The Facilitator

by Tracie Podger

“Mr. Miller, he’s currently kicking the shit out of him.”

  “Oh, no. Stop him, please.”

  He rose and talked on his radio. “Dave, stop that bloke from killing Mr. Perry. Tell the police he took a tumble down the stairs or something.”

  My body ached as I sat up and rested my back against the wall. As much as I tried, I couldn’t stop shaking, or the tears that rolled down my cheeks. I brought my knees to my chest and rested my head on them. I closed my eyes and tried to take some deep breaths to ease the pain.

  “Out of the way,” I heard. Mackenzie had arrived. He crouched down in front of me.

  “Baby, look at me, let me see your face.” I looked up. “Fucking cunt.”

  I shook my head. “I’m fine. Just a little shaken, help me up,” I said.

  He reached under my arms and lifted me to my feet. “Let’s get you sitting down,” he said.

  He placed his arm around my waist and helped me to the kitchen. He pulled out a chair and I sat. He paced and it was then that I saw his balled fists: with broken skin and bleeding.

  “The police will be here shortly, you should go wash your hands,” I said.

  “Fuck my hands, what did he do to you?” He placed his hands on the table and leaned down towards me.

  “He punched me, grabbed my hair, and kicked me. I curled up.” I began to sob again.

  “I’ll fucking kill him, Lauren, I swear,” he said, as he wrapped me in his arms.

  I held onto him and cried harder.

  “Police are on their way up,” the security guard said. “She’s right, go wash your hands, Dave has told them Mr. Perry took a tumble down the stairs.”

  Mackenzie walked to the kitchen sink and rinsed his hands. He looked around for a towel before drying his hands on his trousers. I heard a knock on the still open apartment door.

  “In here,” Mackenzie called out. Two policemen walked through to the kitchen.

  I gestured to the chairs opposite me and they sat and introduced themselves. Mackenzie leaned against the kitchen counter.

  “Lauren, can I call you that?” I nodded. “Can you tell us what happened?” one asked.

  I took a deep breath. “I heard a knock at the door, to be honest I thought it was Mackenzie.” I looked over to him. “I didn’t look through the spy hole, just opened the door, and he punched my face. I fell; he either grabbed my hair then, or kicked me. I can’t think straight right now. He tried to drag me but I managed to get the intercom phone. I called security.”

  “Did he say anything?”

  “He called me a fucking bitch but that was all. We’re going through a divorce right now. He was drunk, I could smell alcohol.”

  “Do you think he had any other intent than to punch you?”

  I looked at him for a moment before it dawned on me what he was asking.

  “No, not at all.”

  “You said he dragged you.”

  “He pulled my hair and my body moved on the floor, that’s what I call dragging. I doubt he had any idea what he was doing. He’ll wake up tomorrow with a stinking hangover and full of remorse.”

  “Don’t defend him, Lauren,” Mackenzie said.

  “I’m not, just giving the facts.”

  “I’d like for a paramedic to look at your face,” the policeman said.

  I shook my head. “I don’t think there’s a need. There’s certainly nothing broken, it’s just sore. I’m shaken up more than anything.”

  “Is there a history of violence?”

  “No, he’s never done anything like this before. He just quit his job, we worked together, and I guess he felt he had to.”

  “Okay, he’s already admitted to striking you. He’ll be taken to the station and charged initially with assault. He also accused Mr. Miller of attacking him.”

  “He fell down the stairs,” the security guard said. “I witnessed that.”

  “So your colleague said. Mr. Miller, can you shed any light on that?”

  “I saw him at the bottom of the stairs, I may have kicked him as I climbed over, I’m not sure. My priority was to get to Lauren.”

  “But you chose not to use the lift?”

  “I guess, when you saw what I did, all I wanted was to get to her. I didn’t think of the route. I can run up those stairs quicker than it would take for the lift to descend then ascend again.”

  “I just want him removed from the premises, and I want to lie down,” I said.

  “I’m probably going to have some more questions, can I take a contact number?” he asked.

  Mackenzie gave him his. “And your relationship is?”

  “Friends,” I answered before Mackenzie did.

  I saw Mackenzie clamp his jaw shut and turn his head away from me.

  “More than friends,” I added. “We’re…”

  “It’s okay, Lauren, there’s no need to explain.” The policeman stood, he looked at Mackenzie.

  “If he presses charges, Mr. Miller, I’ll need to question you. However, in my experience, in these cases, the perpetrator is often easily swayed to not do that. Too much paperwork and all that. However, maybe you’re not familiar but taking the law in your own hands is not what we do here.”

  Mackenzie nodded his head just the once.

  The policemen left, security followed them and Mackenzie locked the front door. He returned to the kitchen and pulled the chair up to sit beside me. He wrapped his arms around me, and I leaned into his chest.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “For what? He beat you, don’t you be sorry.”

  “Not for that. I saw how you looked away from me, when I said we were friends.”

  “It doesn’t matter what you said, don’t worry about it, okay?”

  He placed his fingers under my chin and raised my face. He smiled then placed a gentle kiss to the bruise I could feel on my cheek.

  “That makes it all better,” I said.

  “That’s all I want to do, make you better.” He sighed. “Somehow I feel a little responsible.”

  “How?”

  “If I hadn’t had confronted him, forced him to resign…”

  “You didn’t talk him into coming here and punching me, so stop that crap. He made that decision.”

  “What can I do, Lauren?”

  “You can make me a cup of tea and maybe sit with me for a while.”

  “I’ve never made a cup of tea before.”

  I laughed, it hurt a little, but he made me laugh. “You’ve never made a cup of tea?”

  “No, never drink it either.”

  I went to stand. “Sit, it can’t be that hard,” he said.

  I watched him fill the kettle then stare at it until he figured out where the on button was. He opened the cupboard and retrieved two mugs. Despite the tin clearly saying ‘Tea’ on the front, I had to point it out to him. He placed two tea bags in the mugs, and when the kettle boiled, he poured.

  “Do you have milk?” he asked. I nodded.

  He pulled the teabags from the mugs with a teaspoon then looked around for a bin. Not finding one, he deposited them in the sink, added milk, and then sat again.

  “It looks…lovely,” I said, looking at the tea my mum would describe as a cup of gnat’s piss.

  “I think I overdid the milk,” he said.

  I took a sip, “I think you did,” I chuckled and then winced.

  “Let’s get some ice on that face,” he said and rose to head to the freezer.

  He cracked some ice from the tray and wrapped it in a tea towel. He gently held it to my cheek.

  “Ouch,” I said. The cold stung my skin. “So, how was your dinner?”

  He looked at me and shook his head. “Fucking boring. I left early, said I had an important meeting with a box.”

  “I didn’t open it.”

  “So I see. How about we get you in bed, you must be hurting.”

  “I ache, but I think that’s just the shock. It probably looks worse than it actually is. He never did have a good
punch or aim.”

  “Well, I can guarantee he certainly felt one.”

  As I stood, I leaned against his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist.

  “Thank you, but you know you can’t go round beating people up in London. The police don’t take too kindly to it, they prefer to do it themselves in a cell, with no witnesses.”

  Mackenzie picked me up; the action caused me to wince some more as my hip hit his stomach. He walked into the bedroom and placed me on the bed. I shuffled around, dragging the duvet from underneath.

  “I’ll get your tea, or do you want me to make another cup?”

  “It’s fine, thank you.”

  He brought back the one mug. “Sorry, I can’t drink that shit.”

  He walked around to the other side of the bed, pulled off his shirt, kicked off his shoes and undid his trousers. He stepped out of them and climbed onto the bed next to me.

  “Come here,” he said.

  He wrapped one arm under my neck as we snuggled down, and he pulled me to his chest.

  “I swear though, Lauren, if he comes anywhere near you again, I will fucking kill him.”

  “I imagine there will be some sort of restraining order so that he’s not allowed. Mackenzie, for all his faults, that was completely out of character. I doubt very much I’ll ever see him again.”

  We fell silent for a little while. I placed my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. It made me drowsy. I didn’t quite catch what he’d said as I fell into sleep.

  I know I cried out in the night, I’d half woken myself as I turned in his arms and landed on my bruised hip. I also heard him soothe me, stroking my hair to lull me back to sleep.

  When I finally woke, he was curled into my back with one arm under my neck and across my shoulder, the other on my waist. It felt so good to be spooning with him, to have his breath on the back of my neck. I didn’t want to move, but I needed to pee.

  I gently untangled myself and made my way to the bathroom. As I was sitting, he walked in.

  “I’m peeing,” I said.

  “So lock the door if you don’t want me to see you.”

  I laughed and threw the toilet roll at him.

  “Now that was dumb,” he said, unrolling some and handing it to me. As I reached out, he withdrew his hand.

  “Please, may I have some toilet roll?”

  He gave me the screwed up piece from his hand. I took it and discretely wiped.

  I stood beside him at the bathroom mirror. I had a nice purple bruise on my cheek, and when I looked, one on my hip.

  “That will cover with a bit of makeup,” I said.

  “You’re not going to work today.”

  “Mackenzie, I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt. Thank you for staying with me, I needed that.”

  “I don’t want you in that office, what if he returns?”

  “He won’t, he’s a fucking coward, and if he does, I’ll return the favour,” I said, inspecting my face a little closer.

  He stepped behind me, wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my shoulder. “My heart fucking stopped, Lauren, when I saw him. I didn’t even ask why he was on the floor being held down, I just saw red. I knew he’d done something to you.”

  I reached up and placed my hand on his cheek. He turned his head and kissed my palm.

  “You need to promise me one thing, don’t do that again. I’d hate it if you ended up in trouble because of me.”

  “I want you to come and stay with me, just for a day or so. I can work from home.”

  “No, I have to go into work. I have…”

  “You have nothing that you have to do, not until next week. I’m cancelling the weekend as well.”

  I turned in his arms. “Why?”

  “Because you have bruises, you’re hurt.”

  “Mackenzie, I have a bruise to my hip and one to my cheek, they don’t hurt. They’ll be gone in a couple of days. I was looking forward to the weekend.”

  “Then come home with me, let me look after you.”

  “So it’s a trade-off then?” I smiled.

  “Yep, I only do negotiations, Lauren.”

  “I’ll stay with you for two nights, you’ll be bored of me by then. Then the weekend is on, agreed?”

  “I’m not sure I’ll be bored with you, although I haven’t had a woman in my house for years, so we might have to set out some rules. Two nights and then the weekend is on.”

  “Deal.”

  “You drive a hard bargain, Miss Perry,” he said.

  “I like hard, Mr. Miller.”

  “I like giving hard.”

  I reached down and cupped his erection through his shorts. I lowered them so his cock sprang free. I wrapped my hand around it, massaging him slowly. He sighed. He reached for the buttons on my pyjama top.

  “No, I don’t do enough just for you,” I said, as I sank to my knees.

  I tried not to wince as he wrapped his hands in my hair; my scalp was sore. I opened my mouth and sucked his cock. His moan of pleasure spurred me on. I sucked harder, deeper, cupping his balls with one hand and rolling them around in my palm. I loved the feel of his silky skin in my mouth; I loved the taste of his precum as he wept onto my tongue.

  I held his hips as he gently thrust them; building up speed as his desire grew. I breathed in deep and tried to relax as he fucked my mouth, hitting my throat and causing my eyes to water.

  “Fuck, Lauren,” he said. “That feels so good.”

  I dug my fingers into his skin as he groaned, and I sucked harder as I felt his cock twitch, pulse. His balls tightened in my hand, and I dragged my nails down the skin just behind. He cried out as he came. Hot salty fluid hit the back of my throat. I held his cum in my mouth while I gently released him, and then swallowed the rest.

  ‘Shit, I really need to work on my stamina,” he said with a laugh.

  He could fuck me for hours, and again even after he came, but when my mouth was around his cock, he couldn’t hold back. I wasn’t complaining; my jaw ached like a bitch.

  He helped me stand, and before I was fully upright, his mouth crashed down on mine. He would taste himself on my tongue and I moaned at that thought. No matter what that man did, nice or vulgar, he turned me on.

  ****

  I was showered, dressed, and had packed an overnight bag. As much as I didn’t tell Mackenzie, I was excited to be staying over at his house. For once what we were doing felt like a real relationship. I grabbed my Kindle, and it was as I did I remembered the email.

  “Something I forgot to tell you. I received an email from my solicitor, someone has deposited an amount of money to pay off Scott.”

  Mackenzie was tying his shoelaces. He didn’t look up. “Someone did what?”

  “Someone deposited money in my solicitor’s account to pay off Scott, and it’s higher than he’s actually entitled to. I’m not sure I’m happy about it.”

  “Did you email and ask who?” he asked.

  “Of course, I’ll show you the email when we get to yours, which also reminds me, I need my laptop from work.”

  “I’ll have someone fetch it for you. Are you ready?”

  I nodded as I grabbed a light jacket. “The box?” he added.

  “Huh?”

  “The. Box.”

  “Oh, the box. Can’t forget the box,” I said, and laughed.

  I grabbed it from the kitchen table and held it under my arm as we locked up the apartment.

  “Scott doesn’t have a key for your apartment, does he?”

  “No, he threw that at me when I chucked him out. Although, I’ll get the locks changed now, just in case.”

  “And that front door code needs to change, half the time the door’s propped open because it’s not working.”

  “Jerry said that, funnily enough. And talking about Jerry, I think he’s ignoring me, he hasn’t called or texted in ages.”

  “I have to meet with him today, do you want me to mention anything?”

  �
�No, no way. He’s a little upset with me, I know why. I’ll give him a call later. I’m going to miss him when he leaves.”

  We had arrived at Mackenzie’s car. “I don’t see why you still can’t be friends,” he said, as he placed my bag in the boot.

  “Do you know how he feels about me?” I asked. Mackenzie nodded as he closed the boot and opened the car door.

  “I sort of told him about us, I was a little upset after that lunch,” I said.

  “What do you mean, sort of? What did you say?” he asked, when he climbed into his seat.

  “Just that we were having some fun, nothing more.”

  Again, I saw that clenching of the jaw.

  “I didn’t want him to think there was anything else, so as not to upset him, initially,” I added.

  The jaw relaxed and Mackenzie gave a ghost of a smile as we pulled out of the car park.

  Gabriella could very well be correct.

  “So you told him we were having some fun, and he hasn’t spoken to you since?”

  “Correct.”

  “Well, we’ll have to rectify that, won’t we?” He looked at me with a smirk.

  “I don’t want you to interfere, okay.”

  “Like I said, I have to meet with him today, he can come to the house.”

  “I’m not sure I’d…”

  “You don’t want him to know you’re at my house?” We were back to jaw clenching.

  “I...”

  “What, Lauren?”

  “I’m not sure I want him to know about Scott, and if he sees me at your house, he’ll ask why I’m there.”

  “One, why don’t you want him to know about Scott? And two, I don’t see the problem with him knowing you’re staying at my house. Why is this so complicated?”

  “I’m embarrassed, Mackenzie.”

  He slammed the car brakes on so hard that I braced myself waiting for the smash into the back of the car from the one behind. I clenched my eyes closed; nothing came.

  “You’re embarrassed? What the fuck does that mean? You’re ashamed of us?”

  The seat belt had tightened and dug into the bruise on my hip, and I winced trying to loosen it.

  “No, I’m not fucking ashamed. Why does it have to come around to you or us? I’m embarrassed because I let a fucking man punch me in the face, pull my hair from its roots, and kick me, okay?” My voice had risen to a shout. It competed with the honking traffic. “Sort this fucking seat belt out,” I added, wrenching on it.