up and put her plate in the sink. Alana's arm faltered and then hung limply at her side, defeated.

"Hellooo?" I waved an arm near Danielle's face, "C'mon, what's up?"

She closed her eyes, breathed in deep, "I'm okay, really. Just tired. That's all." And with that she left the room.

Alana tutted, piling another pancake onto her plate.

"She hasn't been the same since she got back, " she fretted, "We don't even know where she went. She could have been anywhere or seen something or done something. It's not right, Este."

"I know..." I said, deep in thought, "She just vanished. But I think that guy Jonas has something to do with it. The last thing she did before she went missing was see him."

"They had something going on," Alana confided in me, "They had sex in a club. She told me after the...when...Ally..." Alana still couldn't say that Ally was stabbed. It broke my heart.

"They... had sex?" I realised what that meant, "But... that..." I had a sort of flashback, of Jonas and I in the car.

Jonas was the guy who could have got me pregnant. Danielle and I had sex with the same guy. I was mortified.

"Hey, Este, are you listening to a word I'm saying?" Alana leaned over the table, catching my attention.

"Oh yeah... yeah, sure," I replied quickly.

Danielle's POV

I had never been so torn in my life. That brief encounter with Ally was like an out of body experience. I realised I didn't love Jonas at all. The only thing I liked about him was his concern for Ally. Maybe she was the person I liked. The first time I properly talked to her, she had helped me deal with Blake and the drugs. That night, I could see why anyone would love her.

I was sitting on my bed, leaning against the wall. I sighed, looking at my guitar. The strings were rusty, after leaving it to sit there for a month. I picked it up and tuned it. Music always made me feel normal. It was the one thing I could rely on to bring me back to earth.

The tone of the guitar was awful, but I played around with some improvised scales and chords anyway. I thought about Ally. I could never really be with her. After her going behind Alana's back and sleeping with Evan, how could I trust her? Alana would probably disown me if she ever found out about Ally and I. Well, she would still talk to me, but it would never be the same between us. The band's chances of success would be ruined. Even more so than they are now.

But every time I closed my eyes, I thought of her. When I was lying on the bed and she looked down at me, I felt like I was complete. Like I was missing a vital part all my life, and then seeing her and being with her fulfilled it. Maybe it was just an infatuation. But I could tell she had feelings for me too. I had to see her again.

---

After about two hours of sitting, playing guitar and thinking, I decided to get my shit together and head down to the police station. I quickly took Este's car keys from her bag and snuck into her car. If I got back quick enough, they wouldn't notice I was gone. I just had to get Alana in the clear.

When I reached the police station I was referred to an officer on the case. He took me to a room to ask a few straightforward questions and fill in a form. Then I told him all about Jonas, how he had threatened me with a knife (leaving out the drugs and Blake) and the reason why I was missing for so long.

"So... You went to the crime scene?" The officer asked sceptically after I told him the story, "You realise that's interfering with police evidence, don't you?"

"I promise, I left everything the way it was, " I protested, "Jonas was there anyway. He planted a knife in my house for God's sake. He had left a note after the stabbing, which  I guess you guys didn't find. It had a blatant confession on it. He found me in the apartment, that's when he forced me into a car and I went missing."

"A confession?" The officer raised his eyebrows, "Wouldn't you think that our experts would have found that by now? Also, the sister of the accused doesn't have much in the way of being believable when she says that she found a confession from the victim's own brother."

"I know...It sounds strange, but you have to believe me, " I told him, "Jonas stabbed Ally because she was wearing her mom's t-shirt. He told me he did it himself."

The officer paused, observing my face and taking notes. I didn't realise that there was a tape recorder taking in the whole conversation.

"And then, Jonas forced you into a car? Is that correct?" He asked, still furiously taking notes.

"Yes. He had a knife. I couldn't fight him off."

"And you were missing for three weeks, " the officer continued, "So, he abducted you. How did you return?"

"Over time, he got more and more relaxed in my company, I guess, " I replied, "At the beginning he would only drive and lock me and him in a motel room at night. Then he started to tell me about how... damaged he was."

"Go on, " he was looking at me more sympathetically now. Maybe he was believing the story, finally.

"Then on the last day, I offered to drive, "I sighed, "He let me, and fell asleep on the passenger seat. I was at a gas station on the way home when a cop told me that I was a missing person. Then I went straight home."

I glanced at my watch. I had been here for over an hour, telling the police officer about everything.

"We had reports of sightings of you in the area, "he smiled at me finally, "Thank you for your time, Miss Haim." He switched off the tape recorder and opened the door for me.

Jonas was going to prison. That much was clear. But, Alana was safe. That was all that really mattered.