“I need you to pack a bag for you and Bryson, and then I need you to come down here to my apartment. Can you do that?” I rush around my room gathering clothes for me to put on now so that I can be ready for when they arrive.
“Yes, I can do that. I’ll be there soon.” She hangs up, determination in her voice, she’s not going to take long to get here, and that means I need to get a move on. I quickly pull on my bra and panties followed by my black leggings. I throw on a long jumper and pull on my knee length boots and leave it as that, my hair still wet but in this heat, it’ll dry in no time. I rush out of my apartment and over to Trent’s. I’m going to need him to keep Bryson occupied while his mother and I have a chat.
Banging on his door, I pray that he’ll answer it before Maggie and Bryson come. The door opens, and Trent’s standing there in bare feet with only a pair of jeans on. I try to divert my eyes but I can’t. I’m drawn to him. “You’re early.” His deep, amused voice snaps me out of my staring. “Michelle?” His body tenses, no doubt picking up on how worried I am.
“Can you please get dressed and come over to my apartment? Maggie and Bryson are coming down. She’s freaked, Trent.”
He doesn’t even hesitate. “I’ll be over in a minute. Is she okay?”
I shrug, I’m so scared right now. I have no idea what’s happening and that means I can’t fix it. “I don’t know, we’ll see when she comes down. She’s bringing Bryson with her so if you can keep him busy while we talk?”
“I’ll be over as soon as I put a T-shirt and shoes on.” He gives me a reassuring smile as I turn and leave, grateful that I have him here to lean on.
Opening my apartment door, my hands are shaking. I hate waiting, I think it’s the worst thing, my imagination has run wild, has he hurt her? No, he wouldn’t have, as much as he’s been an asshole lately I can’t see him doing that. He has a job where he’s meant to protect people not hurt them.
A knock at my door has my heart pounding. Biting my lip to stop the whimper from escaping, I open it and relief hits me when Trent is standing there. I’m in his arms before I can even close the door. “Baby, you doing okay?” He holds me tight. Being in his arms makes everything better. Everything will be okay.
It’s weird, because if someone had told me I’d love to be called baby, I’d have called them a liar. I have never been one for pet names but hearing Trent call me baby makes me feel special, loved…and that’s something I never envisioned.
“I’ll be okay. I just want to know what the hell’s going on. I’ve never heard Maggie like this, she wants to leave Trent.” I don’t want her to leave, I don’t let people in but Maggie and Bryson, they’ve been here for such a long time that I think of them as my family.
“Mommy, they’re kissing.” It’s such a disgusted tone that I can’t help but smile, Bryson’s here. I pull out of Trent’s arms and gasp at Maggie’s appearance.
Her cheek bone has a huge bruise on it, it’s black, blue, and purple. Her top lip is puffy where it’s been split. I never thought he’d hurt her. This is too much, he’s gone too far this time.
“Maggie.” It’s a horrified whisper; I can’t stop staring at her face.
“Hey, little dude! What have you got there?” Trent’s deep voice has Maggie jumping. God, she’s a nervous wreck, and I seriously can’t take my eyes off her face.
Bryson runs over to Trent and shoves his toy in his face. “It’s Optimus Prime,” he tells him as if Trent’s stupid for not knowing who he is.
“Um sure, dude.” Trent looks at me for help, and he really shouldn’t because I don’t even know what or who Optimus Prime is. “Show me what this thing can do.” Trent tells him and that’s my cue to take Maggie into the kitchen and talk. I nod my head, and she follows me into the kitchen.
We sit at the table, and I wait for her to talk. I’m in shock; I’ve read Ric completely wrong. I didn’t believe he was capable of hurting someone in this viscous way.
“He’s crazy. Shelly he lost it. I mean he went gonzo.” She shakes her head as the tears silently fall, my heart is breaking for her. “He knocked on my door, and I was in the shower. Bryson answered the door, and I’ve told him a thousand times before he’s not allowed to do that.” She lifts a shaky hand to her face and swipes away the tears.
“I was blindsided. I’d decided to stay the hell away from Ric, I come out of the shower, and he’s sitting in my sitting room. God, I couldn’t believe it when he stood and kissed me in front of Bryson” My eyes widen. What the fuck? “Yeah, that look, the deer caught in headlights look is exactly how I was feeling. Shelly I was so confused. One minute he wants to end whatever it was we had, and the next he’s kissing me in front of my son.”
“What did you say? What did Bryson say?” I fire out. I can’t believe he did that. We all know that Maggie is really cautious when it comes to Bryson, and introducing the guy she’s been seeing for four months to him isn’t going to happen. She wouldn’t introduce someone she wasn’t sure on.
“I didn’t give Bryson the chance to say anything. I told him to go to his room, and as soon as he closed his door, I asked Ric what the hell he was playing at. I was seething Shelly, I mean, how dare he do that in front of Bryson? God, as soon as I asked, his whole demeanor changed. It was like he was taken over by someone else. He was a mad man. He backhanded me before I even knew he had done it.” Her tears are falling so hard now, and I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her. Her whole body trembling beneath my hands, I hurt for her.
“I told him to get out.” She hiccups through her tears. “He wouldn’t leave, he got even angrier, he told me that I’m not ruining his plans. I have no idea what he meant. I shouted at him to leave, and that’s when he punched me and knocked me to the floor.”
“Maggie…” I’m at a loss for words; what can I say? How can I make her feel better?
“He realized he went too far when he took a step toward me, and I scurried backward. He apologized and told me he’d talk to me later.” Her eyes plead with me. “Shelly I can’t see him.”
“You won’t, I promise.” He’s gone. I can’t have him staying here anymore. He’s a danger to everyone here. Maggie and Bryson come first. Always. “You’re staying here, by the end of the day Ric will be gone. I promise you Maggie.”
She swallows harshly. “Okay.” She doesn’t believe me but I’m making it my mission, by the end of the day Riccardo will be gone. “Where do I go until then? I’m too scared to leave in case he follows me.”
I squeeze her tightly. “Go to your apartment and lock yourself in. I know it’s not what you want but right now, it’s the only thing you can do. I’ll call you when he’s gone.”
She pulls out of my arms. “Okay Shelly, I can do that. Thank you.” I give her a small smile, “Thank you,” she tells me again.
“You’d do the same for me. I’m going to get Agnes and Ethel to stay with you today.” Her eyes widen in horror. “Listen.” She nods. “They will be there in case he tries to come into your apartment, if he does, God help him. I can just see them chasing him with their sticks.”
She laughs, and it’s her way of agreeing to it. “I need to feed my little guy. Thank you.” She stands and folds me into her embrace. “You’re one in a million Shelly.” I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight.
We pull apart and walk into the sitting room. “Bry, you ready?”
Bryson turns to her, sadness written over his face. “No mama, I’m not. Trent and I are playing.” He stomps his foot before turning back to play with Trent.
“Bry, now.” Maggie’s voice takes on the mom tone, the one that is deep and stern.
“Okay Mama,” He instantly replies, so full of disappointment. “Bye Trent.” He’s so cute as he waves goodbye to Trent.
“Bye little dude, I’ll see you soon,” Trent says making Bryson smile.
Maggie walks over to Trent and kisses his cheek. “Thank you.” Then she holds out her hand, and Bryson takes it. “I’ll see you both
soon.”
We say goodbye, and as soon as the door closes, I cry. I cry because she’s hurting and I should have gotten Ric out of this complex when he first started to change. I knew there was something different about him.
“I heard everything baby, it’s not your fault.” He comforts me but it is my fault. “We’ll get him out. You should call your attorney and see what he says.”
He’s right, I need to call Heller and get this sorted today.
I was supposed to see Tina today, but this is more important. I’m sitting in Michelle’s apartment with the door wide open as we wait for Riccardo to come home. Michelle is sitting on the sofa biting her nails, I doubt she has any left at this rate. Her attorney, Heller is sitting beside her quiet as he has been since he walked into Michelle’s apartment. When she was talking about Heller I expected an elderly man, especially since he’s been dealing with her grandma’s estate. What I didn’t expect was a six foot six guy, who gives Vin Diesel a run for his money in the muscle department. As soon as he heard about what happened, he rushed down here to make sure Ric leaves as Michelle doesn’t want me to get involved. Heller lives in Augusta, and by the looks of things he’s doing fucking well for himself.
Seeing Maggie’s bruised face, that split lip and bruised cheek, made me want to track Ric down and beat the shit out of him and show him what it’s like to be hit by someone stronger than him. It brought back a lot of memories. Why the fuck men believe it’s okay to lay a finger on a woman in anger is beyond me. I’m surprised that I managed to push my anger aside so quickly and keep Bryson entertained.
When the main door opens, everyone turns their attention to the person walking in. It’s Riccardo. Both Heller and Michelle rise, and I have to control my impulse to join them. “Ric, can I have a word?” Michelle asks politely.
His eyes narrow as he takes in Heller
“Mr. Montoya, I’m Clarence Heller; Miss Nelson’s attorney.” Heller holds his hand out for Riccardo to shake.
“What can I do for you?” He says through gritted teeth. Riccardo’s jaw tenses, and his nostrils flare.
“Mr. Montoya, I’ve been made aware of a situation that happened last night. I’ve taken pictures of the wounds you’ve inflicted. They will be going to your colleagues at the police department.” Damn Heller, he’s good. He’s professional but there’s a bite to his tone.
Riccardo balls his hands into fists. “What’s been said?”
“Mr. Montoya you have an hour to move your belongings out of this property. If you don’t, the police will be called, and you will be forcefully removed,” Heller informs him, I glance at Michelle, and her hands are shaking. I want to go over to her and shield her from him.
“Bullshit. This is fucking bullshit,” Riccardo shouts walking toward Michelle.
Heller blocks him. “Fifty-nine minutes Mr. Montoya.”
“You’re going to ruin my career.” He’s still shouting, and he should have thought about his career before he hit Maggie.
“We’ll make you a deal. You leave this property without a fuss and never return, and we won’t press charges.” Heller’s lying, Maggie won’t press charges. She’s too scared and told us that pressing charges will only make Riccardo angrier.
He doesn’t even consider the proposition. “Fine, I’ll be gone in thirty minutes.” He walks upstairs, and Heller follows him. We don’t want to take the chance that he’d try to go for Maggie again.
Michelle walks back into the apartment and sits down beside me and instantly begins to rub her wrist. “The next thirty minutes are going to be hell.”
“Thirty minutes, and he’ll be gone. That’s a good thing although I still think Maggie should press charges. I can’t believe that the asshole is going to get away with this.” I hate that he’s able to move out and find some other woman to do this to.
“I wish she did too, but I totally get why she’s doing it. She’s a single mom who puts her son’s safety first. She doesn’t know what Ric would do to retaliate if she were to press charges. She can’t risk it,” Michelle tells me, and it pisses me off as cops are meant to protect not scare you. “Thank you for being here today. Especially as we were meant to go and see Tina.”
“Don’t thank me, I can see Tina tomorrow. Today, Maggie needed you, and you needed me. There was nowhere else I was going to be. So where did you get Heller from? That man acts as though he’s part of the mafia.”
She laughs, and just like that, my whole fucking day has brightened. “His dad was Grandma’s attorney, and when Heller studied to be an attorney, he took the Bar and passed first time, but by that time he’d had enough of living by his parents’ rules. He didn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps, so he forged his own way. I have no idea what he did when he was gone, no one does. But as soon as his dad was sick, Heller came home and took over from John. He moved the practice to Augusta as most of his dad’s clients were old or had passed away.”
“You’ve known him a long time then?” She’s not really spoken much about those who have been in her life, well other than Ethel and Agnes.
“John Heller was my grandma’s attorney since Dad was a teenager I think. They both helped me when Grandma died, and Heller hates my mom, he hates that she asks for money.”
“That’s because she’s a bitch,” says Heller, and the two of us turn around and see him standing in the doorway. “He’s in the elevator, his apartment is empty, and he left Ms. Whitley alone.”
“Thank you Heller,” Michelle stands and walks over to him.
“Don’t thank me Shelly, I told you if you ever needed help to call me.” Before he can say anything else, the ding of the elevator interrupts us. “Now let me see this piece of shit out of the complex, and I’ll come back and we’ll talk.” Heller walks toward Ric just as Michelle closes her door, good, at least the fucker can’t see in.
“We need to change all the locks in this place, just as a precaution,” I tell her, I don’t want that asshole to be able to gain access.
“Good idea, I’ll call someone to change them tomorrow. I swear I could sleep for a week, I’m so drained right now.” She comes to sit down beside me and rests her head on my shoulder. “I’m glad he’s gone, it’s like a weight lifted off my shoulders.”
He went too easily, way too easily; this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Slick Ric.
Michelle’s apartment door opens, and in walks Heller, his face like thunder. What the fuck did Ric say to him? “Shelly, that man is a sociopath. Charges really should have been filed.”
“I can’t force her Heller. She’s scared, and there’s no getting through to her.” Frustration laces Michelle’s voice. She’s spoken to Maggie at length about what was going to happen next, and Maggie is still frightened. She doesn’t feel safe, that might change now Ric’s actually gone.
“Okay, Shelly,” Heller says dismissively, he’s pissed that Ric’s getting away with hurting Maggie. “I’ve called in my guy. He’ll be here to change the locks tomorrow. You should really have surveillance on this place.”
Michelle’s eyes widen. “Do you believe we need it?”
Heller nods. “I do, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Think about it, I’ll call you tomorrow, and you can tell me what you’ve decided.”
She nods, standing up and walking over to him. “Thank you for coming today. I really appreciate it.”
He pulls her into his arms, and I was expecting to be hit with a pang of jealousy, but I don’t. In fact, I don’t feel anything. It’s like they have a sibling relationship. It’s actually weird to see, Michelle believes she’s alone in this world but she really needs to open her eyes and then she’d see that she has a lot of people who love her.
I walk into the kitchen, leaving them alone to talk. I try to make some fried chicken and pasta, I Googled the shit out of the recipe the other night as I wanted to cook for her once. This is going to be a disaster but I’m hoping it’ll be an edible disaster. I don’t hear any voices, and I probably s
hould check on her but if I do that, the dinner will be completely ruined.
It’s a few minutes later when the kitchen door opens, and Michelle’s standing there with a smile on her face. “You’re cooking?”
“You don’t need to be so shocked!” I ignore her smirk and get back to watching the food. “You doing okay?”
She comes to stand beside me, her arms crossed as she leans against the countertop. “I’m okay, today was rough.” She turns to face me. “What about you? Are you doing okay?”
I frown. “Why wouldn’t I be?” I’m fucking glad that prick’s gone.
She cocks her head to the side, as she raises a single eyebrow. She thinks I’m full of shit. “Come on Trent, it must have brought up some memories?” She continues to stare at me, no doubt she’ll stare until I cave in and give her some sort of answer.
“It made me realize that I need to see Tina and see if she’s doing okay. Is Maggie okay?” We’ve not checked in on her for a few hours, she wanted space while she sorted Bryson out for the night.
“I sent her a text after Heller left but I’ve not got a reply. Will you be okay if I quickly run up and check on her? The last thing I want is for her to be upset; she’s safe now.” She begins to rub her scar, she’s staring at me, but she’s not really focused on me. I can see it in her eyes, she’s remembering. “I don’t want that fear she has to lead her down a dark path.”
Yeah, she’s remembering when she was afraid and alone. When that fucking monster put his hands on her. I’m glad the reason her dad’s doing time is for killing him. I’d happily do the time if it meant that asshole was no longer breathing the same air as her.
“Go, dinner will stay warm, she needs someone. No, she needs her family, and that’s you.” Her eyes widen at my words, disbelief is so clear. “You have a big family, you just have to embrace it. Go,” I tell her, and she practically runs out of the kitchen. She doesn’t see how many people love and care about her, and that’s a damn fucking shame. She needs to see it. I’m going to make sure that she realizes how much she’s loved, even if it takes me until the day I die.
Finding Home Page 11
