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I walked in like a zombie. I’d never actually been inside of her apartment. Cradling Spud, we sat down at her kitchen table, and I couldn’t help but feel my skin crawl knowing that Alphonse had been in here.
Mrs. Poppadakis sighed. “Why would my son want to break into your apartment, dear?”
“He, uh, we were engaged a couple of years ag—”
“Engaged?! Why didn’t he tell me about you?”
“I…don’t know.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “He told me that his mom wasn’t really around, but that I would probably meet her at the wedding.”
“Please continue, Ms. Marino,” Officer Lansbury said, prompting me.
“Sorry. It, uh, it was a weird breakup.” I explained my disappearance to end the engagement. “He found me recently, wanted to start things up again, and I didn’t want to, which wasn’t an answer he liked. He's been showing up at my work, went out of his way to find my mom, and we saw him in the parking lot on our way in.”
“Did you see your son today?” Officer Lansbury asked.
“No, not today. He has a key to get into the building, though, in case I need him.”
“Does your son have any history of aggressive behaviour?”
“He—” Mrs. Poppadakis paused, sniffling, then breaking fully into tears.
I patted her shoulder awkwardly. Hana grabbed a box of tissues from the side table by her couch, and set it in front of her while I got her a glass of water. When she recovered herself enough to speak, she looked at me with so much pain in her eyes that it froze me to the spot.
“I so hoped that he wouldn’t turn out like his father.” She sucked in a sharp breath and sipped at her water. “I left my first husband when Alphonse was young. We moved states, got a restraining order and everything. I saw flickers of his father in him as a teen. He would…sweet talk, I suppose you could call it, until he met resistance, and then he would become cruel. Cruel and clever, just like his father, to get his way. He didn’t often raise a hand, that I know of, at least. He was good at getting his way before things got to that point.” She sighed, wiping at her wet cheeks. “When Alphonse was in college, I moved across the country with my second husband who passed away last year, so I’m afraid I haven’t had a lot of close contact with my son prior to moving back here. He told me recently he was dating someone and that I would get to meet her soon, but he hadn’t told me more than that.”
Officer Lansbury took notes diligently.
“Did he hurt your little man?” Mrs. Poppadakis asked, reaching out to stroke Spud’s fur. “I heard the poor little thing scream like the dickens.”
I cuddled Spud and ran my hands over every inch of him to assure myself that he was okay. He made a little squawk when I touched his hip, and I tested it again to be sure, prompting another squawk and him wiggling to change position.
“I think Alphonse kicked him. He doesn’t like me touching his hip.”
“Spud gave as good as he got,” Hana said. “Alphonse had cat scratches on his face when we saw him. He probably got them when he tried to hurt Spud.”
“I’ll amend potential animal abuse charges in addition to a break and enter,” Officer Lansbury said. “You can stay if you’d like and wait for the forensics unit. We’ll be in contact with the building manager in any case. We can seal up the suite and have them give us access another day with your permission.”
A warm hand pressed onto my shoulder, and I turned to see Hana. “I would suggest you have a quick look and see if there's anything that he stole, and after that, we’ll take Spud to the vet to get checked over. The building manager can handle this just fine if you’re comfortable with that.”
“Yeah that sounds good,” I nodded.
“All right,” said Officer Lansbury. “Do you have somewhere you can stay?”
“She’ll stay with me,” Hana declared, drawing Spud and I into her arms.
I gratefully leaned against her. My parents would let me stay, and so with my brother and sister-in-law, but all I really wanted now was to curl up with the pack and Spud and forget that all of this shit had happened.
We got everything sorted, and I signed off on the form the building manager sent me via email, waiting until Officer Lansbury had sealed off my door with plastic and police tape.
“I’m so sorry, dear.” Mrs. Poppadakis pulled me into a hug. “Please let me know if you need anything, but…I understand if you never want to speak to me again.”
I stared at her, realizing for the first time that I probably wouldn’t be able to have a friendship with her anymore. “I…think I need some time.”
“Of course.” Mrs. Poppadakis sniffled. “I’m so sorry, dear. Please be safe.”
“Thank you for your time and cooperation,” Hana said sharply, bundling me away.
She drove while I sat in the front seat cuddling Spud. His regular vet was just opening when we arrived and was able to sneak him in. Poor thing was spooked all to hell, but the X-rays revealed nothing broken, just some bruising that he would heal from.
