The Law of Motion (Law Series) (67 page)

She shook her head sadly pulling away from me and putting her feet on the floor. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“You can’t do
what
?” I probed watching her pull her silk robe on her shoulders and tie it up.

She kept shaking her head, “I can’t do any of it. I can’t have a family with you, I can’t marry you, and I can’t—” Her voice broke for a second and my heart dropped with it. She couldn’t be saying what she thought I was
, and as soon as the thought in my head finished, she confirmed it. “—I can’t pretend that we are going to work, I’m sorry Adrian.”

“We aren’t working?” I asked completely side swiped, “How are we not working Alyssa?”

She sighed again, “We want different things.”

“This is because I want to marry you?” I clarified, my voice getting louder than I meant it to. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She confirmed, “But we aren’t going to work, I have to let this go.”

“Go? Go where? What am I doing that is so wrong?” I
demanded, my heart breaking as I watched her throw things in her purse.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before she answered. Her eyes were still closed, as she spoke. “I shouldn’t have let it go this far… and I’m sorry for that Adrian, but we can’t be together anymore.”

She went to leave but I wrapped my arms around her torso, tears of reality falling down my face. “Alyssa, no, you can’t go. We don’t have to get married ok, if it’s about that then fine, just…don’t go anywhere.”

“Adrian, don’t—” She pleaded in a soft voice.

I tilted her head up to make eye contact but she turned her head. I turned her face back to look up at me. “No Alyssa, look at me, and tell me that we aren’t working. That you’re leaving me.”

Her eyes were welling with tears, but they didn’t spill over. “Adrian, I can’t be with you anymore. I’m sorry for wasting your time, and I won’t anymore.” I released her to wipe my eyes. “It’s not anything you’ve done Adrian… It’s—”

“—Don’t” I pleaded not wanting to hear the ‘it’s not you it’s me’ break up speech. I’ve said it enough in my thirty years of life to know that it was bullshit.

She sighed, “Very well then.” She extended her hand and it took a second for my teary vision to focus on what she was handing me. The key to our house. When I didn’t accept it from her she sat it on the dresser, her own tears finally spilling over silently. “Take care Adrian.”

I ran my hands through my hair trying to make sense of what the fuck just happened. Then after about three minutes I felt like a fucking idiot for letting her leave. I picked up my cell and called her phone only to notice that she left it. “What the FUCK!” I yelled picking up the chair to her vanity and tossing it through our bedroom window.

I was feeling suffocated, I knew I needed to open a window and breathe. But I was so fucking frustrated that I just wanted to break something, and in my broken fucked up mind I decided to do both at once and maybe I’d feel better. I didn’t. I fucking lost my shit on the floor of our bedroom.

I picked up my phone and dialed the only person that could help me make sense of things. When he answered I was barely able to fix my voice enough to greet him. “Hey dad.”

He noticed the change immediately. “Son, what’s wrong, are you alright?”

“I need help.” I begged trying not to lose it all over again. “Alyssa just left me, and I don’t understand what I did wrong.”

“Left? What do you mean left?” He asked confused and I could hear movement in the background, as if he were getting in his car.

“She told me we weren’t working, that we shouldn’t have gone as far as we did, and she just left Dad. Fucking left.” I repeated as the sounds of his car purred to life.

“Are you sure she isn’t just going to cool off son?” He asked calmly.

              “No, she fucking left Dad! She gave me her fucking key. She ran out of here in her robe, she didn’t even put on shoes.” I stressed pulling myself off of the floor to check and make sure.

             
My dad sighed, “It’s forty-eight degrees outside son.”

             
“I know, and she didn’t even take her fucking coat.” I hissed wiping my eyes. “I need to figure out where she is.”

             
“I’m on my way son… Don’t leave the house.” He promised before I hung up the phone.

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My dad made it to D.C. from Arlington in record time. I answered the door and he looked at me for a second and then back at the chair that was sitting on the front lawn before crushing me in a hug where I lost my shit all over again.

             
I talked to him the entire night, telling him what happened play by play, and even he was confused. He consoled me with the thought that I would have time to talk to her in a few hours before our Gravity meeting, because Alyssa never walked away from a case.

             
Dad and I got there an hour before everyone else, since I couldn’t sleep and Dad wouldn’t sleep. I was on my third cup of coffee when he put a hand on my shoulder. “It will work out son.” He promised in a low voice when Jackson walked in.

             
“You can’t promise that.” I answered and he nodded with a sigh.

             
Tink was a ray of sunshine as she greeted me, which let me know that she didn’t know anything that happened between Chance and I. “Morning handsome, I brought you a muffin.”

             
“Thanks.” I answered as best I could, taking the bag from her and sitting it on the reception desk.

             
I looked at the clock every twenty seconds as everyone entered the lobby preparing to start another day. “You look like hell.” Hunter noted leaning against the wall. “You ok?”

             
Kristen put her comment in before I answered, not that I really felt like giving him one. “Everyone looks like hell Hunt. It’s six am. No one in here is running on more than five hours of sleep.”

             
Dario laughed sitting on the leather sofa trying to get comfortable. “Sleep is for the weak Mrs. King.”

             
Margaux laughed adding her own quip, “Well if that’s the case I’d rather be weak any day.”

             
“Next case I want overtime.” Macon threatened and it got a laugh out of just about everyone but my dad and I.

             
Margaux was wiping a tear of laughter from her face after Hunter said something else but then her face grew serious and she froze with her coffee in hand looking at the door. “Oh my…”

             
Alyssa was there, being escorted by Doc, and Ross close behind. She looked completely broken, and my heart reached for her even though my body couldn’t move. She looked like she got no sleep, and she was still in the robe clothes she left in, only difference was an added flannel robe on top of that. She was in slippers and her hair was down and tangled. She looked dead on her feet, not really staring at anything but the floor but I could see redness on her nose and around her eyes. The whites of her eyes were bloodshot.

             
“Girls, Alyssa’s office,
now
.” Doc ordered, as she pushed her forward ignoring everyone that wasn’t Kristen and Tink.

             
Kristen looked at me and then at her before rushing to grab the other side of her arm, and Tink relieved Doc, getting her behind the doors. I pushed myself forward but Doc stopped me. “Not now Adrian.” Her voice wasn’t angry, but stern none the less.

             
“But I need to talk to her,” I urged, my voice slightly breaking.

             
Doc looked at me, her heart shaped face and chocolate colored eyes full of sympathy. “I know Adrian, but trust me. If you talk to her now, you will
lose
her. Let us talk to her first. I’m trying to help.”

             
I nodded once and she disappeared behind the door with the other girls in Chance’s office. I turned back, and all of the faces that had been looking at Ross for an explanation, were now looking to me. “Alyssa left me last night…” I muttered going into my own office for privacy.

             
“Girls, Alyssa’s office,
now
,” Doc ordered behind me. Her arms wrapped securely at my side as I dragged my feet looking at the floor.

             
I felt dead, my joints were both stiff and limp at the same time, a complete mess from crying all night. “Oh my…” Tink whispered joining my side the minute that Doc let me go. Kristen picking the other side after handing the baby off to Macon, at least I thought that it was him. She started instinctually rubbing my arms, whether it was for comfort or warmth I wasn’t sure.

             
I locked eyes with Hunter for a fraction of a second before I directed them back to the floor. His expression was pained, confused, and a shit load of surprised. I was sure it was because I was still in my pajamas and a silk robe that barely made it to my knee. Doc at least put her own flannel robe over me as a second covering, but I didn’t really think about it.

             
“Alyssa what’s wrong?” Kristen asked once I was in my office. I didn’t say anything and when Doc came in a few seconds later re-shutting the door Kristen directed a question at her instead. “She decided not to wear clothes?”

             
Doc eased me into a chair in front of the desk before Tink locked the door. “I barely got her into the robe, she’s checked out for the most part.”

             
“Panic attack?” Tink asked sitting on my desk in front of me, since Doc and Kristen were already at my sides.

             
Doc sighed, “No, a matter of the heart I’m afraid.”

             
“What happened with Adrian?” Kristen demanded, but I responded to nothing, playing with a stray string on the front of Doc’s robe

             
Doc put a hand on mine to stop my nervous tick, and I sat there in silence as she started to retell what happened.

             
“Late last night, Juan burst into my room telling me that his
Tia
was in the driveway, and she was wearing her pajamas. She was past due on her Depo, so I assumed that she couldn’t wait until later. It was late, but not late enough that would cause alarm in my head.”

             
Something felt off about her telling the story, like I should be the one to explain what happened. I kept my head down, and attempted to pick up where she started, on the sequence of events. “I don’t know how long I had been pacing on her porch, debating on if I should knock or just leave, but eventually Juan answered that for me.”

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“Tia? Why you don’t have no shoes on?” He asked opening the door when he recognized me. It wasn’t a school night, so it didn’t surprise me that he was still awake, I just didn’t know how to answer him. “Don’t you wanna come in? You’re gonna get sick standing outsides.” Still nothing. With an exasperated sigh he threw his hands in the air. “I’m going to get my mommies and I’ll be right back. Don’t go nowhere.”

             
He left the front door open and I watched him run up the stairs to get Doc or Ross.

“It
just couldn’t wait until tomorrow could it? I knew you would—” Doc’s smug smile and playful tone left immediately, and was replaced with concern.

             
I wasn’t sure if it was the panic in her face as she took in my appearance or the fact that I was actually about to talk to someone that caused me to break but I did. I turned into one big blubbering, girly mess, as I choked out my request. “Doc—can—I—t-talk to you?”

             
“Is she ok?” Ross asked poking her head out after sending Juan to bed. “Holy…”

             
Doc took her robe off, putting it on my arms immediately. “I don’t know baby, but give us a minute. Chance you’ll freeze out here in that, come inside.”

             
“Ok.” I sobbed still sputtering. The warmth of the house practically burned my skin as I stepped inside, my bare feet were numb from being out there so long.             

             
Doc took me into the den and Ross closed the door. I hiccoughed and sputtered on the couch. “I should probably call Adrian, and tell him she’s here.” Ross guessed after I got inside.

             
“N-no” I pleaded quickly at her.

             
Tawny rubbed my arms trying to warm and soothe me at the same time. “No, no Alyssa, we won’t call Adrian.”

             
“Ok…and when he calls?” Ross asked. It was no secret that when the couples amongst Gravity fought they went to another’s house to blow off steam. Macon had spent several nights in our guest room within his and Kristen’s first year of marriage.

             
“Roslyn,” Doc clipped looking at her.