Chapter 27

Amanda Pov.
Darkness. Foreign voices. A familiar touch.
That's all I've heard and felt since the drugs I had in my body the week I was held hostage started wearing off.
I hear a loud beep and open my eyes, but I have to close them because of the light in the room. Then I smell chlorine and medicine, and fear takes hold of me again.
God...I will never escape this nightmare.
I struggle to open my eyes and look around.
I am connected to a machine that measures my vital signs. The room is painted white...An infusion hangs from my arm. I am at the hospital?
But how...?
I feel someone holding my hand and I look down.
Ron.
I squeeze my eyes shut trying to figure out if I'm dreaming or not and after a few seconds I open them again looking at Ron.
He holds my hand tightly as if he is afraid of losing me, his head is laid on the bed and he seems to be sleeping. I can easily see the dark circles around his eyes a sign that he hasn't slept at all since the last time I saw him.
I move my hand trying to free it from his grip, but he suddenly lifts his head from the bed and looks at me.
Neither of us say anything for a few moments, and I just watch him analyze every part of his face, realizing how much I've missed him. My eyes fill with tears, and he takes my face in his hands.
-Ron… I say sitting up and throwing myself at his chest so hard that he almost falls on his back.
-Shhh...Don't cry. Everything will be fine, my dear Amanda. He says kissing the top of my head and rubbing my back to calm me down.
- I... How did I... What happened?
My brain is creating so many questions right now that I don't know which one I want to ask first.
I pull back from the hug but my hands stay around his neck, and I look at him waiting for the answer to the question.
He takes my hands from behind his neck and strokes them carefully.
-I'm sorry I couldn't find you sooner. I'm sorry that because of my stupidity you are the one who suffered. I am sorry that…
-Stop apologizing. Are you the one who kidnapped me? Not. I don't want an apology from you. All I want from you now is to explain how I got to the hospital.
- I'm not the one who saved you, but your father.
I can read the pain in his eyes very clearly.
- I don't understand... What does my father have to do with this? I ask pulling my hands out of his and laying back on the bed.
-The police had no leads on where you might be held and I didn't know where to start looking. My only hope was your father.
-And he agreed to help you not knowing who you are?
That would be strange of my father…
-I had to be convincing, but in the end his love for you drove him to help me.
I want to correct him and tell him that if dad loved me he wouldn't have left me and mom, but I don't want to fight with Ron over him.
- Speaking of your father... I know it's not the right time to tell you, but he...
-Miss Clark?
I'm distracted from Ron by the person walking into the lounge and I see she's a policewoman.
-Yes I am. I say quickly, and she approaches us.
-I would like you to answer me a few questions.
My gaze darts to Ron silently asking him if it's okay to answer and he just nods.
-Sure. I answer and sit up.
Ron gets up from the edge of the bed and kisses my forehead so gently I feel like I could melt, and my eyes dart to the policewoman to see if she's judging us.
We are just friends, but maybe to outsiders we are seen as a couple. In any case... The policewoman doesn't seem to judge us.
-I'll be in the hallway. Call me when you need me. Ron says and leaves the lounge.
-I know you've been through a lot and it's bad for me to make you remember the hell you've been through, but you have to tell me everything. Your statement will be submitted to the Court. Said the Policewoman sitting on the chair next to the bed.
- Did you catch them? Everyone?
- We think so. In the following days you will be called to identify them. Now…tell me.
I start playing with my fingers in my lap trying to shake off the insecurity.
- There is not much to tell, because I do not remember many things. But I know that every time I didn't want to cooperate with them, they drugged me. And after they drugged me...they undressed me and touched me. I say the last part almost in a whisper and close my eyes to escape these memories.
- I'm sorry... Can you tell me if you were kept in that place or if they moved you?
- They didn't move me.
-And...you had to cooperate for...?
Damn it…
-Ron...he's protective of me, and when he saw that my ex-boyfriend was snapping at me, he didn't stay away. Spirits got heated and it ended up with my ex-boyfriend in the hospital. Apparently his father couldn't overlook it and hired someone to kidnap me and do his dirty work for him.
-What is your ex-boyfriend's name?
-Josh. Josh Denver.
The policewoman looks up from her notebook where she was writing down what I was telling her, and I think she's a little...enthusiastic?
-You mean your ex-boyfriend's father hired someone to…?
-Yes.
-Russell Denver? Are you sure?
-He even talked to me to explain what would happen to me. Why?
- I've been following Denver for a long time to put him behind bars but I didn't have a solid reason, but now... Miss Clark, I'll make sure he clogs up the prison.