Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 59713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“You are very sweet,” she said, the faintest hint of a smile touching the corner of her lips. Then, it turned down again, and new tears began to cascade down her face.
“Hey, hey, come on,” I said. “It’s okay. Come here.” I pulled her close to me, and she sobbed into my chest for a moment before gaining control again and going through a few more tissues.
“I got a call today,” she said between hitching breaths. “From the jail.”
“About Doug?” I asked. She nodded.
“He was supposed to be in for a while yet. But they called me as a courtesy. They said that there is a bunch of overcrowding. That they don’t have enough cells to keep everyone in. That he’s been on best behavior there, and they think he is no longer a danger. He said he has moved on. They are letting him out after only three months. Three months,” she said and began to cry again, though this time, the tears were silent. Her face was a mask of pain and terror, but she didn’t sob again. It somehow made it worse.
“Fuck,” I muttered and then bit my tongue. I was angry. Angry at the jail, the courts, the whole system. I was, of course, angry at Doug. I was angry at everyone and everything, but I had to keep it together. For her. She was already so worried, so distraught, the last thing she needed was me adding more of that energy or worse to it.
Me being angry would also probably only remind her of her ex. The man she was afraid of. The last thing I ever wanted was to remind her of him.
After I calmed myself as best I could, I rubbed her back again and breathed deeply, hoping I had enough control of my voice not to sound too angry.
“What can I do, if anything? I will help you however you need. You just name it,” I said.
“I don’t know,” she said and rubbed her stomach. It wasn’t the first time she’d made that motion, and I worried about her. I hadn’t said anything about it, but I was beginning to be worried about an ulcer or something worse. If she was so upset by this man and the damage he caused her, and then added stress of changing jobs and dealing with the trial put together, I could see it happening. And now that he was getting out? It would be enough for anyone’s ulcer to open up.
The stress had to be unbelievable for her, and I hated that there was nothing I could do.
“Seriously, I will do anything,” I said. “Anything you need.”
“I’m…” she began, the words choking in her throat. Tears streamed down either side of her face, making my heart clench and a protective anger bubble up in my chest. “I’m just so worried he’ll find out.” She paused, then looked at me in the eyes. “Find out where I am. About us. I’m worried he will come after me.”
The thought of her worried that this man would come after her sent me into overdrive. The anger at how he could control her fears and emotions by simply existing made me want to find him and break him into a million pieces, just to show her he could never harm her again. But I had to think through it. I had to figure out a way to make her feel better without violence, without anger. Just to show her she was safe.
“Okay, here is what we’re going to do,” I said. “I will tell Mr. Proctor we’re going to leave for the rest of the day, yeah?”
She nodded, the sobbing returning as she folded into me, and I kissed the top of her head, rubbing her back.
“Okay,” she said between the tears.
“Good. Then, if you’re okay with it, I will take you back to my place. That way you know you are safe. There’s no way he would know where I live, right? So, we will go there, and we can get you into some comfortable clothes and we will veg out in front of the TV. Does that sound good? Just hide away from the rest of the world for a little bit while I figure out what our next steps are.”
She nodded, and I took that to mean she agreed. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Mr. Proctor’s number. Despite the fact that I knew he was in class teaching, he answered on only the second ring.
“Alex?” he asked. “Is she okay?”
“She will be,” I said. “I’ll explain it all some other time, but suffice it to say, she needs the rest of the day off.”
“Done. Get her somewhere comfortable for her. Just keep me updated. Not because of work, but as a friend.”