Chapter 106 Changes
Eden’s Point of View
“With the condition of the assailant, it’s difficult to tell who the victim truly is.” One of the policemen said with a small frown on his face, and his colleague stifled a small laugh.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
“According to the patient report, the victim, Nico Colombo, suffered severe injuries to his face and neck, including, but not limited to, a broken nose, jaw, and collar bones; he also lost three teeth. Is it difficult to believe it was just self-defense? According to the CCTV footage, the gun was knocked out of his hands the moment the last shot was fired.” Anger slowly began to seep into me.
“Coupled with the fact that the person who attacked Nico is a diagnosed psychopath, this calls for serious concern. We believe the excessive use of force should be monitored, and then the victim—”
I interrupted him sharply.
“Do you even hear yourselves?” I questioned stepping forward, my eyes flickering between the two of them. Lola lets out a hiss, holding Felicia. “We were about to be killed, and you are worried about him? Nico Colombo is nothing close to a victim. I am the victim, Benita is the victim, and the diagnosed psychopath you’re cautious about was shot in the chest while protecting us.”
“We know, but at the same time, violent tendencies in psychopaths need to be closely monitored; today it's Nico, and tomorrow it might just be another person.” He sucked in a deep breath. “We would also like to question him for a little bit.” “Are these people mad?” Lola asked curiously, and the officer’s eyes darted towards her.
“Excuse me?” his eyebrows shot up at the obvious disrespect.
“Yes, I asked if you were normal in the head.” Lola is mostly fearless; it didn’t matter who they were, she would openly insult them. “Someone brought in an armed weapon and shot at a patient, beat up a doctor and almost killed one, yet you are worried that we defended ourselves?”
“Ma’am—” I interrupted him again.
“Maybe if you had done your jobs properly, this wouldn’t have happened.” I snapped. “As for the diagnosed psychopath you are worried about, he is my husband, I’m his attendant, and I will be the one answering any questioning. He is recovering, and I don’t want him to be disturbed.”
Seeing there was no luck in arguing with us, the officers whispered to themselves. “Please, if the vict—Nico wakes up, reach out to us again.”
“Those lousy ass motherfuckers.” Lola cursed as they walked past us, and I am sure they heard. “Did you hear them?”
“It’s disappointing that cops act like this now.” Felicia finally said something in her small voice. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, and Lola hissed again, her eyes trailing down to my lips.
“That is a very serious cut on your lip, doesn’t it hurt?” She asked, and only then did I feel pain at the end of my mouth. I was too busy worrying about Benita, Theron, and Thorne to realize that my lips did sting.
“I have never seen this side of you before.” Lola’s voice came quickly as we got back to the lobby. “The way you speak about him seems different now. You called him your husband twice.”
My eyes widened, and I flickered towards Felicia, who nodded as well. Did I call him my husband? It was a slip of speech. I always make sure to address him formally while we are at work.
But at the same time, I didn’t want to outright deny it as well.
“Uh?” I touched my cheeks because they felt so hot. “No, n-no… I am just grateful he saved my life.”
“I know, I’m saying you don’t hate him anymore.” She noted again, and my heart quickened in my chest. “You used to regard him with so much anger, but now…it’s different, there is an affection in your eyes.”
“We are happy to see you falling in love,” Felicia added, and a small frown reached my forehead.
“It’s not love,” I confessed, biting down on my lips; Felicia and Lola are my friends now, and I believe I could trust them to a certain level. “Yes, I care about him, but I don’t know his motives; he is just giving me so many mixed signals, I don’t know which version of him to believe, and I don’t want to hurt myself again.”
“I understand, I think I have worked with him on personal levels, and I don’t think he is a bad person.” My eyes quickly darted towards Lola. “You remember how he quickly bonded with Kara, and how he risked his life to save Klein? Also, when the code silver announcement came in, I was in his office, he ordered me to stay there and lock myself in while he went to look for you—I don’t think he did any of those things because he wants something in return, he probably struggles with how he feels things. You know, he is quite different from us.”
Yes, that made a lot of sense. Why didn’t I ever think about it like that? Theron is indeed confusing as a person, but his effort has remained consistent all through.
He claims not to love me, yet he says the sweetest things, defends me, and has never hurt me either physically, verbally, or sexually. Though I believe there are times personal space is a myth to him, and his actions are still selfish, but never have I felt unsafe with him.
“But what were you doing in his office today, Lola?” I asked curiously, Theron isn’t the type of person to entertain other people, and from what I have noticed, he doesn’t like to involve himself with other people unless something is going on between them.
Lola's eyes went wide, and she suspiciously jumped out of the seat we were sitting on.
“He wanted me to help him with some reports on the African patients we have in the hospital.” She blurted, her eyes darting towards her wristwatch. “Oh goodness, look at the time, I need to go check on a patient.”