4 The police department

I sighed deeply waking up. To my surprise, a pair of arms were wrapped around my waist. Panic rose to my throat before settling when I realised it was Theo. Theo?! I sat looking at him for a while, he was sound asleep and I wanted to refrain from waking him as he hasn't been getting a lot of sleep recently. I was still wearing my work suit from yesterday but there was a dressing gown on top of it. I was in my bed. Many questions ran through my head, how did I get here? Why is Theo here? Why can't I remember last night? I sighed deeply for a second time as Theo stirred. "Morning" he smiled wrapping his arms tighter before realising. "Wait-" He fell off my bed. "Oh! Are you ok? You really shouldn't have launched yourself backwards" Theo looked at my outstretched hand in embarrassment. He took it and stood up once more this time perching himself precariously on the bedframe. "Sorry about that" Theo said a light tint upon his face.

"What exactly happened last night?" I asked rubbing my head. "Wait- you don't remember?" He said a flicker of sadness spread across his face for a moment or two before he composed himself. "No? All I remember is what happened in the alleyway with Victor" I sighed. "Oh," he looked dejected. "Why, what happened? Also, how comes you're here?" I asked shrugging the dressing gown off my shoulders the warm sun rays slowly getting to me. "Well when you got home you texted me to get here right away, you then explained what happened and-" he paused contemplating his next words with extreme caution. "What?" I prompted him, desperate for answers. "You asked me to stay because you didn't feel safe so I did," he said his tone saying otherwise but I didn't dare bring it up. "How comes I can't remember anything?" I asked puzzled. "You wanted to drink, so you had a few drinks and before I knew it you were out cold." He spoke with a slight laugh. "Makes sense. I never drink." Honestly, I'm surprised I wanted to drink. Victor seemed to affect me in a way no one had ever managed to and it was irritating me.

"Is that all?" I hoped the answer was yes. "Yeah that's all," he said with a sigh, he was clearly lying. Did he think he could get away with lying to me? Not only have I known him for years, but it's also part of my job to be able to read body language. I decided not to press it. Whatever happened clearly upset him and maybe it's better to leave it in the past? At the moment I was more focused on Victor. "Should we go and meet Vincent at the police station, his advice on the situation would be useful right now," I said standing up and walking to my wardrobe to find a fresh suit and blouse. "Yeah okay," he said still dejected. I ignored his tone of voice and went into my bathroom to get changed. A short while later I reemerged my hair in neat curls, my neat black suit perfectly contrasting my crimson lipstick. Although well hidden, Theo looked shocked. He bit his lip before standing up and walking to the door. "After you," he said as I grabbed my keys. "Thank you" I replied making my way out the house before locking up.

We continued walking in silence to the police department. I took the time to admire the streets of New Orleans. Bursting at the seams with life people seemed to work like clockwork, intricately weaving amongst each other like it came natural to them. Theo kept his head to the grey pavement, he was being more quiet than usual. A small part of me wanted to press him for answers, I wanted to know what he wasn't telling me. What could have possibly happened that he thought he needed to lie to me about? Nothing could've happened between us because we're only friends. So what secret was he keeping from me? I sighed, I'll find out eventually. After a while, we arrived and Vincent was sat at his desk with his headphones in. He looked up and saw me, with a smile he pulled his headphones out and walked over to us. I pulled him into a short hug which seemed to throw him off guard. "What's wrong? You're never usually like this with me" he said pulling us apart. "I've got myself into a situation and I need your help"

Vincent led me into an interrogation room. The cold metal was familiar to me. "So tell me what happened," he said sitting opposite me. I recapped the events and he had a grimace upon his face. "You need not worry Maria, I don't know how but Theo and I will find him. I promise he won't lay another finger on you." Their words were no comfort to me. I know they hold good intent in their heart but I've had it up to here with empty promises. Victor has the upper hand and I'm the pawn in his little game. I'm utterly under both his control and his spell and Vincent and Theo can't fix that. I smiled. "Thank you." My words sounded convincing enough. I sat contemplating what victor's next move would be. "Ok this room has got officially too tense, let's go get coffee" Vincent spoke light heartedly leading us out of the interrogation room and back to the bustling city streets.

I sat in the quaint cafe with the two boys and felt a strange feeling of Déjà vu wash over me. How should I react when I see Victor next? It's inevitable but if I could make myself completely unaffected by him maybe he would leave me alone? I sat pondering over my hot chocolate unaware of the pair staring at me. "Maria... I know this is strange to you and I know you're probably panicking inside but I assure we have control over the situation" Vincent said, Theo only nodded in agreement. "Oh no don't mistake my state as panic. Nor am i scared. I had my emotional outburst. Now I can think straight on how to fix the situation." I smiled zoning back out to the swirls of whipped cream in the soft chocolate.