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Chasing Pavements

Chapter 7

THREE CHEERS FOR FIVE YEARS

"John…I'm scared," Trish whimpered and buried her face deep into the crook of his neck.

John clenched his jaw and fought hard against his tears. He had lost count of how many times she had said she was afraid. In any other circumstance it would have probably lost all its meaning by now, but every time he heard her tell him she was scared felt like the world came crashing down.

"I know, baby," he nodded, feeling her tears fall against his neck knowing there was no way he could get used to this. He brought his hand up to the back of her head and gently caressed her hair like he done so for the last hour and a half whenever she felt like crying.

"W-what's going to happen, John?" she stammered against the skin of his neck.

John tensed a little. She had never continued the conversation before. It had always ended with her sobbing in his arms until she was ready to tell him she was scared again. He subconsciously hugged her tighter against his body as a sign that he would protect her from harm this time.

"I-I can't believe he did that to me," she continued before John could reply.

John clenched his jaw, anger building up at the thought of another man violating Trish like that. "He's going to pay, don't you worry about it, baby," John whispered to her.

She looked up at him, wiping the tears from her eyes. He gave her a small smile as he brought his thumb to her cheek, tracing over the bruise that covered her cheekbone. He scanned her delicate face as she continued to look at him through scared eyes. He knew what he had to do. "Babe, I'm gonna have a talk with the cops, see if they'll put me on your case, and I'm gonna find this guy myself," he said with confidence.

Trish dropped her gaze and bit her lip. "You don't have to do that—"

"We're going to find him," he replied trying to hold back the shakiness in his voice. He slowly pulled her away from him so their eyes met and he gave her a softened look. "I'm going to find him and make sure he pays for what he did to you." Without waiting for her acknowledgment, he pulled her back into a hug. "I'm sorry for what happened and I'm going to make it right, he'll pay, but you're safe now, you're safe with me," he whispered against her hair.

"I know I am," Trish responded quietly. "I love you."

John bit his lip as tears welled up in his eyes. "I love you too."

They were interrupted by a soft knock at the door, which opened up to reveal Stephanie and Paul. John and Trish glanced over, Trish sitting upright when she saw her friends.

"Trish!" Stephanie gasped when she saw her battered friend. "Oh my gosh." Trish instinctively ducked her head, shielding herself behind John. She suddenly faced ashamed of herself, not wanting anyone to see her like that.

Stephanie ignored this and quickly made her way over and embraced Trish in a hug. "We were so worried about you!" she said as she pulled away, her hands still gripping Trish's shoulders gently. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"Clearly, she isn't alright, Stephanie," Paul's voice interrupted. "She was goddamn raped for crying out loud," he shook his head with a frown.

Stephanie watched Trish's expression fall before looking over her shoulder back at Paul. "I'm sorry," she said as she turned back to Trish. "At least you're safe now."

"I don't feel safe," Trish replied quickly. "He's still out there; what if he tries to get me again?" Tears welled up in her eyes as she gripped tightly onto John's shirt.

"He won't!" John and Stephanie reassured in unison. They glanced at each other briefly, and then back at Trish.

"I won't let him, the cops won't let him," John told her as he grabbed one of her hands, the other held by Stephanie. "He can't hurt you now."

Trish just nodded and laid her head against John's body, closing her eyes. John, Stephanie and Paul exchanged glances. None of them knew what to do, or what else to say. But they all knew what they wanted to say—ask Trish what happened. Clearly, that was out of the question. Not until she was ready, if ever. They sat in silence, recollecting their thoughts despite the awkward aura of the room. John aimlessly rubbing circles across Trish's back as she rested, Paul slouching in his chair with his eyes towards the ceiling, and Stephanie sitting by Trish's bedside, her head resting against the mattress. The silence was soon broken by John's cell phone ringing.

"You shouldn't have that on in hospitals," Stephanie groaned in attempt to jokingly tell him off.

John playfully glared at her as he answered. "Hello? Hey Stace," he said softly before pulling the phone away from his ear. Stephanie and Paul chuckled lightly at Stacy's high pitched voice ringing through the phone, filling the quiet room. "Okay," they heard John said irritably as he pressed a button to put her on loudspeaker.

"…I could kill you myself, John! How could you not call me, I told you to keep me updated every half hour, I swear to god when I see you…"

"Uh, Stace?" John cut in with a chuckle.

"What!?" she yelled through the speaker.

"One, you're on loudspeaker now, and two, Trish is asleep so shut the hell up!"

"I'm not asleep," Trish roused, holding a palm to her forehead. "But Stacy, you're voice is splitting my head!"

"Oh my god, Trish!?" Stacy shrieked. "Trish, are you alright? I can't believe this, oh my gosh, Randy, it's Trish, honey, we're so glad you're okay!" Stacy continued her rant.

Trish couldn't help but smile when she heard her frantic friend. John, Stephanie and Paul noticed this and gave a small smile too, relieved to see that she was beginning to set aside her ordeal.

"Trish, we're on our way," Stacy informed. "Me, Randy and Candice."

"Candice?" Trish asked, her voice hinting a sign of excitement.

"Yeah, honey, I'm here," Candice's voice entered the conversation. "I'm so glad you're safe now, you had us all worried sick."

"I'm glad you guys are coming," Trish replied softly before laying back down, facing away from everyone.

John looked over at Paul and Stephanie and shook his head with sorrow. It was definitely not going to be that easy. They all would forget what a horrible experience Trish had been through when she would smile and talk to them like nothing ever happened. But those were just lucky periods, that were soon gone and Trish would return to being withdrawn and remorseful.

"Trish?" Candice asked with concern.

"I- uh, she's resting," John answered. "How long will you guys be?"

"Yeah I think it's better when she's around people she knows, it just helps," Stephanie added.

"Who the hell was that!?" Randy piped up from the background.

"…Stephanie!" Stephanie replied irritably and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, oops, sorry Steph," Randy replied sheepishly. "You sounded different."

"Anyway," John refocused the conversation. "How long?" he asked, beginning to rub Trish's back again gently.

They heard a few mumbles between their friends on the other line, arguing about their whereabouts. "Uhh…we should be there in about an hour or two, bro," Randy replied.

"What about Trish's parents?" Paul spoke up from across the room. "I think it would be good for Trish if they came down ASAP, yeah?" He glanced at Stephanie and winked, receiving a grateful smile in return.

"Oh, Trish's parents, I don't even know what to say…" Stacy said, her voice full of sympathy. "They're scared, devastated, guilty, basically everything you don't want them to be."

"They're not dealing too well," Candice added. "Taking it really hard, but they are going to come as soon as they can," she assured.

"Alright, well I guess we'll see you guys soon then," John replied before shutting off his phone. "Damn, I hope the cops have made some progress."

JxT

"Chris Jericho, twenty-five, just got released from prison 12 days ago," Detective Benson read out from his file with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Lucky you, eh?" she grinned as she slapped the file down onto the metal table.

"Are you mocking my Canadian decent?" Chris asked with a raised eyebrow. "Eh?"

"We have ourselves a comedian," Detective Stabler cut in. "Now where were you last night?"

"Whoa-ho-ho," Chris held up his hands. "Am I under arrest for something?"

"We'll see, now answer the question," Stabler folded his arms, unamused. He glared when Chris didn't speak. Groaning in frustration, his temper began to flare. "Answer the goddamn question!"

Chris held a finger to his chin whilst he pretended to ponder. "Well…" he leant back into his chair and placed his hands in one another. "I was at home." He simply replied with a smile.

Benson scoffed. "Aren't they all?" she took a seat across from him, leaning in a little. "You sure about that?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Do you have an alibi?"

Chris sighed in frustration. "No I do not have a freaking alibi, I was home alone."

Stabler feigned a chuckle. "Alright, so you were home, what were you doing?" he asked as he circled the interrogation room.

"That's none of your business, Detective." He said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, I see we aren't getting much cooperation with our current method, right Detective Benson?" Stabler glanced over at his partner who nodded.

He made his way over to the table and picked up the manila folder that held Chris' files. He whistled a tune as he flipped through it, scanning each page. "Ah-ha, here we go." He raised his eyebrows and glanced at Chris. "Let's see, so you were arrested a couple of years ago and got out recently for good behaviour?" He watched for a reaction from Chris, but he stayed expressionless. "So tell me, what did you do that got you locked up in the slammer?" he asked as tossed the file to his partner and leaned his hands against the table.

"You're the cop with the file, you tell me," Chris spat as he crossed his arms.

"You're the suspect being questioned, you tell me," Stabler grinned at him.

"Listen, you said it yourself, I got released on good behaviour!" Chris stood up, yelling in the Detective's face. "I was rehabilitated, I admitted what I did was wrong, did the time, and all I want now is to move on with my goddamn life!"

Stabler maintained eye contact, holding back his urges to pop Chris in the jaw for getting in his face like that. However all he did was smile back. Chris watched intently as he was circled by the Detective. "Liv, show him the picture."

Benson took out a photo and slid it across the table so it faced Chris. "Recognise her?" she asked smugly.

Chris scanned the photo. Sure he recognised it. It was Trish. However, he looked at it with slight confusion, noticing the bruises and cuts on her face. He traced along her face, remembering the times he was with her. The good times. He glanced up at both Detectives. "What the hell is this?"

"You tell us, you did it, didn't you!?" Stabler accused.

"W-what!?" Chris' jaw dropped as he picked up the photo and waved it in their faces. "This is Trish! Trish! She was the love of my life, you think I did this!?"

The two Detectives stared back at him with expressionless faces. "You tried to hurt her before, why not try again?"

Kinda boring chapter, I know. But I didn't want to pack in too much i.e introducing Randy/Stacy/Candice AND having them be with Trish (the timescale wouldn't make sense), so they'll be in more next chapter. The Chris interrogation will continue, and you'll get to see what he is like now, and if he's changed...or if he's same old same old with the addition of being a rapist. Lol. Wait, i shouldn't laugh.
And Trish will also tell her friends about her attack, 'cos I didn't reveal what she told the Detectives, I thought it would be better if she told her friends as it would be more emotional and personal.

And, in fear that i may lose readers with this boring chappy, little hints of what's in store: hunt for the attacker, suspects, affairs (guess who, lol), betrayls and lots of clues that all you readers can decipher! :D

Please Review, good, bad, and everything in-between!

Thanks to:

TivaFanGirl1
Trishrocks
superficialcynic
Brittany Anne Lynn
Waves of Rage
pierzynskifan12

x Peace.