‘That’ Side Character Chapter 70: Surrounded with Love

“Oh! You are here,” she said with a warm smile, “come here, sunshine, let’s talk to the police about what happened this afternoon, yes?”

You kept your gaze to the floor as you walked over to beside her and she put an arm around you to steady you.

“You are Y/N L/N, yes?” the police officer who had been doing most of the talking, asked you.

“Yeah,” you said softly, “sorry, I umm, didn’t come out because I didn’t want to get arrested.”

“I can promise you that we’re not here to arrest you,” he said kindly, being far more understanding now that he had been given some context, “but we might be needing to arrest someone else if you would tell us what happened today… regarding your father?”

“Umm… yeah… he’s not nice… and Lolita is nice and he’s been stalking me today,” you said bluntly, looking more at Lolita than at them.

“Stalking?” the officer asked you.

You slowly made eye contact with him.

“Yeah,” you replied.

“What was he doing that made you say he was stalking you?” he queried gently.

“Well, he first of all, waited outside the school gates for me in the morning and my boyfriend texted me about it so I didn’t go to school,” you said, “then he found out where my boyfriend lived and I happened to be there and he was staking out the house… and then he followed me and Lolita home, and…” 

“Would you testify to this?” the policeman said, “should this escalate?”

“Yes,” you said firmly, finally seeing that they were all on your side. No one had told you you were being stupid or paranoid or weird. They actually… for the first time in forever… believed you!

“And you said he is not nice. Can you please explain how he is not nice to you?” the policeman asked.

“Yeah… he just… umm…” This is where you stumbled a little, trying to pin emotional abuse was hard.

Lolita reached out and gently rubbed your back soothingly with her hand. Her warmth and silent encouragement permeated through your being.

“The second that I’m around him he starts telling me what a useless person I am. I’ll never amount to anything. I’ll always be the dumbest person he knows… irresponsible. Weak. Careless. Airheaded.” You were now listing all the “qualities” that he bombarded you with daily. “I… I don’t want to have that anymore,” you said honestly, interlacing your fingers together and reaching up to plop them down onto your head and squeezing as you did your best to maintain composure and still look the policeman in the eye, “Lolita is so nice to me….” You broke down. “And I didn’t see how much his was mean to me until I met her… and my boyfriend, Kenma. Actually… so many people are mean to me and I thought it was just being I was an annoying and stupid person so I just accepted it but… but… then I met them and… they’re so nice. And they never call me stupid. And they never say I’m just being paranoid. They listen. They validate me. And I don’t want to go back home.”

Your speech, which had been very well articulated, given the stressful situation, touched the policeman’s heart and a sympathetic look crossed his face as you stood there with hands on head, giving him a very determined look as tears streamed down your face.

Lolita, too, was so proud of you.

It was hard acknowledging that you had been suffering from a form of abuse… and she was also glad that she had made an impact on your life, so much so, that you were able to see the abuse now that you were out of that toxic relationship with your father. 

“Where does you father live?” the policeman asked you.

You gave your old address.

“But if he’s not there then he’s probably on some trip somewhere,” you said.

“Did he go on trips often?” the policeman asked you.

“Yeah… all the time. There were times that I was home by myself for a week before he would show up with his negativity,” you said blandly.

“What is your age, Y/N?” the officer asked, writing something down in his book, “do you have a mother or siblings?”

“I’m 17, only child, and mum… umm… she left dad when I was maybe… 10?” you replied, “dad blames her for the way I am… says that she was irresponsible and that’s where I get it from.” Then you had a lightbulb moment. “Wait! He’s taking his frustration out on me because mum left him… ohhhh….”

The officer frowned into his notebook and Lolita cracked a small sorry smile on her face as she watched your hands slip from your head back down to your side.

Tonight had been a big night for you… a lot of sudden realizations.

“That is a criminal offense,” the officer finally said, “to leave a minor on their own with no guardian.”

You nodded. You didn’t quite know what he was talking about but you certainly agreed.

“Well. You now have a proper legal guardian here and I can see you are in good health and that you are cared for here.” He then turned to Lolita. “We will be in touch,” he said after giving her a nod. “There is another person we would like to visit tonight.”

She nodded and pleasantries were exchanged before the two officers left.

“Are they going to my dad’s place?” you asked her as you and her walked back to the kitchen to continue your hot drinks that weren’t so hot now.

“Most probably,” she said with a small chuckle, “I believe he has finally cooked his goose. All of his sins are catching up with him now.”

“I feel a lot better than I did before,” you said as you sat down and picked your drink up again, “thank you, Lolita.”

“Sunshine, it is a pleasure,” she said, smiling into her tea as she felt the pride of being about to see justice served, come to one who deserved it the most.

Lolita’s kitty slept on your feet that night and you slept soundly. It had been a big night but a necessary night, to take the steps forward that were needed. 

……………………

The next morning, you were up and off to school. You couldn’t wait to tell Kenma all about what happened and you only got about one third of the conversation out when the first bell for the day rang.

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