Daphne sits on the other end of the couch and tucks her feet beneath her. "I understand that."
The doorbell rings and I immediately tense. I took a risk coming back here knowing that Andrew has been sniffing around. I glance over at Tara. "Can you get rid of whoever that is? And if it's Andrew, I'm calling the cops."
Tara looks slightly guilty. "It's not Andrew." She jumps up and walks to the door. After peering out of the peephole, she pulls the door open. My mom sweeps in with her arms outstretched. "There's my baby. What did he do to you?"
Normally my mother's interference would drive me crazy but right here and now, I find that she's exactly what I need. She sits on the couch next to me and when she opens her arms again, I lean into her embrace.
She wipes away my tears with her thumb and then squeezes my shoulders. "Let's get you into bed, sweetie."
"Okay." The events of the morning are catching up with me and I let out a huge yawn. Being tucked into bed by my mother actually sounds like heaven.
The girls walk ahead into my room. Daphne turns back the covers and I slip beneath fully dressed. I can't seem to get warm enough. Mom tucks my covers beneath my chin the same way she used to do when I was a child.
"Go to sleep, sweetie. It'll all look better after you've had some rest."
* * * * *
I wake up a few hours later. Mom is still downstairs but the girls left. Slowly the whole story comes out and she holds me as I sob. She doesn't say anything or offer any advice but just tells me to get my things.
"I don't want you staying here alone."
Even though I really want to stay in my own bed, I agree that it would not be a good thing if Andy were to show up here when I'm in this frame of mind. It took everything I had to stand up to him the last time and part of me knows that I'm not that brave. I was only able to do that because I knew Finn was there. So I pack a bag and we ride over to my mom's modest three-bedroom rancher.
She ushers me into the second bedroom right across the hall from her room. When I helped her b
uy the house, we decorated this room with my favorite colors, soft lavender with hints of yellow in all the accent pillows. It's a very cheerful room and even though I didn't grow up in this house, my mom's warm presence makes it feel like home anyway.
"I'm sure you just want some time alone to think but I just want to say this sweetie. I never liked Andrew. He's one of them my-shit-don't-stink types. But Finn, he was always a good boy. I don't know what's going on with him but I think we should find out."
"I wish I'd listened to you about Andy."
"Well, I hope I'm right about Finn this time. He was a sweet one and boy was he stuck on you."
After she leaves, I sit on the edge of the bed. Suddenly it seems so quiet. I've never had an issue being alone before but seeing Finn like that has left me shaken.
After double-checking the locks on the front and back door, I slip into the bathroom and remove my clothes. I run the water as hot as I can stand it and then get in. The steam curls up all around me and I rest my head on the ledge of the tub. My eyes close and I let the tears flow.
What happened between us? Where did things go so wrong? It feels like a double betrayal because after how awful he was to me in the beginning, over the last few weeks he's been so different. The man who helped me clean and waited outside just so I wouldn't have to walk to my car alone at night cannot be the same man who just terrified me.
I look at the faint white lines on the back of my arm. Andrew hadn't liked the way I was talking to one of his colleagues at his company Christmas party. When we got home that night, he backhanded me so hard that I fell into a glass table.
I cringe thinking about that time in my life. Things were never great between us but that had marked a turning point when I could no longer rationalize the things he did and said to me. The ways he put me down and tried to undermine my confidence.
Tonight, for the first time in years I felt completely helpless all over again. Finn has taken away my sense of safety and that's not something I can easily forgive him for.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
FINN
When you love something, it has power over you. I knew Rissa had me by the balls but I never knew how tight her grip was until she didn't come home.
"Yes, I know she's not at work today. I'm asking if anyone there can tell me why. Has she called?"
"Sir, we can't give out that kind of information."
"I know you can't give out information about her but I'm just asking if anyone there has actually talked to her today."
I let out a groan when the person on the other end hangs up. "Damn it." The people at her company are just doing their jobs but that's little consolation when she could be hurt somewhere. Alone and scared.