vingt-cinq

"How're you feeling, Miss Lee?"

Rebekah blinked, her eyes hurting from the harsh light of the detective's office.

"I've been better," she replied honestly. Her stomach chose that moment to lurch and she suddenly felt nauseous.

"I understand." The woman behind the desk smiled, even though the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "I just have to ask you a few questions about what happened tonight. Is that alright?"

Rebekah nodded dumbly. The lump in her throat hurt and it took all her will power not to burst into tears in front of Detective Ortiz.

"Can you recount to me the events that led up to Mr Swale's... accident?"

Rebekah took a deep, shaky breath and tried to still her trembling hands. She opened her mouth to answer, but her vocal chords wouldn't work. It didn't help that Detective Ortiz watched her in judgmental silence with golden coloured eyes.

"Maybe we'll try another question." A hint of annoyance bit at the end of Detective Ortiz's words and Rebekah flinched. "Do you know Mr Swale?"

Rebekah's head bobbed up and down.

"How do you know him?"

Bile rose up and burned the back of Rebekah's throat. She felt physically sick. She hadn't thought that it'd be possible to hate that man more than she had before, but now that Sebastian might be in trouble for protecting her from him, she hoped to hell and back that her father would live just so that she could watch him die.

"Miss Lee?" Detective Ortiz frowned.

Rebekah swallowed hard and forced her lips to work.

"He's my father."

Detective Ortiz's dark eyebrows shot up her forehead. "Oh. Are you two... estranged?"

"You could say that."

"Why did you meet him tonight?"

Almost without warning, the events of the last couple of hours rushed through Rebekah's mind and she gripped the edges of her chair to stay grounded.

"It wasn't planned. He... ambushed us."

"'Us'? You mean Mr Crawley and you."

"Yes."

"And what were you and Mr Crawley doing tonight?" Detective Ortiz pressed her fingers together into a steeple and leaned forward so her elbows rested on her desk. For a petite woman who barely reached Rebekah's shoulder, her presence was incredibly intimidating.

"We were on a date."

"And Mr Swale met you at the restaurant?"

Rebekah nodded. "Like I said earlier... he ambushed us outside. He was agitated and when he got into my personal space, Seb told him to back off. My father didn't listen and he began to manhandle me and..." Rebekah's voice trailed off and her vision grew blurry with unshed tears. She brushed them away hurriedly. She didn't want to waste her tears on someone like her father. "He was hurting me."

"How was he hurting you?" Detective Ortiz's voice had a softer lilt to it this time.

Rebekah swallowed and slowly, almost agonisingly so, she rolled up the sleeves of her jacket to reveal the bruises on her arms from when her father had grabbed her. The detective's eyes hardened when she saw them.

"And Mr Crawley stepped in to help?"

Rebekah rolled her sleeves back down and fixed her gaze on a spot above the detective's head. She hated this feeling- this feeling of helplessness, this feeling of being a victim.

"He grabbed my father by his shirt and pushed him away from me. My father tripped on the pavement and..." Rebekah played with the hem of her dress. "And all I remember after that is how much blood there was." Her voice shook as she finished speaking.

After an interminable silence, Detective Ortiz nodded. "I just have one last question for you."

Rebekah gulped.

"Do you mind if I send you to the hospital to get your bruises documented?"

Rebekah's gaze snapped to the woman across the table. "What?"

"He hurt you," Detective Ortiz said and Rebekah realised that the hard edge to her tone had disappeared. "If he wakes up and decides that he wants to press charges against your boyfriend, we could use the evidence of your injuries to prove that Mr Crawley was just defending you."

Rebekah fell silent before mumbling a quiet, "Okay."

She looked at the clock and when she saw saw that it was almost eleven o'clock, she felt the urge to burst into tears. How could a night filled with so much promise turn into a nightmare?

*

The photographing was to take place the next morning and when Rebekah was finally escorted from Detective Ortiz's office and saw her mother standing outside, she'd never wanted a hug as badly as she wanted one in that moment. Her mother must've seen the look on her face because she was enveloped into an enormous hug that made tears well up in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," her mother whispered. "I'm so so sorry."

Rebekah pushed her mother away gently. "Mum, don't be silly. Why're you sorry?"

"It's all my fault. I should've dealt with your father and-"

"None of this is your fault, mum," Rebekah interrupted, surprised by how calm and composed she sounded. "It's dad's. You can't let yourself take the blame for something that isn't yours to take."

Her mother smiled, but before she could speak, something behind Rebekah had caught her eye.

"Sebastian?" The name left her lips involuntarily.

Rebekah spun around and by the time she realised what she was doing, her legs were already carrying her towards him. He met her halfway and  the next thing she knew, he was pressed so tightly against her that the breath was stolen from her lungs.

When they pulled apart slightly to look at each other, Rebekah found herself lost in his dark blue eyes. Exhaustion framed his features but when he looked at her, his eyes sparkled with the same mischievous twinkle that she'd come to love.

"Were you worried about me?" he asked teasingly.

Rebekah felt her cheeks redden and to distract him from her embarrassment, she leaned up and kissed him. She felt his shock and his body stiffen for a moment. She was aware that her mother and everyone in the police station could see them, but she didn't care.

She didn't care if her mother or anyone else saw.

Not anymore.

Before she knew it, Sebastian was kissing her back with as much fervour as she was him. The air crackled with the electricity emanating from their bodies and when they pulled away to breathe, it dawned on Rebekah what she'd be trying to avoid believing.

"I love you," Rebekah whispered. "I love you so much."

Sebastian froze and his eyes searched her face. Rebekah was acutely aware of where his hands were- one rest on her waist, pulling her against him and one cupping her cheek gently. They'd been in positions more compromising than this but somehow, this felt way more intimate.

"Say it again," Sebastian's voice was hoarse.

Rebekah smiled and brushed a lock of his dark hair from his eyes. "I love you, you weirdo."

Sebastian blinked. His eyes had turned almost obsidian in colour and he pressed his mouth against the shell of her ear.

"You should be glad that we're in the middle of a police station and that your mum's watching us because I swear, if we weren't..." His voice trailed off in a deliciously unfinished threat. He planted a kiss on her forehead that made shivers run down her spine before releasing her from his hold. He turned to Rebekah's mother, half-expecting to see a judgmental, disapproving look on her face.

But when he stepped forward to apologise, all he saw were tears on the older Lee woman's face.

Wordlessly, she held out her hand for him and Sebastian took it after a moment's hesitation.

And as they shook, Sebastian recognised her gesture for what it was.

An acceptance.

A truce.

And a thank you.

A/N Hello fellow Wattpadians!

How have you all been? I've missed you all incredibly. I'm so sorry for putting this story on hold for so long but I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading and not giving up on me and this story. I love you guys so much.

Love,

Percy