Page 37 of Tank’s Weakness

“You scared me,” I say as I lock the doors.

“Sorry, you looked like you were lost in your own little world, and I was afraid you would back out.”

I shake my head. “No, after yesterday, he’s left me with no choice.”

“Then let’s do this.”

She links her arm through mine and pulls me toward the police station. Erica gives the person behind the counter some brief details, and they tell her it will only be a few minutes before someone grabs us. True to their word, an Officer Evans comes and grabs us.

We follow the officer to a private room, where they shut the door behind us.

“Is it okay, Miss Harris, if I record this conversation?” Officer Evans asks.

“Yes,” I say as I sit down.

Erica sits next to me and grabs my hand, anchoring me.

“Okay, this is Officer Evans.” She rattles off the date and a few more little details before turning toward me. “What brought you in today, Miss Harris?”

“My ex.” My voice cracks so I clear my throat. “My ex is harassing me.”

Officer Evans frowns. “Please go into detail. Go back as far as you can.”

I tell her everything. How we started dating when we were young. How I thought I would marry him. That we ended two months ago because he cheated, but he isn’t taking the breakup well. I admit to him staging run-ins. Showing up at places he never went before because I’m there. How I’ve had to change my phone number several times and then what happened yesterday.

When I finish laying it all out, exhaustion sweeps through me.

“You never told me about the phone number,” Erica says, not bothering to hide the hurt in her voice.

“I didn’t want to worry you,” I confess.

“Are you worried he might hurt you? Has he ever been violent in the past?” Officer Evans asks.

I shake my head. “No, I had never honestly heard him raise his voice outside of a sporting event or a video game until we ended. Even when we run into each other, he doesn’t outright yell, but his voice does rise. I think when I broke up with him, his pride was ruined. I think he thought I would stick around and try to work through it, and now he’s upset and struggling with the fact that we are over.” I take a breath. “No one ever talks about how hard it is walking away from a relationship as long as ours. I thought I was going to marry him. I thought he was going to be the father of my kids, then he cheated, and I woke up…” I trail off. “Sorry, you don’t want to hear all of that.”

Officer Evans offers me a sweet smile. “No, I get it. It was painful walking away from my first love, but our lives were going in opposite directions. I get it, trust me.”

“Do you think we can get an order of protection? Has he done enough to warrant it?” Erica asks, reminding us all why we are here.

Officer Evans sighs as she looks down at her notepad before looking back at us. “Truthfully, I wish I could say yes. Is his behavior concerning? Without a doubt. You shouldn’t have to change your number often or worry about someone knocking on your door or calling your place of work. At the end of the day, though, we can’t arrest him for showing up near you. We can’t prove that he’s the one that made the report to the school either, even though I think we all know that signs point to him as the culprit.”

“So there’s nothing we can do?” I ask, feeling hopeless.

“No, there has to be something,” Erica says.

“What I can do is make a record of all of your concerns so we have it on file. A paper trail is important in these kinds of situations. I need you to keep a record of every run-in. Try to record the interactions to gain evidence. Never approach him and always get him coming up to you. If he contacts you, screenshot it with dates and keep it in a file on your phone. Every little bit of information you can gather will help. While you do that, I will have someone reach out to him, do our own investigation. Remind him to leave you alone.”

“I guess I shouldn’t change my number again, huh?” I joke half-heartedly.

Officer Evans laughs lightly. “No, don’t change your number, and don’t switch up your routine to try and avoid him. We need him to show his hand.”

“And if he escalates?” Erica presses.

“Then we will have everything on file to make our move. I know this sucks, I get it, but it’s the way the system works. At least right now, maybe it will get easier in the future for people to report these kinds of situations and the concerns will be taken more seriously,” Officer Evans says.

“Stalking cases weren’t taken seriously until the early nineties,” I mumble.

Both women look at me with surprise.