I grabbed her and held her tight. “What happened? Are you ok?”
She took a deep breath. “When I got home, I saw the windows shattered and glass everywhere. Then I ran to my car and locked it, called the police, and then you. I was too scared to go inside. Gosh, Donovan, I didn’t think the first time I used your number was going to be for something like this, though,” she laugh-cried with no humor.
“You did the right thing, Audra. I’m so sorry this is happening to you. I’m so sorry that I am causing this.”
Her body recoiled as she pulled away with furrowed brows and unspoken questions. “What are you talking about? If anything, I should be apologizing to you. I’m pulling you into this mess.”
“No, it sounds like…” I began, but was cut short by a cop.
“Audra, let’s finish talking, and we can wrap up.” It was the same guy we had talked to at the police station, so he alreadyknew the bulk of the situation. By the time everything was done, they didn’t think anyone had tried to enter the house; bricks were just thrown through the windows. What a fucking prick. We hadn’t broached what was going to happen, but she sure as hell would not stay there. I mean, ideally, she’d just come home with me, but if she was more comfortable somewhere else, so be it, I’d take her there. Just not her house. Thankfully, our cop friend beat me to it.
“Can you stay somewhere tonight, Audra? We still have some things we have to do here. If you’re okay with it, I’m going to put a call out to my brother to come board the windows up as a favor. He owes me for watching his demon spawn last week,” the cop laughed, and I appreciated the small-town camaraderie. “You’re welcome to stay here too if you want, but it would probably be better if you stayed somewhere else.”
“Stay with me tonight,” I said to her, and she nodded in agreement. “Can she get clothes?” I asked as I turned to the cop.
“We haven’t processed everything, so not yet.”
“Rugby shorts, it is.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it as I tried for a moment of levity, despite the fact her fucking windows were smashed with a brick. She half-smiled at me and tucked herself in under my arm again.
“We’ll let you know what’s happening as we come across it or in the morning, ok, Audra?” clarified the policeman. She just nodded as if she was in a state of shock as I shook their hands and thanked them for their quick response.
We got into my car, and I was on high alert. My gut told me that Theo was most likely lurking around somewhere, because he would want to watch this all play out. Sick fuck. I silently dared him to approach me. Cops or not, he’d get his due.When she was safely tucked away in my car, we hit the road, and I was much more careful on the return trip.
“Gosh, it’s pouring out,” she commented with a sigh. “Do you think the inside of my house is going to get wet and ruined?”
“Nah. The porch covers those windows for the most part. And if it does, we figure it out.”
“I’d love to just get away right now, even just to prove to you that I’m not in this constant state of debauchery. Usually, I’m pretty fun. And although I’m sensitive and am more prone to cry than the average person, this is ridiculous, even for me.” She folded into the seat, worn down and quiet.
Did the universe really just bless me with this beach ball right here? “Are you serious about getting away?” I pried.
“Kind of. I’m not sure if it counts as getting away as much as running away, but at this point, I’m good with it.”
We pulled up into the driveway, and I turned to look at her. “Audra, I’m going to New York on Wednesday. It’s only for a couple of days. Thursday night, I’m going to a dinner with my family to celebrate my sister passing the bar on her first try, the one I got flowers for that day at the florist. Come with me. Let the police do whatever it is they need to do. We can arrange for the glass to be fixed while we are gone, and you can come back to it brand new. He can’t reach us in New York. You can relax, it’ll be fun.”Everything but dinner with my parents,I thought.
“I … I don’t know, Donovan,” she stammered.
“Come on, have you ever been?”
“No, but I mean, how much would a last-minute ticket cost? I’m sure I’m scheduled, so I will have to take more time off…”
I could hear the hesitation so I tried to curtain the excuses. “I am taking our family jet, so it wouldn’t cost you anything.Plus, I’m staying in a property I own, so again, no cost.” I planted the seed, and I was smart enough not to demand an answer at that moment. The property was an old one-bedroom apartment in Mid-Manhattan that I bought when I turned eighteen, and I couldn’t let go of it. It was my sanctuary, and I hid it from my parents at first. Though, now that I’m older and not so naïve, sometimes I think maybe they knew about it and didn’t bother saying anything. Sometimes I wondered exactly how much they knew about the shit I did and just didn’t care. If I had lost my life due to my recklessness, I knew they wouldn’t feel the profound sadness one should feel after losing a child, but they sure as shit would play the sad parent card for eternity. Even after all these years, I hated thinking about my parents. “Let’s go in and you can debate yourself while we get ready for the night.”
As we were walking into the kitchen, she spoke again, “I don’t know if I can sleep yet, I feel pretty wired,” she confessed. “Maybe I can go to the downstairs gym and just burn some nervous energy or something.”
I wanted to say I knew the perfect activity to burn some energy, with the added benefit of making her feel good. Hell, I was confident I’d not only make her forget about her night, she’d forget her damn name, but I refrained.
“How about a swim?” I settled on.
“It’s raining outside. And it’s chilly, I’ll freeze.”
“The rain is moot, you’ll be getting wet anyway. I already keep the temperature like bathwater, and I can pop it even hotter if you want. We won’t freeze. And if we do, we can just slip into the hot tub.”
“You have a hot tub? How did I not realize that last time?” she said, baffled.
I could feel the knowing smile spread acrossmy face. “I don’t know, Audra, how did you not? Were you thinking about something else?” I teased and gave her a nudge. Redness crept all across her face. It brought me great joy knowing she was thinking dirty thoughts about me when I was swimming. Great, immense, palpable joy.
“I have nothing to wear.”
