Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Laura left the theater almost three hours later in a great mood. The movie had been entertaining and they enjoyed each other's company. It had started raining while they were inside, so James went out to bring the truck to the door while Laura visited the ladies’ room. When she came out, she was so distracted by thoughts of what might await at home that she walked right past the man without seeing him, even though he did an obvious double take. She didn’t even notice when he followed her to the lobby door.
“My, my,” he drawled in an unpleasant parody of a greeting.
Laura froze. She knew that voice and the sneer in it as if she’d heard it yesterday.
Jake stepped up to block the door, making a point of looking her over, his eyes like sticky hands under her clothes. “Finally went for that gastric bypass like I kept telling you, did you? If you could have made this kind of effort when we were together, I might have stuck around. At least a little longer.”
From the corner of her eye, Laura saw James coming toward them and that gave her the strength to confront her ex. “I can see you haven’t changed one bit, Jake. I’m not interested in anything to do with you. So why don’t we each go our own way and forget the last two minutes.” She turned away from him and went to the next door, waving to James.
“Oh, you think you can brush me off, you arrogant cunt? You always did think you were better than me, just because you’d rather read a book than pay attention to your fucking husband! Like I didn’t know what was in those books,” he sneered. “You like that porno stuff, Laura? Huh? You like reading about sluts getting spanked and tied up? Yeah? Sucking on cocks while they’re fucked up the ass? Is that what you like?”
Jake had been entirely focused on Laura and only now noticed James approaching. His face reddened. “You cheating whore!” Jake roared, raising a fist.
Laura instinctively flinched, but James burst through the door, yanking her behind him. Jake wasn’t as eager to hit a man as a woman and stepped back, his chest heaving and the pulse at this temple beating ferociously.
Feeling helpless, Laura looked around the lobby, but although several people were watching from a safe distance, clearly no one was going to get involved.
“You fucking him?” Jake demanded as parents herded their families out of the theater. “Huh? Stupid cock-slobbering slut, you answer me!”
Laura refused to cower for him and stood up straight, “Whether I’m with somebody or not isn’t any of your business, Jake. We’re divorced and I’ve moved on.”
“Oh, you moved on, huh? Bitch, I left you , you useless fat cow,” Jake raged. “Yeah, always mooning around with your snotty sister and her snotty crotchfruit, and how could I forget that drooling old fuck of a father? I didn’t even notice we were divorced because you were never around in the first place! And what did you do, huh? You went out riding the dick carousel the second I let you out of my sight. I pity this asshole, having to throw his hot dog down that flabby pussy you call a cunt!”
His eyes suddenly narrowed, gleaming with cruel inspiration. “Does he spank you, Laura?” he asked, loudly enough for the whole crowd to hear. “Does he do all the things I wouldn’t, you filthy fucking slut? Does he handcuff you and let other men cuck him in his bed?” He grabbed her wrist while she was still too stunned to react, shoving her sleeve up to expose the faint rope-burns on her wrist. “Looks like he does. I bet you’ve got a butt plug up your ass right now, don’t you?”
“Enough!” Laura yanked her arm free, shaking with anger but not giving him the satisfaction of hearing it in her voice. “I will not stand here and listen to you insulting my family and me. Goodbye, Jake.” She walked away with James.
Jake followed them and took another swing, but James saw it coming and blocked it with his arm, then again stood between them. Jake again stepped back, then astonishingly let out a bellow and hurled himself at the much larger man. Stunned, Laura fumbled with her cell phone and managed to get the camera app to record the encounter.
Laura's heart pounded in her chest as she watched the altercation unfold before her eyes. James skillfully evaded Jake's punches, his movements precise and controlled. A surge of relief washed over her when James pushed Jake away, causing her ex to stumble and crash onto the ground. But her relief was short-lived when Jake swiftly regained his footing and launched himself at James once more, his fist aimed at James’s head.
Erupting in a high-pitched shriek, she desperately tried to warn James. He reacted instantaneously, turning to deflect the incoming punch just in time. Her breath caught as the fist barely grazed James's cheek, narrowly missing its target.
She winced, knowing from experience how that ham-sized fist could hurt. She felt grateful for James's quick reflexes.
Determination flashed in James's eyes, and before she could fully process what was happening, he retaliated with a powerful strike, connecting forcefully with Jake's nose. The sickening sound of impact and breaking cartilage mingled with the men’s ragged breaths and curses, and Laura's gasp mingled with the collective gasps of those witnessing the altercation.
Jake staggered back and wailed, “You broke my nose.” He held his bleeding face as he fled the scene, yelling this wasn’t over.
After shaking off some bystanders, they got into the solitude of the waiting truck. “Your ex, I presume?” James inquired in the quiet.
Laura barely managed a nod before she started laughing hysterically. When her laughter dissolved into tears, James held her. Eventually she started hiccupping and coughing.
After she had calmed down, she confirmed it was indeed her ex. They sat for a while. Both were dumfounded by the events of the night.
"James," Laura began hesitantly, her voice filled with concern, "I... I recorded the whole thing. I have it on video. Do you think we should press charges?"
James's brows furrowed. After a brief pause, he replied, "I'm not sure, Laura. I don't want to bring back too many painful memories for you. It's important to consider the consequences before we make a decision."
Appreciating his concern, she said, "You're right. It's a big decision, and I don't want to rush into anything. Let's sleep on it and discuss it in the morning. We can weigh our options and think about what's best for us."
James reached out and gently squeezed her hand, offering reassurance, then started up the engine. They drove home in silence with Jake’s memory like a ghost riding between them
Laura crawled to the kitchen table and pulled herself up by the leg. His anger was worse tonight and it seemed to be escalating with each day. Blood trickled down her face and breathing hurt. Probably her ribs again. She scrambled for her phone. She couldn’t call her sister. With two young children and a seriously ill husband, Suzie had enough on her plate. “Hi, Dad.” She tried to make her voice sound normal. “I-I fell, um, down the stairs and hit my head. I think I might need stitches.”
But it had been Jake’s voice coming through the phone: “I think you’re going to need some, too,” he purred, and then his hands were around her neck and the phone dropped from her flailing hand, Jake screaming from behind her, from the phone, from everywhere: “It’s not over! It’s not over until I say it’s over! You’re mine, you fat fucking cow! Til death do us fucking part!”
Laura startled awake and looked around, frightened and disorientated. A silhouette of a man was beside her in the bed. She almost screamed before she realized it had been a bad dream. It had been so real, so close to the last time when she had finally asked for help. She was at James’s place, and it was James in bed next to her. She was safe. Her eye fell on a clock on the nightstand, almost 3:00 am. She looked back at James. Thank the Lord he was nothing like her ex.
Laura settled back on her pillow and tried to relax, but sleep was a long time coming.
The next day, they were having a late breakfast when the doorbell rang. James answered it to find two uniformed police officers at the door. “Are you James Black?” the older officer asked.
“I am.”
“Do you know a Jake Taylor?” the officer continued.
James reached up and rested the palm of his left hand on the top of the door. “Not really. We sort of met last night. What’s this about?”
A soft, curvy body pressed against his back as Laura came up behind him, her voice laced with tension. She explained the connection between Jake and herself, revealing that he was her ex-husband and the man who had accosted them the night before.
“Mr. Taylor tells a different story,” the younger of the two officers said. “He’s filed a complaint accusing you of assault. You’ll have to come down to the station with us.”
James sensed a shift in Laura's energy as her body tensed and her eyes blazed with anger. She stepped beside him, facing off the policemen, and offering him support. “This was all Jake’s fault. How dare he try to blame James? I’m coming, too. I have proof that it was self-defense.”
The cops’ eyes were not without sympathy, but they looked at her with the kind of professional emotional distance that said they’d probably been in the middle of a thousand domestic disputes and heard a lot of heated protests from people who’d done a lot of crimes. “You’re welcome to meet us there, ma’am, but Mr. Black has to come with us, now,” said the senior officer.
“It’s okay,” said James, touching Laura’s shoulder with a reassuring, warm hand. “Let me get my coat and we’ll just go sort this out.”
Laura walked into the station, her eyes scanning the room until they landed on a uniformed officer. He led her to a small room where a woman in plainclothes stood, introducing herself as Detective Sergeant Paula Stone. As Laura settled into the seat and removed her coat, the detective began the interview, delving into questions about her relationship with James. Laura's patience wore thin quickly, her voice edged with frustration.
“I understand you need to gather information, but can we please focus on why Jake attacked James and me last night?” Exasperated, Laura threw her hands in the air. “Did you even talk to the staff at the movie theater? They saw him accost me. They surely saw who threw the first punch. How he can walk up and throw a punch at me and I’m the one who has to explain myself?!”
“We’ll get into that, Ms. Turner. Right now, I’m asking these questions because Mr. Taylor also alleges you are in an abusive relationship with Mr. Black,” Det. Stone explained.
“That’s outrageous!” Laura exclaimed. “The only abusive relationship I’ve ever been in was the one I had with Jake Taylor when we were married. That’s the reason we’re divorced.”
“Do you have proof of this abuse, Ms. Turner?” The policewoman’s face was like granite.
Laura exhaled. “Yes, there’s a scar here on my hairline from the kitchen counter when Jake hit me just before I left him. I also had to make multiple visits to the emergency room. I’m sure the hospital has the records. They took photos at the time and I used them to get a restraining order during the divorce. You should be able to look all that up, but if not, I have copies of everything at home, too.”
“What about the marks you have today? Is Mr. Taylor also responsible for them?” Det. Stone inquired skeptically. She indicated the rope marks on Laura’s shoulder that were clearly visible where her top had slipped down.
Laura struggled to maintain her composure. She had dressed so quickly, she hadn’t even thought to make sure the rope marks would be covered. “Do you know anything about BDSM?” Laura asked politely.
“I’ve seen Fifty Shades of Grey ,” the detective replied impassively “I didn’t care for it. It seemed like abuse to me, and I’ve seen a lot of abuse.”
“Well, Fifty Shades of Grey is not a particularly good example of what BDSM is about anyway.” Laura’s mind raced. “James and I have a Dominant/submissive relationship. All we do is safe, sane, and consensual. I have a safeword and I use it if I need to. Believe me when I tell you that James is a considerate man. He’s good to me and protective of me.”
“And he ties you up as part of protecting you.”
Laura refused to flinch. Looking the other woman directly in the eye, she said, “With my full consent and enthusiastic participation, yes. My relationship with James has nothing to do with abuse. Anyway, the marks I have today are from simple, soft, silk rope. I can show you some photos of me in bondage if you like. It was so beautiful James took a couple of pictures. I have them here on my phone.” She rummaged through her purse, pulled out the device, and activated the photo app. “As you can see, my arms were not bound, and I hardly look like I’m being restrained against my will, do I?”
Det. Stone reluctantly acknowledged that Laura did look free and happy. “All right. For the moment, I’ll take your word for it. What happened last night between you and your husband?”
“My ex-husband,” Laura corrected through gritted teeth. “We’ve been divorced for over four years. He didn’t like that I was leaving him and I had to get a restraining order. I haven’t seen or heard from him since it was finalized, until he came up to me at the movie theater. Plenty of people watched him verbally assault me and try to hit me. James intervened.”
“And James is your…?”
“He’s my boyfriend.”
The detective flipped some pages in her notebook. “ Did you know him when you were married to Mr. Taylor?”
“Of course not!”
“Mr. Taylor alleges you weren’t exactly faithful.”
“Mr. Taylor is a lying, woman-beating sack of shit.”
“All right, let’s keep it civil in here. So you are alleging that Mr. Taylor was the instigator?”
“Yes! He came up to me, he tried to hit me, he did attack James and he kept attacking until James had no choice but to fight back! I have video of it on my phone. Let me show you?”
The detective agreed and together they watched the recording. “It doesn’t show the starting point,” the detective said at last, “but it does show Mr. Taylor was the aggressor and Mr. Black is clearly defending you. It was quick thinking on your part to record it.”
“I’m surprised no one else did. Plenty of people were watching.”
“We’ve got people over at the theater right now. Assuming their statements match yours, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. You understand that we have to investigate these things, we can’t just take your word at face value.”
“No,” Laura said grudgingly. “I suppose you can’t.”
“I’m still not sure about this BDSM stuff, but I accept you are in your relationship with Mr. Black voluntarily and do not seem to be seriously injured.”
That seemed to be about as close to an apology as she was going to get, so Laura accepted it. “I would probably have assumed the same thing if I were you and I didn’t know about BDSM. It can be hard to distinguish if a mark is from abuse or if it happened consensually. Can we now please go to James and straighten out this mess? ”
Together, they went to the room where James was being questioned. He looked like he was at the end of his patience from going over the events repeatedly. Det. Stone introduced Laura to her partner, Det. Bill Christopher. She took her partner aside and they talked in low tones for a moment. Laura pulled up a chair next to James and took his hand in hers.
The door opened and a third policeman leaned in to mutter something at the detectives. Nods were exchanged, and when the man left, both detectives came back to the table. Det. Christopher said, “Well, our people at the theater just checked in and it appears there has been a misunderstanding. The manager of the theater is willing to give us their footage from the parking lot cameras that caught the whole fight and to make a statement, but my colleague says you have some video that doesn’t look like it was filmed with a potato, so I’d like to see that.”
Laura handed him the phone. After Det. Stone’s partner watched the video, they explained they would need to keep the phone as evidence, at least temporarily.
Laura immediately objected, “I need my phone. How long will you have it? There are also private things on it. How do I know you won’t be poking around in the rest of it?”
Det. Christopher and Det. Stone both promised that Laura’s privacy would be protected. If she wanted to, she could stay while they made an official copy and not have to leave her phone.
Their offer suited Laura, although she would be late to pick up the children.
After the video was copied, they took care of the paperwork to get James released. Det. Stone tried to talk James into pressing charges against Jake Taylor, but James declined.
“I would recommend you both apply for a protective order against Mr. Taylor,” Detective Stone advised “If he shows up or contacts you in any way, do not engage, just call us and we’ll take care of it.”
“Will it be hard to get it reinstated?” Laura asked.
“No, we have the forms here and a temporary order can be in place by the end of the day or Monday at the latest. You’ll need to meet with the judge, explain the situation and show your evidence to get the order. Then there will be a formal hearing at which Mr. Taylor may be present. At that point, the judge will rule on whether the order should be made permanent. As you know from your previous experience, you will have to renew the order each year,” Det. Stone explained.
Both officers gave them their cards in case they needed help in the future. Laura hoped it was over now, but she couldn’t help but think it was never that easy.