Chapter 18

                                    

                                          
Hannah
They were here. Bradley's cousin and his team were just downstairs waiting to talk to me. They were going to run an investigation on the police department and act in their place until they could see who was trustworthy and who had worked with my dad. At least that's what Bradley told me. 
Bradley was downstairs with his cousin and the others. All they were waiting for was me. 
But I couldn't get my feet to move. I was rooted in place, standing in front of the mirror looking back at myself. 
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. 
"Hannah? Are you ok?" Bradley asked, peeking his head in. 
I turned and nodded, but I couldn't get the word "yes" out. The truth was, I felt like I was going to be sick and I wanted the world to swallow me whole so I wouldn't have to go down there and face my demons. 
"Hannah," Bradley sighed. He came up to me and put his hands on my shoulders, looking me in the eye. "It will be ok. I promise."
I nodded again and Bradley offered me his hand. I took it and let him lead me downstairs. 
Three men were sitting on the couch in the living room. Their eyes snapped to me and Bradley when we entered. One of theirs went to our joined hands. 
"I'm Damien," the one who'd been looking at our hands said, "Bradley's cousin."
He reached his hand out to me and I looked to Bradley for reassurance. He nodded and I reached out to shake Damien's hand. 
"This is Mike and Dominick," he told me. 
I nodded politely to the other two men and sat down on the couch opposite to them. Bradley sat next to me and wrapped his arm around me. 
"Ok Hannah," Damien said, pulling out a notepad and a pen, "we are going to ask you some questions if that's ok."
I nodded and the questions began. Most were about my dad's abuse, but some were also about his police friends and his time working in the department. 
I answered everything to the best of my ability, avoiding eye contact with the men. I didn't want to see their disgust or their pity. 
"One last question Hannah," Damien said after a half hour. "Do you have any proof of what your dad did?"
My heart sunk. I knew they wouldn't believe me. I'm just a girl and it's my word against my dad's. Of course they would believe him. 
"We need something to show in a court of law, otherwise we are not allowed to convict him. Our word isn't enough," Mike explained. 
"Wait. You believe me?" I asked timidly. 
"Of course. Why wouldn't we?"
I shrugged and tucked myself further into Bradley's side, hiding away from the men across from me. Call me pathetic, but they scared me a little. They had so much power and could easily take advantage of me. 
"Hey, I think this is enough for today," Bradley interjected. 
The men nodded their heads and packed up their things. 
"We will see you soon Hannah," they promised. It caused me to shudder. Dad's friends always used to say that to me. It was laced with a promise of pain and blood. 
Bradley walked Mike, Dominick, and Damien to the door. They chatted for a few minutes before the men finally left and I felt like I could relax again. 
Sighing, I laid down on the couch and curled into a ball. Today was stressful and all I want to do is disappear. 
I don't want to face my problems and relive my horrors. I don't want everyone to know my past. 
I just want it all to go away. 
I didn't realize I was crying until Bradley knelt down in front of me and swiped a tear off my cheek. He didn't say anything though, and for that I was grateful. I didn't need or want him to say anything; his presence was comfort enough. 
Everything was changing. 
My once enemy, is now the person I trust most and the person I used to trust most is the person I'm most scared of. The world is twisted and I don't know what to make of it. 
I'm such a short period of time, Bradley showed me who he truly is. Maybe he changed, or maybe he was like this all along and I was too dense to notice.