Number 7: Part 2

I was too scared to look at him. My shaking hands became more visible. So I tried to look as calm as possible. I pleaded with my body to please stop shaking but it never listens to me.

[ Jumping out the car and / or waiting for him to stop so I can get out and run may be my only way to escape.

There is no way this is happening.

I need to calm down and start trying to remember things. I even forgot what he was wearing so I side-eyed.

It's so dark. ]

"You're acting weird. Are you okay?" He asked in a not-so-caring tone.

"Yea I'm fine. Can you stop by a gas station?" I say trying to reassure him.

"You don't seem like it and yeah." He looked at his rear-view mirror than tried to adjust it a bit.

"What's bothering you?" He spoke again but I really didn't feel like answering.

[ Please please please get to the gas station. ]

I could see the bright lights of the gas station coming up.

[ Come on, come on, please. ]

I remembered I had a phone and searched my pockets slow and calmly.

[ It's in my bag. ]

I dugged through my bag and slowly pulled out to where only I could see it.

"Nothing I'm good." I say trying to unlock my phone but my hands are shaking too much.

"Well there's something bothering me Janel." I looked up and saw that we were passing the gas station.

I was too scared to even hide my fear. I looked at the door handle; mentally preparing myself to jump out.

As soon as I put my hand on the door he sped up.

[ Oh my gosh I'm going to die, I'm really going to die.

Somebody please help..please help me.

Even if I screamed for help now it won't make a difference. ]

I tried to dial 911 on my phone but my hands were shaking too much.

Before I knew it we ended up at the police station. He pulled into the parking lot and didn't even park right. As soon as the car stopped we both jumped out at the same time without a second thought. We both ended up racing to the door than stopped and looked at each other.

[ Is he copying me...???

What in the world is going on?!! ]

The cop standing by the front desk saw us both and walked on over to the entrance.

"What can I do for the both of you?"

We both looked at him.

"I would like to report a crime-" we both said at the same time.

[ He's going to try and frame me! ]

"One at a time, come inside an have a seat." The officer opened the door wider and I walked ahead of Greylar.

I sat in a chair that the officer was gesturing us to sit and Greylar stood.

"You are both safe now. You want to write a statement correct?" He asked the both of us.

I looked at his uniform to read his name.

I nodded my head and Greylar agreed with a yes. Time passes a bit and the officer comes back with the forms. I was scared but the adrenaline made my thoughts feel more clear as I'm writing them on paper. Now that my thoughts would be read, I had to think about what I was saying and tell them everything I knew. Most importantly I need to remember the address of this pool.

I was too scared to even speak to Greylar so I didn't try to look at him either.

30 minutes after we handed our written statements to the officer that greeted us at the door, they brought us both to the back for questioning. Greylar went first and then now I was next. I sat in the chair across from the officer that would be questioning me.

"I'm detective Curry, would you like anything to drink?" He asked.

Detective Curry presented himself as a tall man with a black mullet, who could have been no older than 26 but sounded like he was 30.

"I'm Janel and no thank you." I played with my finger nails as he shifted around two thin folders and two pieces of paper.

"I'm going to read you your rights then we can get started okay?" I nodded.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him present with you while you are being questioned. If you cannot afford...." As he goes on with telling me my rights, giving me straight eye contact, I started to think about what could be going on at home.

[ I hoped Talia and Von aren't too worried. Why did this have to happen on a school night?

Honestly I probably shouldn't have even left the house. I don't want to sit here and whine about "why me" because I knew my life was going to be chaotic whether I had parents or not. I can't tell whether I have good or bad luck anymore. ]

"So Ms. Sky, Tell me exactly what happen, starting from when you first arrived at the pool."

"Okay we walking into the building, he told me where the changing rooms were and I went to go change. I wasn't in there for no longer than 8-10 minutes. I came out and went to go get in the pool and he wasn't there. I assumed he went to get changed. He came out maybe 30 seconds or a minute later and joined me. We're in the pool talking, laughing, swimming around, and before I knew it it was getting late. We both dried off and gathered our things and went to change-" Detective Curry listens to me attentively.

"-I'm waiting as he's getting ready to lock up. He then says that he had forgot his phone after feeling his pockets for a brief moment and goes back inside right after unlocking the door. I'm standing and waiting and then I hear noises coming from behind me. I ignored it the first time but turned around and went to go see what was going on the second noise I heard. I saw a cat licking a man's foot. It's dark, I couldn't really see so I turned the flashlight on on my phone and I saw blood then I got scared and was trying to get away and bumped into Greylar. Greylar told me to come on and he got in the car. I thought that was weird and suspicious. But now that I think about it....maybe he didn't see the body when I put my phone down, because of where I was standing I didn't even see it until I got closer-" I glanced up from my cold shaking hands and see that Detective Curry were writing things down.

I continued my story again.

"I I thought that-..um that Greylar was going to hurt me if I didn't get in the car. So I did." My voice became shaky and I was trying hard not to stutter. But I continued.

"I was scared that maybe he he had-"

"Killed him?" Detective Curry finishes my sentence.

"Yes so I was just thinking about all the ways I was going to die now instead of later if I hadn't got in the car. I tried calling 911 but my hands were shaking too much. I should have called 911 as soon as I seen the body and not when I got in the car. I was more worried about surviving. I asked if we could go to the gas station and I was secretly planning to asked for help but he drove right passed it. Oddly, he drove to the police station. I don't think I had questioned that until now. But I felt like he was going to frame me somehow."

Detective Curry was about to respond to my distressed until another cop opened the door and popped his head inside. The detective excuses himself and went outside the room, shutting the door behind him.

My leg began to shake uncontrollably. The shaking sometimes became loud but I thought the matter was insignificant so I always paid it no mind.

A few minutes go by and Detective Curry walks back in here and takes his seat again. "We sent a unit and ambulance down to the pool you mentioned in your statement. Thankfully that man you saw wasn't dead but he was stabbed."

"Stabbed!?" I let go of a breath I felt like I was holding for hours.

"Yes." He said.

"I know what you are probably thinking right now and I get it. This is the first time something like this has ever happened to me. There are a few things that I could of done differently but those things that I could of done differently could have turned out to put me in the most danger than I already was in if Greylar wasn't the culprit. What if I had ran? What if the actual perpetrator was waiting for me to do that so he could get me next. What if it was more than one person. In that moment I was so comfortable with Greylar that I blindly trusted that he wouldn't do me any harm but that changed based on how he reacted and I started pointing fingers" I said.

"How can you tell if it may have been a male and not female?" He asked, focusing on his writing and I began to focus on the scribbling sound of pen against paper.

"I don't but I understand now already that it is wrong to assume. Hypothetically, a woman could have been revenge plotting against her abuser but why behind a pool? He seemed like he was drunk but the closest bar is like what..8 miles away from here? Nothing makes sense."

"I couldn't have agreed with you more on your observation Ms. Sky. How long have you known your friend Greylar?" He asked.

I thought about the second time I had met him on the balcony. I felt pressure to take his hand but at the same time I trusted him. Which is so unlike me because I would have said no.

"For a few days....He's also my neighbor."