*Not edited*
Bryn's POV
"Oh my gosh!" My mother gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as tears brimmed her eyes.
"They chased me all the way here before a cop drove by and they took off," I finished, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Are you hurt? If they did anything to you, I s-"
"Dad, I'm okay," I cut him off.
"No, Bryn, I wouldn't say that you are! You were chased through the city by a fucking gang that you saw kill someone!" He raised his voice as he ran his hands through his hair violently. I had eh ever seen him so angry and worked up before.
"What are we going to do? She could be in so much danger right now," My mother spoke up, distress still written across her features.
"The most obvious thing we are going to do for now is speak to the police. Someone was murdered tonight, that's not something we can brush aside," My dad sighed. "Go to the car, we are heading down to the station right now."
"Greg, maybe we should talk about this a little more and give Bryn some time to settle down."
"Marisa, there is no time to sit around and wait! The police should have been notified already! There is a man lying dead in an alleyway and those men could still be lurking out there somewhere waiting to get to Bryn!" He yelled, walking toward the door.
"If I tell the cops I'll be an even bigger target," I cried.
"It has to be done, sweetie. They will help you and do whatever is necessary to keep you safe. Try not to worry, alright?" My mother soothed, rubbing her hand along my back.
We left the house right after to go to the nearest cop shop. I was shaking in my seat with fear and anxiousness, nervous for what was about to come. There was that thought surfacing in the back of my head telling me that maybe they wouldn't find them and I'd forever be in danger. Even after telling the police al I knew I would still be at risk, for the longer I was alive, the more I could help lead the cops to them. And, revenge was always a possibility.
When we arrived at a station several minutes later, I was exhausted and even more worried. I wanted nothing more than to go back in time and stop myself from seeing what I did, then maybe I would be curled up in bed with none of this looming over my shoulder.
"Hi, is there something I can help you with?" A lady, who sat behind the front desk, asked with a bright smile on her face.
"We'd like to report a crime. Is there someone we can speak to?" My father asked, the rough time still in his voice.
"Yes, just hold on for a minute, please." She got up from her seat, disappearing down a separate hallway. She returned a few seconds later, a man in a suit trailing behind her.
"Hello, I'm detective O'Conner." He shot us all a smile, sticking his hand out for my parents to shake. "Follow me back here, and you can tell me what I can help you with."
We all started down the same hallway he had came from, turning into a small room with nothing but a table and a few chairs. We sat down on the opposite side of the table as him and my heartbeat immediately accelerated to a thousand beats a minute. I was visibly shaking in my seat, and the detective took notice.
"Are you alright, miss?" He furrowed his eyebrows.
"I-" My voice caught in my throat, preventing me from answering him.
"She's a bit shaken up," My mom answered for me, patting my hands that rested in my lap.
"That's okay." He sent me a smile. "Now, what is it you wanted to speak to me about?"
"My daughter just witnessed a murder, sir."
It shocked me that my father had been so blunt, and small gasp came from me. I supposed there really was no other way to put it, but just hearing it said out loud from someone else made it seem so much more real.
"How long ago was this?" Detective O'Conner asked. He seemed somewhat shocked, but overall fairly calm. He was an officer in New York City, so I suspected he was used to this kind of thing happening nearly everyday.
"A-bout an hour ago, maybe a bit m-more," I answered, surprising myself.
"Can I ask you two to step out of a room for a few moments? It's regulation that I question the witness alone before anyone else," He explained, directing his question to my parents.
"Of course."
"You're alright, honey. Just tell him what you told us, okay?" Mom looked at me, smiling as best as she could. I knew that she was still slightly in shock herself, but she was trying to pull herself together for my sake.
Once the door had shut behind them, Detective O'Connor turned to me.
"So you say this happened about an hour ago?" He raised his eyebrows. I nodded, looking away. "I understand that you're shaken up and probably scared, but I need you to answer all of my questions honestly and as best as you can, okay? We are only here to help," He said.
"Alright." My voice was painfully weak, as I still tried to keep my tears at bay.
"Good. Now do you remember where this took place?" He started.
"An alleyway on Ellis Street. I believe it was the one beside the furniture shop but I can't really remember," I answered honestly.
"Alright. I am going to go in form the squad to head down there and get the investigation started. I'll be right back, hang tight." I sent him a short nod, watching as he retreated out of the room.
As I sat there by myself, I pondered over every detail I could remember. I knew that I needed to be as specific as possible with every answer I were to give, so I pushed myself to think of every part so I wouldn't leave leave anything out. The more I thought about it, however, the more upset I got. I saw a man die. I heard him try to convince them not to do it. I was caught and chased down the street while being shot at. I didn't think hat it had fully resisters how much trouble I was actually in.
I jumped in my seat when the door reopened, the detective entering. My paranoia was really getting the better of me, and there was no way my guard could be let down for even a quick moment.
"The other police were notified and they are on there way to take care of things right now, so don't worry about that. Now, I have a few more questions for you before I can figure out what we are going to do, okay?" He smiled.
"Okay."
"Can you tell me why you were walking by yourself so late at night?" He raised his eyebrows. He had his pen ready, waiting to jot down every word I said.
"I was on my way home from work." I was relieved that my stuttering had finally stopped and I was starting to calm down. I was still in slight shock, but realized that I was safe where I was and they were going to make sure it stayed that way.
"Where do you work?"
"Epic Records. It's a small music store on Ellis Street," I told him, watching as he nodded and wrote down my exact words.
"Can you tell me exactly what happened from start to finish?"
"I left the shop at about ten and started walking home. I had only been walking for a few minutes before I started hearing noises. The closer I got, the louder they got, and I realized that it was voices I was hearing. As I neared the alley, I saw a group of men yelling at each other aggressively. I tried to leave and get away before they saw me, but I was completely frozen to the spot," I rushed.
"How many men were there?"
"Five in total. It was four against one."
"Were able to hear what they were arguing about?" He tilted his head.
"They were talking about money. One of them owed them money, but they specified what for. I had a few guesses based on what they were saying though," I muttered, mentally rolling my eyes. It was so unbelievable that a man lost his life over money; the world was turning even more sad everyday.
"What is your prediction?" He asked, still writing things down.
"It could have been about anything, really. What do most gangs do? My guess is probably drugs," I shrugged.
"It's a very likely possibility, but we can't determine anything yet. Now, please continue," He nodded, smiling.
"They were yelling about the money and the man told them that he would get it for them as soon as he could, but he didn't have it yet. One of them, who I am assuming is like the leader, told him that he had enough time already and he couldn't give him any more. Something about how he wouldn't be so successful if he let things slid so easy. The next thing I knew, he pulled out a gun and the other man was lying dead on the ground." I sobbed, the image resurfacing.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," He tried to sooth me, but it wasn't working. "We are going to do our best to find whoever did this, and I can assure you that you will be in good hands, safe."
"I just can't believe that I saw that." I shook my head, wiping my tears for the millionth time.
"I know that's it's hard to grasp what happened, but that's completely normal in a situation like this. I see things like this happen nearly everyday; every week at least. It's isn't something that is new to the department, miss.." He trailed off, waiting for me to say my name which I still had yet to do.
"Bryn Lassiter."
He nodded his head before saying," Can you please continue the story? What happened after the man was shot?"
"I screamed. I didn't mean to, it was just on instinct, I guess. They all turned to face me as soon as the sound left my mouth, and I thought I was surely going to die. However, I was still immobile; I just couldn't get my feet to work for some reason. They stepped several feet closer to me and started saying menacing words, clerestory very angry that I had witnessed what I had," I continued.
"Do you remember what they said to you?" He asked gently, tiptoeing around the sensitive question. I could never forget what they said, it scared me to death.
"One of them asked me what I was doing wandering around so late at night. Then, he said something about teaching me not to be out so late by myself. I managed to run away after that."
"Alright. How did you mange to get away, exactly?"
"I kept running as fast as I could. One of them took off in the other direction to get their car while the other three kept after me. They shot at me multiple times but I managed to dodge all the bullets. I made it all the way to the street right directly across from my house when a patrol car came driving by. They saw it and took off into the vehicle and sped in the other direction," I said, glad that this was almost over now that the story was finished.
"You're very lucky, Bryn. I don't think you even realize how lucky you are that that police car was there at the right time. I truly don't think it has entirely sunken in, yet," He guessed, completely right. It hadn't sunken in all the way, yet, and I was scared for when it did.
"I'm scared that you're right," I muttered, closing my eyes briefly as I sighed.
"I just have a few more questions, okay?" I nodded. "Do you think that the men had seen which house you were heading for? Did you notice them still circling the area when you went inside?"
"I don't think that they were still around when I went in, because the cops scared them away, but I'm not positive. I am almost sure that they knew which house I was going to, though, because I made it fairly obvious," I groaned, mentally cursing at myself.
"That's a problem, especially because we can't be sure. I think that the safest way to deal with this for now would be having an officer circle your block during the nights until the investigation is nearly over. We can't really do much more unless we are positive that they have knowledge of your whereabouts. I need to follow the system." He stated, writing more things down.
"Are you sure that I'll be safe?" I asked, feeling my heart pound at the possibility that I wouldn't be.
"For the time being, yes. As we get further into the investigation and the situation progresses, we may need to take more serious precautions, but for now you're alright." He smiled.
"So what exactly is going to happen?"
"During the nights we will have two officers patrol your block, as there is a very slim chance that they would take any kind of action during the daylight. We will keep you posted with the investigation and anything we find out about who the men were, and I expect you to do the same. If you remember anything more, or if anything else happens, you contact the department immediately," He demanded, standing up from his chair. I followed suit.
"I- I'd like to know who that man was. The one that died, I mean," I mumbled. I felt nothing but utter sadness when I thought about him, and I knew the only way I could try to get over it is if I knew who he was. I just needed to know that much.
"I will see what I can do. I'm not technically aloud to to give out that information until we have permission to broadcast, but I'll let you know know as soon as I can." He nodded, smiling. I really appreciate the effort you have put into this, it really helps us."
All I could do was nod as he directed me out of the room and down the hall. We entered into the main lobby, where my parents were sat in the waiting chairs. My mother hopped up as soon as she saw me, rushing over to pull me into a tight hug.
"Are you alright, honey?" She asked, pulling away to wipe my tear stained cheeks.
"I'm alright, mom." I nodded.
"Are we free to leave?" My father looked at detective O'Connor.
"Yes, you may go." He nodded, waving as we left the building.
As soon ask we got into the car, my father spoke again. "Did he arrange anything?"
"There will be two cops roaming the block at night time until anything further happens. He doesn't feel like anything more serious needs to be done until we know for sure what's happening," I inform him, closing my eyes.
"There will be a car driving around when we get home?" My mom asked, looking back at me. I looked at the clock on the dash, seeing it was already passed midnight.
"Yes."
I rested my head against the window, trying my best to get the memory out of my head, at least temporarily.
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