Come Undone (28 page)

“Yes,
I noticed the bruise,” Cooper said, ignoring David. “Then what?” he urged.

I
wavered, looking over at David. “Are you sure you want to stay?” I asked him. “You
seem upset.”

He
only pursed his lips and inhaled loudly through his nose.

“Um,”
I continued, turning my attention back to Cooper. “I think he said that Bill
fucked them over and that he would suffer for it. That it was Bill’s fault Lou
was convicted. That they’re in the same gang.”

“He
said gang?”

“Yes,”
I confirmed.

“This
could be important. What exactly did he say?”

I
racked my brain, feeling the pressure. “Like I said, that Bill fucked up. He
messed with his family. Lou was in jail because of him. He wanted to know why
Lou got ten years and he didn’t when they belonged to the same gang and sold
the same drugs. Then something about us having fun and that if I was,” I
cleared my throat, “if I was good, he’d send me home to Bill afterward.” From
the corner of my eye, I saw David’s knuckles whiten from gripping the arms of
his chair. “I said Bill wasn’t home. He said, ‘I didn’t say I’d send you home
tonight.’”

A
thunderous crack filled the room, and I almost fell out of my chair in
surprise. David jumped up and cursed.

“What
the . . . ,” Cooper said, getting up.

“I’m
sorry,” David said. He tossed part of the chair’s arm in the trash and sat down
again, careful not to touch the splintered wood. “I’m sorry,” he repeated,
steepling his fingers and rubbing his nose. “I’ll pay for the chair. Continue.”

Cooper
sat down again while mumbling something and looked back at his notepad.
“Ridiculous. I’m sorry, Olivia. Did he make any other allusions to . . . ah,
keeping you over night or . . . ?”

“Well, he said to relax and that,” I cleared my
throat again, “that I would ‘like it.’ That soon I’d be begging for it. And if
I fought him, I’d regret it.” I exhaled, looking down at my own hands. I was hoping
not to have to relive this so vividly.

“What was your physical stance relative to his?”

I hesitated and briefly considered lying. “At
this point he had me pinned against the wall.”

“And was he restraining you?”

“Well,” I stopped and looked away.

“It’s okay,” Cooper urged. “This is a safe
space. There’s no wrong answer.”

“Yes, he had his arm across my shoulders and he
was sort of . . . I guess, pinning me with the rest of his body. Suggestively.”
Why couldn’t I just say it?

“So he was sexually aggressive with you?”

David inhaled sharply and dropped his face in
his hands. He released a string of muffled curse words while I tried not to
cry.
I should have asked him to leave.

“I’m sorry,” Cooper said. “David, please calm
the hell down, you’re upsetting her.”

I wiped away an invisible tear and straightened
my shoulders. “Yes. He was sexually aggressive.”

“Fuck,” David said sadly. He shook his head. “I
had no idea. Why didn’t you tell me last night?”

“It’s fine, David,” I reassured him. “Everything
turned out fine.”

 
“Fine?” he asked, his leg bouncing up and
down rapidly. “Everything is fine to you. It’s not fine to me. You could have
been seriously hurt or - or worse.”

We
were all quiet for a moment. I could tell by the look on his face that Cooper
had picked up on David’s extreme reaction. It also struck me as odd. We barely
knew each other. There was no denying our attraction, but I wasn’t his to
protect. I wasn’t his responsibility. And this wasn’t his fault. So why was he
so upset?

Cooper
stared at me, prompting me to continue. “That’s when David appeared.” I put on
a smile for him, but was looking at the floor.

“Mark
didn’t know I was around,” David started slowly. “So I had the element of
surprise on my side. I lunged at him, and after we wrestled for a minute, the
gun fell from somewhere on his body. I grabbed it. I backed him up against the
wall, and he said he didn’t want any trouble. Then he said he had friends on
the force. That he’d be out after a night, and he’d come back for both of us.
That’s why, like I said Cooper, I really need you to a keep an eye on this for
me. I want any and all updates.”

“Don’t
worry for now,” Cooper reassured him.

“He
didn’t say friends,” I interjected. “He said he had deals. Deals with the cops.
He didn’t seem afraid at all.”

“Very
interesting,” Cooper nodded, making more notes.

“That’s
when you guys arrived,” David finished. “Just in time, too,” he grumbled. “If I
- ”

“David,”
I interjected overexcitedly. “Here, have some water.” I shoved the glass at
him. With a lawyer for a husband, I understood the concept of TMI.

“Well
this has been very helpful,” Cooper said. “More so than I thought. Do you have
a card, Olivia?”

I
fished one out of my wallet and he rose to show us out. “That’s it?” I asked.

“Yes,
ma’am. If you’ll follow me, I’d like to get a picture of the bruise, and then you’re
all set.”

 
I let another officer take my photo as
Cooper and David talked. On our way out, I thanked him for his help.

“We’ll
call you if we need anything else,” Cooper told me. “Like I said, I don’t
expect this to go to trial and if it does, it won’t be for a while. But I’ll
keep you in the loop.”

“Thanks
again, Coop,” David said with a handshake. “Let me know about that chair,” he
joked and a grumble was his only reply.

~

On our way
out, I asked David if we should send a fruit basket as a thank you, and he
laughed.

“He
might get suspicious if we send a joint fruit basket.”

“Oh
really?” I asked. “
That
would make
him suspicious. Not running into each other late at night. Not your reaction in
there.”

“He
asked me, when you were getting your photo taken, if it was accurate how we ran
into each other. He warned me that if you and I were hiding something, the
statement could be inadmissible.”

I
gasped. “But it is accurate!”

“I
know, I told him. He’s skeptical, though.” He was quiet as he opened the door
for me and made his way around to the driver’s side.

I
looked at him over the roof of the car. “Why were you so upset?”

“Not
were, Olivia. Am. I
am
upset, and for
a lot of reasons. For one, it pisses me off that your husband isn’t - ”

“Wait,”
I said, holding up my hand. “It’s fine. I don’t need to know. Let’s not drag
Bill into this.”

“It’s
a little late for that. It seems this is his mess, in fact. What does he have
to say about it?”

My
mouth opened briefly before sealing into a tight line.

“Olivia?”
he prompted. I slipped into the seat, pulling the door closed behind me. He
followed a moment later, but didn’t move to start the car. “Does he know?”

I
shook my head. “He’s been in meetings all day.”

He
pursed his lips and said gently, “You need to talk to him.”

“What
am I going to say?” I asked the window, tugging at my earlobe.

He
started the car and reversed from the spot. “Tell him the truth.”

I
jumped at the sound of my phone and looked from it to David and back.

“Go
ahead,” he said without looking at me. “Answer it.”

“Hi,
Bill.”

“Hey.
This case is turning out to be more intense than I realized. I’ve taken some
depositions, but I might have to come back next week.”

“Um,”
I started. “I had another incident last night.”

“Incident?”

 
I opted for the shortened version. “I
left work late, and Mark Alvarez was waiting for me on the street.”

“Oh
no,” was all he said.

“He
chased me down Adams and into an alley. I ran into a friend of Andrew’s,
amazingly, who works nearby, and together we managed to subdue him until the
cops arrived.”

“Holy
shit, Liv! So they have Mark Alvarez in custody now? I knew that bastard would
break his parole. He didn’t even make it three months.”

I
nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “Yes, in fact, I’m just leaving the
police station where I spoke to Detective Cooper.”

“Cooper,
yeah, I know him. Olivia, you really shouldn’t talk to the police without me
present.”

“But
nothing really even happened,” I retorted. “I just gave a statement.”

“Are
you all right?”

“Yeah,
a little shaken up, but,” I paused, glancing at David, “fine.”

“Good
babe, I’m glad. I don’t know why he’s involving you. I’m so sorry I can’t come
home right now. Can you get one of the girls to sleep over tonight? I think I
can be back by tomorrow afternoon. Or do you want to come here?”

“No,
he’s detained, and I have this party tonight that I cannot miss. Gretchen and
Lucy are coming so maybe I’ll go home with one of them,” I said.

“I’m
going to talk to Cooper and make sure this is taken care of. Promise to take it
easy. Aren’t you still sick from the trip?”

“No.”

“Okay
babe, I have to go if I want to get anything to eat today.”

“You
haven’t eaten yet? It’s almost four o’clock there.”

“I’ve
been seriously swamped.”

My
heart pounded, and I rubbed my temples.

“Liv?”

“There’s
something else,” I said, lowering my voice. I took a shaky breath. “Bill, Davena
passed away last night.”

Silence
on the line conveyed his surprise. I stared hard out the window as I waited.

“Liv,
honey, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s
terrible. Poor Mack.”

“Yes,
terrible. Did you know it was that bad?”

“I
knew, but no, I didn’t really know.”

He
moaned. “I am so – oh God. You must be, just . . . should I come home
tonight?”

I
set my jaw as I continued to watch the passing cars. I’d been strong for years,
keeping the hurt inside and managing day to day. Couldn’t I make it one more
night before dissolving? Because that was what I wanted to do. To let someone
else take over for a while. “No,” I sighed finally. “I’ll be fine until
tomorrow.”

“When’s
the service?”

 
“Monday.”

“Okay,
I’ll see if I can get a few hours off.”

“I
don’t mind going alone if you can’t.”

“Babe,
of course I want to be there. We can talk about that later, though.” He sighed
heavily into the phone. “Stay in tonight. Ask one of the girls to come over.”

“I
can’t.” I shook my head. “Go get lunch. Or dinner, whatever.”

“I’m
sorry for your shitty week. But maybe this time it’ll stick with Mark. And then
it’s done.”

“Let’s
hope so,” I said with a sidelong look at David. “Call me later, okay?”

I
hung up and sat in silence, waiting for David to speak, but he didn’t. I
thought about Bill’s words: shitty week. It was a shitty week, exhausting both
physically and emotionally. But shitty wasn’t the right word. It felt . . .
something unidentifiable. We pulled up to my complex, and he turned off the
car.

“He’s
not coming back?”

“He’ll
be back tomorrow.” I sighed. “He’s got so much on his plate. He was happy to
hear about Mark being in custody. Sounds like he won’t be free anytime soon.”

I
watched David’s jaw muscles tense just as his grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“What about after the event? Will you be okay tonight?” he asked.

“Yep.
Will you?”

He
smirked at me.

“No
really, will you be? I’m worried. Do you have someone who can stay with you?” I
asked sardonically. He looked away . . .
Is
he blushing?
“Wait, do you?” I asked when he didn’t respond.

“I’m
having dinner with someone,” he said, looking through the windshield. “And I
may bring her to the party.”

I
forced a smile and swallowed. “That’s good,” I said slowly. My surroundings
focused sharply as I tried to respond. “Are you sure you’ve thought this
through? I mean, she probably won’t like the
theme
of the party . . . Although, it
is
rather convenient that you’re right upstairs.”

He
gave me a reproachful look.

“Also,”
I continued, “don’t forget to tidy up my guest room.” I palmed my forehead
exaggeratedly. “Shit, what am I thinking? You won’t be needing it.”

His
chest heaved with a deep sigh. His expression reminded me of the face
Gretchen’s brother would make when we pestered him as kids. “I’m serious, Olivia.
What about tonight? Can you stay with Gretchen or someone?”