I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In

Isabelle sat beside the police officer, a disconcerting look painted on her tear-stained face. She licked her lips, bringing the damp tissue to her nose once more. She glanced over at Leland, who was leaning against the lounge room wall being spoken to by a second officer. He was nodding in acknowledgment. Isabelle guessed he was probably being told that the excessive force he had used was not necessary, however the nonchalant expression on his face told her that he wasn't particularly phased by what the officer was saying.

"So, he entered your home after Mr Chapman began chasing the second offender?" the officer asked, a stern but warm tone to her voice.

Nodding, Isabelle spoke, "Yes. I'm assuming the other guy was a decoy. Leland began to chase him down the street, Tim came inside while I was looking for my phone. He locked the door so Leland couldn't get in."

"And Mr Chapman broke down your door? Not Mr Hardy?"

"No, Leland tried to get in and realised the door was locked. He looked through that window," Isabelle pointed towards the window near the door, "saw Tim and broke down the door to get in."

"Was it at this point that Mr Hardy hit you?"

"No, he tried to pull my towel off, yelled at Leland for a little while. Leland warned him not to touch me twice, but Tim ignored him. That was when he grabbed my face and punched me. I can't remember much after that," Isabelle strained a smile, wiping her eyes with a fresh tissue.

"Okay. So Mr Chapman is your current partner? Is that correct?" the officer asked, making notes on a small notepad.

"Yes, Leland is my current partner. Tim is my ex-partner and father of my daughter. We separated after he had his bond revoked. He said some pretty awful things about both me and my daughter."

"Alright, well Mr Hardy has denied that he entered your house illegally. He says that you invited him in. He hasn't argued the fact that he has hit you though, so for the moment we can only charge him with assault. Your partner is lucky he hasn't been charged with assault, though."

"What was he supposed to do?" Isabelle asked, incredulously, "Wait for you guys to come? He would've killed me. He's insane."

The police officer sighed slightly, "There are many other ways that Mr Chapman could've apprehended Mr Hardy. Being in his position he should've known that."

"It's a little bit different when your girlfriend's been knocked unconscious," Isabelle shook her head.

The officer moved off the lounge, realising she was unable to sway Isabelle's thinking in her direction. Folding up her notebook, she slipped it into her pants pocket, before speaking, "Mr Hardy will be taken into custody tonight but he will probably be released on bail by tomorrow. We can start the process of an injunction if you'd like to?"

Isabelle nodded, "Yes please."

"Okay, we'll be in touch."

The officer moved towards her partner and Leland, standing to the side and nodding in agreement. They spoke to Leland for a few more moments before leaving, closing the splintered front door behind them.

Leland chuckled slightly, "Looks like I'm going to have to buy you a new door."

"If you hadn't broken that door down, he would've killed me," Isabelle sadly said, her gaze drifting down to her toes as tears stung the corner of her eyes.

"Let's not think about it," Leland lifted her face, brushing her tears away with his thumb, "Dad will be here soon and then we can have a decent sleep, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded, planting a kiss on his stubbled chin.