He does what I ask, explaining to the officer on the phone what I just told him. I make my way into the kitchen and start rinsing my palms under the water, trying to get the glass out of them. Ford comes up behind me and turns me in his arms, shutting the water off. I start sobbing.
“Shhh,” he murmurs in my hair, “it’s okay baby, you’re safe now.” I hear the wail of the sirens getting closer but then I black out.
Ford
I’m sitting in the waiting area of the Emergency Room, my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. Alexis was brought in by ambulance after the cops asked her some initial questions. The paramedics assured me she was fine, all of her levels were good and she likely passed out from the shock of everything. The police searched for Sophie, but she was nowhere to be found. They said there was clearly a sign of a struggle next door and a syringe on the floor, but until they test it they won’t know what Lex was injected with.
“Alexis Carter’s family?” I snap my head up when a doctor calls out.
“Me, that’s me.” I croak, standing up, exhausted and worried. “Is she okay?”
“She’s just fine,” the woman doctor assures me with a polite smile, “all of her scans came back normal, we removed the glass from her hands and knees, and she’ll be ready to be discharged here shortly. You can come on back and see her.” Thank god. I follow the doctor back through the double doors and down the hall to her room where she leaves me to go gather her discharge paperwork.
There’s an officer inside taking her statement. She looks so fucking tiny in that hospital bed. I can’t believe Sophie would do something like this. And why?
“And then what happened?” The officer prompts her, and Lex nervously cuts her eyes to me. I round the bed and push her hair out of her face.
“Hey, it’s fine. Just tell him what happened,” I place a kiss on her forehead, thankful she’s okay.
She clears her throat. “Then, she told me I was ruining all of the plans she had with Crawford.” This time the officer cuts his eyes to me and I widen my eyes and choke a little.
“Excuse me? Plans?” I grit out, not understanding what’s happening.
“She claims she’s been in love with you for years and that she’s just been waiting on graduation. But then I came along and ruined everything, and she needed to fix it.” Lex winces and glances at me.
“Mr. James, are you in an intimate relationship with your student?” The cop has the nerve to ask me.
“Fuck no!” I growl, “She’s my student and my babysitter. That is IT!” I look at Alexis. “She actually said all this shit to you?” She flinches like I hit her.
“Why would I make this up, Ford? She drugged me and who knows what she would have done if I wouldn’t have gotten away!” She sobs.
“I know baby, shh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just surprised is all.”
“Has Ms. DeMarco made any advances towards you recently, Ford?” The officer asks, scribbling some notes in his notepad. I think for a minute.
“No, no advances," I grip the back of my neck, suddenly feeling like I’m under a microscope. “There was a night recently where I came home when she was babysitting and she had changed from whatever she was wearing when she got there to really short shorts and a tank top, but she didn’t make any “advances” towards me. You have to know, I would never EVER encourage that type of behavior between myself
and a student. Ever.”
“Zane had mentioned to me that he thought he saw Sophie coming out of your room one night when she was babysitting them,” Lex adds. “I didn’t think much of it, just assumed she was putting laundry away or cleaning up.”
“Alright,” the officer says, flipping his book shut. “We will be looking for Ms. DeMarco, Mrs. Crenshaw.” Alexis flinches, cutting her eyes to me. “Meanwhile, Ford, I’m going to need any correspondence between you and Sophie. Texts, phone calls. Anything you have. Security footage if you have a nanny cam or anything.” I nod, not taking my eyes off Alexis.
“Absolutely. I’ll bring it all to the precinct tomorrow.”
“Stay vigilant until we find her. Doors locked, windows locked. Alexis don’t go anywhere alone. I’ll be in touch.”
He leaves the room after that, leaving us by ourselves.
“Ford, I can explain..” She starts to say but the doctor comes in with her discharge papers, effectively cutting her off. I shoot her a weak smile.
“Let's get you home and then we’ll talk, yeah?” She nods in agreement.
Lex
The drive home was mostly silent. Ford stopped at his moms to pick up the kids because he wanted them with him and then we headed back to our places. I was out of his truck and heading towards my house when Ford stopped me.
“Nope.” He commanded, leaving no room for argument. “Absolutely not. Not when she’s still out there. My place. Now.” And then he unloaded Aria and grabbed her bag before herding both kids up onto the porch, where he waited for me.