CHAPTER TWO — AN ANGEL IN DISGUISE.

Chapter Two.

AN ANGEL IN DISGUISE.

Lauren's POV.

I staggered a step backward as the young man took a step forward. I could have sworn that I didn't push him, I only took my hand from him and he… he suddenly slipped and fell.

Blinking my eyes in shock, I looked at the man on the floor. It just didn't make any sense.

Meanwhile, the young man who'd walked in earlier and had identified the man lying still on the floor to be his dad, bent down.

“Dad?” his voice shook with tears as he put a finger close to the man's nose.

After a few seconds, he dropped his head. My heart sank. That was all I needed to know that the man was dead.

“It… it wasn't me.” I stuttered, blinking back tears. “He tried to force me out and… and—”

I looked at the dead man on the floor as tears welled my eyes.

“And…” my voice broke.

“And what?” he stood upright and turned to me with a cold gaze. “You killed him. Are you going to deny it now?”

“No, I didn't mean to…” I said, shaking my head with tears in my eyes. “I just… oh no.”

I covered my mouth with my hands, while blinking back tears.

“What have I done?” I added, as a tear trickled down the side of my nose.

I slumped on the chair behind me and buried my face in my palms as I began to sob. Perhaps, if he'd just allowed me just a few minutes to stay in his bar, then none of this would have happened.

Or maybe, if I'd just listened to him and left as he asked me to, then none of this would have happened either. More so, if I had listened to my mom and stayed back home then I wouldn't have made such mistake.

Through my fingers, I watched as he bent down again, and closed his father's eyes with a hand, then he stood up and brought out his phone from his pocket. Thinking that he was about to put a call across to the cops, I went on my knees, still sobbing.

“Please, don't call the cops on me.” I said, with a broken voice. “It was an accident, I didn't mean to…”

The rest of the words died in my lips as he began to speak.

“There is an emergency situation.” he half turned and glanced at his father. “I need you to come right away, it's at Andrew's.”

That said, he disconnected the line and returned the phone to his pocket.

“You were saying?” he asked, squatting in front of me with a raised brow. “I didn't get your words earlier, would you repeat what you just said?”

“It was an accident, I didn't mean to…”

“But he's dead.” he said, his voice as hard as steel. “Nothing you say or do right now will bring him back; he was the only family I had, but you've killed him. However, you want to bury a murder case all in the name of an accident, is that it?”

His brows merged into a savage line.

“Besides, what were you doing here?” he added, looking back. “The sign clearly said that he'd closed for the day, so why did you even come here to begin with! Didn't you see it!”

I flinched. Yes. That was my mistake. If I'd seen the closed sign hanging on the door, then I wouldn't have walked in. Or maybe, I would have walked in because I just needed to clear my head a little.

Unfortunately, I was lost in my thoughts that I failed to notice the sign hanging on the door.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't say a thing. At that moment, I knew that my words would mean nothing to him. It wouldn't change his mind from what he'd seen.

“Answer me!” he gripped my shoulders, and shook me. “Why aren't you saying anything? Didn't you see the sign hanging on the door? Why did you have to come in?”

I lowered my face as a tear rolled down my cheeks. Not just him, but I have also been asking myself those questions: why didn't I notice the sign on the door?

He broke off a sigh, lowered his head for a few seconds while his hands remained on my shoulder, before he finally got on his feet.

Just seconds after he got on his feet, I heard the sound of sirens blaring from a distance. Every nerve in my body seemed to shrink.

I'd seen situations like this before, but only in movies. However, I never imagined that I would find myself in a similar situation some day.

Before long, the paramedics arrived, and stormed into the bar. I watched as they wrapped a bandage around his head. After doing that, they put him on the gurney and wheeled it out of the bar, heading straight to the hospital.

While the paramedics were outside trying to push the gurney into the ambulance, I heard the wails of a siren from a distance. I didn't need anyone to tell me that it was the cops.

Before long, an officer strode in while two others stood by the door. As I saw him walking towards me, I held my hands together, waiting to be cuffed.

“I am sergeant William O'Donnell.” the officer introduced, holding up his identity card.

“If you've got any questions, then you can ask me.” the young man said, as he noticed the officer walking towards me.

William paused, looked at me then shifted his gaze to him. However, he'd no choice than to ask him.

“Alright then,” William said, taking out a notepad and pen from his pocket. “Can you tell me what happened here?”

Using his teeth, William took off the cap of the pen from the bottom, and put it on top. Meanwhile, after being asked, he turned and looked at me for a few seconds, then he returned his attention to William.

“It was accident.” he said, and William began to pen down his words. “I had warned him to stop drinking, but he just wouldn't listen.”

William stopped writing and lifted his face to him with that look as though something wasn't adding up.

“So you're trying to say that he was drinking before the accident?” William asked, raising a brow.

“Yes sergeant.” he affirmed.

“But it doesn't look like it to me.” William said, raking his eyes up and down the place. “If anything, it looks like he was preparing to leave.”

He glanced at his wristwatch.

“This place is empty, besides it is late already.” he added. “Moreover, why would he drink all by himself at a time like this?”

“You don't believe me?” he asked.

“What's your name, and who is he to you?” William asked, waiting to write down his response.

However, he hesitated for a moment, and looked at me.

“Your name, please.” William reminded.

“My name is Conrad Anderson.” he said. “And the victim is my father.”

“Alright,” William said, taking notes. “So who is she, and what's she doing here?”

“She?” he turned to me. “She is a friend whom I asked to keep watch over him because I am to busy to do that myself. He misses my mom a lot these days, and so he's been unstable. However, I'd to rush down here the moment I got her call that he was drinking again.”

William sighed as if there was something missing in the information he was given.

“Tsk tsk tsk.” he clicked his tongue, and tilted his head from side to side as if trying to weigh his options.

“Is there something wrong?” Conrad asked.

“No, nothing.” William closed his notepad and kept it in his pocket, as well as his pen. “Thank you for your time. If I have more questions, then I'll need you to report at the station.”

“Anytime, I'll make myself available.” Conrad said, with a brief smile.

“We will call it a night.” William said.

However, as he walked towards the exit, he kept tilting his head from side to side. Obviously, he was struggling to buy Conrad's words, and I wasn't entirely surprised. But then again, I was glad that he didn't tell William the truth.

“You should return home.” Conrad said, and turned to leave.

“Just like that?” I asked. “You are just going to act like nothing happened?”

“You heard me, right?” he said, looking over his shoulder. “It is not safe for you to stay out alone. So please leave. I want to close the bar.”

“Why did you do it?” I asked, trying to quell the sob in my throat. “Why did you lie to him?”

“You said it was an accident, didn't you?” he asked, still looking over his shoulder. “That is exactly what I told him.”

“I am responsible for the accident.” I said, my throat tightened with tears. “You should have just told him that.”

“Do you know the penalty for murder?” he turned to me with a raised brow. “It's life imprisonment. Are you prepared to live the rest of your life behind bars?”

I fell silent.

“That is what I thought too.” he said, and turned to leave.

Suddenly, he paused, and looked over his shoulder again. “Don't think it's the end yet; this is only the beginning.”