Thomas rests a hand on my thigh, stroking his thumb on the bare skin there, and squeezing gently. My clothes are still covered in dried blood, but thankfully, my skin is clean. It’s enough to send goosebumps fluttering all over my skin.
Elena pauses, letting the information sink in before she continues. “While there, you are to have no social media, no contact with your families, except through the burner phone that we provide you. We will bring you to your house once we are done here and give you time to pack. An officer will be with you the whole time to keep watch.” She slides a basic cell phone across the table.
“Can we call our family now?” I ask, needing to talk with them. To explain.
“Yes, you can use the station phone to call, but you cannot give them any details on what happened tonight, only that you are safe, and need to go away for a while,” Elena says, her voice steady and firm. “If you tell them any details, you risk compromising their safety too.”
I nod quickly, knowing I would do anything to keep them safe. Thomas squeezes my thigh again. He reaches out and grabs the phone from the table, shoving it in his pocket. I stand, taking the cup of ice with me as I do.
“Can we use an office?” Thomas asks, his brow raising. His blonde hair is still a disheveled mess from today, but at least now there isn’t any blood in it. He must have cleaned up after I did.
“Yes, that’s fine,” Elena agrees. Thomas takesmy hand in his, and leads me down the hall toward the offices that are empty in the middle of the night.
He opens the door to the furthest one down, and I take in the room. It’s nearly empty aside from the basic desk, with a few scattered file folders on it, a computer and a desk phone. Leading me to sit in the chair, he kneels beside me, tucking a hair behind my ear.
“Do you want to do this alone?” he asks, and while I appreciate the gesture, I don’t think I can do it alone.
“No, please don’t leave me,” I beg. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You can do this, but if you need me to, I can take the lead,” Thomas says. My heart pounds. I’ve always been on the other end of the call, the one receiving bad news, so to be the one giving it tonight is hard.
“Is this really happening?” I ask. I know that it is, but I need to be sure. If I have to call the people I love most in this world, and tell them I’m leaving for an unknown length of time, then I need to know this is real.
Thomas frowns, brows turning down. “You have no idea how much I wish this weren’t happening, that this wasn't the way we would be getting to know each other, Hannah. But, it’s real. It’s happening.”
I nod. That was the confirmation that I didn’t want, but needed. I have both Grandma and Julia’s numbers memorized, so I dial Julia first. I put it on speaker, because I’m not sure I’d be able to hold the phone to my ear with how badly my hands are shaking.
Honestly, I’m not even sure where my actual cell phone is.
The line rings and rings until I’m not sure she will pick up, but then at the last second, my sister's voice comes across the line. “Hello?” she sounds breathless and anxious,though I suppose I would be too if I were getting a call from an unknown number at almost two in the morning.
“Julia? It’s Hannah,” I greet her.
“Oh my god, Hannah, where are you?” Julia asks. “We’ve been worried sick. You weren’t answering our calls or texts.” In the background, I hear rustling and a whispered, “It’s Hannah. No, I don’t know, I just answered.” There’s a pause, and then, “You’re on speaker.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell them. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“What happened? Why are you calling from this number?” Julia asks.
I take a deep breath, and Thomas squeezes my hand, giving me a nod. “I’m at the police station. I’m safe. I can’t tell you what happened, but I’m safe. I have to leave town for a while,” I explain.
“What?” she clamors, and I can hear Tiff trying to calm her in the background. “I’m going to kill him. What did Thomas do?”
“Thomas didn’t do anything,” I rush to say, trying to protect him from any of this. “He’s the one keeping me calm and safe.”
“Where are you going?” Tiff asks. “Do you need a lawyer?”
I shake my head, while also knowing they can’t see me. “No.” My voice breaks on the word. “I can’t tell you where we’re going. I don’t really even know.”
“We?” Julia asks, her voice high and shrieking. “What do you mean, we?”
I look at Thomas, unsure of what to say. Thankfully, he jumps in. “Julia, it’s Thomas. They’re sending us away while they get things under control, but I promise, on my life, that I will do everything in my power to keep Hannah safe. That’s all this is, a measure to keep us safe.”
Tiff is the one who responds. “And you don’t know when you’ll be back?”
Thomas looks over at me, and grimaces as he shakes his head. “No. They don’t have a timeline yet.”
Julia sobs in the background, and my heart clenches as my own tears stream down my cheeks. “I’m sorry,” I murmur. A hand slides around my shoulders. “We don’t have much time, and I have to call Grandma.”
