Just Friends: NA Romance (Bending the Rules Book 3)

by A. M. Wray

  “No sleeping over. No super mushy stuff like sending roses, no love notes – though sexy or naughty things are fine. I would say no family gatherings, but your mother and I are damn near as close as Elizabeth and me. She’d murder me if I quit showing up. Plus, my best friend is getting married to your brother. So, that one is okay. I don’t plan to sleep with anyone else. At all. I see no point. Plus, I’ve been this long without altogether, I don’t see a purpose in me finally getting some from one hot guy and going to find more. That being said, I’d enjoy the same courtesy. Not because I want to tie you down. I don’t. We aren’t together in any way shape or form. However, I have been on the receiving end of a potential STD when my ex-husband was sleeping around with some slutbucket. This request is one that is personal just because I’d like to know we are both clean. So, while I can’t officially ask you not to sleep with anyone else, I can ask that you be honest and tell me. I just want to stay informed in case something happens. Neither one of us are surprised. Um... No talking about it to other people. Jax and Elizabeth know, but that’s all.”

  “You have nothing to worry about with me sleeping with anyone else. I’m in the same boat. I haven’t been with anyone in a while, there is no point in doubling up when I have exactly what I want. Literally. You know how I feel about you. I’m not going to throw anything away, no matter how small, just to get something far inferior. Also… My brother knows?” he asked.

  “Thank you. I really appreciate that. I know that sounds selfish. My refusing any type of relationship only to say… ‘Oh, by the way, I have some rules for ya.’ Seems crappy. As for Jax, that was my fault,” I said. “I kinda told Elizabeth, and he overheard us talking.”

  “Wow. I was a good boy and even I didn’t tell him and look at you!” He tsked me a few times, picking on me.

  He was relentless.

  We continued talking during my lunch. It was nice. Not all of it revolved around rules. I wasn’t that boring. Some of it was actually fun. I decided to be a bit bold and asked what kinds of things he enjoyed to be pampered with in the way he’d pampered me. It was kind of a fun conversation. Very different for me. It had been a while, not a long time, but a while since I’d talked to anyone about anything like that. I couldn’t help but look forward to what was ahead. Or, should I say, what was ahead for me that night.

  Chapter Six

  Alex

  Being a rookie had its pros and cons. I didn’t mind it most days, but others it was unbearably hard. The crap work that I got stuck with quite often was no picnic, but that was just part of it. The newbs got treated like shit most days.

  It would pass.

  There would be someone new.

  They would be the new peon.

  The cycle was never-ending, and I’d decided early on that I would more than likely not be one to join in on all the “fun” when that happened. I’d never been the type to think hazing was all that fun. I was the “treat others how you’d prefer to be treated” type. I don’t like taking bull, I’m sure as hell not going to give it.

  Things with Andi had been wonderful. It had only just started, but I was already having a lot of fun. Beautiful, intelligent, witty, incredibly sexy… She was everything. I fell for that girl the moment I saw her. She was spunky. She’d been overzealous in helping Elizabeth. Liz had been going through a hard time and Andi wanted to help. She approached us and two of our lecherous friends with absolutely no hesitation at all.

  Jax and I chased those assholes away and we got the pleasure of spending time with them. I loved her spirit. She was a little dangerous, or seemed that way, given her reckless abandon for safety when approaching a strange man, let alone four. After I got to know her, I realized she was just a normal, sweet girl, but with a feisty streak. I loved it. She and I had a lot in common in that area.

  The plan was for me to go to her house again. The night before was everything I’d hoped. I’m a giver. I like to make sure my girl is well taken care of, even if she isn’t technically my girl. She was still an angel and one that spent the day heartbroken and worried.

  Nurses are amazing people. Sure, there are good and bad in every bunch, but that is not a profession to be taken lightly. Andi is a damn good person, and I was reminded of that every time she told me things about her day. That little girl completely stole her heart. It broke mine to see her so anxious over it.

  Joey, my trainer/partner called me over, pulling me from my thoughts of Andi. I wanted to plan the night, but it seemed that work called. It was for the best. I’d probably over plan it and overstep my boundaries. The whole thing was going to take some getting used to. Pay attention, but not too much. Be sweet, but don’t overdo it. Make her feel special, but don’t get too close. It was true that I was fully capable of being in the friends with benefits type of situation, but I’d never done that with someone I had any real feelings for. If I thought she’d say yes, I’d ask her to marry me. It would be a test of patience and mental fortitude, for sure.

  “What’s up, Joey?” I asked.

  I imagined that he would have some mundane, annoying task for me. Cleaning the toilets. Coffee run. Harassing someone else in the station for something that doesn’t exist. You know… Anything that doesn’t relate to policework.

  “We have to make a run,” Joey replied.

  I doubt I hid the shock on my face. I didn’t get the chance to go out often, even with being assigned a trainer and partner. I grabbed my keys and straightened my uniform, though I knew it was already perfect.

  “What’s it for?” I asked as I followed him out.

  “We have a domestic situation at 1215 Berkshire,” he answered, pushing the exterior door open.

  “That sounds familiar.” I couldn’t place it, but I’d heard that address before.

  Joey didn’t reply to my comment. I didn’t really expect him to. He climbed into the driver’s seat as I shut the door on the passenger’s side. Traffic wasn’t that tight, which made it much easier for us to weave in and out of the vehicles pulling over to the side. Silly as it was, I still hadn’t gotten over the cool factor of being able to hit the lights on the top of the car and go.

  I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and I had a feeling it was Andi. The urge to look was in the back of my mind, but I managed to refrain. Joey turned off the lights and siren before hitting the right turn signal. We pulled onto Berkshire and the address popped into my head again. It hit me like a brick. That was the address of one of my ex-girlfriends. Sara.

  Sara had always been a good girl, but got messed up with some bad friends. Those bad friends got her into bad things. Drugs, drinking, even stealing. I wanted to help her, but she wouldn’t let me. I’d heard she cleaned up, but after her cheating on me to get drugs and running off for days or even weeks at a time, I couldn’t fathom bringing the possibility of the bad things back into my life.

  We pulled into the apartment parking lot and Joey un-holstered his gun, inspecting it. He did that every time he got out of the car on a call. His expression was his standard “game” face, but something seemed off.

  “What did they say when the call came in?” I asked. “You never said.”

  He almost never told me anything until last minute.

  “The 911 operator said that a woman was trapped in her apartment by an abusive boyfriend. She was able to make the call, but that was it. He found her with the phone. We are waiting on backup,” Joey replied.

  Still didn’t have a name. It was possible that it wasn’t here. After all, there were a lot of apartments. Sixteen per building with five buildings. It was hard to say just how many were filled. I tried to calm myself, but the bad feeling was growing.

  We’d only been there for a couple of minutes when three other cars pulled in behind us. Joey pulled on his door handle, and I followed his lead. Shawn Jackson, one of the other tenured officers, met us at the back of the car. As I’d figured, I was placed last in line when the plan was made to proceed toward the building. That kind of thing di
dn’t bother me because it was for safety, though I knew that I would like my job so much more when I got to actually be part of the fun. The landlord was there with a key, in the likely event that the abusive boyfriend wouldn’t open the door.

  Shawn wanted to give the man a chance to respond to him. Many times, the abusive man would simply open the door, as they were afraid to make it worse on themselves. Other times, there was a hostage type situation where he would refuse to let her go. I hoped that would not be the case today.

  The apartment building a two-story and was eight apartments long for a total of sixteen apartments. The stairwells separating them were wide open and descended on the north and south sides. Several officers took the stairwell on the south, and Joey and I were at the north side with a few others. Shawn made his way up, knocking on the door.

  “Police! I am Officer Shawn Brinkley.”

  I heard a voice from the other side, but I was too far away to make anything out. With one foot on the bottom step, I followed Joey’s lead and removed my gun from its holster. I held it steady, safety on, but aimed toward the ground in front of me as I watched the door intently.

  “What’s your name?” Shawn asked the voice on the other side.

  There was a pause as I heard the voice again, but couldn’t make it out.

  “Hi, Keith. Like I said before, my name is Officer Shawn Brinkley. I was sent here because of a 911 call we received from a woman at this address. We need to come inside and look around to make sure that everyone inside is okay.”

  “No!” said the voice on the other side. I heard that loud and clear.

  “If you do not allow us in, we will come in by force. We have reason to believe someone’s life is in danger inside. That gives us the right to break down the door. If that is the road we have to take, I can assure you that it will not end well for you. You will be arrested and extra charges will be filed against you. Interfering with an investigation. Battery, if there is in fact an injured woman inside. Resisting arrest. Kidnapping…”

  “KIDNAPPING!” The voice from the other side had shouted the word, apparently shocked that he could be charged for such a thing. I doubted a couple of those would stick, but Shawn was mostly trying to scare him into opening the door peacefully and without issue. It seemed like it might work.

  The door cracked open, slowly, then a bit more.

  “You’ve made the right decision,” Shawn said. “Keith, I’d like for you to step outside with one of my officers, please. You will be arrested, but if you go peacefully, then we will take you peacefully.”

  The man stood there for a moment before speaking. “I’ll go, but arrest her, too. She’s about a psycho bitch. She’s a lyin’ ass, cheatin’ ass…”

  “Sir, what happens in your personal life is your business. Unless she tried to cause you physical harm, I cannot file charges on her. There are no laws against cheating on your boyfriend. Judging by how the house looks from what I’m able to see, how she looks, and how you look, I’d say that you aren’t in any position to be making demands. Once I get inside, I’ll let you know how it goes. Now, this is your last chance. Step outside, or we will come in,” Shawn said, voice much firmer.

  Keith shook his head angrily as he stepped outside. He mumbled under his breath as he put his back to Shawn, his hands behind him as his head still shook with every angry word spoken. One of the other guys, Jake, ran up and cuffed him. Just as Shawn had promised, it was a rather gentle process. Jake was very soft spoken, but firm as he instructed Keith on how to move and which direction to move in. They made their way down the stairs as Shawn and another officer made their way inside. Joey began to climb the stairs and I followed.

  With every step, I worried more and more about the woman inside. It was obvious that she wasn’t near death or Shawn would have yanked Keith out of the apartment and cuffed him, violently if necessary, in order to get inside and help her. Still, he’d mentioned that she was in poor condition. I truly hoped that it wasn’t Sara.

  “Ma’am,” –I stepped up to the threshold of the apartment as I heard Shawn’s voice– “What is your name? We have an ambulance waiting for you downstairs. Can you walk?”

  “Alex?” The voice was unmistakable, though I couldn’t say the same for her face. It was swollen, bruised, and covered in blood. It could have been my own mother and I wouldn’t have recognized her. “Is that you, Alex?”

  My heart sank. It broke my heart thinking about this stuff anyway, but seeing it firsthand on someone you know and once loved, it’s horrific. I felt miserable.

  “You know this woman, Alex?” Shawn asked.

  I nodded. “Hello, Sara. Can you stand? I’ll take you down to the paramedics.”

  “I think I can,” she said.

  She rolled over onto all fours from her sitting position on the floor. There were three other men close to her and no one moved, so I did. I cut between them and made my way over to help her stand. She didn’t seem to be very stable, though I doubted that most people would be after taking the abuse she had.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I can stand, but I’m so dizzy.”

  “You might have a concussion,” I told her. “Just try to stay awake. Let’s get you to the paramedics and they should be able to figure all this out.”

  We walked down, every step slow and focused. She was very unsteady. Her entire body was shivering. One of the paramedics helped me get her in the back and secure her.

  “Is this what life has been like for you?” I asked.

  Tears welled in her eyes and she nodded, forcing drops of moisture to roll down her face and leave streaks in the dried blood.

  “It wasn’t always like that,” she started. “He was great when we first got together. He just got really bad later on. I swear… You were the best thing that ever happened to me. This is karma for everything I’ve done wrong. I’m so sorry.”

  I squeezed her hand. “Shh. Don’t worry about that now. This isn’t karma. This is someone being a terrible person and hurting the person they claim that they love.”

  “Isn’t that what I did to you? Hurt the person that I said that I loved?”

  I sighed. “Yes, but that’s been a long time. Don’t think about that, now. It’s in the past. Just worry about getting that head of yours looked at, okay?”

  She nodded, more tears running down her face. “Thank you. Thank you for not hating me. I was so surprised to see you. I’m so happy you’re doing well. I feel embarrassed that this is how I ran into you. I have nothing. I don’t even have a car, or a place to go.”

  My eyes narrowed as my over-sized heart got in the way. “You don’t have anywhere to go? At all?”

  She gave a light shake of her head as the paramedic began cleaning up the head wounds. “Not much has changed. I’ve been clean for a long time, but my family still doesn’t trust me. I still have no one to turn to.”

  There was a war between my head and my heart. I had no romantic feelings for the girl one way or another, but I did have sympathy. My heart was begging me to do the same thing for her that I’d do for anyone that I knew. Give her a place to stay. My head, however, told me to run screaming away from her. That I owed her nothing, and that I had no business being around her. Besides, how would Andi feel about me having an ex-girlfriend living with me? Probably not that great.

  Still… I couldn’t leave someone out in the cold. Especially when they were so vulnerable. Keith would undoubtedly get out of jail. Then what? The most likely thing to happen every time an abuser gets released after being arrested for domestic violence is what? That’s right… To go back and do it again. To teach them a lesson for calling the cops in the first place. It’s never good.

  “If you have nowhere else to stay, then you can stay at my place. I have an extra room. One month. That’s the limit.” I had a feeling I’d regret that decision, but I would figure that out later. At the moment, I knew that she more than likely had a concussion, but would be released to go home. Even with no home to go
to.

  Her eyes lit up. “Really? I’m so sorry. I feel terrible. I don’t want to put you out. Are you dating anyone? What will they think?”

  How exactly was I to answer that? “I’m seeing someone, but it isn’t serious. I do care for her very much, though. I will talk to her and explain the situation. Let’s just focus on getting you taken care of. I’ll take care of the rest. Like I said… One month. You have two weeks to find a job. Take it or leave it.”

  I hated being that stern, but I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea.

  “Thank you! You have no idea what this means. I swear that I will get all this figured out. You won’t even know I’m there!”

  Oh, I doubted that.

  “Get yourself taken care of. I need to get back to work before they kick my ass. I’m still new around here.”

  I hopped out of the back of the ambulance and made my way back over to the car. Joey was standing there waiting for me.

  “You get that all squared away?” he asked.

  I nodded. “I did. She’s getting medical treatment now.”

  “Good. We’ve been given the lucky task of seeing her off to the hospital and interviewing her. We have to take pictures and all that fun stuff. More than likely due to your relationship with her.”

  “I no longer have a relationship with her, though I used to. She got herself into a lot of trouble a while back. She said that she’s cleaned herself up. Obviously, I have no way of knowing that, but I hope she did. For her sake. I haven’t seen in her about a year.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Joey said.

  That was the first time he’d actually been nice to me. I knew most of it was the hazing, but it was still a shock.

  “Let’s just follow them down to the hospital and find out all we can. Maybe we can build a good enough case against him to keep him there for a while. Clearly, he doesn’t need to be around people,” Joey said.

  I nodded and smiled, grateful for his attempt at sympathy. I didn’t think I could handle a ribbing right then.