Chapter 28

Holden

       Shaw's dad, Jaime, wanted Shaw and Viola to meet up with their half-sister, and it took me a few days to convince Shaw to meet up with her. I knew he wasn't happy that Jaime kept it a secret for so long, but Shaw couldn't blame the half-sister for what Jaime decided to do.

        While Shaw was out with his family, I stayed back and decided to have a lazy day, even though that was basically all I did since school got out. The only time I left the house was to work.

       There was a knock on the door, so I got up from the couch and walked over to answer it. I opened the door to see Horatio standing there. "Can I come in?" he asked.

       "Yeah, of course," I said, letting Horatio into the house before closing the door behind him. "So, what's up?"

       Horatio sighed. "I'm just going to get straight to the point. We weren't able to charge Roman."

       "What?" I asked. "Why not? He kidnapped me and Mercy."

       "Yeah, I know, and trust me I believe you," Horatio said. "But unfortunately, your and Mercy's statement isn't enough. We need actual evidence to prosecute him, and he just so happened to have an alibi."

       "What about Clyde's statement?" I asked. "He's the one that rescued us from the shack."

       "Apparently, the police isn't trusting him because of his criminal record," Horatio said.

       "Unbelievable," I said. "Forget me; Roman kidnapped an eight year old girl. How is he getting away with that?"

       "I have no idea," Horatio said. "And it really annoys me that it's like the police department isn't doing their job properly. I'm not giving up on the case, though. The chief did close the case but like I said, I believe you one hundred percent. I'm going to find something that will pin Roman to the kidnapping, but it might take a while."

       "I honestly don't care how long it takes," I said. "I just don't want him to completely get away with it."

       "He won't," Horatio said.

       It was nice to know there was at least one police officer in Spruceworth that took things seriously. I didn't know how many people were able to get away with anything because of it.

       I just didn't understand how Roman was going to get away with this. Were they really going to take his word over three other people? It shouldn't matter about Clyde's criminal record and even if it did, what about me and Mercy? 

       What made Roman's alibi more believable over my and Mercy's statement?

       After I thanked Horatio for not giving up on the case, he told me he was going to inform Kendra about it as well. He left, and I went back to the couch, mainly to pout this time. If Roman could get away with kidnapping me and Mercy, what else could he get away with?

       Because I had a feeling his revenge on Shaw wasn't over, especially since Clyde ruined his plans last time.

       While I was watching a movie, the door opened and Shaw walked inside. Well, he didn't really walk inside. He stumbled inside.

       "Shaw? Are you okay?" I asked.

       "I'm fine," Shaw said, standing up straight. "Absolutely fine. Just peachy."

       If I didn't know any better, I'd say Shaw did something he wasn't supposed to do. Something he promised he wouldn't do.

       "Please don't tell me you're drunk," I said.

       "Drunk?" Shaw asked before snorting. "What? No. How could you ever thought that?" If I had doubts inside of me, they immediately went away because of the improper grammar Shaw used.

       I couldn't believe you.

       "You told me it was a one off!" I said. "You said it wasn't going to happen again!"

       "And it won't," Shaw said. "I don't care what you think. I'm not... Whatever that word is. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go take a nap."

       I watched as Shaw headed to the bedroom, struggling just to walk properly. He almost crashed into furniture with every step he took.

       When he was in the bedroom, I released a deep breath, trying to keep calm. I really didn't like that Shaw drank again when he promised he wasn't going to do it again, but there was probably something that made him do it.

       I just had to make sure Shaw knew he could talk to me whenever he wanted. I didn't want him to keep turning to alcohol. I was in boarding school when he was a heavy drinker so I didn't see the damage first hand, but I knew it wasn't good.

       I finished watching the movie before getting up and heading to the kitchen to make something to eat, and something for Shaw to eat when he woke up.

       He did nap for quite some time but when he finally woke up, he walked out of the bedroom, rubbing his forehead. "Ugh, I have the nastiest headache," he said as he sat down on the couch.

       "Really?" I asked. "I'm surprised you don't recognize it as a hangover. You're pretty familiar with that."

       Shaw looked at me before sighed. "Holden, I'm sorry."

       "Don't be," I said, heading to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and a plate of bacon, then going back to the living room and sitting beside him, handing both contents to him. "Here. Bacon helps with hangovers."

       "Does it really?" Shaw asked.

       I shrugged. "Don't know. I read it online once. Might as well try it."

       "Are you mad?" Shaw asked.

       "I was at first," I said. "But then I realized that there was probably something that caused you to go out drinking. You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I won't judge."

       "I know," Shaw said. "And I should have, but... I was already at the bar so it just happened."

       "What caused it?" I asked. "Was meeting your half-sister really that bad?"

       "Honestly, no, it wasn't," Shaw said. "Heidi, my half-sister, was actually a lot more bearable than Viola is being right now. My dad just told her as well that she has two siblings, so she's not that happy with him. What caused me to drink was finding out was Roman. He just showed up to the bar and knew exactly how to push my buttons."

       "You know, if my parents find out you're drinking again, they're not going to be happy," I said. "They'll probably drop you again like they did when they first found out we were dating."

       "Yeah, I know," Shaw said. "I'm really going to try stopping. I promise."

       As much as I wanted to believe Shaw, I couldn't. He had a history with alcohol so if he started drinking again after so long, I didn't think he was going to be able to stop all of a sudden.

       However, I didn't want to admit that to Shaw, so I changed the subject.

       "Horatio stopped by," I said. "He told me that Roman isn't going to be prosecuted for kidnapping me and Mercy."

       "You're kidding, right?" Shaw asked.

       "I wish," I said. "There's not enough evidence. They're not trusting our words for it, and they're definitely not trusting Clyde because of his criminal record. Apparently, Roman has an alibi."

       "It's official," Shaw said. "I'm gonna kill him."

       "Don't do anything to him," I said. "Horatio said he believed me so he's not letting the case go, even if the chief did close it."

       "You know, it's time like these I wished Horatio was the chief," Shaw said. "He's the only one with a sensible head."

       "I know," I said. "But in the meantime, just try not to do anything to Roman. Let Horatio do his job."

       "Yeah, no promises," Shaw said. "The man kidnapped you and my daughter. I'm not going to let things go easily. He's going to regret it, trust me."

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oof is shaw about to go off????

we'll seeeeeeee.

so i'm tired so i need to sleep but not before posting a gif because gifs:

^^me all day everyday