[|]

Early the next day, we got a call from the police station about the reports from Axel's case. I was tense and didn't know if I could bear to hear anything the police had to say. It was still difficult for me to grasp the fact that Axel was behind such a thing and it left me with a sleepless night.

"Are you ready to go?" Lucas asked as he closed the front door of the apartment.

"Nope," I answered and faced away. My palms were sweaty and my body cold from what was to come. "I don't know how I'll react to why Axel did all of these if it is what the cops have for us. He was part of the people who assaulted me. It's like a nightmare that I have to face yet I'm not ready to."

I felt his warm hand on the small of my back and I turned around. I leaned into his body and he circled his arms around my shoulders.

"I'm here for you," he said. "Besides, we won't be looking at Axel, just listening to the police tell us what we want to know."

I smiled and moved out of his hold. I felt lucky to have Lucas. I imagined if I was still alone, without friends. But now, I had him to comfort me in dark times and I was grateful for that.

"Let's go," I said, feeling better than before.

[|]

We arrived at the police station and waited in an office. It was small and filled with boxes and shelves full of books, making me feel a little out of breath. Lucas was beside me, holding my hand and giving it a light squeeze. I had lost count of how many times I had thought of not wanting to hear anything. But I had to start being strong and listen for once without feeling weak or scared to listen.

When I heard the door open and click shut, I sat with my back straight. Light footsteps filled the office until a middle-aged-looking officer went behind the desk. He sat down on his chair and dropped a file on the desk.

"Good morning," Lucas greeted and the man smiled.

"Good morning and welcome," he said and looked at me. "How are you doing today?"

I shrugged. "I don't know? My mood for the day will depend on whatever you have for us."

"Right," he said and cleared his throat before picking up the file. "So, Axel Hamilton."

"Yes," I said, clenching my hands as my heartbeat sped up. I was too nervous to hear whatever information he had, especially if it contained the reason why Axel made those boys assault me.

"First, we will begin with Tony, the deceased. We did a background check on him and with what you told us, he used to bully you in Redside High. We gathered reports and found traces of some illegal jobs he's been doing ever since he graduated from Redside High. He got involved in a few crimes; drug trafficking and illegal items being transported. A quick lab test done on his cadaver found traces of cocaine."

I was appalled at the information. I could not believe that the star swimmer at Redside High had turned out to be someone that hit rock bottom. It made me wonder if him bullying me was also a result of the side effects of him taking those substances.

"He recently got out of rehabilitation after getting caught and started tracing you from our reports. From the texts and what you told us, he was going to reveal who assaulted you. This brings us to Axel Hamilton who was at the scene of the crime."

I tensed as it got to the part where I would hear about Axel. Lucas held my hand a bit tighter and placed it on his lap. I glanced at him, and he smiled and I smiled before staring back at the bald man. I watched him open the file and spread some papers and photographs around the desk. There were two pictures of bullets and the gun I had seen Axel with. Other pictures were of the crime scene and I purposely ignored the one that had Tony's body.

"We interrogated Axel and he revealed a few interesting things. According to him, he had a problem with Tony back in high school concerning a mutual partner. He used to date a girl named Sandra Ashe who ended been with Tony during her relationship with him; Sandra had cheated on Axel Hamilton. Tony had lured her to do drugs which sent her to a rehabilitation center that she is currently being held in due to overdose and mental health problems from it. He said he found out recently and needed to get back to Tony, to find answers. In evidence of their calls and texts, Tony had told him to meet him at the same construction site you were heading to."

I gulped at the information. I looked to Lucas who was equally shocked. I never knew anyone by the name of Sandra Ashe. Axel never told me anything about his love life. He was just as secretive as his brother. Then again, why would Tony send Axel a text and call me to meet him at the same address. Something was fishy and who was this Sandra Ashe?

"Do you both know anything about Sandra Ashe?" The officer asked.

"No," I replied and glanced at Lucas, he was staring straight ahead.

"I did. Sandra Ashe was the baby sister of one of the players on the basketball team. One moment she was a bright student of Redside High and the next, we never heard from her again. I guess this was why she vanished. Even her brother refused to tell us anything," Lucas said and I felt bad for the girl.

"Well, she's in a rehabilitation center as I said, getting treatment. Moving on, Axel met up with Tony. According to him, when he met Tony, he was looking scared and uncomfortable. Before Tony could say much, he was shot."

"By Axel, right?" I asked, feeling uncertain about where this was going. The officer did not say anything but pushed the pictures of the bullets closer to me.

"These two pictures are of the bullets from the gun Axel held, which is his," he said and pointed at the one on the right. "Now, this other one is what we extracted from Tony's skull. Notice anything?"

I leaned forward and so did Lucas. I stared at the two pictures and barely saw any difference but when I looked closer, I noticed the difference in size and the numbers on their golden bodies.

"They're different," I said.

"We didn't believe Axel at first but with the overnight nonstop interrogation and investigation, we were able to find some shocking revelations. Tony was shot in the back of the head. We were able to get our hands on CCTV footage that luckily captured an angle that showed no sign of Axel ever raising his gun. Even if he did, the bullet in his skull was positioned from the point of view of a gunshot coming from behind and not from Axel's angle. Which goes to show that..."

"Axel didn't kill Tony," I said, feeling a bit relieved yet discomfort because everything was still hazy for me.

"So, you're saying Axel is innocent?" Lucas asked, releasing my hand to lean back into his seat with his face blank.

"We also did a lie detector test and every round we went showed he was telling the truth even before this evidence came in. The same way Jackie was there for a reason to find out who assaulted her was the same reason Axel was there to find out the truth about Sandra Ashe. Tony had sent a text to Axel, five minutes earlier before he called you." The man pushed an enlarged picture of my call log and what I assumed to be the text sent to Axel.

I swallowed and looked at my feet. My head was so filled right now that I didn't know what emotions would fit the situation. I didn't know if I should be happy that Axel would never hurt me or that I should be scared that whoever was behind all of these was still out there. Tony was dead, which meant this person was extremely dangerous and would not care to kill more people who dared to reveal the truth.

"We are still looking into this case as we need to find out the killer and who was behind the assault if you want us to, Miss Garner?" He requested and I felt conflicted.

I raised my head and met Lucas's soft gaze on my face. He offered me a smile which I didn't return. I bit my lip and exhaled then met the older man's curious eyes.

"I don't know. I'm just too tense right now but since this is a case of murder, do what you have to do," I said and he smiled.

"Do everything you can. I don't care if you have to bring in the best investigators, just find out the truth about the killer," Lucas said and the man nodded.

"We will don't you worry... Oh, you can see Axel now. He will be released today. Excuse me."

The man stood up from his seat and went around the desk before leaving his office. The moment he did, I exhaled and laced my shaking fingers.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lucas asked, pulling his chair closer. He held my hands and brought them to his lips. He kissed them and I looked at our hands.

"I'm scared, Lucas," I said. "I don't know who this person is and why they are doing this to me... To us. I don't even know if it is someone who hates me, you, or Axel. I just want a normal life not some crime drama story," I said with distaste.

"I know I've said this too many times but everything will be alright. I'm here with you, okay? At least now we know that Axel is innocent. You know, even though we don't have a good sibling relationship, I was worried about him. I wanted to be proven so bad that he wouldn't do such a thing, that he isn't that type and I am glad he isn't but now, I will not spare whoever is trying to harm you and my brother," Lucas said in a strong tone that put a smile on my face.

"Thank you so much," I said in a whisper.

"Let's go see Axel, hm?" He asked and I held my breath out of nervousness.

I had been the one to call the cops on him. Would Axel still like me for doing such and not hearing him out when I saw him with a gun and Tony's dead body? Anyone would have reacted in such a way but I still felt guilty.