Healing

by Kennington, Belinda

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be. We survived.” He lifted her hand to his lips.

  A short time later they pulled into the police department parking lot. At the counter Trent spoke. “We’re here to see Detective Jones, please.”

  “Names.”

  “Trent Urbane and Allison Behr.”

  “Have a seat. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

  “Thanks.” Moving from the counter they found a couple of seats along the far wall.

  “What do you think he wants to tell us?”

  “Hopefully, what Ruth’s been up to since she left?”

  “Mr. Urbane, Mrs. Behr. Thanks for coming down so early.” Jones approached them extending his hand.

  They both stood up and shook his hand. “Hello.” They said in unison.

  “I found out some information I thought you both would like to know. Let’s go to my office.”

  They followed Jones down a hall. Some of the offices sat dark, but she was surprised at how many were occupied at this time in the morning. “Do you ever sleep?” She couldn’t help asking.

  He looked back and grinned. “Sometimes. I’ve been doing a lot of research, looking into Ruth’s past. I was finally getting somewhere when I got called to your house.”

  He entered an office at the end of the hall. Rounding the large wood desk he gestured for them sit in the chairs. “Have a seat.” He pulled a plain file folder out of his top drawer, and put it in front of them. Allison controlled the urge to pull it in front of herself.

  Jones opened the file. “I’ve done some digging. She was difficult to track down at first. She seemed to have fallen off the planet but then about six years ago, there was a domestic violence case filed in Texas with her name. I’m glad you don’t have an extremely common name Mr. Urbane, but I wasn’t positive until I saw the pictures attached. It matched the picture you had given me. She’d been severely injured, a black eye, a few broken ribs, and a broken leg.”

  “Did she remarry?”

  “No, she didn’t. She was living with a man and went back to him when she was released from the hospital. She wouldn’t press charges. The file said it wasn’t the first injury. Her x-rays showed healed broken bones.”

  “Why would she go back?” Allison couldn’t understand why anyone would go back to someone that hurt them.

  “My experience is that battered women blame themselves. They think if only they could be better the man wouldn’t hurt them. They make excuses but usually, sooner or later, fear kicks in and finally they decide they don’t want to die. There are some that don’t and don’t get out alive.”

  Jones flipped over the paper and continued. “A couple of years later she was arrested for prostitution.”

  Trent lowered his head and sighed. Allison couldn’t imagine what he was going through. If they could talk to her, maybe they would be able to get her some help. Get her back on the right track.

  “There were more domestic violence reports after that.” He flipped more papers. “But the biggest surprise was when I found out where she was the last couple of years.” He slipped a sheet of paper across the table.

  Trent and Allison leaned closer. It was an admittance form. Lubbock Mental Hospital was in large bold lettering at the top. At the bottom was Ruth’s signature. She had admitted herself.

  “A hospital? Why would she be in a mental hospital?” Trent ran his hands through his hair.

  “I called the facility and spoke with the director. She had admitted herself because she said she thought, someone was after her. Doctor notes stated that she also was hearing voices. Then a few months later, her live-in boyfriend was discovered dead. He’d been dead a while. There wasn’t enough proof that she killed him, but there was enough circumstantial evidence, the courts ordered her to stay in the hospital. After the abuse she had gone through at the hand of that man, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

  Trent stood suddenly. Allison jumped when the chair scraped against the floor.

  “She escaped a couple of months ago. They didn’t know where she was until I called.”

  Trent paced the room once then walked out the door.

  Allison looked at Jones. “Sorry.” She followed Trent into the hall. He stopped a couple of offices down, put his hands on the wall and leaned over, breathing deep. “You okay?” She put her hand on his back.

  “I should have searched for her. If I hadn’t given up, maybe she wouldn’t have gone through all of that.” He hit the wall with the palm of his hand. “I figured she ran off with someone. I assumed she didn’t want me anymore.”

  “Don’t blame yourself. There’s no way you could have known. We’ll find her and get her the help she needs.”

  He stood straight, then opened his arms. Allison leaned into him wrapping her arms around his waist. “Thanks.” He hugged her then kissed the top of her head.

  She looked up at him. “For what?”

  “For being you.” He lightly ran his thumb over the split on her lip. “I had no idea my past would cause so much trouble.”

  “You’re worth it.”

  Jones stepped out of his office and headed up to them. “Sorry to drop all of that on you.”

  “It’s okay.” Trent turned to face Jones keeping Allison close to him.

  “We need to draw Ruth out.” Jones flipped through a small notepad. “If you’re willing, I’ve got a plan.”

  “What can we do?”

  “I think the best way is to have you two stay at Allison’s tonight.”

  “No, I’m not putting Allison in danger or her kids.”

  “I understand. Her kids should stay where they are. I’m saying just you two.”

  Trent shook his head. “No, it’s too dangerous. You’re asking me to put Allison in the line of fire with someone who may have killed someone.”

  “There will be an unmarked car nearby at all times. Someone camped outside the house might scare her off, so we’ll stay close.”

  “Can’t.” Trent said shaking his head.

  Allison put her hand on Trent’s arm and pushed lightly. “Are you sure she’ll come back to the house?” Allison asked. If they were able to help catch her, then she was willing.

  “I think she will.”

  Trent turned to Allison. “There’s got to be another way. I’ll stay at your house by myself.”

  Allison turned and faced Trent. “Trent. She’s after me.” Putting her hands on his chest, she held onto his shirt. “She wants me out of the picture, remember? We know she’s been watching us. That’s how she got me at the store.” Caressing the side of his face, she had to get his full attention. “If we can stop this, let’s do it.”

  Trent stared at her for a long moment shaking his head slowly back and forth. Allison tried to make sure her face was showing support and strength. Not easy to do when your stomach rolled. She had to make him believe she was up for this. This all needed to end.

  He turned to Officer Jones. “You’ll be nearby?”

  “Yes. You have my work number, here’s my personal cell. Put both in your phones.”

  Trent turned back to Allison. “Are you sure?” She nodded. “We’ll finish securing your house and double check everything. If we get everything done, we’ll stay tonight.”

  Thirty-One

  Emily pulled Allison into her room. “Are you sure you should stay at your house?”

  Allison and Trent had just finished what Trent wanted to get done at the house. They went back to Emily’s to eat and then they were heading back over. “Yes, the police are watching us and if Ruth’s going to do anything, I’d rather it be just me and Trent. I don’t want the kids or you anywhere near this.”

  Emily shook her head.

  “You’re the one who told me to fight for what I want.”

  Concern etched her face. “Don’t throw that back at me. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

  Emily smiled a
lop-sided grin. “I’m glad to see the change in you. You’ve taken back your life. It’s great.”

  “Thanks. I feel alive again. I’m not walking around like a zombie anymore. And it’s because of Trent. I can’t lose him.” She looked down at her hands, fiddling with her nails. Her eyes watered and her vision blurred “It can’t lose anyone again. This has to end.”

  “Hey, come on.” Emily wiped away the tears running down Allison’s face then put her arms around her. “Everything will be fine.” Emily held her out at arm’s length. “Will you take something with you?” She walked over to her door and locked it.

  “What?”

  At her nightstand, Emily paused and glanced at Allison over her shoulder. “Keep an open mind.”

  Allison watched with curiosity. “Okay.” She listened as Emily opened the drawer. Something scraped along the bottom of the wood drawer.

  Emily slowly turned around.

  Allison gasped. “When did you get a gun? I’m not taking that.”

  “You said you’d keep an open mind.”

  “Yeah, before I knew it was that.”

  Emily held the gun in her palm out to Allison. Allison looked down at it laying heavy in her hand. A shiver went down her spine. She didn’t like guns. A rifle for hunting was fine, her and Rick had gone hunting a couple of times. They were getting meat to feed their family, but a hand gun? No, she didn’t know how to use it. It would most likely be turned on her.

  “Wayne and I took safety classes five years ago, bought this one and one for him. With the crime rate increasing, we wanted to protect ourselves. We keep them unloaded but the bullets are in the drawer with it.”

  Emily took a step closer with her hand still out. “Hold it. It’s not loaded and the safety is on.”

  She peeled her eyes away from the gun and looked at Emily. Emily gave her a small smile and nodded. Allison raised her hand then hesitated.

  “Go ahead.”

  Allison reached out and took hold of the cool steel. She was surprised at the weight. It wasn’t much bigger than Emily’s hand but had substantial heft. She turned it over in her hands. Taking a good look at it, could she really see herself keeping one of these with her, in her house?

  “You need to protect yourself.”

  Allison continued to study the weapon. She imagined Ruth breaking into her house and pointing the gun at her. All the possible scenarios flashed through her mind. Her body ran cold. There would be no way she would be able to pull the trigger. Not even if Ruth tried to kill her. She handed Emily the gun back. “I can’t. There’s no way I could shoot someone. And I don’t know how to use it. I would hurt myself or I would end up shooting Trent on accident. Nope. Not going to happen.”

  “You have to take gun safety classes.” Emily shook her head putting the gun back in its place. “How am I going to sleep tonight?”

  “The same way you do every night. Noisy.” Allison smirked then took her friend in a hug. “I’m not alone. Trent will be with me and the police are on high alert. Detective Jones will have patrols checking on us regularly and I have him on speed dial.”

  “Can you at least have Trent sleep in the same room?” She held her hands up. “Doesn’t have to be in your bed, even though you know that’s where you want him, but have him close.”

  Allison couldn’t help the image of Trent in her bed form in her mind. Her lips curved up. “I’ll think about it.” Both of them broke out in giggles.

  “You’ve fallen for Trent.”

  “I have. He’s my second chance. I’m not giving him up.” Allison put her hand up to her mouth. An idea had been rolling around in her mind. She wanted to keep it to herself until she knew everything would work out, but wanted to tell someone. “I’ve been thinking. When Stephen graduates, I could move to Montana with Trent if he still wants me by then.”

  “Oh, he will. You’ve really been thinking about this.”

  “Well, once the kids are out of the house, I won’t really have a reason to stay here when I want to be with Trent. I can find a job anywhere.”

  “Good for you. You do what ever your heart tells you.”

  “Thanks for being my friend. I don’t know how I would have survived without you.”

  “Thanks for being my friend too. Please, promise you’ll be careful tonight.”

  “I always am.”

  ***

  Allison and Trent headed over to her house after dinner. She couldn’t get rid of the eerie feeling they were being watched as she climbed into the truck. She tried to shake it, chalk it up to paranoia, but knowing there was a strong possibility it was Ruth, made it impossible. She only hoped if Ruth was watching she would follow them. “Does everything seem creepier to you?” She asked after locking herself in the truck.

  “Yes, are you sure you want to do this?”

  “I have to.”

  They pulled into her driveway and parked behind her car. At dusk it wasn’t fully dark yet. The setting sun cast shadows. Allison’s eyes darted around as they made their way inside.

  “Set the alarm. Better safe than sorry.”

  Allison couldn’t agree more as she turned to the panel on the wall. The screen showed her that it was counting down, waiting for the code. She punched it in like Trent had shown her.

  She put the code in a second time, a green light lit and the screen said armed. Allison joined Trent in the living room, as he picked up the remote and turned the news on. He was still waiting to see if anything got to the media.

  “Maybe they’re keeping it quiet so not to scare Ruth off?”

  “Possible. If you want to catch someone, its better they don’t know you’re on to them.”

  She curled up beside him and he put his arm around her. They sat silent for a while, watching TV.

  “How’s work going?” She wanted to get some small talk going to make things feel more normal. She wondered what her day would be like tomorrow. Would it be a normal day? Would she be constantly looking behind her back to see if someone was stalking her? Or would it be something else.

  “Good, actually.” He sat up straight and turned to her. He looked like someone had turned a light on. He had something on his mind. “We had a meeting a few days back that went really well.”

  Allison went back and forth about talking with Trent about her moving after Stephen was old enough. Would that scare him away? Were they at that point in their relationship for this discussion? “Trent?” She decided to go for it before she chickened out.

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve been thinking. I live here and you live in Montana. I don’t know how a long distance relationship will work. I really don’t want to be that far away from the one I’m dating. You have a good job so I know you can’t leave. I can’t uproot my family…”

  “Allison don’t.” Trent interrupted.

  “Hold on” She held up her hands. “Let me get this out.”

  Trent looked off into the distance. She could see the rejection on his face but it didn’t need to be there. “I can’t uproot my family right now but I was thinking that in a few years, after Stephen graduates, I could move there. We can visit each other until then.”

  “You’d do that for me?”

  She looked at her hands and played with a stray string. “Well, yeah. But if it’s too soon, I…”

  He put one hand on the side of her face. “I love you.” Then before she could respond he kissed her.

  He loves me. He kissed down her neck and she took the chance to answer back. “I love you, too.” She wrapped her hands around the back of his head. He explored her neck and collarbone while she kissed the side of his face and nibbled on his ears.

  Trent pulled back and stared deep into her eyes. Desire burned strong within him. Her own, matched his. In one graceful move, he picked her up, cradled her in his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

  Thirty-Two

  Ruth paced the shadows, in the backyard of her house. What am I going to do?

  ‘You bet
ter figure out something. Nothing’s worked so far.’

  ‘You’ve failed.’ The voices were getting stronger. She wasn’t able to ignore them anymore, not even for a second. They were a persistent presence she wasn’t able to escape. She needed Trent now more than ever.

  From her hiding spot she had a good view of the living room. Trent and her were talking and he looked away. Yes! It doesn’t look good. Break up already. Allison leaned towards Trent and a moment later he caressed the side of her face.

  Trent leaned into Allison and they kissed. No, no!

  ‘You’re such a loser.’

  She took a step out of the shadows. Trent lifted Allison in his arms and they left the room. Ruth fell to her knees.

  ‘There’s only one person that wants you.’

  Her hands shook as she reached into her pocket. She pulled out the phone and dialed.

  “Ruth, is that you?”

  “Oh Milton, Trent rejected me. He won’t leave that lady.” She sobbed into the phone. “What am I going to do? Brit and Crude won’t go away.”

  “Come home. Where are you?”

  “I can’t. I need Trent.” She couldn’t tell him where she was, he might tell someone and then she wouldn’t be able to get the peace she needed.

  “I’ll take care of you. I understand you.”

  He understood her better than anyone else but he couldn’t make the voices go away.

  ‘You’ll never get rid of us, Ruth.’

  ‘That’s right. You’re too pathetic.’ They wouldn’t leave her alone. No peace for the crowded. Ruth raised her free hand to her temple and pushed with her palm.

  “Please Ruth. I’ll do anything for you. I love you.”

  She couldn’t give up. Trent would take her back. He had to. “Sorry Milton. I care for you but my place is with Trent.” There would be no rest till that moment Trent held her in his arms and the voices stopped.

  ***