by Silver Rain
“What do I need to do?” I asked.
Stacey shrugged. “Sign some paperwork. I’ll keep an eye on everything else and let you know if there are any changes. If he skips town, violates probation”—she put her hands out and clapped them together in front of her chest—“happens to kick the bucket…. As soon as I know, you’ll know. To be honest, if not for the health problems, he’d probably still be in prison.”
“So that’s it?” I asked looking from Stacey to Ben. That couldn’t be it. That couldn’t be the culmination of everything I’d been dreading.
Ben raised his eyebrows, and with that one subtle gesture, I knew that wasn’t it.
“Ben also mentioned some harassing phone calls, which you reported to the police last night.”
I groaned and sank into my seat. It was enough to talk about Mitchel, but did I really have to rehash my own stupidity now? “Do we r-really have to make a big deal out of that?”
“It is a big deal,” Stacey said. “Harassment is illegal.”
I let go of Ben’s hand, picked up my glass of water and took a slow drink. I was pissed. Embarrassed to have to talk about it yet again. So angry at myself for letting it happen in the first place that I felt nauseated. And above all, pissed at Ben of all people for having the audacity to tell her about that, too. I looked up from my cup and glared into Stacey’s eyes. “I shot porn, some loser posted my number, and a bunch of other losers took advantage of it. I got a new number so they can’t contact me anymore. And I only gave the information to the police in case it had something to do with the person who broke in.”
“Do you believe that what you did gives them the right to harass you?”
Now she sounded more like one of my counselors rather than a lawyer.
“No,” I said, but as soon as the word came out, I dropped my gaze. Had I wanted to be miserable, deep down, in belief that it punished me for what I had done?
My chest constricted until I couldn’t get air. The world around me slowed as my brain rushed onward like a playback of thoughts stuck on fast forward.
Not now. No, not now.
Lies. I remembered discussing with my counselor how my brain could lie to me. Thoughts trying to convince me that everything was my fault. Twisted justifications feeding my guilt and depression.
“Cas.” Ben twisted my seat to face him, and I gasped as if waking from a dream.
“Yes,” I said softly changing my answer to Stacey’s question. “I know I s-shouldn’t, but I do.”
“You shouldn’t,” Stacey said. “I don’t know what your situation was like, and I don’t need to in order to tell you that it doesn’t justify anyone harassing you. I want to be able to protect your future. Even if you don’t want to push it to the limit and attempt tracking them all down and filing charges—or even tracking down the person who posted your number. We should keep a record of it all in case something comes of it down the line.”
I nodded, but my body was still shaking.
Stacey’s eyes darted to Ben for a second then back to me. “One final thing, do you have copies of the contracts you had to sign for the video shoots?”
I shook my head. “I have n-no idea where they’d be.” My roommates had packed all of my things when I had been admitted to the hospital. At least, I was fairly positive they had, and my grandparents hadn’t. “It was a crazy month, but I signed away my consent and a bunch of other waivers said if anything happened they weren’t responsible.”
Stacey nodded. “I’d like you to allow me to contact them, and get copies.”
“Why does it matter?”
“So that I can protect your interests going forward—all of them. I trust you’re ready to move on with your life and stop looking over your shoulder? Stop worrying about something coming back to get you?”
I closed my eyes and nodded.
“That’s what I want to make happen, and I want all bases to be covered and all contingencies taken care of. I can worry about that, and you can worry about moving on.”
It was beginning to sound like a fantasy again. All of that dirty money clogging up my bank account was probably going to be getting a new home. And I couldn’t imagine how many jobs I’d have to take to pay for the rest. “And what’s all this going to cost me? I haven’t even found a job yet.”
Stacey sat back and smiled, but I felt my stomach drop.
“For this meeting,”—she watched me carefully—“nothing. This is your consultation. If you want to hire me, I’ll take you on under a sliding fee scale, so if you’re not working, you don’t owe me anything.”
“Why?” I shook her head. None of this made sense.
Stacey clasped her hands and leaned across the table. “Because I’ve been the one crying on a witness stand and relying on the people standing next to me to help me get through it all. I’ve seen the nightmares first hand. Spent years looking over my shoulder, even when I knew he was behind bars. And I’ve stood over his grave and not shed a single tear.”
“You’re hired,” I said. Every doubt I’d had about her disappeared in that instant.
“Good,” she said with a strong nod. “All I need are some signatures. I’ll give you my contact information, and you can contact me anytime you need to or send over any information that you think I might need.”
Ben
Cassie spun around and stared me down as soon as we stepped out onto the sidewalk. “You knew?”
“I told you she’d be the best.” I had debated over telling her when I first mentioned Stacey, but I wanted Stacey to win her over by herself. I wanted Cassie to hear it straight from her. “Do you feel any better?”
Instead of an answer, I got a kiss, but when she stepped back, she had a suspicious smile. “You also didn’t tell me you have a thing for blondes.”
“What?” I asked, choking on the word.
“Kaylee, Stacey….” She scrunched her face. “Which also rhyme by the way.”
“Coincidence.” I pushed her toward the truck. “Liz doesn’t have blonde hair.”
“Yes, but you were only with her because you knew she wasn’t your type and you didn’t want to fall for her.”
Given her smug expression I knew there wasn’t any way out of it, except one.
I grabbed her and dragged her toward me for a long kiss, right in the middle of town. By the time I released her, she was breathless and flushed.
She pulled her door open, but never took her eyes off me. “We should go home and have some waffles, and then have a second attempt at breaking our bed—” Her mouth hung open for a minute, and she looked off to the side. “I, uh, mean your bed.”
“I liked it better the first way.” Although what I really liked was the look on her face when she’d realized what she had said. And the idea of going home and doing just that.
Especially with Brantley gone.
“So, one week and you’re going to let me traipse into your life and claim your things?”
I pretended to think it over for a minute. “Only my bed and my heart. The rest you still have to work for.”
“Even after last night?” she whispered.
My heart thudded in my chest pushing a lump up into my throat. “Brantley’s right, you are a firecracker.”
Her eyebrows knitted together in question. “When’d he say that?”
I shrugged. “I do have one request though. I’d like to swing by the hospital on the way home—if you’re okay with that.”
“Sure,” Cassie climbed into the truck, and I walked around to the driver’s side.
***
I noticed Brantley’s car as we pulled into the parking lot and frowned, thinking he’d already hit the road for the week. I parked my truck in the next row.
“Did Brantley not go to work?” Cassie asked.
“Just wondering that myself.” I set the parking break and my phone buzzed with a message.
B-B: I saw you drive by.
I grunted. Aren’t you supposed to be hauling?
Me: Can’t, and keep your distance from Cassie.
“What are you doing?” Cassie asked, holding her door open with her foot.
“Brantley,” I said.
“You’re probably going to see him in what? Like five seconds?”
I leaned over the seat and grabbed a handful of her hair. “Look who’s being a smart-ass today.” I leaned in pausing as she prepared for the kiss. Then I left a peck on the tip of her nose and sat up. “Ready?”
She glared at me, leaning back and propping her feet up on the dash. “I’ll hang here and soak up some Vitamin D.”
“In this heat?”
My phone buzzed again.
BB: Cops are with Liz, they won’t let you in.
Perfect, I thought. “I could be a while. Apparently they’re not letting anyone in until the police get done talking to her.”
Cassie grunted and dropped her feet. “Fine, I’m coming in.”
I pushed my door open and stepped out. Just as my foot hit the pavement, a muscular, tanned man stepped out from the next row of cars and called my name.
I vaguely recognized him. He waved and jogged over to where I stood, stopping near the front bumper of the truck.
“Hi, Rocky,” I said slowly, hoping that I’d gotten the name right.
He smiled and then it faded. My heart thudded with a rush of adrenaline as he stared into my eyes, but before I could move or say anything, he threw himself against the door, crushing my hand.
“Fuck,” I yelled, doubling over.
Rocky grabbed my shirt collar and hauled me back up. “Leave her alone.” Then, he punched me in the ribs.
I bent forward, taking the impact. I stepped back, then plowed into him with my shoulder, knocking him back on his ass.
Cassie
“Stop it,” I yelled. I had no idea how many times I had already screamed but my throat was already sore. I stood in front of Ben’s truck staring between both men, but I had no idea what to do.
Or why any of this was happening.
Rocky scrambled to his feet and went for Ben again, slamming him into the front of the truck.
I grabbed at Rocky’s arm and tried to pull him away from Ben, but I was like a baby yorkie tugging on the pant leg of a grown man. But while I had his attention, Brantley ran up between the cars and grabbed him by the neck, slamming him against the hood of Ben’s truck and twisting his arm behind his back.
Ben groaned and pulled himself up with his uninjured arm, still cradling the one that had been slammed in the door.
“Get him inside,” Brantley said, nodding to Ben.
Brantley seemed to have everything under control, but I still felt weird leaving him, until I saw two uniformed cops coming toward us.
“Touch her again, and I’ll—” Rocky began, but Brantley jerked is arm and silenced him.
“Go on.” Brantley nodded to the door.
I slid under Ben’s uninjured arm, even though I figured he didn’t need help walking. Just looking at his hand made me ache.
“Who was he?” I asked as we moved slowly toward the Emergency Room doors.
“Maintenance man at our apartment complex.” His voice was rough and throaty. Every word forced. “Liz used to hit on him to get a rise out of me. So a few months ago, we started meeting at her place instead of mine.”
“So, this whole damn thing was about Liz?” I asked. For the second time that day, I felt like laughing my ass off in relief at a totally inappropriate time. “He stole my clothes thinking they belonged to Liz?”
“Sorry,” he grunted. “But that’d be my guess.”
“Sorry?” My voice came out as a high-pitched squeak. “When considering it wasn’t one of my online stalkers tracking me down, believe me, you do not need to be sorry.”
He laughed, but his face was twisted into a painful grimace that I could barely handle seeing.
We stepped through the sliding doors into crowded Emergency Room, and I led Ben up to the crowd waiting at the registration desk.
“Although none of this is really going very far in terms of quieting my irrational fears,” I added in a whisper.
“Well, it appears that the world is out to get me right now, not you.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” I winked up at him, trying to take his mind off the pain even though I figured it was impossible. “But when I say protect, what I really mean is I’ll yell for Brantley.”
He snorted and squeezed my shoulder. “You’re not making my ribs feel better, Firecracker.”
Again with the firecracker thing. “Why do you keep calling me that?”
“Ask Brantley.”
When the people in front of us moved off to the side, we stepped up to the registration desk and the man in scrubs sitting behind the desk handed Ben a clipboard.
“My hand is broken,” Ben said.
“I need your info, and we’ll get you back for X-rays as soon as we can,” the registrar said. I took the clipboard and scribbled down Ben’s name, birthday, and the time. Snapped the pen against the board and handed it back.
“Have a seat,” he said.
“Motherfucker,” Ben muttered with his hand over his mouth.
As soon as we sat down, Brantley came in the door with two cops.
“How you doing?” Brantley asked.
Ben growled and shook his head. His jaw twitched as he sat forward cradling his hand.
“Benjamin Murray?” A nurse in purple scrubs came over to us. “I’m going to get your vitals and take you up to X-ray.”
I stood, too, but she put her hand up. “We’ll let you all know when we have him set up and you can come back.”
“Be good,” Ben said, giving me a wink as he walked away.
“Cassie,” Brantley said. He stood a good three feet from me, but I could still smell the familiar stench.
“You smell like cigarettes.”
“I know. Ben warned me not to smoke around you, but I didn’t exactly expect to see you.”
“He told you?” I whispered, still staring at the door Ben had disappeared through.
“He didn’t,” Brantley paused, “explain. But I’m assuming it’s a trigger for you.”
I nodded. “Not one of the worst though. If it’s mixed with alcohol, it’s much worse.” I had no idea why I was explaining, but the words just tumbled out.
In my periphery, I saw Brantley nod. “I’ll keep my distance, but the police want to ask you a few questions.”
I looked down at my fisted hands and took a long breath. I didn’t know anything aside from the fact that some strange guy attacked Ben. And I didn’t want to be in the waiting room, especially not waiting on Ben.
“He’s going to be okay, Cassie.”
“I know.”
He took a small step closer. “Are you okay?”
I had to process that question. My body was shaking, more from adrenaline and the shock of everything that had just happened than anything else. I wasn’t having a flashback. I didn’t feel like I was falling into one, but I was afraid it could happen at any moment.
I had also been afraid that Mitchel was out to get me, or that Ben wouldn’t want me around, or that one of my creepy online stalkers had tracked me down. Stop letting the irrational win.
I wasn’t afraid of losing Ben, I was afraid of falling without him to catch me. I can do this, I told myself. “You d-don’t have to keep your distance.”
Brantley held out his hand. His large, calloused palm was pale in contrast to the dark tattoos sprawled up his arm. I dropped my hand in his, it looked so tiny in comparison. I glanced back to the door the nurse had taken Ben through, then turned and sat down across from the police officers.
I had to stutter through what happen and answer their tedious questions at least three times. I lost count of how many times I told them “I don’t know” to the same damn question. And then they started questioni
ng me about Liz’s relationship with the man.
“Three d-days,” I said. Although it wasn’t the first time I’d said that either. “I’ve been here three days. Twenty minutes ago, I didn’t even kn-know this guy existed.”
As soon as the police were done with us, I jumped out of my seat. I couldn’t just sit there anymore.
“Easy, Cassie,” Brantley said, catching my arm. “Ben’s going to be just fine. Rocky’s locked up, and no one’s going to be breaking into the apartment anymore.”
I knew all of that, but it didn’t ease the restless feeling in all of my extremities. “I just want to be able to do something other than sit here.”
“Want something to drink?”
I shook my head, crossing my arms and pacing back in forth in the isle. “I want to be with Ben.”
“Until they get X-rays we’re stuck. And unless you have experience in orthopedics that you haven’t mentioned, there’s nothing you can do right now.”
I collapsed back into my chair when a large group of people came in and filled up the seats across from Brantley. “Why’d you start calling me firecracker?”
“Seemed fitting. You have a lot of potential.”
“To explode,” I mumbled.
“Nah, just a tendency to pop off when you’re pressed. And I mean that in a good way,” he elbowed me in the arm and smiled.
Paige stepped in the door, and Brantley put his hand up to wave her over.
“What’d I miss?” she asked, sitting in Brantley’s lap since there weren’t any empty chairs left.
Brantley took her by the waist. “Crazy ass maintenance man decided to break Ben’s hand—presumably over Liz.” He looked at me. “Did I miss anything?”
“Nope, t-that’s the crazy ass gist of it.”
“Murray family?” A nurse called from the back door.
I jumped up, not waiting to see if Brantley or Paige were following me. Nor was I eager to point out that none of us were actually family.
“He’s still waiting on X-rays. There was a traffic accident, so we’re backed up. I can take you up to the other waiting room so you’re not packed in the ER. It’s probably going to get even more cramped down here very soon.”