Freeman walked across the hall and leaned against the wall opposite of the waiting room. “Freeman.” He said into the phone.
‘It’s Madlaina.’
“Mads? What number are you calling from?”
‘I’m down at the precinct. They’ve agreed to allow me to sit in on Eli’s interrogation. However, since it’s already started, I have to wait behind the glass on this one, but obviously there will be more.’ She cleared her throat.
“Wow, I mean..” He ran his hand over the top of his head. He hadn’t buzzed it in over a month and it was starting to get really long. “You sure that’s such a good idea? I understand the need to understand or know what was going on in his head because of what he did, but..”
‘No.. no, it’s more than that.’ She interrupted him. ‘Look, I’m going to sit in on this and view it. He’s being questioned about Faye and Sophia etc. However, there will come a time when I get to go in there and question him myself. Before I do that, I need to speak to you. In person and as soon as possible.’
Freeman pulled the clipboard out from under his arm, staring down at it. “Ok, sure. When did you want to meet?”
‘Now, if someone is there to sit with Faye.’
“JJ’s here, but I have to fill out this paperwork for the hospital for Faye’s new insurance and I also need to fill out some paperwork before she can go into surgery.”
‘Another surgery!?’ Mads choked. ‘What is it this time?’
Freeman took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Her ankle is shattered and they need to take a piece of her hip bone and put it in her foot.”
‘Fuck.. Freeman if she.. If she is no longer able to dance.’
“I know.. I know.” He bit his lip. “Look, give me about 20 minutes and I’ll message you if I’m not done.”
‘Sure.. that’ll work for me. I need to get back in there.’
“Keep me posted.”
‘Count on it.’
Freeman frowned as he hung up, pocketing his mobile device. What Madlaina needed to speak to him in person about baffled him, but wasn’t enough to hold his attention with more pressing matters to attend. He took a deep breath and knocking once, poking his head inside. “Hey, I need to get this paperwork back down to the nurses station so they can prep Faye for surgery.”
“Of course, go. I got this.” Jaymie nodded, waving her hand towards him as if she were shooing ‘way a fly. Freeman smiled tightly at her before closing the door and walking through the swinging double doors. He sat in the waiting area as he finished both packets. He stood and walked towards the nurses station, not really paying attention to who was behind the counter as he skimmed through everything to make sure he’d filled it all out correctly.
“Mr. Rodriguez, how may I help you?”
Freeman glanced up to meet the warm caramel eyes of Tanesha Wood. “Nesha?”
She chuckled, shaking her head. “Mmm mm, you look good. How have you been?”
He sat the clipboard on the counter, “I’ve had better days. You look pretty good yourself.. How is, uh, what’s his name?”
“Mike? Gone.”
“Ahh, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m not.” She smiled before looking down at the clipboard. “Faye?”
Freeman took a deep breath before nodding, pushing the papers towards her.
Woods nodded her head without asking him anymore questions. “I’ll make sure these get filed right away and will notify you personally once I’ve contacted her Doctors.”
“Thanks Nesha.”
“Anything for you.” She smiled widely at him.
He smiled, shaking his head, waving at her as he turned away heading towards the elevators. He wanted to check in on Faye before messaging Madlaina.
On a quiet, sunny, Friday afternoon, Eli Gardner was lounging inside on his couch, watching whatever kept his attention on TV and drinking a beer. He was alone in the house, which had been cleaned spotless by Faye, because that’s the way he liked it. Faye was at work until six, Sophia was at school, or something. Faye had told him where she was dropping Sophia off, but he hadn’t been paying attention. The TV had already been on and she had given him a beer.
She had been annoying the hell out of him lately, with her mopey attitude and saddened eyes. Didn’t she realize everything he had done for her and their brat of a child? He provided them with food, a roof over their head, protection from all the people who had pretended to care for them throughout their lives. And she was ungrateful for it. The thought angered him.
“You make me do this, Faye. If you would just appreciate what I do for you…”
“I do, Eli!” She had sobbed, holding her arm where he had gripped it tightly and thrown her against the wall. “I just don’t understand why you need to be so violent with me.”
“Because you don’t fucking listen!”
The night had ended with Faye making up for her behavior, and bringing him an ice cold beer when they had finished. He had fallen asleep right after. He felt bad for hitting her, he didn’t want to, but she had made him so angry, he couldn’t help it.
Sighing, he put the beer bottle down and rolled his head around on his shoulders. Maybe he’d surprise her and take her out to dinner tonight. Yeah, that would help.
He glanced up at the TV again. He had stopped on the animal channel, and it was currently playing a documentary about a young lion cub and its parents. The father was the sole protector.
“Damn straight.” Eli muttered to himself. He jumped when there was a knock on the door, and anger flashed through him. Who the hell was knocking on his door in the middle of the afternoon? He never had visitors. He sat and stared at the door for so long that there was a knock again.
He hit the mute button on the remote control and sat on sofa in utter silence. He didn’t have to wait long until he heard another set of rapid knocks echo throughout his sparsely decorated home. He stood and walked to the front door, stopping to run his fingers through his hair before peeking out one of the windows on the side of the door.
“Fuck.” He muttered quietly to himself as he spied the Police Officer on the other side of the door. He took a few breaths to try and control the blood boiling anger coursing through his body before he opened the door with a look of shock mixed with mild interest on his face. “May I help you Officer?” He asked coyly as he leaned out the doorway, looking left and right as if the reason for this man's unwanted presence lay somewhere else other than at his front door.
“Good Afternoon, Sir. I’m sorry to bother you this evening, but I am here to speak with a Mr. Elijah Gardner and a Ms. Faye Ross.”
“Eli, please. What can I do for you?”
“Is Ms. Ross available?”
“Ahh, unfortunately, no. My wife is laying down with a headache and so I’d rather not have to bother her if it isn’t necessary.” Eli was seething. What the fuck had this bitch done now, he thought to himself while continuing to put forth an effort to keep his emotions from showing.
“Oh, ok. Well, I am here to just deliver some documents to you and your wife. If you could just sign here and here, I’ll leave you and your wife to continue resting.” The Office held out a clipboard to him and a pen.
He had already knocked back six beers and wasn’t feeling a thing, so he was unconcerned when he reached out and took the pen from the young officer, but when he held it and began to sign his name, his hand began to shake uncontrollably.
“You alright?” The Officer asked, eyeing him closely.
“Yea, damn tremors. Had ‘em for years now since deployment.”
The Police Officer raised his eyebrows and asked, “Military?”
“Discharged, but once you serve you’re never not a soldier.”
“What branch?”
“Army.”
The young man nodded his head, impressed, and thanked Eli for his service as he took the clipboard back from him handing him two thick manila envelopes. “Have a great day, Mr. Gardner.”
“You, too, Officer.” Eli smiled and waved as the PO walked down his driveway to his cruiser, climbed in, and backed out. He waited until he could no longer see the top lights before looking down at the envelopes in his hand. “What a fucking idiot.” He muttered out loud to himself, shaking his head. The top manila envelope was addressed to Faye Ross and was marked urgent. The manila envelope under it was addressed to him.
Eli tore open the top of the envelope addressed to him and slid the documents out far enough that he could grab them and pull them out. He scanned the first page while still standing on the stoop outside his opened front door. “A fucking restraining order!?”
He started from the top until he found what he was looking for. Freeman Rodriguez was granted a temporary restraining order for him until a court hearing that would be six months from now for not just that little bitch, Sophia, but for that fucking cunt, Faye.
“Mother fucker.” He shook his head as he continued to read on. “Ordered to stay 1,000 feet away… no contact of any kind.. Not allowed to go within 500 yards of place of employment, residence, or school including vehicles. WHAT THE FUCK!”
He rifled through the rest of the packed to find a second restraining order issued for him to stay 1,000 feet away from Freeman’s stupid bitch daughter. The rest was written the same. He stormed inside, slamming the door behind him and stomped immediately towards the kitchen where he reached under the sink and pulled out two bottles of gin. He twisted the top off one of the bottles and, chugging the contents, he called Faye’s cell phone, but only got her voicemail. He hung up deciding to not leave a message. He called Sophia’s school.
“Hi, yes, this is Sophia Ross’s Father. I will be picking her up early from school today. Dentist appointment. Could you have her called to the office, please.”
“May I ask your name, sir?”
“I’m Sophia’s Father.”
“I understand that sir, but I need to verify if you’re on the pick up list.”
“Why wouldn’t I be on the pick up list. She’s my kid.”
“I apologize sir, this is just a formality.”
Eli sighed, but decided to indulge her because she had a sexy voice. “Elijah Gardner.”
“Thank you, Sir.” He could hear the clicking of keys from her computer keyboard and waited impatiently to tell him ok. “I’m sorry, sir, but you are not on Miss. Ross’s pick up list.”
“Try Eli Gardner.”
He thought he heard the woman sigh, but tried to ignore calling her names. “No, I’m sor-”
He chucked his phone across the room effectively hitting the wall and shattering it to pieces. “That fucking lying BITCH!”
He downed the rest of the bottle of gin, slamming it into the sink cause shards of glass to go flying everywhere. He grabbed the second bottle and after twisting the cap off and chugging a good portion of it he walked over to where he tossed the documents on the counter. He read through the restraining order again. “Why the fuck do you care, mother fucker.” He shoved the papers across the counter, bringing the bottle of gin up to his lips when his eye caught sight of the second manila envelope addressed to Faye.
He grabbed it opening it, chuckling. “My wife has a headache.” He snorted. “Fucking idiot.” He dumped its contents out on the counter and grabbed the thick packet that also was court documents and began to read through them instead of scanning.
Freeman, Jaymie and Christian stood before their family and closest friends. Jaymie still had her arm wrapped around Christian’s waist and with her free hand she squeezed Freeman’s hand tightly, a silent, ‘We support you. We’re here for you.’
Freeman cleared his throat, glancing towards his right and catching Jaymie’s eye. He nodded, “What most of you don’t know, or I should say what all of you don’t know, is that a little more than 2 months ago I hired a Private Investigator to look into Eli. What I had learned about him confirmed my gut feeling about him not being upfront and honest. I knew Faye didn’t know anything about any of this about him, however, I couldn’t just waltz up to her and show her that I had him investigated behind her back.” He paused as he shifted his weight and looked up at the ceiling trying to go about telling them everything, but not giving them the long version, though they deserved to know after all the support and love they have shown not just to Faye and Sophia, but to him and his family as well.
“It’s ok, Freeman.” Jaymie murmured.
He looked over at her again. She was smiling at him. Christian was nodding his head, eyebrows raised. He sighed. “Just under 2 months ago, I ran into Faye and Sophia at the grocery store. I had Amora with me and she spotted them before I did. Before I could stop her she was already in Faye’s arms and Sophia was delighted to see her sister. When she spotted me, it literally was almost my undoing. It took everything in me to turn and walk away from them especially after what I had witnessed transpire when Eli came upon our little family reunion.” He scoffed. “Faye’s body language spoke a thousand words to me in that moment. I noticed that she make up was too heavy and it didn’t hide the bruise she was trying conceal or the swelling underneath, however it was Sophia’s reaction to Eli that caused me for alarm. I know that sounds odd, seeing as clearly Eli had hit Faye - at least, that is what I had assumed, but Sophia was another story. She always was friendly and loved everyone.. She was visibly afraid of this man she and her Mother lived with. I called my PI and asked him to look into Sophia and how she was doing what he uncovered turned my blood boiling. That was when I reached out to Christian.”
“Reached out to Christian… for what?” Emily asked.
“Em!” Madlaina, turning around to glare at her teenage daughter. “Don’t interrupt.”
“Sorry.” Emily looked down at her hands that were currently clutching the boys next to her.
“He came to me not as a friend or a family member, but to hire me as his lawyer. He explained what he wanted to do and if I was uncomfortable with it that I could say no at any time. He didn’t want me to feel like I was obligated to help him. I didn’t. And after reviewing what he brought forth, I accepted his case.”
“Is that why you were always over at my sister’s house?” Madlaina asked, her arms crossed in front of her, eyes narrowing. “Because Christian is your lawyer?”
“It’s not the way you’re thinking, Mads.” Jaymie interrupted, standing upright. “I’d been messaging Freeman on twitter. He’d changed his phone number and I was concerned about him after Christian had seen him last. We hadn’t heard from or about him in over a month. He did so much for our baby sister and her daughter and to just leave him out to dry because she chose to leave and go back to that piece of shit wasn’t right and you know it. He came over for two full weeks before calling me to ask when Christian would be home.”
“And that was actually because I wanted to sell the house I had bought.. For Faye.”
“You bought a house for Faye?” Emily perked up. “Why?”
“I had been trying to find the right time to propose to her, but it seemed like every time I got up the nerve, there was another hurdle we were working through. And as sure as I was about her, there was always that what if playing in the back of my mind. We were both so young, too young, to become parents and yet be continued to fight the odds stacked against us. My experience with people told me that anyone at any point in time could change their minds and be done with their situations or home lives. If she wanted to leave to go to college, or because she no longer was in love with me.. If she was tired of being a Mother to a child she didn’t birth or even if she was just tired of being a Young Mother in general, I didn’t want her to feel like she HAD to stay, however I still had hopes and it took me a lot longer than I thought, but I bought a house for us to continue to grow in. I had planned to propose in front of the house after I finished paying it off. Unfortunately, I was too late. After two miscarriages and too many false positives, Faye had given up on having any children with me and then the girls were kidnapped.”
“You guys were trying to have a baby? You never told me that.” Jaymie squeezed his arm.
“We had decided to keep it to ourselves, however there has been new evidence that shows Aida and Eli, or maybe it was just one of them, either way they were stalking us MONTHS before they ever took the girls.”
“How do you know that?” Madlaina asked.
“Because Aida showed up at Louie’s apartment, my old apartment, and gave him an envelope containing very damaging evidence. Not just towards her, but towards Eli as well. She also wrote a letter naming Eli her accomplice and how she never intended for Sophia to be taken, just Amora. Not that I am defending her, I am just repeating what she wrote.” Freeman took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I believe her.”
“How come you didn’t come to me with this, you know that I was lead Detective on that case. Hell, I’m the one that brought those girls home.” Madlaina’s brow dipped. Sadness and hurt reflected in her eyes.
“I turned all evidence over to Police Chief Hicks with specific instructions on how I wanted to go about things. You were going to be told, but I had a window of opportunity that helped me and I took it. I won’t apologize for that.”
“Opportunity for what?” Benji asked, stepping up next to his wife and putting his hand on her hip.
He looked to Christian before continuing, “To gain sole and physical custody of Sophia.”
“Faye, what the fuck is this?” His voice was calm, but it was cold and eerie. It made her hair stand up on the back of her neck and on her arms.
“What is what, honey?” She tried to sound light, but confident, so he didn’t get angrier than he already was.
“Come. Here.” Ice cold fear swept through her at his tone. Not again. She slowly stood from the couch and walked into the bedroom she shared with him. What he was holding in his hands made her stomach lurch- it was the bag she had packed for herself to go to Italy with Braylie. Sophia had one just like it in her room.
“What is this?” His eyes narrowed and his head tilted slightly.
“Oh, it’s just-”
“A bag full of clothes, you’re planning on leaving me?”
“No! No!” A brief sense of relief washed through her. “Not at all! It’s for Italy.” He stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate, so she did.
“Braylie asked if Sophia and I wanted to join her on her trip to Italy in a couple of weeks. I started packing.”
Eli laughed a cold, foreboding laugh. It made Faye’s blood run cold.
“You think you’re going to Italy, huh?”
“Well...I…”
“You what, Faye? Gonna run from your problems again? You think any of these people actually care about you?”
“Braylie…”
“Is getting married. She’s focused on her wedding, her life. Not yours. You’re just coming in and sucking up valuable time. Her asking you to come was out of pity. She was probably hoping you’d say no anyway, so she can go off to Italy with her sister and her boyfriend. You would have been a burden. Were you thinking you’d run away to Italy with your BFF and life would be solved? You’re ALWAYS doing that. Running away from your problems instead of facing them head on.”
Faye stood, motionless, avoiding saying anything that would anger him further. Don’t hurt the baby. You can’t hurt the baby. I won’t let you.
“Say something!” He took a step towards her, his hands already balling into fists. Her bruises from last time were still fresh. She didn't want anymore.
“I wasn’t running! I just thought a vacation would be nice…”
“And you conveniently forgot to ask me? After all I’ve done for you? EVERYONE has turned their backs on you. You think Freeman really loved you? He didn’t come after you after you left, he let you go. Who was there to take you in? Me. Who is there when you try calling your sisters and get transferred to their voicemail? Me. Who gave you a roof over your head, food in your stomach, a room for your daughter to sleep in…?” He looked at her, waiting for her answer.
“You.” She whispered.
“Damn straight. Face it, Faye. You’d be nowhere without me. You and Sophia would be out on the street somewhere, cold, hungry, scared.” He closed the distance between them and gripped her arm so tightly she knew there would be bruise marks there, too. She cried out in pain, but he didn’t let go.
“You’re not going to Italy. You’re not running from your problems again. Understand?” Faye nodded, her eyes watering from the sharp pain in her arm. Eli finally let go, glancing down at the angry red mark where his hand had been.
“It’s for your own good, you know. You’ll thank me.” She nodded, fighting the tears that threatened to fall down her face. He touched her face gently, then ran his hand over the red mark on her arm. “I wish you didn’t make me do things like that. It tarnishes your pretty skin.” He kissed her forehead, then walked out of the room, tossing something about dinner over his shoulder.
Faye closed her eyes and took in a deep breath to keep herself from sobbing.
“Amora, wait just a minute and I’ll walk you across the street.” Selena spoke in hushed tones as to not wake Macey’s baby brother she held in her arms.
“Can I go with, Mommy?”
“No, you need to go wash your hands and face and brush your teeth before bed. You’ll see Amora tomorrow.”
Macey looked at Amora, who nodded. She reluctantly, and very very slowly, walked down the hall to the bathroom. Isaiah, Macey’s Daddy, came over and took the baby from Selena. He smiled down at Amora and thanked her for coming and wished her a good night. Amora smiled back and waved as Selena took her free hand and together they walked out of the house and across the street.
Amora opened the front door and thanked Selena for inviting her to the movies. “I had lots of fun!” She grinned. Selena knelt down and hugged her tightly.
“Thank you for coming with us, sweetheart.”
“Good Night, Ms. Selena.”
“Good Night, Miss Amora.”
Amora shut the door behind her, locking it. She pressed her ear to the door, holding her breath. When she thought it was safe, she ran up the stairs and into her Grandparents bedroom. “Hola Papa!”
“Mi nieta dulce!” Alejandro was sitting up in bed reading a book next to a sleeping Florencia. Amora walked around to his side of the bed and hugged him tightly, kissing his cheek. “Te divertiste con tu amigo?”
“Si.”
“Bueno.”
“Estoy muy cansado. Me voy a la cama abuelo.”
“Necesitas encerrado?”
“No, estaré bien. Gracias Papa!”
“Muy bien, te veré por la mañana.”
Amora hugged him again tightly, “Te amo.”
“Te amo, Amora.”
“Sweet Dreams.”
Alejandro leaned over and turned off his bedside lamp, “Sweet Dreams.”
Amora closed their bedroom door and walked into the bathroom. She took a shower, careful to not use too much Shampoo. The first time Abuela let her wash herself she used a handful and it took a very long time to get all the shampoo out. She dried off and walked to her bedroom wearing her favorite fuzzy robe that Uncle Carlos’s fiance bought for her for her birthday. She put on her favorite pair of pajamas and climbed into bed and just as she thought, her Abuela popped her head in to tuck Amora in even though Amora pretended to be asleep. She’d gotten really good at it when she was staying here for a long time when Daddy wouldn’t go outside.
She felt her Abuela kiss her forehead and she heard her shuffle across the soft carpet and the click of her night light by her bedroom door. It was a few seconds later that her Abuela finally closed her bedroom door. She waited a little longer until she heard her Grandparents bedroom door shut before she sat up in bed. She leaned over and pulled the basket out from under her nightstand, reaching inside to pull out her sparkly ladybug notepad and her favorite googily eyed fish pen that Daddy had bought her from the Book Fair.
She rolled over onto her tummy and using the light from the streetlamp outside, Amora flipped open her notebook to a blank page and began to write.
‘Abuela and Papa,
Si estás leyendo esto, estoy a salvo. Por favor no te enojes conmigo, he ido a ver a Sophia. Sophia me necesita!! No se lo digas a papi, volvere pronto!
Te amo,
Amora’
She sat the notebook and her fish pen on her nightstand and then walked over to put on her socks and shoes. She pulled on her bathrobe, just in case she got cold and carefully opened her bedroom door, poking her head out to look up and down the hallway. She crept out, closing the door softly behind her. When she got to the top of the stairs, she looked behind her one last time then climbed on the banister, sliding down it until she reached the last stair. She carefully climbed off and tip toed to the back door that was always unlocked.
She slid the door open, but didn’t close it. It was very noisy when you tried closing it, so she left it open. She ran to the side gate, standing on her step stool to unlock it. When she made it to the street, she looked across to make sure there were no lights on at Macey’s house and then back at her Abuela’s. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She wasn’t afraid of the dark, but the feeling she felt. Her heart racing fast and her hands shaking. That feeling made her feel kind of scared, but excited. She ran across the street as fast as she could and then took off as soon as she made it around the corner by Macey’s house and headed towards Auntie JJ’s old house. She could feel sweat dripping down her face and the back of her neck from running with her robe on.
She leaned against the side of JJ’s old house to catch her breath as she counted the houses. It was 6 houses up the road. ‘You can do it, Amora. You’re almost there!’
Amora took off her robe and tied it around her waist before she ran up the road until she saw Faye’s car. She ducked down low and ran up to the front of the house and carefully peeked into the little window at the front door. She could see a kitchen that opened up into a living room. The TV was on and she could see someone sitting on the couch, but she couldn’t tell if it was her Mommy or if it was Eli. She ran along the front of the house and climbed the side fence into the backyard. These windows were up a little higher than the front windows, making it more difficult for Amora to see inside. She was started to worry, but then she saw pink curtains.
“Sophie.” Amora whispered, outloud. Her voice cracked from having a dry throat from running, but she didn’t care. She darted over underneath Sophia’s bedroom window that was cracked open. It didn’t have a screen on it, which made it easier for Amora to open and pull herself up, using her feet pressed against the side of the house to push herself through the window. The house smelled funny, like their apartment smelled when Daddy had been really sad after Mommy and Sophia had left. She walked carefully over to Sophia’s bedroom door, peeking out to into the small hallway that gave her a straight view into the kitchen where Amora could see her Mommy cleaning.
Her eyes filled with tears as she watched her move around putting dishes away and cleaning the counters. She wanted to run to her and throw her arms around her and hug her so, so tight! But Amora knew she couldn’t, if her Mommy saw that she was here she would be upset with her and she wouldn’t get to see Sophia. Slowly, Amora turned the knob of Sophia’s bedroom door and without looking away from Faye she closed the door. She stood there for a minute waiting for any sounds of someone coming to Sophie’s room, when she felt confident enough to move away from the door she took her shoes off and climbed into bed with Sophia.
She laid there looking at her sister, her best friend, moving her soft blonde hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. She always used to want to look just like Sophia with her pretty blonde hair and big blue eyes, maybe if she had looked like Sophia then Mommy would have stayed with her. Sophia whimpered her in sleep, her brow furrowing. Amora knew she was having a bad dream. She lightly traced her finger from the tip of Sophia’s nose to the center where her eyebrows were bunched together. She did this until Sophia’s eyes fluttered open.
She blinked a few times, staring at Amora with wide - frightened eyes. “Is this a dream?”
Amora shook her head, a half smile played on her lips. Sophia’s eyes filled with tears as she wrapped her arms around Amora’s neck, hugging her tightly. Amora did the same. “How are you here?”
“I ran here.”
“In the dark?
Amora nodded.
“All by yourself?”
“Yes.”
“You’re so brave, I could never do that.”
“You’re brave, too, Sophie.” She reached out and interlocked her fingers with Sophia’s. “I had to see you.”
“I want to come home.”
“I want you to come home, too. And Mommy.”
“He won’t let us come home, MoMo.” She reached out taking a lock of Amora’s hair and ran it across her face just like she used to when they were babies.
“Can you stay with me?”
“Until you fall asleep.”
“Until I fall asleep.” Sophia agreed, snuggling closer to Amora.
Amora had fallen asleep and the sounds of glass breaking woke her with a start. She looked around the unfamiliar room and out the window and saw that the sky was a faint blue which mean Abuela would be getting up soon. She looked back at her sister and kissed her cheek. Sophia opened her eyes and sat up.
“I have to go, but here.” Amora handed her a new note she wrote after Abuela had said they could go to the park earlier, before she ended up going to the Drive In with Macey and her family. “Try to get Mommy to let you come over to Macey’s for a playdate. I wrote down when I go to Abuela’s, but Macey can call me if it’s a different day and I’ll ask Daddy to take me to see Papa.”
Sophia slid the note underneath her pillow before climbing off her bed. She stood next to Amora, holding her robe for her while she put her shoes on. They linked arms as they slowly walked over to the open window. Sophia hugged her so tightly she thought she wouldn’t ever breathe again. The sound of pots and pans in the kitchen brought them back to the moment and Amora kissed her sister on the cheek before climbing onto the window sill. Sophia tried to hand her the robe, but Amora shook her head.
“You keep it. Wear it when you miss me or when you’re scared. It will make you brave.”
Sophia smiled up at her, watching as she slowly slipped out the window. She heard a muffled thud as Amora hit the ground below. She looked out the window, Amora stood below. She blew her a kiss and ducking low she ran across the backyard and climbed over the fence. Sophia stood at the window watching the last place she saw Amora and wondered if she’d ever see her sister again. She put on Amora’s rob and hugged herself. She was standing there when her door flew open, causing her to jump.
“Didn’t you hear your Mother?!” Eli asked her, his voice raised high enough to make her flinch. “It’s breakfast time!”
“Eli, I said it was fine.” Faye pushed her way into Sophia’s bedroom, essentially blocking Sophia from Eli’s view. “Give us a girl moment, would you, Babe?”
He grumbled something that resembled the word, ‘whatever,’ but he at least left. Faye closed the door behind her and sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you cold? I can close the window.”
“No!” Sophia exclaimed.
Faye frowned, “Ok.”
“Sorry, Mommy.”
“It’s ok, Bug.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Don’t call you what, ‘bug’?”
Sophia nodded, “It’s what Daddy called me.”
Faye’s face relaxed as she cocked her head to the side, whatever she was about to say she stopped and asked, “Where did you get that robe?”
“A friend.”
“Ok, well, let’s get you dressed and we’ll go have breakfast before we go to Braylie’s.”
Liquor. His breath smelled like Liquor. He reeked of it. When he said he was going to the bar with friends, she had imagined he’d have one or two drinks, but nothing like this. It smelled like he had taken a shot of every liquor on display.
She shied away from him, scrunching her nose.
“How much did you drink?” He snorted, swaying a little. She put her hands on his chest to steady him, trying to look into his eyes.
“Eli?” He roughly grabbed her hair, forcefully pulling her to the side and kissing her forcefully.It took some strength, but Faye managed to push him off of her, and he stumbled backwards.
“Eli! What the hell?”
“What, I can’t kiss my girlfriend?” She slurred, a sloppy smile forming on his mouth.
“Not like that! That hurt.”
“Oh, I’m sorry miss Nancy.” He teased. “I thought you liked it rough.” Disgusted, Faye crossed her arms and shook her head.
“Eli, you’re disgusting drunk, and you hurt me. Go lay down and sleep this off.”
“Don’t ever tell me what to do.” His voice had turned sinister, and it made her blood run cold. She uncrossed her arms, holding her hands up in surrender.
“Eli..?”
He took a step towards her, causing her to take a step back.
“Are you afraid of me?” His head tilted to the side.
“Right now? Yes. You just yanked on my hair.” He burst into a fit of laughter, taking a step back, swaying slightly.
“I’m just messin with you!” Faye frowned, crossing her arms again.
“Um. Okay.” The sinister note in his voice had definitely not had any indication he was joking, but she didn’t want to draw it out again.
“Oh, lighten up Sugarbaby!” He stepped closer, and she flinched, even though she tried not to. He stopped and his eyes narrowed. “What the fuck?”
“Eli, stop. You’re scaring me. You need to go to bed and lay down.”
“I’m fine!” He closed the distance between them, wrapping her into his arms. When he smiled, she could smell the booze, and it made her nauseous.
“No you are not.” She pushed him away, turning on her heel. “And I’m going to work.” She didn’t really have to work, but she needed to get Sophia and get out. Even if only for a little while.
She felt him grab her wrist and tug her back hard enough to make her stumble. She fell into her chest, crying out in surprise.
“You don’t work today.” He hissed in her ear.
“I...I got called in.” She lied, her voice faltering. She pulled herself free, turning to look at him. He stared at her, eyes narrowed into slits, and before she could do anything, he reached out and slapped her across the cheek. Tears instantly sprung to her eyes, her cheek stung, and she covered the red mark with her palm, staring wide-eyed at Eli.
He looked down at his hand, then up at her, regret filling his eyes. His mouth tried to form words, but Faye shook her head, turned around, and ran into the bedroom, closing and locking the door behind her.
She started sobbing, pressing her palm to her face and doubling over against the door. Eli had just hit her. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know what to think, only that she needed to leave until she cooled down. Sophia was still at school, so she could easily pick her up and head to Braylie’s for the night, maybe. She wished she could text Jaymie, but they had gotten into a fight earlier that week, and Jaymie hadn’t responded to her texts since.
She took a deep breath and pushed herself away from the wall. Her mind couldn’t focus on any one thing, she felt panic rising up in her chest, and if she didn’t get out of there soon, she’d be having a panic attack right there on the bedroom floor. And this time, Freeman wasn’t there to pull her out of it.
She quickly grabbed a bag and threw some clothes in it, along with her toothbrush and a few other essentials. She then quietly slipped out of the room into Sophia’s, grabbing a change of clothes and pajamas for her as well. She quickly zipped the bag shut, threw her hair up in a ponytail, and marched towards the front door.
“Faye?” Eli was sitting on the couch, his hands clasped between his legs.
She turned her face towards him, her hand on the doorknob.
“Faye, please don’t leave. Can we talk about this?” She turned, suddenly incredibly angry.
“You HIT me.”
“I know.”
“You don’t EVER put your hands on me!” Tears spilled down her cheeks as white hot anger filled her. He stood slowly.
“I don’t know why I did in the first place, babe.”
“Because you’re DRUNK and acting like an idiot!”
“I know. I can’t even begin to apologize…”
“No, you can’t!” She covered her mouth, trying to stifle the sobs that shook her body again. Eli slowly came up to her and pulled her into his arms, gently hugging her. She let herself be comforted by it for a few moments, then pushed away.
“No, I can’t do this right now. I’m upset with you. I’m livid.” She said through sobs.
“Faye, I can’t even begin…” He stopped, clenching his mouth shut and sighing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t drink like that, I just...I got carried away. I haven’t been out with the guys since you guys moved in, and with all the changes and trying to be a father, I just...I had too many.” Faye stared at him, sniffling. He had a point.
“But I know that doesn’t excuse what I did. And if you need to leave for a while, I understand. I guess I’m not handling these changes as well as I thought I was. I should have talked to you about it more.”
“Yes, you should have.” Faye’s anger began to dissolve, and she sighed, dropping the bag on the floor. She made a mental note to not unpack it.
“And I will, from now on. I promise.” Faye stared at him evenly, chewing on her lip slightly. Her cheek still stung from where he had hit her, a constant reminder of what he was capable of. But the sorrow and regret in his eyes prevented her from turning around and walking out the door.
“And I will never, ever hit you again.” Tears formed in his eyes. “I will never forgive myself.” His voice broke.
Faye sighed again, wiping her eyes.
“I’m still incredibly angry with you,” She began, “But having parenthood thrust upon you suddenly like this...I know exactly how it feels.”
“Also my fault.” Faye held up a hand.
“There’s absolutely no excuse for hitting me. No excuse for drinking past the point of reason. No excuse for coming home smelling like a liquor cabinet. But I’m not leaving.” Eli looked up at her. “I expect a full four course meal.” She half smiled, forcing herself to do so to diffuse the tension in the room. Eli breathed a sigh of relief, pulling her into another gentle hug and kissing the top of her head.
“For you, I’ll cook anything you want. Just tell me you forgive me.”
This bit describes some kinda violent things, so if you’re triggered by it, don’t read it!
Eli was sitting on the couch, a beer in his hand, when Faye came home from work one evening. It was late, she was tired and cranky, and wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and go to sleep. Faye stopped, taking in what he was holding, and her heart sank. The last time he had gotten drunk, he had hit her. She didn’t know how many drinks it would take for him to get in the same mood.
He turned his head towards her when he heard the door closed, and he smiled.
“It’s just the one beer, don’t worry. I promised I wouldn’t get that drunk again.” She smiled guiltily, knowing he read her mind.
“No, it’s alright.” She set her purse down on the counter and made her way over to him. “Everything okay? How was Sophia?”
“She was an angel. She was a little upset when you left, but then we had dinner and watched a movie. She let me read her a story at bedtime too. Opened up to me.” His smile wobbled a little. “It made me feel like a dad.” A couple tears welled up in his eyes and he looked up at her. “It was the best experience of my life.” Faye smiled at him, getting a bit misty eyed herself.
“That’s great, Eli.” He put his hand on her knee.
“It really is.”
“So what’s the problem?” She asked, motioning to the beer.
“There’s not really a...problem.” He sighed, “It’s just...sometimes, the memories become too much.”
“Memories?” Eli looked her dead in the eyes, with such an intensity Faye could have sworn she was looking at a different person.
“Right after training, I was sent into the front lines. In Syria.” Faye gasped. She didn’t like to watch the news-it depressed her, and most of it was biased anyway, but she knew enough of what was going on. She saw the images online.
“My first day there, they bombed the base.” He took a gulp of beer. “I ducked, all the new soldiers ducked, but the veterans? They carried on like nothing happened. Said if they were going to get hit, it was going to be anywhere, and ducking isn’t going to do any good.
“About a week after I got there, we got sent on a mission. We all piled into a truck, guns in tow, laughing and talking...we were all new. Every single one of us. None of us knew what to expect.” Faye listened to his story in awe, hardly daring to breathe. “We got to this...this village. We were greeted by the residents. A lot of the men had gone off to fight in the war-against us. So it was mostly women and children. Our assignment was to assess the village, make sure there weren’t any POWs or weapons we didn’t know about, because that was a location of interest, or something similar. We weren’t told much, only that the mission had the potential to be dangerous. But none of us thought…”
“Thought what?” Faye asked quietly. Eli took a deep, shuddering breath.
“Half way through the walkthrough, we heard drones overhead. There was a miscommunication, and the pilots didn’t know there were U.S soldiers down there.” When he looked up at her, he was openly crying. “I watched children die, Faye. I watched mothers grab at lifeless bodies, wailing. I saw my buddy get blown up to bits right in front of me. I saw even more that I can’t even begin to describe, because I don’t want those images in your head, Faye. I can’t get them out of mine.” He took a long chug of the beer, then wiped the tears away. “Most days, I can push everything away. Some days, I’m like this, and everything is right there in front of my memory.”
“Oh, Eli…” Faye leaned down and hugged him to her.
“That’s why I drink, sometimes. But I was out of control when I hit you. I guess...I guess the alcohol sort of put me in a flashback.” Faye squeezed him tighter.
“I’m glad you told me this. Now I know. Now I can help you.” He smiled at her, kissing her on the cheek.
She stared in panic at what was before her, her breathing rate increasing and her heart beating out of her chest.
“What?” He came running into the bedroom, looking around. He started laughing when he saw what Faye was looking at. “Faye.”
“Kill it.” She shook. “Now.” He laughed, shaking his head, and left the room. She was frozen in place, unable to move or scream, because the spider was gigantic and gross, and she could see the little legs moving.
Eli came back in with a tissue, crunching it up in his hand and taking it to the bathroom to flush it. It was then that Faye allowed herself to relax, shaking her head. She looked around the room to make sure there weren’t any more in her vicinity, then went back to folding clothes.
Eli came up behind her, circling his arms around her.
“Did that big scary spider hurt you?” He kissed her neck and she giggled.
“No, thanks to you.” She turned in his arms, wrapping her own around his neck and kissing his cheek.
“Official bug catcher, right here. Licensed since...now.” He grinned.
“Thank God I have a professional living in my home.”
“Mmmhmmm.” He kissed her neck and lowered her onto the bed.
“Eli, Sophia will be home any minute.”
“We have time.” He whispered.
“No, we don’t.” She started pushing him off of her, but he held down her wrists. “Eli.”
“We’ll just close the door.” He kept kissing her neck, but it wasn’t doing anything for her at the moment. She was too paranoid about her daughter coming home and seeing something she didn’t want her seeing.
“No.” She forced him off of her, walking out of the room to begin getting Sophia’s lunch ready. Eli came out of the room, his face red. He ran a hand through his hair, blowing out a breath forcefully.
“Sorry, Eli, but it can wait until she goes to bed tonight, right?”
“Yeah, whatever.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I was just trying to be romantic.” He looked genuinely hurt, and Faye felt terrible. They had both been stressed out with work and bills lately, she had to give him credit for trying. She glanced at the clock. They did still have about 20 minutes…
“Okay. Fine. Quickly though, okay? She’ll be home in twenty.” He grinned at her.
“That’s fifteen minutes more than I need.” She rolled her eyes, taking his hand and dragging him into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.
