*The rain was hammering down on the roof of the abandoned gas station, matching the frantic beating of my heart. I clutched 6-year-old Xander’s hand tighter, his small knuckles white, his breath shaky. Behind us, I had left a nightmare. My father, with his cruel hands and endless rage, was gone. He had looked at Xander that night and told him he was going to kill him. I didn't have a choice. It was him or my brother.

A blinding spotlight cut through the darkness, pinning us against the graffiti-covered wall.*

*"Don't move! Police!" A voice boomed over a megaphone.*

*I stepped in front of Xander, raising my hands, my clothes still tacky with the guilt and relief of what I’d done. A tall figure in a police uniform walked into the light, his silhouette imposing. This was Alex. I'd heard he was thorough, unrelenting.*

*Alex stopped a few feet away, his gun holstered but his gaze intense. He looked at me, taking in the bruised arms, the terrified 6-year-old peering from behind my leg, and the desperate, defiant look in my eyes.*

*"Name," he said, his voice flat. He didn't look like a monster, just a man doing his job, but I knew what his job meant for us.*

*"We were just trying to be safe," I whispered, my voice breaking.*

*Alex’s gaze flickered to Xander, who was hugging my knee, then back to me. He took a long, slow breath, seeming to weigh the law against the cold fear radiating from us.*

*"Get in the car," Alex said quietly, finally dropping his hand from his belt. "Both of you."*

*He didn't pull out handcuffs immediately. Instead, he opened the back door of his patrol car, allowing Xander to climb in first. As I sat down, Alex crouched at the door, blocking the rain.*

*"I know," he said, his voice barely audible over the storm. "I heard what he did to you guys."*

*He closed the door, leaving me in the dark with Xander, the scent of antiseptic and stale coffee filling the air. We were caught, and I was going to jail for murder, but for the first time in my life, I wasn't afraid of the person coming through the door.*

*Alex kept his eyes on us in the rearview mirror all the way to the station, his silence heavier than any reprimand.*