32. Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Standing in front of a crazy man, I tried to stay still as if he would forget that I was there. I still couldn’t believe he must have followed us to the rink when he was supposed to be at work.
He stepped close to me. "Speak, woman, or has a cat caught your tongue?"
"I'm Annette's friend, and she asked me to take Eric to hockey practice."
The anger that flashed in his eyes made things even worse. Yet all he did was fold his arms across his chest and say, "Bullshit."
I raised an eyebrow.
How was my answer bullshit? It would be one thing if I took Eric to a movie theater and tried to claim that we went to hockey practice. But we were literally standing at an ice rink.
Maybe he didn't believe that Eric played hockey or that Annette might have friends that he didn't know about.
Yet after spending time in the shelter, I knew Annette was a stronger woman than ever. She made friends and life skills. Plus, she was now making money on her own. Hopefully, that meant she might be strong enough to leave him for good.
He smacked me across the face. It was loud, and it stung. The gasp from my mouth as it swung to the side was so damn audible that everyone was looking at us.
I brought my hand to my face and took a deep breath. I wasn't sure what I could do.
That's when Chuck, the shelter's bus driver, and two guys that I didn't recognize came up. All three of them got in between me and Luke.
Luke screamed, "This bitch kidnapped my son."
One of the dads said, "We will not have that kind of language in front of our kids."
If I wasn't scared for my life, I might have laughed at the idea of swearing around kids at a hockey rink. I'd heard enough swear words to fill a lifetime, especially at the professional levels. But there were young kids, like Eric, who should have their ears protected.
I noticed that some of the moms near me had their cameras on us, and it seemed like one or two were on the phone. Hopefully calling in the authorities, but I didn't like the fact that I was being confused for a kidnapper.
At least things didn't seem to be escalating. It was just so tense, and I didn't see how to end things.
Eventually, one of the moms came up to me. "Are you okay?"
I nodded, but the whole time, I held my hand to my cheek. I was just in shock that a grown man slapped me across my face for basically no damn reason.
She removed my hand and looked at the red patch of skin. "Let's sit you down, and the two of us are going to talk."
That sounded like a good idea.
Luke was still screaming, "You better not let her take off with my son. I want the police."
I didn't even bother to do anything other than sit down and try to relax, although I didn't trust Luke at all.
Leaving with Eric was the last thing on my mind right now. The only thing I wanted was to feel safe and be held by Spencer.
Shit, Spencer is going to lose his shit when he hears about today. Thank God he's playing a game right now.
Then, the police came up to the building. Cops were talking to Luke while I gave my own statement. They even took pictures of my face, although I was sure the red patch was gone by now.
Not that I wanted to be properly hit, but if I had a bruise, it would seem like less hearsay.
Right as I was finishing up my statement, I heard Luke screaming, "What the fuck do you mean you gave permission for Eric to play hockey and some strange lady could take him to practice? Who the fuck do you think you are for doing that?"
Well, at least that backed up my story, and it showed that I didn't actually kidnap Eric or do anything nefarious.
I was really worried about both Annette and Eric, but I didn't know what I could do. While I had Eric's word that Luke was the reason they went to the shelter, it wasn’t proof. Luke was so pissed.
That's when the police officer asked, "Are you okay, Miss? You have gone really pale."
I didn't feel comfortable telling her that Luke had been abusive in the past, and I feared for everyone's safety after today.
"Yes, it's nothing."
The officer pursed her lips and shook her head. She clearly didn't quite believe me but didn't think there was anything in her power to make me talk. Instead, she knelt down, "We can't help you if you don't tell me."
"I appreciate it. But honesty, it's nothing substantial. It's just a feeling."
"Well, if that changes, please let us know. We're here to help." The officer nodded and got up. I appreciated her efforts and nodded. "Let me talk to my colleague. Stay here."
I had no plans of getting up. If anything, I just wanted to curl into a ball and sleep for a while.
The cop went to talk to some of the other officers. After that, the police officer said, "We're going to let you go for now. Although, we're going to ask you to let the gentleman take the child home from hockey practice since he’s the legal guardian."
I nodded. I hated that for Eric, but I wasn't his mom. I just hoped that regardless of what happened next, both Eric and Annette were safe tonight.
I forced a smile and went back to the hockey rink without my hot chocolate. If I left without telling Eric goodbye or watching a little bit of his game, he would be so hurt. I climbed into the bleachers, and I swore I could see a smile spread across his face, but it was hard to tell with the cage on.