Chapter Thirty-Two ROWAN
Chapter Thirty-Two
ROWAN
“Dude, you look fucking miserable,” Remy commented as I walked into the locker room at the station.
I sank onto the bench in front of the lockers. I’d just finished a punishing workout. “I am,” I replied with a shrug.
“What gives?” he asked, sitting down across from me.
“I think I fucked up.”
“This about Mae?”
I nodded.
“What the hell happened? I thought things were good with y’all.”
I took a deep breath, snagging the towel I'd set on the bench beside me and dragging it over my sweaty face.
“Mae wants some time. She's mad at me because—” I paused abruptly, realizing I couldn't even explain the whole situation to Remy. I forged ahead. “I got overprotective, and she didn’t appreciate it.”
Remy studied me quietly. “I understand that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Rachel's ex was really controlling. She's good now, but it was dicey.”
“What?” My head whipped up.
He nodded slowly. “Oh, yeah. It's not a secret around town, but it's been a while.
She's good, we’re good. But I had to learn that it's her past, it's her story.
She sets the boundaries on how she manages it.
He did jail time, and he's not in town anymore, which makes it a hell of a lot easier.
I don't know, though. It would be hard for me if he was around.” He eyed me for a long moment. “Is it an ex of hers? He around?”
I shook my head quickly. “Nah, nobody from here. It's college. She asked me not to talk about it. So…”
He dipped his chin. “You have to respect that. I get it. In the end, the details don't matter. You know?”
I shook my head. “What do you mean?”
“As long as she's safe, and she's okay. It's your job to respect whatever boundary she sets around it and be there. It might be different, and she might want you to be more involved if she wasn't safe.”
I absorbed that. “What if somebody from her past emailed her out of the blue?”
“Are they here?”
I shook my head quickly.
“Well then, ask her what she wants you to do about it and then do that.”
I practically got skid marks from biting my tongue. I wanted to push and ask why, but I knew that wasn’t my place. “It's not fucking right that people can do shit and get away with it.”
“No, dude, it's not. But it's her world, her past, her story.
Not yours. And, trust me, the legal system isn't always an answer.
If you want to ask Rachel about it, go for it.
Court fucking sucks, and it's brutal. I think it's different when safety is an issue, though.
I'm not saying it's your job to call the shots then, but it's a different dynamic, different dialogue.”
I took in a deep breath and let it out, leaning back against the lockers. “This fucking sucks. I didn't even know Rachel went through anything like that.”
Remy’s gaze darkened for a beat. “Oh yeah, her ex knocked her around.”
“And he lived right here in town?”
“He doesn't anymore.”
“I don't like how many women go through things like that,” I finally said.
“Yeah, you and every guy who doesn’t think that shit is cool. We’ve got a long way to go in our world. I don't know the details, and I'm not asking because…” Pausing, he hitched his brows.
I answered his silent prompt. “It’s her story.”
“Yep.”
I let out a sigh. “How was Thanksgiving in NC?” he asked. “Rachel and I are headed there for Christmas. You going back again?”
“Nah. I figure one holiday a year, plus I'm hoping to spend Christmas with Mae.”
Remy gave me a considering look. “Well, then you're gonna have to give her that time she asked for.”
“I know.” I stood from the bench. “I'm gonna go shower.”
He clapped me on the shoulder as I walked by. I let the steaming water pound down over my tired muscles, wondering what to do. I was an action guy. Waiting didn't sit well with me. Chet’s phone number was burning a hole in my phone, but I knew doing anything about that would only make things worse.