NINI
As I open the door, the first thing I notice is the staring. A bunch of people just gathered in front of the bathroom, staring. Then, I notice the people I recognize from the ones staring. Caden, who immediately runs to me and hugs me. I sink my face in his chest and tears roll down again.
"I am so sorry, Broadway", he whispers, his lips sunk in my hair. I wrap my arms tighter around him and he pulls me closer.
As I look again at the crowd, I notice someone who shouldn't be here. Alec. He is standing in his tux, clearly just coming from his office although it's 2 am in the morning, and his eyes express worries. I've never seen him like this before. He is visibly showing emotions and being nervous, not caring about the people around him who might notice. His eyes are fixed on the door and he only takes a deep breath as soon as he sees Soph coming out. I see him checking her out in a millisecond, making sure she's unharmed and that everything is fine, then rushing to her. Soph, who now noticed him as well, lets out an "Alec!". As he's close, he wraps his arms around her and lifts her up to him. The two whisper something I don't understand. After a few seconds, they come to us; better said, Alec walks to us carrying Soph in his arms. His eyes are back to being cold and emotionless, only changing to human feelings when he looks at my bestie.
"I heard what happened." He says, not giving any details about how he had heard. Honestly, I don't think I want to know. The guy has blackmail material for all of us, so I'm sure he has his sources.
"I am very sorry, Nini", he continues, to which I gasp. He usually calls me by my surname, Elway. Calling me by my first name shows he understands how little I want to have anything to do with that family. And makes me feel grateful.
"Thank you", I whisper and he only nods serious. He then turns his focus back on Soph, making sure she's alright and whispering other stuff in her ear, to make her smile.
Dia then runs to me, followed by Jacob. I can see her eyes are red and her makeup destroyed. She's been crying.
"Nini! I was so scared", she begins, hugging me and holding me tight. Although I can feel how hard it must be for her to be without her music now, her headphones are around her neck.
"It's fine..." I whisper, holding her closer.
"No, it's not fine. That woman...Nini, I'm so sorry. I really am", she says and tears start rolling back down her cheeks.
"It's not your fault, Dia", I say. "It really isn't."
She nods and lets me go, only to give me an encouraging look.
The last one to come talk to me is Darrel, who asks: "Are you alright, Miss Elway?"
"I am. Thank you, Darrel."
"I was just doing my job, Miss", he adds, although that's not exactly true. His job is to protect Soph. Not me. So it shows he doesn't hate me that much. Maybe not at all.
"Miss Elway", a new voice says. I turn around and see a police officer, a man around his thirties, looking straight at me with a worried expression. I take a deep breath and although I don't want to talk to him right now, I reply: "That's me."
The man nods and points me the direction of the door. "I'll ask you to come to the station with me for a few questions, Miss."
I immediately feel a chill go down my spine again. And the shivers. Instinctively, I search with my look for my friends. Soph is standing together with Alec, him hugging her and offering her his jacket, since she is shivering. She is fixing me with her eyes however, waiting for any sign I might give for her to come. Dia is crying in a corner with her headphones on, talking to Jacob, who seems to calm her down a bit. Caden, well, I don't even need to search for him. As if he knew what might happen, he appears on my side and places his hand on my waist, to make me understand he's here with me.
"What is happening, Broadway?" He whispers in my ear, so that the officer wouldn't hear. I answer him in the same way: "I need to go to the station. Some routine questions."
He nods once, then says: "I am coming with you."
I think I've heard the last words wrong, since I am now looking up at him, asking him with my eyes if he had really meant that. He nods and pulls me closer to him, now wrapping his both hands around me to keep me safe.
"I'm coming with her, Officer", he tells the man. He nods, as if he would have expected that.
"Alright then. If you would follow me outside to the car then, please." The officer says, and we both do as told. On the way, I can feel someone grabbing my wrist and I immediately turn to see who it is. It's Soph, whose face looks more worried than I have ever seen her. And I've seen her worried many times.
"Nini! What's going on? Where is he taking you?" she says afraid, which makes Alec place his hand on her shoulders.
"We're going to the police station. They need to ask me some questions."
Soph nods then throws a confused look in Caden's direction. I get it and answer: "He's coming with me."
Caden nods to back me up, curling our fingers together.
"Alright then. We'll come pick you up", she says and shares a look with Alec. Although one could see her boyfriend isn't exactly thrilled about the idea, he still accepts and assures us they'll be there. I thank them both and hug my bestie once, before I follow the officer outside and to the car.
~
"I've never been in a police car before", Caden whispers to me lost in thoughts. He's sitting next to me on the backseat and I'm leaning against him, my head tilted on his shoulders. Our hands are held together, our fingers curled, and he is constantly looking at me to check if I am alright.
"I have", I whisper back at him. He throws me a worried look. I only raise my shoulders.
"Some time ago, after they found me in New York", I explain. I've told him my whole life story so far, since one could see how worried he was from not knowing what happened. Caden reacted much different than I would have expected. He felt sad, but he didn't feel pity for me. He hated the fact he couldn't help me sooner. He promised me he would always be there for me. And he told me everything would be okay.
Silence installs again between us, until I go with my fingers along the black eye he got. The black eye Denise gave him. Anger raises again in me and I bite my bottom lip hard. He notices, since he places his free hand on the one I was holding on his face.
"Don't do it", he says, looking straight into my eyes. Although it's dark and one can barely distinguish anything, I still see the different shades of his eyes. The blue and green, mixing together in the perfect combination. My new favourite colour.
"Don't do what?" I ask him, my voice shaking.
He stops and takes a deep breath. Then answers: "Don't feel guilty for something that is entirely not your fault."
My breath is gone. And I can feel my eyes burning again.
"But it is", I whisper looking away from him. He quickly lifts my chin up, so I can meet his eyes again.
"It's not. And it never will be. It's not your fault when shitty stuff happen to you. It's not your fault not everyone can see how amazing and perfect you are. It's the fault of the ones who were stupid enough not to love you. Because you deserve to be loved, Broadway. You deserve all the love in the world."
"I already found all the love I need", I whisper and pull him closer to me. "I found you."
He swallows hard once, as if he would like to tell me something. He even opens his mouth, but no words come out. "Broadway, I...", he begins stumbling, yet he then looks in my eyes and must have found something in them, since he then clears his throat and says: "I love you too, Broadway. More than I ever thought possible. More than I could ever know. My feelings for you are so insane, they keep me staring at my phone sometimes just to see your face. You're the only one I'm looking for when I enter the room. The only one I dream about. I love you, Broadway. And you need to know, that no matter what would happen, I have always loved you. And my feelings for you have always been real."
I look at him confused, not understanding a word he had said. My brain stopped working the moment he said I love you, Broadway. So, without even thinking about it, I come closer to his lips and kiss him. I kiss him so much, it feels like seconds, minutes, hours that we spend kissing. With tears rolling down my face, I mumble: "I love you too, Caden", my lips brushing his. He comes even closer and kisses me again.
I've never expected my life to look like this. I mean, if you watch any romcom, the first time they say I love you is a big moment. Somewhere in a beautiful place, he's handing her some roses, the birds are chirping and the sun is shining...Or it's raining and they share an umbrella, laughing about how they're still getting wet and they're dancing on the street...It's never in a police car at 2 am. On the way to a police station. But, no matter how messed up it is, I still love this moment. And will remember it forever. The moment my love said he loved me.
"What are you thinking about?" he asks me, noticing I stopped for a few seconds.
"Just about how much I love you", I answer and continue kissing him. Under my lips I can feel him smiling and I can hear his heart beating faster. Mine is also speeding.
"We arrived", the officer's voice pulls us back to reality. Filled with regret, I let go of him yet he quickly takes back my hand and curls our fingers.
"We're in this together, Broadway", he says, giving me an encouraging smile.
"Together", I repeat and take a deep breath, then I follow him outside the car.