25
CIARA
The police are the first to arrive at the scene. Two officers knock on the door with such force that I jump in Aaron’s arms. He kisses my forehead and looks at me intensely in the eyes before telling me: “Don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.”
I nod unconvinced and shoot a glance at Mark lying inert on the floor.
Aaron opens the door, letting the officers in. He tries to explain what happened in a calm manner as the sound of ambulance sirens gets louder.
The paramedics enter and begin attending to Mark immediately. When I hear one of them say that he’s regaining consciousness, Aaron and I exchange an intense look of mutual understanding, gratitude and relief. It serves to partly calm my tense nerves.
One of the policemen approaches me to confirm Aaron’s statement and then tells us that we’ll need to follow them to the station to give them our official statement. He asks me if I also need a doctor, if Mark hurt me physically, if he touched me, but I deny it with a head shake.
He didn’t hurt me, at least physically but that’s only because Aaron was here.
The officer calls for another driver because they will take us away in separate cars and because one of them needs to go with Mark in the ambulance.
Seeing the panic in my eyes, Aaron tries to come close to me but the policeman will not allow it, telling him to stay still and keep his distance from me.
Aaron doesn’t understand and starts raising his voice and gesticulating, explaining that I need him but the officer will not listen to reason.
Aaron is getting too heated up and the officer threatens him with handcuffs, but then a car pulls up outside and Rain comes towards us in tears.
The policeman stops her right away and does not allow her to step through the doorway as Liam joins her and tries to speak with the officer. Aaron is agitated and out of control, Liam is raising his voice and Rain is sobbing, begging the officer to let her pass.
I feel overwhelmed by the events and the resulting chaos around me. I begin to lose lucidity: all of my senses fog over and I feel my energy slowly abandon me as the darkness encloses me and I fall into it.
•••
I wake up in Rain’s arms after what I believe is a brief moment of unconsciousness. We are on the floor and my head is wedged between her legs. Rain smiles, trying to calm me but I get up, searching for Aaron.
“They took him to the station,” she tells me, suffocating the tears.
I try to get a grip and Liam helps by extending an arm for me to steady myself on.
“Everything’s going to be alright, Ciara.”
“He… He saved me,” I whisper before the tears crack my voice.
“I know.” He smiles sadly. “He is salvation. Salvation for all of us.”
I nod while Rain accompanies me to the police car that is waiting for me outside.
“They won’t allow me to go with you, honey, but we’re going to follow you there.”
She squeezes my hand in hers before giving me a kiss on the cheek and getting into the car with Liam. I get into the police car and an officer informs me that my family are on their way.
I close my eyes and swallow hard, thinking back on the last few minutes of my life, scared of a terrible premonition.
—
AARON
When Ciara faints in the arms of the officer I’m trying to talk to, I wriggle out of the other officer’s grasp and go to her. Someone screams for me to stop, to stay where I am, but I am not able to. All I care about is her.
The other policeman I just got away from grabs my arm and orders me to stay calm, but I can’t and we struggle until we fall all the way down to where her body is laid out on the ground in Rain’s arms.
“Do not resist!” the officer yells as I free myself from him with force and kneel down next to Ciara. I touch her cheek, holding back the blind rage that is returning to take possession of me.
