by JL Hallow
Grace waited until the door closed before standing up and rifling through the bag. She was so thankful to be close in size with her friend. Not having to go back home in the food-stained clothes was appreciated. She would trash them right then and there, by then the stains would be set anyhow.
Grace stripped the obnoxious hospital gown off and gingerly stepped into the black sweatpants. Next, she grabbed the t-shirt, pulled it down over her head, and left the bra on the chair to pack away with the other stuff. It was a bit of a struggle to get dressed with one functional hand, but she managed. Her hair was left down in a tangled mess, it wasn’t worth the aggravation of trying to wrestle it into a bun one-handed, the bulky cast made that nearly impossible. If she was lucky, Caroline would help before they left. Grace scooped up the toothbrush and dabbed some of the paste on it. Brushing her teeth was such a normal activity but being able to do it there and scrub some of that hospital off her was a godsend. It was like washing away the dirt and sweat after a long day of gardening in the heat.
When she left the bathroom a few minutes later, she felt as refreshed as she could be and she was doing one hell of a job at putting up the mental block. She had thought about her loss but she couldn’t do that here. It was something she would grieve in the privacy of her own home when Aaron wasn’t around.
Gathering the rest of her things, Grace stuffed them into the bag Caroline brought, piece-by-piece. Having signed the discharge papers fifteen minutes before Caroline arrived, she was ready to go. Though, she wasn’t sure what was worse, being stuck in the hospital room for another day or going home to face Aaron. Would he care about the baby? Was she walking into her death sentence?
Grace reached the door and poked her head out, finding Caroline standing against the wall, arms crossed over her chest. One look at the usually energetic blonde told Grace that she hadn’t been the only one to not get any sleep the night before. “I’m ready. Do you mind just putting my hair up before we go?”
Caroline pushed off the wall with a smile and slipped into the room with her. She was sporting dark bags under her eyes, her long hair that she normally wore down was swept into a messy bun, and she hadn’t bothered with any make-up. “Hair tie?” She asked Grace as she held her hand out to her, waiting for the stretchy black tie to be placed in her palm.
When it was, she scooped Grace’s thick, dark hair up off her shoulders and twisted it into a firm bun. “Better?” Grace gave her a small nod and turned back to her. “Perfect. Thanks. Let’s go?”
~
Faster than Grace would have liked, the car pulled up in front of the familiar house. To her displeasure, Aaron’s truck was in the driveway and the lights in the kitchen were on. Turning to Caroline, she reached out to place a hand on her upper arm, squeezing gently. “Thank you for everything. I’ll text you as soon as I can. I promise.”
“You want me to come in with you?”
“No, I’ll be fine. I will text. I promise you, I will text you.” She reassured her.
Without another word, she opened the door and ducked out.
Caroline had ample opportunity to drop a lecture on her and she would be damned if she went the entire drive without hearing a peep and had to listen to it right as she was about to get out. She would lose all the confidence she had gained during the drive. She could do this. She could face him. He was nothing. She was a damned storm to be reckoned with. Yeah but that was bullshit, wasn’t it? If she was a storm, the knife would have ended up in him and her head wouldn’t have met the counter again.
Getting a better grip on the bag, she headed toward the house. Her idea was to use it as a weapon in case she opened the door to another fight. She was exhausted, her body worn and beat down, and another screaming match was not in the cards of what she could handle tonight. Taking a deep breath, her key found the lock and turned, allowing her to open the door and move inside. She didn’t bother calling out for him, not keen on drawing unwanted attention to herself.
Several of the downstairs lights were on but Aaron was nowhere to be found. Moving through the hallway, she made her way to the kitchen. It was freakishly quiet in the house, something that put her on edge almost immediately.
Shock was apparent on her face when she walked into the kitchen and found it spotless. Not only was it spotless but there were two candles lit and a meal with steam still coming off it sitting on the table. What the hell was this? How did he know she was coming home?
“Hey.” Aaron said, coming around the corner from the downstairs bathroom. “How are you feeling?” His usually harsh tone was actually gentle this time around.
“Why are you asking?” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Because you’re my wife and I care. I’m sorry for what I did. I didn’t mean to do it.”
“The problem is, you did and it leads me to believe that you really don’t care.”
“I’m trying, Grace.” The words were spoken through gritted teeth this time, some of the harshness returning.
“I lost the baby.” She tried to keep her tone emotionless, but her voice cracked on the last word.
Aaron froze, a mix of emotions crossing his expression before he took a step forward. At first, Grace took one back as she flinched but a moment later, her bag slipped through her hand and fell to the floor. Cautiously, she took several steps forward. Aaron met her halfway, wrapping her into a hug. A hug she didn’t fight.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I’m sorry for the things I said and for what I did.” Aaron murmured against her hair.
Grace was silent. Was it possible that deep down inside, the man she loved still existed? Grace breathed a sigh, closing her eyes as she leaned into the embrace. She knew better than to believe she would be safe there. This was how it always worked, he’d apologize, she’d forgive, and the cycle started all over again.
Against her better judgment, she let him lead her to the table.
Chapter Ten: Battle to Be Won
Present day, Aaron
Aaron leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. The rich, maroon-colored leather was tacky against the skin of his hand despite the New England cold. His lawyer, Mark Arican, kept the office hotter than hell in July. It was something that had Aaron pulling at the collar of his shirt and loosening his tie. Great, just what he wanted; to show up at court with sweat stains. Awkwardly, he shrugged out of his suit jacket and laid it across his lap. So far, so good. His charcoal button down had zero pit stains.
Across from him, Mark was droning on and on while Aaron’s frustrations built. “Dude, please. Just…silence. For five seconds, I need silence.”
Mark shrugged. “Whatever you say, man.”
Despite being in their thirties, Mark still acted like they were in their twenties. The party never ended for him. After a long day at the office, his idea of unwinding wasn’t hitting the bar but hiring a female or three and bringing them back to his house for the night with several bottles of liquor. Aaron wasn’t sure he even had a limit. Coke and Vodka were his friend’s vices. And women. The guy had never been married, opted out of having kids, but Aaron was confident he had at least two illegitimate children running amuck from his college days. At least. Still, he had been Mark’s best friend since high school and if he was honest, he was a little bit jealous of the life Mark lived.
He didn’t have a nagging wife to come home to, no obnoxious crying child demanding his attention twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. He had no rules, no one to answer to but himself. The only bills he was responsible for were his own…and Aaron knew good and well he made more than he did as a dispatcher. Twenty dollars an hour and full benefits was a great paying job but he was positive it paid less than being a lawyer. Then again, he didn’t have over a hundred grand of student loans to pay off.
Snapping out of it, Aaron looked up at Mark. “You think we have a shot of winning this case? Am I going to get sole custody of Tori?”
Mark squirmed, attempting to figure out how to level with his f
riend. “Do you actually want Victoria or are you doing all of this to hurt Grace?”
It was the first time Mark had ever called him out on it and it was apparent he was incredibly uncomfortable doing so. But it was the truth, and Mark knew him well enough to know he didn’t actually care about the kid.
“She’s my daughter.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean a damn thing. Does it? I’ll help you fight this case, I’m not going to bow out now but I don’t know why you’re wasting your money to keep me as your lawyer…”
Aaron held up a hand, silencing him. “How I choose to spend my money is my business. I want the kid.”
“Right then, you want the kid. We’ll get her then.” Mark wasn’t a standup guy but this was rubbing even him the wrong way.
Mark said nothing as Aaron stood and crossed the office. He stopped at the window and pulled the blind back. Those icy blue eyes scanned the streets. The snow was still falling, but that had not shut the court down that morning, at least not yet. It would have taken a full on white-out blizzard for that to happen. It was one of the good things about living just outside of town, it was a short drive, and one that he made easily with his truck despite the snow. He was close to his job at the police station, a job he was dangerously close to losing because of the smear campaign his ex-wife was running against him, and it was even closer to his lawyer’s office.
“You think she’s going to show today? Got less than two hours before we’re supposed to see the judge.”
“If she doesn’t, the judge will request your cooperation for a continuation, I’m sure of it. The weather…she currently has sole custody…They won’t just hand you full custody because she doesn’t show. It doesn’t work that way. You have to play nice.”
“I’m aware.” Aaron practically hissed. “I just want this shit over and done with. This bitch is going to cost me my job. Twelve years…Twelve years I’ve been with the department and they’re about to fire me over her accusations.”
“Not that it’s my business.” Mark said, clearing his throat. “Those bruises are pretty hard to ignore, and you know as well as I do, they’re not self-inflicted. You may have character references but hers are just as good, if not better. Tread carefully, Aaron. There is only so much I am good for.” Hell, he wasn’t even a family attorney.
Mark specialized in criminal trials. Which, in a way, Aaron qualified for too. If he lost custody and Grace pushed forward with the abuse allegations…
“She’s trying to ruin me…threatening me…taking my fucking house, my kid.” That temper flared.
“She is not taking everything from you. You still have your job that she is not going after. She told you in the divorce paperwork she didn’t care about the house, all she really wants is Victoria. If I were you? I’d count my blessings that’s all she wants. Sit down and cool the fuck off. Get your shit together. You go into court like that and the judge is going to laugh you right out of his courtroom.”
Aaron’s only response was a grunt.
Chapter Eleven: Insight
Present day, Grace and Greg; Two hours before court.
“So you just… forgave him?” Greg asked, brows furrowing.
“No, I didn’t just forgive him.” She shot back before she paused, taking a deep breath.
When he presented it to her like that? Well, it made it harder to defend her position and why she allowed herself to be roped into the cycle once again. “I’m sorry I snapped at you.” She muttered. “I suppose you’re right though. I kind of did forgive him at the time. It just…seemed like the right thing. He apologized. He told me he was sorry, how much he loved me, the food he made…”
She paused again, lips twitching into the smallest of smiles. “He was a good cook, you know. He rarely cooked but when he did? Incredible. Like a chef from a five-star restaurant. Didn’t matter the origin, he could cook southern food, Italian dishes, Thai… He should have gone to culinary school.”
With Greg, it didn’t seem so hard to reminisce on the good things, everyone who knew the situation resorted to immediate judgement. How could she still feel anything remotely positive for a man that put her through hell? She didn’t, really. But those memories didn’t just vanish. Those things still happened. There was still a point where things had been good. and not talking about those times did nothing to help her.
“I baked. He was a good cook but I was…am…a great baker. Cakes, cookies, brownies. I enjoyed it. I haven’t in years though. I used to make things from scratch. I have this old cookbook. It belonged to my great-grandmother. It was passed down through the family and I ended up with it because I was an only child. Of course, it’s tattered and worn, the writing faded in some spots, but I love that book. I should scan the pages…” She said absently.
Turning to Greg, she offered him a tight smile. “I’m sorry. I’m rambling. There’s so much good mixed with the bad, you know? It’s hard not to think about both when we get to talking about it all.”
Greg laughed, shaking his head dismissively. “It’s alright. You have a nice smile and I gather you don’t get to do that much.”
Grace met him with a small shrug. “You’re right, I don’t. Not these days.”
“Tell me about your daughter.”
“Victoria? Oh…she’s a doll.” She smiled again. “Bright, intelligent. This kid, she’s stronger than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. She has her days where all of this is scary. She thinks he’ll come back and get her, but she’s so full of life, she gives me a reason to breathe every day.”
“Keep going.” He said, shifting in his seat, the searing pain in his leg was starting to make him nauseous.
“She loves to read. Loves it. Every night we curl up in bed and she takes her stuffed tiger, the one she named Kitty, and we pick one book to read. Sometimes we read two. She likes the ones with animals, they’re her favorite. She loves animals. We have a dog, a German Shepherd named Gia. She adores that dog and the dog adores her. They’re inseparable.”
“That’s a good thing isn’t it? She always has someone to protect her. Shepherds, they’re great dogs. We’ve always had Labs, my wife and I. I hunt, when I have time of course. Turkey, duck, deer. We currently have four. Two were rescued, Two we bought.”
“Four? I don’t know how you do it…”
“My wife found Skitter and Chum on one of those websites. You know, the ones that take sad pictures of dogs and pull at your heartstrings? I couldn’t say no when she showed me. So the brothers joined our little pack last year. Fit right in with Pepper and Duke.”
“Your house sounds crowded.” Grace laughed.
“It can be but with the kids gone? These are our children.” He said with a slight shrug. “Empty nest syndrome. The wife is worse than I am. They come home every so often, for the holidays. Our oldest, Sam, he goes to school in-state so he comes back every other weekend or so. I think she misses someone to fuss over.”
“I can imagine. I only have one, she’s four and I can’t imagine what it’ll be like when I send her off to school. I can only hope she stays close but I understand if she wants to spread her wings and experience life. I wish I had. Maybe she’ll go across the country, maybe she’ll travel the world. I don’t know, but I hope she lives life to the fullest.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“When I was eighteen, I made a deal with my parents. I would go to college for a year, if it wasn’t working, I could leave and go and do whatever I wanted. I made it six months and then we found out my mother had cancer. Stage four. They gave her a year at most, she made it two and a half when she passed. I think…I think she wanted to see me graduate. She never did though. I dropped out shortly after she died, a few months after I met Aaron.”
“Why?” He asked.
Grace shrugged. “It was never my dream, it was hers. My dad went off the deep end for a little bit. He wasn’t the same without her around. Not even three months later he was dating Eileen.”
She was quiet
for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip. “I never said this out loud before but I think he was seeing her long before my mother passed away. I try not to think the worst of him but…she was just there, so soon after. Like at the funeral…”
Chapter Twelve: Til Death Do Us Part
Grace & Aaron; The day of her mother’s funeral
Grace sat tucked away in the living room. The chair she was sitting in had been her mother’s, it was where she spent most of her remaining days. It was placed by the window that overlooked the big pasture. When Grace was younger, they had farm animals; chickens, two cows, a couple of pigs, and a horse. One of her favorite things had been watching the animals while sitting on her mother’s lap.
But when she hit her teens, her father’s work had picked up and it left little time for the animals. They sold them off one-by-one until the only thing left was an empty barn. Her frown deepened as she reflected on it. She had been a selfish teenager. She should have stepped up and helped more with the animals, but at that age she was more concerned about hanging out with what little friends she did have.
“Do you want something to drink?” Aaron’s hand fell on her shoulder, snapping her back to the present.
“What?”
“A drink…food…anything? You’ve been sitting here staring out the window for the last hour and a half. You have to eat something.”
“I’m not hungry.” Grace waved him off.
“You have to eat, Grace.” There was something in his voice, a hint of authority that left almost no room for argument.
Aaron’s hand moved to take hers, pulling her to her feet. Immediately, his arm moved around her waist and held her body against him. He knew she hadn’t slept in days. Funny how even when one expected death, it still sucked the wind from their sails. Proof that no matter how prepared you were for it, it never made it any easier.
