Drawn To You: A Psychological thriller

by Ren Montgomery

  He better not be chatting up some cute teacher right now, or they’d both be sorry.

  She checked the time on her phone again, crossed her arms, looked out her side window, and noticed a police car turning into the lot.

  Uh-oh. She turned around and stared anxiously at the school. What was going on? She got a sick feeling in her stomach. What if Sean had been shot by some crazy student? Maybe that’s why he was so late! No, if that had happened, there’d be lots of ambulances and media here now, and she hadn’t heard any gunshots…

  Should she go check on him? She still hadn’t decided what to do when there was a knock at her window. Startled, she turned, expecting to see an angry Sean demanding to know why she was in his car. Instead, it was a police officer, who’s small, pig eyes looked familiar. …Something really awful must have happened.

  She unrolled her window. “Is everything okay in there?” she gestured with her head at the school. “What’s going on?”

  He seemed baffled by her question. “Ma’am, could you step out of the car please?”

  Why? Then her eyes widened. What if it was a bomb threat? She grabbed her purse and scrambled out of the car. “Is it a bomb?”

  She got a better look at the officer and noticed his name tag. P. Kipling. She’d thought he looked familiar. He was the pig who’d refused to give her Lauren Cosway’s phone number last month after Jeremy had broken in her house, while she was showering. Great. She noticed for the first time that Kipling had a partner, a skinny, Black man, named J. Waterman, who was standing beside their car. “Are you saying you planted a bomb?” Waterman asked her. His hand was on his gun.

  “What are you talking about? Of course not! I just thought maybe that was why you were here. Because of a bomb threat or something.”

  The officer relaxed and even smiled briefly. “There’s been no bomb threat. I want you to turn around and place your hands on the car.”

  Ruby clutched her purse to her chest. “What? Why?”

  “Turn around and place your hands on the car!”

  She placed her purse on the ground beside her feet, turned around, and placed her palms on the window.

  “Do you have any weapons, or anything that could poke me on you?” Kipling asked her.

  She started to turn towards him to answer, and he yelled, “Keep your hands on the car!”

  She turned back around and stood frozen in place, shoulders hunched, burning with humiliation. People were watching. What if Sean saw…? “Am I actually being arrested for something?”

  “Do you have any weapons on you?” he repeated.

  “No. Am I under arrest? What’s the charge?”

  Waterman came up behind her and patted her down. “What’s going on?” She asked desperately. This had to be about Jeremy or Tara. But how had they known she was here? And why hadn’t they arrested her earlier at her house when she’d been served with the restraining order?

  She would stay silent and find out what they had on her.

  Officer Kipling grabbed her hands one at a time, wrenched them behind her back, and handcuffed them. Fury overcame her. There was no doubt now that she was being arrested. “What the hell’s going on?” she snarled. Her face was burning, and she was keenly aware of the small audience of teachers looking on. “You can’t arrest me without telling me the charge!”

  “Ma’am, you’re under arrest for violating a temporary restraining order held by Sean Chaplin and for breaking into his car,” Kipling said.

  “That’s what this is about?”

  Kipling read her her rights before leading her towards his cruiser.

  “My purse!”

  “I’ve got it,” Officer Waterman said from behind her.

  “Look, this is all a huge mistake,” she said, as Kipling opened the door to the police car. “If you’ll just call Sean, I’m sure he’ll tell you that we can work this out privately.”

  “Watch your head,” the cop said, pushing down on her head as she got into the back seat.

  “I said, this is a—” She noticed Sean across the parking lot. He stood with a man and two women, and one of the women had her chubby hand on his arm. He looked upset.

  Ruby’s eyes lit up. Finally! Now they could work this out. Her gaze met Sean’s. He looked ashamed, then looked down.

  She finally realized that not only did he know about this travesty, but he’d done this to her on purpose. She quieted down.

  As they took off, Ruby kept her gaze straight ahead. She wouldn’t allow herself to cry. She wouldn’t give Sean, and his merry little band of onlookers, the satisfaction.

  ▬▬▬

  Ruby sat in the chair by a new officer’s desk at the Calua city jail and said again, “When am I getting my phone call? It’s my legal right, and I demand it!”

  She’d already endured being fingerprinted and photographed, and she was dressed in disgusting, used jail coveralls, and all her jewelry had been taken from her, even her earrings. Just like last time. She’d suffered enough humiliation to last her a lifetime, and this stupid prick was going to listen to her!

  “That’s not true, you know,” the cop said amicably. He was older, with graying hair and glasses. He stopped pecking away at his computer and smiled. “Nowhere in the constitution does it guarantee you a phone call. Only a lawyer.”

  “But…” She was suddenly uncertain. “But you have to let me call! My, my mom will be worried about me. I’m supposed to take her to dinner tonight.”

  “You won’t be making it,” he said, chuckling. “You were arrested late in the day. Your preliminary hearing won’t be until tomorrow morning, so you’ll be sleeping here tonight. Just be glad it’s not Friday night, or you’d be here all weekend.”

  Ruby thought back to the horrid cell, and the cots filled with drug addicts and prostitutes, and her stomach churned. No way was she spending the night here.

  “Then that’s exactly why I need to make a phone call. My mother will really worry if I don’t come home all night.”

  The cop ignored her, and she moved her wrists and winced. These handcuffs were really uncomfortable. Every time she moved, they seemed to get tighter. They were probably cutting off her circulation.

  “Please let me call,” she whined. “My mom has heart problems. This worry could kill her!”

  “All right already! Soon as I’m done booking you, you can make your call.”

  “Thank you,” Ruby murmured. Sean might think she was beaten, but he was mistaken. She held the trump card, and she was fixin’ to play it.

  ▬▬▬

  The cop led her over to a cage with a phone inside. “Local calls only. You got five minutes,” he told her, holding up five fingers.

  “Okay,” she said, trying to look suitably thankful for this favor.

  He unlocked her handcuffs and went to stand by the door behind her. He didn’t leave the room, but she decided he probably couldn’t make out what she said if she talked quietly. She’d have to remember not to yell at Sean no matter what he might say to provoke her.

  She rubbed her wrists for a moment before she dialed Sean’s cell, hoping he picked up. What would she do if he didn’t?

  Okay. Hilary was her back up call.

  She heard his cell phone being picked up, and she hoped it wasn’t one of his parents. She held her breath until she heard Sean’s subdued, “Ruby, what are you doing?”

  That’s right. It would come up from the Gibson County Jail. “I’m calling you from jail. Thanks a bunch for having me arrested. It’s made my whole fucking day,” she said.

  “You’ve got to stop…obsessing. I can’t believe you’re actually calling me from jail to try and win me back.”

  “Win you back. Get the fuck over yourself! The reason I’ve been trying so hard to talk to you these last few weeks is because I’ve got something really important to tell you.”

  “What’s so damned important that you’ve practically stalked my every move for the past two weeks?”

  “Befor
e I tell you, I want you to know that this is the last time I’ll contact you. I’ve decided if you hate me enough to…” Her eyes filled with tears, and she cleared her throat. “…to have me arrested, then I’m going to move away. Start anew, far away from you.”

  “I don’t hate you,” he said quietly.

  “It doesn’t matter. I don’t even know why I’m bothering to tell you my news.” Now was the time to drop her bomb. “I doubt you’ll even care that I’m pregnant.”

  “What? You’re pregnant?”

  “Yes.” She wished she could see his face. This wasn’t the way she’d dreamed of telling him, but it would do. Especially if it worked. “I found out almost two weeks ago,” she lied. “But every time I’ve tried to talk to you, you’ve blown me off. I thought you had a right to know you were going to be a daddy, but now…”

  “But…we used protection religiously! …It’s definitely mine?”

  “What?” she sputtered. “How could you think—”

  “Sorry, sorry,” he said. “But how could this possibly have happened?” She didn’t like the note of panic creeping into his voice.

  “Grow up. Condoms are only about ninety percent effective. You took biology, you know. I’m definitely pregnant, and due in July. Don’t worry though, we expect nothing from you. I’ll take my baby and move away. You can forget all about us.”

  He didn’t speak so she continued, “It’ll be just like Millicent with Danny. When are they leaving again? January? But of course, you won’t even have ever met this baby, so it’ll be easier to deal with not being a part of his life. For you anyway, not for him. How do you think it’ll make him feel someday to know his own daddy didn’t care about him?”

  Please don’t let him suggest an abortion.

  “Of course, I care about him! I want to help you. That’s my baby, too.”

  She looked at her nails. Dammit. Her nail polish on her thumb had a chip in it. “It doesn’t have to be. I make plenty of money to support this baby on my own, and I’ll make a good mother. Someday, maybe I’ll get married and my husband can adopt our baby as his own, and I’ll tell our child that his real daddy was a flake.” She heard him suck in his breath and decided to turn the knife some more. “We don’t need your pity. I mean, look, how great a father could you possibly be? You had me, the mother of your child, arrested just for trying to tell you I was pregnant!”

  “If I’d known, I never would have done this! How was I supposed to know?”

  “You might have listened to me.”

  He was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry. You’re right. We do need to talk.”

  “What’s the point? And that’s a little hard to do sitting in a jail cell with handcuffs on.”

  “They still have you handcuffed?”

  “Yes,” Ruby said, letting a grunt of pain enter her voice. “And I was fingerprinted, and I had mugshots taken, and, thanks to you, I get to spend the night in this hellhole. That should be real good for the baby. Something to write in his baby book. Heck, my mugshot can go in there also, as a little present from daddy. Thanks.”

  “No. I’m dropping the charges,” he said. “You’ll be out in no time.”

  Her heart soared, but she kept her bluff going. “Don’t bother yourself on my account. I’m sure I’ll beat these charges on my own. I don’t need your pity.”

  “It’s not pity! You’re having my baby! We need to work this out.”

  The cop behind her cleared his throat. When she turned, he was pointing at his watch. Her time was up. She held up one finger and pleaded with her eyes for one more minute. The cop shrugged and looked away.

  “My time’s up. I’ve got to go be put back in my dangerous jail cell again,” Ruby said.

  “Wait!”

  “What? I gotta go.”

  “I promise I’ll drop the charges as soon as we hang up. Okay? My dad can get it done. And as soon as you get out, call me, and I’ll come pick you up and we can go talk. Okay?”

  “Why would I call you? You have a restraining order against me! No. Hilary will come pick me up. Then I’ll go home and pack and be out of your life forever. I’ve always wanted to live on the East coast,” she said. “Someplace far away. Maybe New York, or Florida—”

  “Ruby, no!” She could sense his desperation. She liked turning the tables in their relationship this way! “I’ll cancel the restraining order, I swear. It was my mom’s idea anyway.”

  That bitch would pay for that too.

  “Promise me you’ll call me to pick you up, or I’ll go down to the jail and wait for you until you come out. We need to talk.”

  Ruby smiled. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for two weeks.”

  “Promise you’ll call.”

  “Fine. I promise.”

  The cop started towards her. “I gotta go. You hurry and get these charges dropped. Remember, every minute I spend in jail, so does your baby.”

  ▬▬▬

  Two hours later, Ruby was dressed in her own clothes again. She wished, now, that they weren’t so overtly trampy. They ruined the motherly look she needed to portray right now. She hoped no one mistook her for a prostitute.

  She buttoned her jacket all the way up, completely covering her cleavage, and wiped off most of her makeup, as she waited outside the jail for Sean.

  She’d just put her compact back in her purse when Sean’s car pulled up to the curb next to her. “Get in Ruby,” he said. “Let’s go someplace quiet where we can talk.”

  She got inside and closed the door behind her.

  “Buckle up,” he said nervously. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you two.”

  She buckled up, hiding her smug smile from him. She’d predicted his behavior perfectly, and she knew that now that she was pregnant, he’d never let her go. It bothered him too much to live away from his son, and to be so powerless to stop Millie from taking Danny to Ohio. He’d never let her leave him now. Not with his baby. They’d be back together before midnight tonight.

  CHAPTER 45

  Mid-December

  Sean was quiet on the way to Ruby’s doctor’s appointment, but she filled the awkward silences with a running commentary.

  “I’m so excited to find out about our baby. I can’t wait. Do you think it’s a girl or a boy? Which one do you hope it is?” she said. “…Sean?”

  “Huh?” He turned to her, his expression distant, and she blinked back tears. She missed his warmth and his humor. He used to listen to her with his whole self, as if she were the most interesting woman in the world. Now, his body was present, but his mind was elsewhere, his gaze so chilly it froze her out. No matter what she said or did, she couldn’t seem to thaw him.

  “I said, do you hope our baby will be a girl or a boy?”

  “Either’s fine,” Sean said, turning back to his driving. “And it’s not like we’ll find out today anyway.”

  “I know,” she said, stung. “But I’m hoping for a girl. It would be nice for Danny to have a baby sister.”

  “Mmmmhmmm.” Sean kept his eyes on the road.

  “What time was Danny born?” Ruby chattered on. “He’s an Aquarius. We could get his birth charts done—”

  “We’re here,” Sean said, pulling smoothly into a parking space. “I’ll check you in.” He got out, and she gathered her purse and water bottle as she waited for him to come around and open her door. A minute later, still sitting in the car, she turned and saw him across the lot, holding the outside door open for a hugely pregnant woman. He smiled at this stranger, his friendly, warm smile back in place, before going inside without a backwards glance at his pregnant girlfriend he’d left sitting in the car to fend for herself.

  Burning with humiliation, Ruby eventually followed him into the waiting room, where she stared daggers through him as he read his magazine, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were no longer speaking.

  ▬▬▬

  An hour later, Ruby was alarmed as she listened to her baby’s hea
rtbeat for the first time. It sounded alien. It sounded much too fast.

  She turned to ask Sean if that was normal, if that was what Danny’s heartbeat had sounded like, and saw that he was weeping unashamedly. He held her hand, patted her nonexistent belly, and kissed her forehead.

  “My baby,” he said. “My little one.” He wiped his eyes and kissed Ruby again, briefly, on the lips. This was the first time he’d kissed her or really touched her since he’d found the walkie talkie in her glove box.

  That.

  Was.

  More.

  Fucking.

  Like.

  It.

  ▬▬▬

  New Year’s Eve: 4:30 p.m.

  “I can’t,” Sean said. “We have joint custody and Danny splits holidays. I’ve had him all day, so Millicent gets him tonight.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Ruby said, “She always outfoxes you. She had him Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, you got him Christmas night. She had him for Thanksgiving dinner, and she took him Trick-or-Treating. You were supposed to have him tonight, and now that’s off too.”

  He shrugged helplessly. “Millicent needed tonight and the rest of it…well, that’s just the way it worked out this year. C’mon Danny.”

  Danny was sitting on Ruby’s lap on the couch. She set the storybook aside and wrapped her arms around the little boy’s waist. “What’s she gonna do, call the police?”

  “I’m trying to do what’s best for Danny.”

  “But she’s not. She’s deliberately cutting you off. They move to Ohio in two weeks—this should be your time with him, and she knows it.”

  “I wanna stay,” Danny said. “Ruby’s reading me a story. She promised to make me spaghetti for dinner and we can watch Cars.”

  “See? Call her. Tell her we’ll bring Danny back tomorrow morning.”

  Sean didn’t say anything. He merely reached over, took hold of Danny, and lifted him out of Ruby’s grasp. “You’re making a mistake,” Ruby said, crossing her arms. “For once, please listen to me.”