Boy meets girl, girl falls in love, blah-blah-blah.
Let me be clear with you from the beginning. This is not that kind of story.
My name is Cait, and I live in the great city of New York. Okay, so maybe I've only lived here for a week and a half...
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The days following Danielle's arrest passed in a blur. Val and I were brought into the police station to give our statements, along with a stern warning against breaking and entering. After they told me everything Danielle was spewing against us - me in particular - I made the decision to hand over my phone to the police so they could see a history of her threats against me. I hated knowing that I was putting my family at risk, but it was time for the nightmare to be over.
It took less than three hours for the news to break on social media. All of the major magazines picked up the stories, and pictures of Danielle were splashed on the cover of every gossip magazine in the country by the next day. Although the police hadn't released many details yet, rumors were flying about how Danielle blackmailed me into breaking up with Andrew along with speculation about several of his past girlfriends. Official 'sources' claimed that she had a history of mental illness, and one of the magazines even interviewed someone claiming she was Danielle's best friend from high school. The girl rambled on and on about how she was always a bitch, had extreme jealousy issues, and even tried to convince that girl's boyfriend to cheat on her.
Even though I seriously disliked Danielle, especially after all she did to ruin my life over the last six months, I couldn't help but pity her. She was obviously troubled enough to go to such extreme measures to snag a guy, especially since she was willing to pull a gun on me and Val, and now there were people capitalizing on her misfortune for their own fifteen minutes of fame.
Karma's a bitch like that.
After putting it off, I finally called my dad for the first time since I moved to New York. He cried when he heard my voice, something that shocked me to the core since I rarely saw him cry whilst growing up, and I broke down in tears as well. Blubbering like an idiot, I told him everything that had happened over the last six months. I told him about Andrew (which he knew about, thanks to my sister), Danielle, her threats - everything. By the end of my confession, I apologized over and over for failing him and my family.
He shushed me, calling me his mija preciosa, and told me that he was proud of me.
"What?" I asked him, utterly confused.
My dad chuckled, "You are so strong, amorcita. Your mother would be so proud of the woman you have become."
"Papá, what if you get hurt?" I replied frantically. "What about Frank? It's all my fault. If I had never moved to New York--"
"Then you would never have found your joy again, mi cielo," he crooned. "You took on such a burden for your family, Caity. You didn't need to do that for us! We will be fine, no matter what."
I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. Guilt ate away at me, and I was a walking ball of stress ever since Danielle's arrest. I felt like it was only a matter of time until the rest of my family was ripped away from me, just like my mother had been, only this time I could've done something to stop it.
