Image of Me

by M. G. Morgan

  “I have to go…” Emma hopped up from her seat on the couch and started gathering her bag from the floor.

  “You don’t have to, you can stay here… I’ll help you.”

  She shook her head and I could see the fresh tears that were coursing down her cheeks. “No, he’s coming. I can’t sit here waiting for him to find me… I don’t want him to find me and…” She cut her words off abruptly and brushed her hands across her face. “I just can’t…”

  “Emma, we can go to the police together… We don’t have to let him win again. He needs to be stopped…”

  She shook her head again and swallowed hard as she made her way to the door. “No. I’m not like you. I’m not strong. And what if they don’t believe me… The way they didn’t believe you.” She let her voice drop until it was barely audible, “He’ll kill me…”

  Brody’s gaze darted between us. “What the hell is going on? What is she talking about?”

  “Brody, not now…” I cut him off and took a step towards Emma. “It’ll be different this time. There is two of us now, they’ll have to listen to us…”

  “No.” She darted past me and swung the front door open, disappearing down the stairs. I hurried after her. I couldn’t let her slip away. She’d come to me seeking help, I couldn’t just let her leave without doing something to make her safer…

  “Kat, wait…” Brody’s hand closed around my arm halting my progress. I swung around to face him my emotions frayed. He held me even though I struggled against his grip. “Tell me what’s wrong? Who was that?”

  “You wouldn’t understand!”

  “Try me…”

  I shook my head and jerked free of his hold, my body carrying itself to the edge of the stairs. I glanced back at his forlorn expression. I felt bad, he had been so good to me and yet I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the truth. I’d always wanted to tell people the truth, and now that I had the opportunity I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. The words stuck in the back of my throat. And I knew in that moment that if I didn’t tell him, that Brody wouldn’t be there for me when I got back. He wouldn’t wait for me to get sense or see the light or whatever analogy you wanted to give it. I had my chance and the moment I started down the steps that opportunity would be gone.

  “I’m sorry…” And I left. I didn’t look back. He called after me but I couldn’t bring myself to look back. I’d made my choice. And it wasn’t Brody… The best I could hope for was that he would forgive me some day…

  “Emma, wait…” I called after the young girl but she was long gone. Making it out onto the street I glanced up and down but there was no sign of her. Today couldn’t possibly get any worse… Well it could but I didn’t want to think about that.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket as I started down the street in the direction I hoped Emma had left in. Pulling it out I flipped it open and pressed it to my ear.

  “Miss Faulkner?” The strange female voice made me pause.

  “Yes, who is this?”

  “This is Officer Kennedy. I have a Matthew Henley here in the station. He seems to have you down as his in case of emergency number. Can you make your way down here please?”

  I was shocked. Was Matt in trouble? What had happened when he had run off after Angela?

  “Yeah, of course.”

  She gave me the address of the station. My mind was a mess of emotions. My thoughts crashing around inside my mind as I took in the details and started towards the bus stop. Even though he had chosen her there was still something inside me that drew me to him. I wanted to see him again. And I had to know that he was safe…

  CHAPTER THREE

  The bus drew to a stop allowing me to escape back out into the cool afternoon sunshine. The crisp air came as a relief after the stale smells that had filled it. Sucking in a deep breath I pounded down along the pavement. I had thought of nothing but Matt. There was something about him that invaded my mind. Like some sort of virus that crept inside me and slowly took over. I couldn’t shake him.

  Part of me wanted to just turn around and head home. I wanted to punish him, hurt him the way he had hurt me. But how could I blame him? I was an adult. I had made my own choices and it would be childish to hold someone else responsible for my mistakes.

  I paused in front of the old building, my eyes scanning the outside of it as I tried to compose myself and gather my wits about me. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a man with a camera. The strap hung around his neck and I could tell from the way he was glancing around him that he was searching for other members of the press… Someone had obviously tipped them off that Matt was here… It would make getting him out very difficult. Another scandal was the last thing he needed right now. He was a bad boy and it suited his image, but there was only so much that his record label would take before they dropped him. What that limit was, I didn’t know. But I sure as hell didn’t want to take the chance either.

  If I wanted to keep my career then I needed to handle this as carefully as I could. And if that meant doing the impossible, then I would just have to find a way to make it a little more possible.

  Climbing the steps, I tried to slip past the photographer with a nonchalant look on my face. He gave me a funny look, sort of studying my face before returning his gaze back to his camera.

  The front desk was quiet and I had to strain around the corner in order to catch the eye of one of the young officers. I had to practically stand on tip toe to lean against the top of the counter. He strolled out to the desk with a half smile, half grimace creasing his lips.

  “Can I help you?”

  “I received a phone call from an Officer Kennedy regarding Matthew Henley.”

  His expression turned curious as he tugged a phone out from under the desk and lifted it to his ear. “What’s your name?”

  “Kat Faulkner.”

  He spoke quietly into the phone for a few minutes before replacing the phone on the cradle and gesturing to the benches lining the opposite wall.

  “If you take a seat over there, Kennedy will be with you in a few minutes.”

  Nodding I turned and made my way over to the seats and sat with my back pressed against the wall.

  “We had to toss the photographer outside… I’m afraid we can’t help you with your publicity stunt…”

  “I didn’t tip the press off… Someone else must have done that. With him hanging around outside it makes my job much harder.”

  “Well, it’s about to get a whole lot harder. A couple more have arrived, I can see them on the security camera.”

  I dropped my head into my hands and groaned. It was just the type of situation that could rapidly spiral out of control. I didn’t have enough experience with this type of scenario and what I was meant to do was beyond me. Stephanie would know. I toyed with the idea of ringing her and asking for her advice but I quickly dismissed it. She would only take pleasure in my failure and she’d use it against me. I didn’t know how she would, but Stephanie had her ways and I didn’t want to be at her mercy.

  A small petite woman appeared at the door leading to the offices and holding area behind the front desk. Her expression was severe and even though I was taller than her there was something intimidating about her. I stood as she spotted me and came out into the foyer. Her brown hair was pinned back only adding to her severe look. I could imagine her being very attractive if she just smiled. But working in this type of environment obviously didn’t lend itself to happiness and relaxation.

  “Miss Faulkner, follow me, there is some paper work I’ll need you to fill out…”

  I walked behind her as she disappeared once more back beyond the frosted glass door. The offices beyond were busier than I expected and I couldn’t help but take in the scenes unfolding before me.

  It wasn’t my first time in a police station. Watching everything unfold in front of me brought it all back. The police station back home was smaller, it had an almost claustrophobic feel to it. The smell of strong coffee that had o
bviously been brewed hours before hand made me feel light headed as I sat and waited for someone to come and take the cuffs off me. Why they had felt the need to cuff me I didn’t know. I didn’t struggle or put up any sort of an argument when the cops had arrived at the school that afternoon. I was too upset, a sort of frozen anxiety that had settled over me, leaving me cold.

  I remembered the almost dead feel of my limbs as I had walked through the police station to the cell where they had left me to wait for my parents to come and pick me up. It didn’t matter who I tried to explain my story to they didn’t want to hear it. Mr Craigsdale was an upstanding member of the community and anyway, teachers just didn’t do what I was accusing him of. It was unheard of… Or at least if it did happen no one else talked about it.

  “Miss Faulkner, are you listening to me?”

  I snapped my head up as the police officer’s voice finally filtered through my thoughts and dragged me back into the present.

  “Sorry, I was miles away.”

  Her expression was serious as she took a seat at the desk and gestured for me to sit across from her.

  “Look, this is a serious situation, I need your full attention for all of this… Matthew is in potentially a lot of trouble…”

  “What happened?”

  She sighed and stared down at the pile of papers in front of her. “He followed a Miss Angela Lansbury home, caused a disturbance outside the residence she is staying at. And assaulted someone that came to her assistance…”

  I covered my mouth with my hand, too shocked for words. It didn’t seem possible. Matt wasn’t like that. Why would he attack someone? I understood his need to see his son, but resorting to violence… That didn’t sound like the Matt who had held me in his arms the night before.

  “There has to be some sort of mistake… Matt just wouldn’t attack someone… he’s not like that…”

  “How well do you know, Matthew Henley?”

  I shrugged my shoulders, unsure how I could answer that question without sounding ridiculous. I didn’t really know him. I hadn’t seen him in years, not until he had walked back into my life… But that didn’t change what I felt. And deep down there was something inside me that felt as though it knew Matt. Knew him in way that couldn’t be explained, knew him in a way that no one else would truly understand.

  “We went to school together and I represent him in the agency I work for…”

  She smiled sympathetically at me and lifted a rather hefty looking file from the pile on her desk. “This is his record. He has a lot of minor charges, mainly fighting and in the end most of the charges were dropped. But I suppose that’s what happens when you’re famous.” I could hear the irritation in her voice. She clearly had a problem with people like Matt who got away with things with the skin of their teeth. Call me naive but I wasn’t willing to just condemn him because he had a record. Hell by that definition I was a bad person. I had a record, for something I’d never done, but it didn’t change the fact that if you looked up my name on the police database there I’d be with my criminal blot.

  “You said I had paperwork to sign… Perhaps I’d better sign it and get my client out of here…”

  Her expression hardened as I spoke and she flipped the file shut with a slam of the palm of her hand. She shuffled several pieces of paper before finally dropping several down in front of me.

  “Sign, here and here.” She gestured with her finger and I left my name scrawled across the page. “He’ll be notified about court dates and everything else if the Miss Lansbury wants to press charges…”

  I stood and turned as I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Matt’s head was down as the officer brought him forward and reluctantly unclipped his handcuffs. It wasn’t until they released him that he lifted his head and focused in on my face. But whatever he saw reflected in my eyes made him take a small step backwards.

  I thanked Officer Kennedy and shook her hand. The look on her face was still one of disbelief as she watched me stalk out of the station with Matt hot on my heels. It wasn’t until we reached the foyer that I remembered the photographer outside. I was so angry I considered letting Matt walk out there, considered allowing the photographer to take all the damning pictures he wanted that would end Matt’s career. But I stopped myself.

  Placing my hand on his arm I halted his steps and pulled the phone from my pocket. I dialled the number of the security company and gave them our location. Once someone had promised me that the security men would arrive in under ten minutes I hung up and turned back to face Matt.

  He stood in front of me, watching me carefully, as though at any moment I might flip out and attack him. But I was tired. Part of me wanted to hit him, to hurt him physically the way he had hurt me emotionally. But I couldn’t. There was a haunted look in his eyes and something broken in his smile.

  “Kat, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t…”

  I lifted my hand silencing him. “I don’t want to hear it, Matt. Not now. I can’t do this…”

  He shook his head and dropped into one of the seats that lined the wall. I took a seat near him and fixed my gaze on the far wall. All I had to do was wait for the security to arrive and then we could leave. Once he was set up in a hotel somewhere I could go home and focus on trying to put myself back together. Not to mention deal with the news Emma and Brody had given to me.

  “I know you don’t want to hear it, but I have to tell you… I can’t let the silence go on between us…”

  “No. I don’t care how guilty you feel. I don’t care that you have to share this with me to get it off your chest. We just need to get through this and then we don’t have to see each other.”

  “But what if I want to see you? What if I’m not done here?”

  I stood and wandered away from him but he followed me.

  “Matt, it’s not fair and you know it. You can’t expect me to just be fine with all of this?” My voice became raised with every word I spoke and it wasn’t until the police officer sitting behind the desk coughed that I dropped my voice back to a whisper.

  “Kat, life isn’t fair, we both know that… But I do have something important I need to tell you…”

  “Matt, stop!” I raised my hands and plugged them over my ears. It was a childish gesture but it was the only thing I could think to make him stop.

  He grabbed my arms roughly making me gasp and look at him with fear in my eyes. It was a side to him I didn’t know. But then how could I say I really knew any side to him? Every part of Matt was new to me. Doubt began to creep in as I stared up at him. He shook me gently as though to pull me from the nasty thoughts filling my head.

  “He’s here… Craigsdale is here. That’s who I punched…”

  Although I knew Craigsdale had followed Emma here hearing it confirmed by someone who knew him, by someone from my past who had interaction with him, shocked me all over again. I felt trapped, as though he was slowly closing in on me. First he approached Brody asking for my address and now Matt had seen him. Had ended up in an altercation with him. I was next. I could feel it. But I wasn’t sure if it was something I could cope or deal with. And what if he caught up to Emma first?

  “He did it to another girl… He did it again and I couldn’t stop him…”

  Matt stared at me, the look of shock making the dark circles under his eyes stand out in stark contrast to his pale face.

  “You knew he was here? Why didn’t you tell me? Kat, what if he comes after you? And what do you mean some other girl?”

  The police officer at the desk watched us carefully out of the corner of his eye. I could feel the scrutiny of his gaze as it crawled across my skin. I wanted to scream at him to get lost. To go eavesdrop on someone else. But I held back. Instead, I dropped back onto the plastic seats and it was my turn to place my head in my hands. Ever since Matt had walked back into my life everything had become so complicated.

  “Look when security gets here and I have you safe from the prying eyes of the press I’ll tell yo
u everything. But not here, not now…”

  Two burly security officers chose that moment to saunter in through the front doors. They assessed the situation for a few minutes, discussing their options with the reluctant officer at the front desk. And within a few minutes we were being ushered out a side door into an alley where a black car with tinted windows stood idling.

  Matt shot me a smile, “Not exactly inconspicuous is it?”

  I laughed but it wasn’t a real laugh. Life was far too complicated to let go and enjoy the situation. And no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t shake the fear that Mr Craigsdale was here for a reason far more sinister than just wanting to catch up on the past…

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The hotel lobby was quiet as I booked Matt in under an assumed name. The manager was waiting for us as we headed for the lift. He smiled an open friendly look but I could feel his unease at having a loose canon like Matt staying in his establishment. I couldn’t blame him. Matt’s reputation was far from pristine. But it didn’t change the fact that this hotel had the best security teams and they were willing to work with our company.

  Climbing into the lift all three of us stood in awkward silence as the lift carried us to the pent house suite. The moment the doors dinged open I practically propelled myself from the cramped space out into the spacious hall. The large double doors at the end of the hall were the only doors on this floor.

  The manager pulled a swipe card from his pocket and unlocked the doors before I even had a chance to get there. He gestured for us both to enter and then stood to one side watching on as we examined our surroundings.

  “I gather this will meet both of your requirements?”

  “Yeah, this is great.” Matt sounded genuinely impressed as he wandered through the living room and disappeared into one of the bedrooms.

  “And the security are discussing plans in case the press find out that he’s here?”

  The manager nodded and smiled at me, a thin lipped smile that was less than friendly. It seemed the only person he was willing to be friendly towards was the man with the money.