Betrayed

Chapter 3: Get a Grip

Officer Brax drove in silence and let me cry. For a while, I didn't care about anything but how hurt I was. The pain in my chest made it hard for me to breathe. What the f**k just happened? My thoughts started going haywire. Why would he do this to me? To us! My heart started pumping faster. How could he do this if he actually loves me? You can't do that to someone you love! He doesn't love me! I'm not-

Officer Brax grabbed my hand. I realized at that moment that I was hyperventilating. I turned to him and saw tears running down his face. I no longer thought about my pain. He shouldn't be comforting me when he has just lost his spouse and his life too. The only thing that made my situation better than his was that John was fighting for me. Jessica was fighting for John, not her husband. I turned my hand over to hold his properly. His tears came down faster, but he didn't sob; he didn't sniffle. Not a sound came out of him.

“Officer Brax?” I said softly, trying to get his attention.

“Dean. You can call me Dean,” he said without looking at me.

“Dean… I know you're not okay, but…are you okay?” I asked stupidly, assuming he would know what I meant. He chuckled.

“I'm about as okay as you are, Mrs. Addams,” He said.

“You can call me Aurora.” He looked over to me quickly, then looked back at the road. “To be honest, Dean, and I hope I'm not overstepping, but I think you might be doing worse than me.”

He didn't look at me this time. He just stared forward. He stood silent for a few minutes before he said, “Yeah, I think you're right.” His tears started again. “Watching her fight like that for him…it had me wondering.”

“About what?”

“How much I meant to her. She's never fought anyone like that for me. When my ex came back to me and tried to get me to leave her, she reacted by telling me ‘if you want to go with her then just go, but don't expect me to beg or cry.’ I meant nothing to her this whole time.” I felt so bad for him. At least John was trying to convince me he loved me. Jessica hadn't shown Dean any love or loyalty towards him at all.

“I'm sorry,” I said to him.

“Don't be. Her love was never there. I can't miss something that never existed. You, on the other hand, have just had your life and love snatched from you. I can't imagine how you feel right now.” At that, I laughed, which caught him off guard. “What's so funny?”

“This whole time, I've been thinking the same about you. I've been thinking, 'at least John is fighting for me to believe he loves me. I can't imagine how he feels seeing his wife not care that he's hurt.’ And here you are thinking of how much I must be hurting.” I chuckled again.

“Yeah, I guess that is kinda messed up. But I promise I'm not as bad as you think. Like I said, you can't miss something you never had.”

I nodded. “Where are we going?” I asked him, not recognizing the area we pulled into.

“This is my neighborhood. I hope you don't mind, but I thought you were right about being unable to stay in your house after that,” he replied.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You told John you couldn't stay there even if he left. I realized you were right. The memories we've had there, mixed with the thoughts of Jessica having another man in our bed, are just too much. I feel like I might destroy the entire house.” Of course, he would feel the same. It's hard to stay in a place that holds so many memories and so much pain at the same time.

“Where are you planning on going?”

“I have a friend who owns a motel and rents certain rooms out on a month-to-month basis. That's where I was taking you until I thought about what you said. The rooms are cheap, so they aren't the best, but there's a roof and four walls.” He explained like he was trying to convince me.

“That's okay. I'm perfectly fine with that. Anything beats staying at home.” He looked relieved as he pulled into a driveway. The house was pretty and was about twice the size of mine. “Do you want me to wait here, or do you need help?” I asked.

“Come on in. It's too hot to be waiting out here.” I followed him inside, and it looked even prettier than the outside. It had high ceilings and beautiful decor. It would've been a house that John and I dreamed of owning. “Do you mind helping me pack some stuff?”

“Not at all. What can I help with?” I said, eager to get my mind off my sadly ending life.

“Just my clothes. Jessica used to help me pick certain things, so now I'm just lost.”

“No problem. Lead the way.” I followed him upstairs to the master bedroom and into the large walk-in closet, which was separated perfectly.

“This is my side,” he said, pointing to the left side of the room. “The left side of the dresser is mine. Socks, underwear, etc.” He pointed ahead to a wide, built-in dresser with eight drawers.

“You need me to pick out your underwear?” I asked with a smirk.

He blushed. “No, I was just making a statement.”

I chuckled. “I'm just kidding. Do you have a suitcase?” He pulled out a large one that looked like he could live out of it for a month. “Do you want to take everything or just essentials?” I asked, half joking.

“To be honest, I think I'll just fit as much as I can in here for now and come back for the rest of my stuff later. I don't want to be here at the same time as Jessica, so I might be back tonight or tomorrow with a truck.” He said.

“Will the charges stick for her to be gone for a while?”

“I asked Dom to fill out the report for us, so the assault and battery charges that involved you will be fine, but it's just a misdemeanor. However, the battery charges that she caught for biting Adrian will be felony charges because she broke the skin, and you said he might need stitches,” he replied.

“I'm guessing Dom and Adrian are the two officers that were there at my house.”

“Oh, sorry. Yeah, Dominic Bradford and Adrian Lopez.”

“Okay. But it's not a maybe. He's definitely going to need stitches.”

“How do you know for sure?”

“I'm a nurse. The wound was pretty bad for a human bite. It was gaping and jagged, which you usually only see from animal bites. It was still bleeding, too, when I was cleaning it. Bites from humans who break the skin tend to stop bleeding quickly or don't bleed much at all.” I said, now remembering how the wound looked.

“Yeah, Jessica has unusually long canines, and her teeth are kind of serrated. She likes to chew on a lot of ice, so her teeth are chipping because of it.”

“Okay, so that explains why the bite looked like an animal's. You should make sure he gets to the hospital soon. So, will that make her stay in jail for a while?”

“She'll be there until the courts open on Monday, and they'll give her a bond. If she pays it, then she'll be out that day. If not, then she'll be there until her court date.”

I nodded but still had many questions. Understanding the law has always been something that interested me. I never really wanted to be a lawyer or police officer, but I always liked to be educated on the rights people actually have vs. what they think they have. But I didn't want to have him explain everything to me right then and there, so I dropped the discussion. I knew he had the weekend at least to get his things without her being there. I started packing his clothes, and it took me twenty minutes to pack every piece of clothing he owned, including his shoes and hats. Surprisingly, everything fit in only half the suitcase. “Is there anything else you want in here? I only used half of this thing.”

“Holy s**t. I can only fit a week's worth of clothes in there most of the time.”

“It's about the way you pack everything in. Is there anything else you want in here?” He went to a large cabinet and opened it. Inside was a safe. He opened it with a key fob. I've never seen a safe open with a key fob before. He pulled out two large blue bags and two smaller gray ones. I was curious, but it was none of my business what was in there, so I didn't ask. He must have noticed my eyes staring at the bags he was shoving into the suitcase.

“It's my life savings. Jessica doesn't know I have this, and I trust you won't be telling her.”

“Of course not,” I said. He was smart to keep things from her. Based on her character, I'm sure she would try to take half of everything he owned.

“She has several accounts that she thinks I don't know about, so if she does find out about this, I'm not too worried since she has more in those accounts than I have in these bags.” He turned back and pulled out a binder and shoved it in the bag as well, along with a small box. “These are my personal documents and my mother’s jewelry.”

“Dean, I can appreciate you feeling comfortable enough to explain what these are, but why are you telling me this?”

“You looked curious. I hate having questions in the back of my head, and I know it would tear a hole through me if I couldn't find out.”

“But it's none of my business. Plus, you don't know me, and I will be staying at the same motel as you. Aren't you worried I might try to steal from you? You just met me?”

“The fact that you're asking me and telling me that I should keep my mouth shut is why I'm telling you. No one who is dumb enough to steal from a cop who is telling them what he is bringing from his safe is going to announce they are going to steal from him. You don't scream dumb to me.”

I couldn't argue, but still. “Still, you shouldn't announce your goods to complete strangers.” With that, he closed the safe and suitcase. He walked up close to me and bent his head until he was inches from me. He was so close that I could feel his breath on my face. It smelled minty. He was looking at me for a reaction, and it was at that moment that I could study his features. He was a very handsome man. His jawline was solid and distinguished. His hair was dark brown, almost to the point where it looked black. His eyes were a light hazel color with traces of green mixed in. The color made you want to get lost in them as if you were being hypnotized. His lips were plump, but not to the point where they would overpower his features. Curiosity got me again. I wanted to know how soft they were. I mentally shook myself to bring me back to reality. We both just lost our spouses. How can I even think about that right now?

“Are you going to steal from me?” He asked after what felt like forever.

“Of course not,” I replied, trying to hide my nervousness.

“Aurora?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” His tone changed. It was not like he was angry, but his voice got deeper and more feral. What was he doing? Why was he this close to me, and why didn't I want to move away from him? Again, I mentally shook myself and took a step back.

“Like what?” I said as I turned away from him and lifted the suitcase onto its wheels. It was very heavy. “Did you want to grab some other things, or is this enough for now?”

“I need to grab some stuff from my bathroom,” he said, his voice returning to his original tone. He grabbed the suitcase and dragged it from the closet behind him. I stood there for a moment.

What in the actual f**k was that? You just lost your husband, and you want to kiss some guy you just met? Get a f*****g grip!

I went to turn but then realized my underwear felt moist. Oh, come the f**k on! I was ashamed of myself. I felt like such a slut. I walked out of the closet, and Dean was standing in the room by the doorway, waiting for me.

“Aurora, I'm sorry,” he said as he stepped towards me. “I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I feel terrible.”

Wait, he's apologizing to me? For what? Asking me a legit question and me using that to get horny?

“Don't apologize,” I said, and his eyebrows went up in shock. “You asked me a legit question, and I took it the wrong way.” His eyebrows then furrowed in confusion.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, puzzled. I felt a little foolish. Maybe he didn't notice I soiled my underwear just by looking at him.

“What are you talking about?” I asked him in a sneaky, trying to hide something tone. We both stood silent for a moment. Neither of us wanted to answer the other for fear of saying the wrong thing. The atmosphere was so tense that you could cut it with a knife. “We should go so we can get settled into our rooms before it gets too late,” I said, changing the subject completely.

“.....Okay,” he said hesitantly. We both walked out of the room and went back out to his patrol car. “Aurora, if there is anything you want to tell me, you can just come out and say it. I promise I'm not going to get upset or offended.”

There was no way I was going to tell him how I was feeling. I'd already been rejected by the man I love; I didn't want someone else to think I was a fat slut and reject me again, not that I was going to pursue. “Thank you, Dean. I really appreciate that,” I said. He was waiting for me to continue, but when I didn't, he turned the car on and pulled out of the driveway. I was relieved. We were heading to our temporary home, and I realized I needed to do some serious self-evaluations.