Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Cassius
When things are good, expect them to go bad.
That should be my motto.
Every time I see light at the end of the tunnel, a storm is waiting for me on the other side.
My phone rings a few minutes from my apartment.
It’s Cammy, so I let it ring because I’ll be there in a couple minutes to see what she wants.
She’s the one who said I need to start doing things for me, and car rides with the music up and windows down, is something I can definitely do for me.
Especially now that spring has brought warm air.
I will come to regret the decision of not answering my phone when I pull up in front of my house and see a woman standing outside, screaming her head off.
It takes all of two seconds for me to realize it’s the witch.
I pull up to the curb to park and end up hitting it because I’m so frantic.
My vision is blurring on the sides. How the hell did she find out where we live? And why the hell is she here?
“What the hell are you doing here?” I shout as I get out of my car and rush toward her.
“You! You stupid little prick. How fucking dare you—” She swings at me, but I step back. “You piece of shit, you kidnapped my daughter!” She comes at me again, so I move aside.
“Stop fucking trying to hit me!” I growl at her. “You need to leave before I call the cops.”
“Call them! And I’ll tell them how you stole my child!”
Her eyes are blown wide this time. I don’t know how this woman hasn’t dropped dead yet.
“I didn’t steal anyone,” I hiss. “Get the fuck out of here, Diane. Right the fuck now before you regret it.”
Her eyes widen, and she rears back and slaps me before I can stop her. I react before I can think better of it and grab her. I shove her away, using my weight to push her down the sidewalk. She falls to the ground, screaming like she’s dying.
“Get the fuck out of here!”
She jumps to her feet and whirls on me, coming back to slap me again, but I block it.
All the rage, the hate, the anger… everything I have felt for this woman since I understood what feelings are come to the surface right now. Right this second.
Gritting my teeth, I storm toward her and get right in her face, using my height to intimidate her, and for the first time, she cowers.
For the first time, she knows I am not fucking around.
It lasts all of two seconds before she starts wailing on me, though.
Slaps. Punches. Scrapes. She grabs my shirt, yanking on it violently.
She fights dirty, as dirty as she can, and I do my best to try to get her off me without losing my shit.
I may actually kill her if I do.
I feel the tug on my wrist and hear the metal hit the ground. She goes for the watch she yanked off my wrist, but I shoulder check her to reach for it at the same time.
I don’t know when the cops get there, but they do. They’re right here, arresting us both, because why wouldn’t they?
“My watch! Get my fucking watch!” I shout, trying to turn to go back, but the cop pulls me away.
“Calm the fuck down,” he growls.
“Someone better get my fucking watch!”
I don’t know who called and who said what, but they put me in the car first.
I don’t know what the dumb bitch says, but whatever it is, she screws herself because they put her in another car. I thought they were going to let her go.
I’m panting, my face and arms are burning, and my wrists ache from being in cuffs.
I breathe in and out slowly, trying to calm myself down. The door is yanked open.
“What is going on here?” the officer grunts.
I take a deep breath and try to speak politely, but my words shake. I’m so angry, but if I want this guy to let me go, then I need to keep calm.
“I l-live here with my s-sisters. She is m-my mother. Sh-she attacked me.”
“She said you attacked her.”
I shake my head. “No. I s-stopped her from hitting me. I b-blocked her and def-fended myself. That’s it.”
“She also said you took her kid?”
I grit my teeth and take another breath, letting my head fall back. “I have custody of m-my sister. She’s not h-happy about it.”
“Do you have anything to prove that?”
Fuck. No, I don’t. No, I fucking don’t because I only signed the papers today.
“No,” I ground out.
He nods, taking notes on his little notepad.
“Hold tight. I’ll be right back.”
The door closes, and I shut my eyes, focusing on breathing. I’m going to need a restraining order. I’ll have to do that next. There’s no other option at this point. I don’t want to keep using Harmon for the pull he has, but… I will for this. To keep my sisters safe, I will do anything.
The door is opened again. “So, we can’t find anything to verify what you’re saying. She’s got a scratch on her arm, so we’re taking you in.”
“You’re what?” I shout. “Taking me in for a fucking scratch. Have you looked at me?”
“Calm down, sir. We’re taking her in too, so we can get this sorted.”
“This is bullshit! I didn’t fucking do anything! She showed up here screaming her head off, and she attacked me!”
The officer ignores me and shuts the door.
I’m so angry my vision starts to go black.
The only good thing about lying in this cell is how quiet it is. They took my mother to a different area because all she did was scream. It would be nice to know they took her to a psych ward or something, but she’d probably love that. Free drugs.
Once the heavy door was closed, I couldn’t hear a damn thing from the other side. There is no one else in this section but me, but it’s only a couple of cells in a short hallway. The bed is hard and cold, but it’s quiet… peaceful.
The door opens, waking me, and I open my eyes, shooting up when I see Harmon standing on the other side of the bars with a young officer.
“Harmon—”
The door swings open and the officer steps aside to allow me out. It almost feels like a trick, but I move quickly, staring at Harmon in surprise.
I’m not surprised he’s here; I called him. But I’m surprised he was let into the back to come get me. I can’t say I’m thrilled for him to see me like this either.
Once I’m out of the cell and standing feet from him, I want to leap into his arms. But I don’t because even though he hasn’t said it directly, no one can know we’re together.
No one can know he’s gay. He’s told me it’s a secret, that he’s worried about it ruining his company. So, as much as I want to show him how grateful I am that he showed up for me, I hold back, and that crank around my chest tightens even more.
“You fellas have a good night. Sorry about the inconvenience,” the officer says as he holds the door open for us to leave.
Just like that?
Just that simple…
I’m slowly learning what it’s like to have money and power.
Harmon doesn’t say a single word to me as we leave the station and get into his car. He starts it but doesn’t go anywhere. We sit. And though he’s done nothing to make me feel this way, I feel like I’m about to be scolded.
Everything hits me all at once, and the tears fall like rain.
Harmon’s arms are around me, his soft voice soothing me.
I can’t stop crying though. Wracking sobs fall out of me.
My body is shaking. My vision is blurry.
It comes and comes and comes, and there’s no stopping it.
I don’t even know what it all is. I can’t think clearly, all I can do is let it all out.
Right here in Harmon’s arms, in his car, parked in the police station.
“It’s okay,” he says. “You’re okay.”
“No,” I breathe out. “No, this is not okay! I can’t—I c-can’t—”
“It’s okay,” he says again, still hugging me.
“I called you and…” I take a deep breath.
“I called you and not my sisters because I didn’t even know their numbers!
I called you for help because I memorized your number and not theirs.
They’re probably so worried about me. I don’t know if they’re okay, if they know, if they saw anything…
No one would tell me anything, and I—fuck! I hate this!”
“Shh,” Harmon says in my ear, still holding on. “I’ve got you, baby, it’s okay. Let it out. Let it all out.”
My shoulders shake, and I try to form more words to explain why I’m so upset, but I can’t. I’m mad about so many things, but nothing will come out. It’s so overwhelming.
The tears finally stop, but I’m still hyperventilating. My throat hurts. Harmon runs his fingers through my hair, right here at my side, being an amazing support.
“I spoke to your sister,” he says.
“You d-did?” I ask, tugging up my shirt to wipe my face. I know it’s gross, but what other option do I have? That’s when I notice it’s ripped along the hem on the bottom.
“Cammy called me before you did.”
“Of course she did.” I huff a laugh and wipe my eyes again, noting it burns when I do. I pull down the visor and look in the mirror. There are scratches along my face and one on my lip.
“Did they take photos of those?” he asks.
“Yeah, they did.”
“We will take more, just in case.” His fingers still brush through my hair. “Are you okay?” His voice is so gentle, so soothing…
“No,” I say honestly. “But I will be.”
Nodding, he shifts in his seat and puts his seatbelt on.
“Do you want to come back to my place or go home?”
“Um, actually… I know it’s a lot to ask, but maybe you could come to my place with me? Just for a little while, I—”
“Cassius, yes. Of course I will.”
I let out a shaky breath. “Thank you.”
“Oh—” He reaches into his pocket. “I have something of yours.” He offers me his hand, the empty one. “Give me your hand.” I do, and he slides the watch onto my wrist.
“You—how did you get this?”
“The officer had it. They said you were screaming about it, so they took it with them.”
I stare down at it, running my finger across the face that now has a small scratch.
“She yanked it off, and I lost my shit. She would have taken it to sell, and I—”
Harmon gives me a soft smile. “You have it now. That’s what matters.”
“But it’s scratched.”
“Good thing you know the person who makes them.”
“But you said this is retired. You said it’s the only one you have.”
Harmon smiles. “Just trust me.”
“I—” I let out a sharp breath and sink into my seat. “Okay.”
He puts the car in drive, and we head to my apartment.