When we arrived at the station, my best friend sat in a chair at the entrance while I explained the situation to the police officer. He had a strange look in his eyes as I spoke. "This fire has already been reported," said the police.
My heart sank as I recalled Robin's reaction.
The officer continued, sounding somewhat hesitant, "But the person who reported it said to hold off on the investigation for now, so ..."
I didn't wait for him to finish. I interrupted coldly, "That was him. This is me. I want the investigation and it need to happen now."
As I described the fire's details, the officer's expression grew more unnatural with each word. I didn't dwell on it too much and after finishing my statement, my best friend and I left.
As we walked away, the officer quickly pulled out his phone and sent a few messages.
We returned to the small apartment I had lived in before the marriage. After we finished cleaning up, Robin called.
My new phone hadn't had time to block him yet, so he managed to get through. My best friend saw the serious look on my face and grabbed the phone.
As soon as she pressed answer, Robin's furious voice blasted through, "Why did you block me? Are you going crazy with your friend? And you even went to our workplace to file a report? Are both of you out of your minds?"
"Do you even realize that her starting that fire could be considered attempted murder? Lily is kind enough not to press charges, or do you think you'd still be enjoying your lives this week? Stay away from that lunatic!"
"My brother doesn't need her to file for divorce, he'd never stay with an attempted murderer anyway. But why are you getting involved? Have you had enough of your good life?" he kept talking angrily.
My best friend was trembling with rage and shouted back into the phone, "Shut up! You and your brother are both blind and stupid! What's wrong with reporting the fire? Is she 'kind' for not pressing charges, or is she just scared that the truth will come out? You think living with you was a 'good life'? I've never suffered this much in my entire life!"
"See you at the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow! We'll make room for you three bastards!"
After hanging up the call, my best friend was still furious for a long time. I quickly grabbed my phone and blocked Robin's number as well.