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Its been a few weeks here and Anthony hasn’t tried anything on me, but I feel that the other shoe is going to drop soon. If anything, I’ve been the one who made the first move when I gave him a kiss. I’ve been letting him take Luke to and from the school for the last few days and I can see Luke forming a relationship with him. Too bad I’m heading west when school is out.
Today I laid back down, thanks to the cramps I was having, but I’ve also been a bit depressed the last few days. It’s near Valentines day and its hard on me. Valentines day was the day I found out that Johnathon was killed in action. I opened the door to what I thought was a delivery of roses or something special since it was always his favorite day of the year. Only when I opened the door there stood two Marine officers one was a chaplain and the other was a grief and bereavement officer. I was holding Luke in my arms, he was almost a year old. The next few days were a blur, thankfully I had Johnathon’s mom there to support me some. Together we got through the funeral and I figured out that I had to get back in the work force.
After the funeral I took a job working in a Texas based design firm, they had in house daycare for free, this saved me from incurring the costs of putting Luke into daycare. Johnathon’s mom also encouraged me to do what I did best work with computers and design. I downloaded a few programs and a few of my friends used social media to show everyone what I could do and before I knew it I was getting requests from everywhere asking for help with all kinds of things from advertisements on social media and websites to help making book covers perfect to sale.
It was when I received my insurance check from the military that I went out and bought my computer. That was the day I met Jeff, and lost my main job. I’d been rear-ended by someone and he was the cop that showed up on the scene of the accident. I took Luke to the hospital just to make sure he wasn’t hurt since he was in a car seat. Jeff had followed me there and suggested that I get checked out too. I had taken his advice and gotten checked out. When I left the hospital, he gave me a ride home and told me how inappropriate it was for a cop to hit on someone he met through work, but he slipped me his number and said good bye.
We’d started with coffee and casual lunches for close to six months and then he’d asked me to move in with him. When Valentines day rolled around he didn’t care it was just another day to him. When I got depressed that it was also Johnathon’s anniversary he’d made some snide comments about Johnathon being dead and I needed to get over it.
So, when I started getting depressed today I went and laid down since I was home alone anyways. When I woke up my stomach was aching and so was my back. I realized the reason I had woke up wasn’t the urge to go to the bathroom, but the smell of iron and the cold sticky feeling of blood on my thighs. Fuck I thought as I tore the sheets off me and jumped to the bathroom. I glanced at the sheets and knew they were ruined along with the mattress. I sat down on the toilet and reached under the cabinet where I should have a full supply of pads, except I’m not at Chris and Kathy’s house I’m here at Anthony’s. I fumble and don’t find any pads it’s only cleaning supplies under there. I start to cry I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t wait here all day, I don’t have my car back yet, so I can’t really run to the store. Suddenly I hear Luke and Anthony come in the house. They’re early maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Then I think of the ruined sheets and the mattress. Jeff had a conniption fit over me having leakage one night and ruining his sheets.
Anthony knocks at the door and checks on me, he’s seen the sheets and I hear the relief in his voice when he realizes that I’ve just started my period. He offers to get the supplies that I need, and I reject it since I even dread that aisle. He laughs at my lame joke comparing motor oil to the female supplies aisle. I enjoy hearing that deep laugh it starts to calm me down some. He asks if he can call my sister to get my supplies. I think, yeah right she doesn’t have the issues I have and will bring what works for her and I’ll be sitting on the toilet again embarrassed. AGAIN... I finally manage to tell him I’ll replace his sheets and mattress; however, he’s not interested in replacing them he’s interested in getting me taken care of. I finally accept his offer to get the needed supplies.
Just before he leaves he suggests that I take a shower for the pain I’m in and he’ll be back in a few. If I was a person who read between the lines, there was a little I love you in there, but I shake that thought from my mind. I say a silent prayer that he gets the right stuff and then I let a few tears slide down my face at the memory of Johnathon doing the same thing for me before I got pregnant with Luke.
When Anthony returns I am in the shower enjoying the pulsing of hot water on my lower back. He knocks and then enters with his back to me. He hands me a towel so I can dry off. I start to dry my legs and feet first, I want to get my underwear on before I have blood running down my legs. He turns around while I’m drying off and hands me the pain medicine I asked for and a glass of water. I feel him taking in my nakedness and I’m not embarrassed. He lets me slip on my underwear and then he grabs my wrists gently. I think that if I’d tried to shake his hands off he’d have let me go, but I don’t. There is a heat to his touch that excites me. He pushes me up against the door gently and kisses me, it’s a gentle kiss not an overbearing kiss. I open my mouth, but he doesn’t shove his tongue in, he laps at my lips and then only puts the tip of his tongue into my mouth. We wrestle gently for a moment before he pulls away.
I could have kissed like that all evening. I haven’t been kissed that gently since Johnathon. As he leaves me he tells me to dress comfortably and not to worry about dinner he’ll prepare it. I secretly hope he makes spaghetti, it’s becoming one of my favorites that he makes. When I come out of the bathroom the bed has been remade and I can see where he’s put a towel underneath the sheet so that the earlier mess won’t seep through to the clean sheets.
I enter the dining room and he has three plates of spaghetti and salads made. Yeah, I think I’m falling for him, at least a little. We eat dinner and towards the end I’m starting to feel the pain in my abdomen relieve some and I am getting sleepy. Anthony suggests that I go ahead and lie down, which I don’t argue with since I’m already groggy. I kiss Luke goodnight and head to my bed, alone.
I halfway wake up some time later in pain, but the pain subsides a bit with some warmth and pressure. I shift and realize that someone is in the bed with me. When I still my ass is greeted by his erection, but all he does is puts his hand, which is warm from rubbing my back, between my hip bones, where my muscles feel like someone is using a corkscrew on them. The warmth of his hand helps to relax my muscles and after a few minutes I fall back asleep. Feeling safe and loved.
I wake up and Anthony is gone probably taking Luke to school and off to work, but he’d told me he’d be here when Chris’ dad came by for my follow up appointment. He’s taken on my care since he and I have a bit of prior history, and so I won’t have to explain to another doctor what happened on the day of the attack. I’ve been remembering bits and pieces of after the attack I remember waking up and seeing a figure in the doorway to the bathroom, I remembered the doctor at the hospital asking Anthony to leave the room and the female officer came in. I remember the doctor doing a sexual assault exam and telling the female officer something. Then my memories go away and when they come back its in the hospital room and things are much clearer.
The buzzer indicating that someone is at the gate sounds and I check to see who it is like Anthony showed me on my first day here. It’s Chris’ dad so I buzz him in and open the door when he knocks. I reset the alarm and we go to the den and sit down. He goes over what he’s going to do during the examination and asks if I have someone else here. I’m confused by the question, but before I can answer him he puts up a finger to shush me. He grabs his phone and calls Kathy. He explains that he would like her here during the examination and asks her to come over. She gladly accepts the invitation and says she’ll be over in a few minutes.
We sit and talk during the time that we wait for Kathy to drive over. He politely asks me how long the abuse had been going on and I answer him with two years. He follows up with the question that everyone assumes the answer to, “So he’s not Luke’s father?” I shake my head as an unwanted tear makes its way down my face. I feel the doctor move closer and place a hand on my back comforting me. He further inquires about the role Luke’s dad plays in his life and I explain to him that we lost him in Afghanistan. His reaction is the same as almost everyone else. They’re sorry for my loss, except his expression of sorrow is heartfelt. I didn’t hear the door open or even Anthony walk up, but I feel someone sit down beside me on the couch and I know its him by the scent that lingers in the air around me.
“When did you lose him?” He asks caringly. I get the feeling that he’s lost someone who meant something to him.
I explain about the Valentines day three years back, come tomorrow. I try to explain how much Johnathon meant to me how we were high school sweethearts and how I got pregnant just before he left for boot camp in Parris Island. I tell them of how he married me and got me, and Luke put on his records as dependents before he shipped out to Afghanistan.
When Kathy arrives, Anthony walks us all to my temporary bedroom and closes the door. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I know for sure I felt some empathy in his voice. I strip off my shirt for the doctor, so he can examine my ribs which have started feeling better and I’m able to take the wrap off for periods of time each day. He examines the other bruises after I have replaced my shirt. He’s happy with the progress that my bruises have made. My sight has been back to normal for days and the swelling in my face has gone down significantly. The cast won’t come off my arm for another three to four weeks, but I have been dealing with it just fine.
Kathy steps out of the room leaving the door open behind her since the physical exam is over. The doctor wants to talk to me in somewhat private. He clears his throat and asks me if I am going to press charges against Jeff. I tell him that the detective has called several times to get me to come down to the station, but I just haven’t felt like going. Being surrounded by a roomful of cops is a little intimidating when the person who attacked you is a cop. He knows that Anthony would go and support me if I wanted him to, but he’s another cop. The doctor looks at me and informs me that Anthony is waiting to see what I’m going to do, because he’s ready to press charges against Jeff. “How can he?” I ask very confused.
“Easy.” The doctor starts “You left your son abandoned at school, you didn’t answer the phone when the school or police called, so, you see it gave them the impression that you’d abandoned your kid. It was when Anthony came to investigate that he found you’d been attacked. That means Jeff had restrained you against your will making you abandon your child.” He explains to me, which makes me even more confused as to why he’d care so much. I guess the good doctor could read my mind.
“Cases where a mother and child are trying to leave an abusive relationship hit Anthony close to home.” He explains. “And he takes them even more to heart when he finds women like you trying, but the abuser tracks them down; although he does seem especially enamoured with you young lady.” That’s where the doctor leaves it and he pats me on the back and as he stands back up he reminds me to think about pressing the charges.
He leaves me to collect my thoughts and goes to the den and gives Kathy and Anthony his goodbyes. When I enter the den again Kathy is about to head out the door. Anthony is standing by the door his button up is hanging open revealing his well-toned chest. His jeans hang loosely on his hips, I notice he’s not wearing a belt like he usually does. As Kathy slips out the door she winks at me and then says, “I’ll check on you in a few days, ok?” I nod as Anthony closes the door.
Once everyone has left and the gate closes behind the last vehicle Anthony crosses his arms and I know we’re about to have a serious talk and probably about me pressing charges against Jeff. I’ve already made up my mind that I’m going to do it, but I need to do it alone, or so I think. So, since today is Friday and its mostly been blown I’ll tackle it on Monday if I can get my car, I’ll do it while Anthony is at work and Luke is at school. After several moments of his dark brown eyes boring into me he finally asks, “What did Arron tell you?”
I must have looked like a deer in the headlights because I didn’t even know what he was talking about. I first try to stammer out that he already knows the diagnosis, but the look on his face is a little annoyed so he clarifies what he wants me to tell him. “About me, I’ve known Arron for almost ten years now and trust me, I know he told you some about me, so what did he tell you?”
I can’t even bring my eyes to leave his chest, he’s perfect in every way. He reminds me of Johnathon with the way his muscles ripple as he moves. I don’t even realize that he’s closed the distance and now I’m not staring at his chest, but his crotch. I instantly remember how his erection pressed against my ass last night felt, his hand placed on my lower abdomen had held me close to him not letting me put any space between my ass and his erection. I finally shake my head to clear it and lick my lips before saying, “Nothing really, just that you take these cases to heart.” He only nods at this answer before he sticks his hand out to help me up from the couch where I’ve been sitting.
I take his hand a bit confused as to why he now seems satisfied with my answer. As he pulls me up and close he wraps his arms around me and holds me close to his chest. I can hear his every breath vibrate in his chest along with the steady beat of his heart. I hear as he takes a few breaths before he finally speaks. “Do you want to know why I became a cop?” He asks me, and I can tell that his answer isn’t going to be the typical I wanted to protect and serve the people that live here. I nod because he hasn’t let me out of his embrace and I really don’t mind it.
When he begins speaking again he starts with a story of a boy and his mother who are constantly abused by the boy’s father, her husband. He gets to a part where the father catches the boy sneaking out of the house one night and instead of punishing him with a typical whipping he takes the boy to a shed on their property. I hear his voice catch and know that he’s talking about himself. The father tied the boy up and stripped off his clothes and whipped the kid until he passed out from the pain. When the boy woke up he’d been untied, the boy redresses and heads back to the house praying that his father isn’t there. His prayers are only slightly answered when he goes into the house to find his father gone and his mother in a heap on the floor. When the boy tries to wake his mom, he finds out that his mom is dead. He calls the cops and one of them notices the blood on the back of his shirt and starts inquiring as to what happened. After several days in the hospital recovering from the wounds on his back, he finds himself in the battle to now survive. His father is now in prison for the attempted murder of himself and the murder of his mom.
“So, I became a cop to keep men like him from hurting people like her and the boy.” He finishes his story. He then takes my hand and starts to gently walk me down to his room. When we get there he he sits me down on the bed and proceeds to take off the unbuttoned shirt that has been covering him.
He breaks the silence and says to me that since I barred my heart to a complete stranger he wants to show me that what he’s said is the truth. He turns his back to me and I see him watching my reflection in the mirror. He’s got several scars that have puckered up and to someone who never has experienced abuse it would be hideous. However, I stand up and rub my fingers gently over the scars. I can see the worry in his eyes that I might see these and run. I won’t because I’ve seen this type of abuse up close and personal. I don’t ask the question of if his mom had reported his dad’s abuse or why she hadn’t left him, because I know the answer to those questions. She probably tried to leave multiple times and he tracked her down and if she reported the abuse it was a simple he said she said case and the cops of that day took his side.
He finally sits me back down on the bed and inquires about me pressing charges against Jeff and I answer him honestly with my plans. He has an idea that he wants to run by me before I carry out my plans. He doesn’t inquire if I’m leaving town, but I can read his look as one that he doesn’t want me to leave. Here over the past few day’s I’m starting to reconsider leaving at the end of the school year.