Ever notice how sometimes, you wait for something, for what feels like a lifetime, and when it finally comes…. It just doesn’t feel right?

That’s exactly what’s happening right now.

I’ve been held captive for a total of four days and I spent every single day preparing for what I’d do or say when I was finally able to go to the cops. Yet, here I sit in the middle of a police station, wrapped in some huge, smelly blanket and all I want to do is tell them I was joking.

For reasons I’ll probably never understand, Justin got to me. In four short days, he managed to get completely under my skin and I feel awful for what I’m doing to him right now. And yes, I know how fucked up that sounds.

The guy kidnapped me and I end up feeling like the bad guy. Go fucking figure.

I really didn’t mean to out him, especially like that. It just kinda slipped out and once it was on the table, I couldn’t take it back. If I had any way to change that, I would.

I mean, yes… he could have come up with a much smarter, legal way to handle things, but when you get right down to it… he was just trying to make his family happy. He wanted his sisters wedding to go off without a hitch, to have the focus on her, instead of himself. And he really, really wanted to show his parents that he’s not a total fuck up.

And I ruined all of it.

Let’s face facts here, plenty of people have done crazy shit to impress their families. I guess on some level, we’re all desperate for some form of parental approval. Some more than others, but you get the gist of it.

As strange as it sounds, I almost wish I would have cooperated with him.

Maybe if I had, the fact that no one came to look for me wouldn’t sting so much. Honestly, it hadn’t even occurred to me until he said it. But, then I realized… he was a hundred percent right.

I know I’m not the anti-Christ or anything, but maybe if I was a little nicer, a little more caring, less hard headed, people would’ve been more concerned with my disappearance.

“Alright, run this by me one more time.” Officer Clark smiles politely. I let out a long sigh and fight the urge to roll my eyes.

Believe it or not, the cops think I’m completely bonkers. I’ve had to tell them my story at least a dozen times in the two hours I’ve been here and I have yet to see any type of action be taken.

Which could ultimately be a good thing I guess.

I recite the story for the millionth time, beginning with the actual kidnapping and ending with my arrival at the station. Naturally, I left out a few small details, like my getting stuck in that god damn bathroom window, and going back when Justin cut me loose the first time.

Officer Clark finally nods, seemingly satisfied with the information I’ve given him yet again. “Alright Miss Morgan… I’ll have a female officer escort you to the hospital and once you’re finished there, you’ll be able to go home and get some rest.”

“The hospital?”

“It’s a routine procedure. We need to have you checked out and perform a rape kit.”

Oh for fucks sake.

I’ve told this idiot a thousand times that I’m perfectly fine and most definitely was not raped. See kids… cops are just as stupid as they portray them on TV.

“How many times do I have to tell you? He didn’t hurt me, and he sure as shit didn’t rape me! He was beyond nice to me. I just want to go home!”

“Are you absolutely sure you weren’t abused in any way?”

“Depends on your definition of abuse, I suppose.” I shrug. “I had to be a bridesmaid in his sister’s wedding…. I’d consider that abuse, not sure how you feel about it though.”

“Is there anyone we can call for you?” He asks, completely ignoring my smart ass remark.

“Yes. His name’s Curtis Fletcher. He’s my best friend and his number is in my phone. He’ll pick me up.”

“Ok. I’ll get a hold of Mr. Fletcher. You just sit tight.” He smiles awkwardly at me before sliding out of his seat.

Looks like I’m finally going home.

Yippy fucking skippy.

*******************************

“Jesus Christ… Ellie…” Curtis lets out a long breath as he kneels down in front of me, nothing but worry filling his eyes. “Are you alright? He didn’t… fuck… did he hurt you?”

“I’m fine.” I mumble, keeping my eyes glued to the floor.

Curtis is my best friend on the planet, but I’ve gotta admit, it’s really fucking weird to see him this concerned about anything, much less another human being.

“So… what are they doing? I mean… they’re gonna arrest this asshole, right?”

“Yeah. They’re charging him with kidnapping in the first degree. Whatever the fuck that means.” I shrug lamely. “Can you just take me home… please?”

“Yeah El… whatever you need.” He smiles sympathetically and moves to help me stand up.

“I’m fucking fine.” I bark and quickly shove his hands away. “Don’t treat me like I just escaped a concentration camp, ok? Just take me home so I can sleep in my own damn bed.”

I know it’s a completely dick move to take my guilt out on him, but I can’t help it. I’m just so god damn mad at myself. And ok fine… I’m a tad pissed that nobody, especially Curtis, came to look for me.

But… it’s mostly the guilt.

I shouldn’t have turned him in. I mean… it’s not like he tried to hurt me. If anything, he took really good care of me. Sure, he went a little nuts, but he had good intentions behind it. That’s gotta count for something, right?

“Why didn’t you come looking for me?” I blurt out as soon as we climb in the car.

Shit.

I swear, I wasn’t planning to ask him that. Apparently, my mouth has a mind of its own tonight and says whatever the hell it wants.

“What? Ellie… I looked for you.”

“No you didn’t.” I chuckle and roll my eyes. “When I called you… you laughed at me. Granted, I was fine. But… what if it was some psycho who’d gotten a hold of me? What if instead of picking me up… you were here to identify a body?”

He frowns and looks away quickly. “Fine… you’re right. I didn’t look for you, and I hate to say it El… but you have this… boy who cried wolf thing about you. Everything is always a thousand times worse than it actually is. You cut your leg… it’s falling off. You sneeze, and suddenly, you have the fucking plague. When you said you’d been kidnapped… honestly, I just didn’t buy it. And I’m not calling you a liar or anything. You’re just… a little over dramatic. But Ellie… if I’d had any clue… you better believe I would’ve been out with a fucking search party. I’m so, so sorry.”

“Yeah.” I mutter and roll my eyes. “Can we go now?” He starts the engine and puts the car in drive, but doesn’t budge.

In a prime example of shit that would only happen to me, two figures pass in front of the car. One of them in full police uniform, the other in a very familiar, wrinkled black suit, his hands cuffed behind his back.

I really, really didn’t need to see this.

Within seconds, what appears to be an entire fleet of town cars pull into the lot. People begin piling out of them quickly and there’s no mistaking the formal wear.

Christ almighty… I think his whole fuckin family followed him here.

As if I didn’t feel shitty enough, god just had to fuck with me one last time.

I slide down in my seat and shield my eyes with my hand. “Curtis… for the love of god, will you please get me the fuck out of here… now?”

**************************

“Ellie… that lawyer’s on the phone for you again.” Kim smiles as she breezes past my office.

I glance down at the phone and can’t stop the scowl that takes over my face when I spot the red flashing light on my line.

I thought the whole legal process was supposed to move fairly slow?

I’ve been home for three days and this attorney has called me at least a dozen times. So far, I’ve done a pretty good job of dodging him, but it looks like the fucker’s finally caught up with me.

“Ellie Morgan.”

“Miss Morgan… so glad I finally caught you. This is Stan Caplan… the prosecutor on your case. I’d like for you to come into my office sometime this week. We need to-”

“Look… I get that you’re trying to do your job… but I am really, really not interested in testifying. So can you just lose my number and let this whole thing go?”

“Miss Morgan… Mr. Timberlake will be tried, whether you’re there to testify or not. However… your testimony would turn this into an open and shut case. Which would make things much, much easier on everyone involved.”

Great.

I can’t fucking win no matter what I do.

“How… is… is there a way I can like… stop this?” I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes tightly. I just want this to all go away.

“You’d have to go to the police station and drop the charges. But, I don’t recommend doing that. Mr. Timberlake violated your civil rights and-” I slam the phone down on the receiver and grab my bag.

I don’t know why the hell that didn’t occur to me. I mean… how fucking easy is dropping the charges?

“Kim… hold all my calls. I’ve got a little bit of emergency… shouldn’t take more than an hour or so.” I shout over my shoulder as I practically sprint toward the door.

It takes me almost 45 minutes to reach the police station and I breathe a sigh of relief when I spot Officer Clark at the front desk.

“Hi… remember me?” I smile at him and he shoots me a bored look.

“You’re the mouthy girl who was kidnapped, right?”

“Kidnapped, yes.” I roll my eyes, doing my best to keep the smile intact. “The prosecutor told me if I wanted to stop this whole thing, all I had to do was come down here and drop the charges… so… umm… can you like, wave your nightstick and have the charges dropped? Please?”

“Sure. Then I’ll turn my handcuffs into doves.” He snorts and grabs several sheets of paper. “Fill those out. It’ll take a day or two to process the paperwork, but once it goes through, you won’t have anything to worry about.”

I fill out the paperwork as quickly and legibly as humanly possible before handing it over to Office Clark.

“So, anything else?”

“No. Unless you have some other smart ass comments you’d like to make.” He smiles sarcastically and I shake my head.

“You’re going to let Justin out now, right?”

“Once this is filed.” He waves the paperwork at me. “Have a nice day Miss Morgan.”

“Thanks. You too.”

There.

It’s done.

The charges are dropped, Justin will get out of jail, and I’ll never have to worry about this mess ever again.

It’s finally over.