Chapter Thirty #2
I nod and carefully sit on the couch, holding her as gently as possible.
Rocking her back and forth, letting her cry it out, I soothe my hand up and down her back.
My heart is heavy, and now that I’m not punching someone, that helpless feeling is back.
I don’t regret what I did to him. He was more than deserving, but I hate that it had to happen at all.
I should have warned her about him. I should have said something.
Why was I so afraid? I can’t even remember now.
“Do you want me to call your mom, honey?” I ask her quietly, guilt and shame weighing heavily on me.
She shakes her head. The sobbing is slowing down to more of a sniffle. There are tears and snot all over the front of my shirt, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The cop hands me a box of tissues. I nod my appreciation and give Lexi one.
She takes a deep breath.
“Please don’t, Dad. I can’t handle Mom right now.”
I can hear the exhaustion and heartache in her voice.
I should call her mom, but I do as she asks and wait.
Julia lets her emotions take over sometimes, and it can be a lot for the people around her.
I know Lexi can’t deal with both her mom’s feelings and her own.
Her own emotions are more than enough to deal with right now.
I’ll give her some time, then check with her again.
She may not feel it now, but she’s going to need her mom.
“Damon! Lexi! Oh my god, are you guys doing okay?” Joslyn’s lilting voice is full of concern.
Some of my heaviness lifts, and I smile despite the gravity of the situation.
There she is, dog and bodyguard in tow, her beautiful face filled with compassion and an empathy that I know is a result of her own experiences.
I can’t believe she’s here, knowing her background.
I’m stunned but grateful. I’m so out of my depth here.
Abby gets here first, nuzzling Lexi, licking her arm, and anywhere else her tongue can reach.
I love that she’s trying to comfort her in the only way a dog knows how.
Joslyn’s right behind her, sitting next to me, holding her hands in her lap like she’s trying not to reach out to Lexi and me.
She’s only met Lexi once in passing, and yet she’s so willing to help and comfort her.
It warms my heart. The bodyguard, no idea what the guy’s name is, but damn, he’s built like a Mack truck, heads to a spot by the door.
At least one of the women I care about is safe.
I wish it would help the defeated feeling in my chest.
“Yeah, we will be.” I give her a small smile and stroke my daughter’s uninjured cheek, moving her hair away from her red, bloodshot eyes with gentle fingers. Her eye is beginning to swell up, and it looks painful.
“Can you grab me some ice, Jos? Her cheek is starting to swell.”
She shoots me a supportive smile as she heads toward the tiny kitchen behind the couch. Her calm demeanor is grounding me, giving me the ability to focus on Lexi.
It hits me in a visceral way that I wasn’t able to understand before that she’s lived through something like this.
Probably more times than I could handle hearing about.
The difference is that her dad didn’t come to her rescue.
He sent her back to her abuser with no other recourse but to stay in an abusive relationship.
The reality of the kind of betrayal and hurt she must have gone through takes my breath away.
I’m getting to see, in a way that I never could have experienced before, the reality of what her life must have been like.
The strength and resilience this astonishing woman must have had to navigate through something like this and still move forward in the way she has absolutely floors me.
It’s an incredibly humbling realization.
My admiration for her continues to reach new heights.
The policeman, a dark-haired, Hispanic man named Santiago, sits in the chair next to the couch and pulls out his notebook.
The look of sad resignation on his face says he’s done this before, with disappointing results, and that’s not encouraging.
I try not to let it get me down. Lexi needs me to be positive.
“The ambulance is on its way. They’ll check you over when they get here, Miss…
?” His voice is soft and calm, like he’s done this a million times.
He’s got that ‘talk you off the ledge’ tone on lock.
A wave of sorrow hits me as I realize that he’s quite competent at this because it happens far too frequently.
It leaves me with a sense of dejection that I struggle to overcome.
“Alexandria Hawk, Lexi for short,” she answers with more calm than I would have expected.
I watch with pride swelling as my daughter pulls herself together, physically and mentally.
I help her out of my lap and onto the seat next to me.
I don’t want to let her go, but I do, pushing down the urge to lock her away for the rest of her life to keep her safe.
Unrealistic, I know, but at least she’d be safe.
Okay, that’s excessive, I know. I push my emotions deep down as she reaches for my hand.
I hold on tight, giving her all my support through that little bit of connection.
This isn’t about how I’m feeling right now.
There will be time enough for that later.
“So, walk me through what happened today, Lexi. How did this all start?”
It takes everything I’ve got to keep quiet as she walks through today’s events and the history of their relationship.
The beginning was wonderful; he was so attentive and charming.
Gradually, so slowly that she didn’t see it, he began to exert control.
First, it was what she wore, then who she hung out with, until he controlled everything, including what she ate.
I was gratified to hear that it was our dinner at Tres Margaritas that helped her to see things clearly.
It’s a balm to my overwhelming guilt. Listening to her talk about how not being able to order her favorite food that night was the tipping point for her hurts my heart.
Apparently, my dislike of Carter was more evident than I thought.
They’d been talking about moving in together, and she slowly began resisting every time they discussed it, until finally she flat-out told him no, then asked him for space in their relationship. That’s the event that precipitated his physical attack.
So much has happened to her, and I didn’t even know.
I’m not sure which part hurts worse—what’s happened in her relationship, or that she didn’t feel safe enough with me to share it.
I make a promise to myself to change that for her, so she knows in the future that I’m here for her always. No matter what.
“Anyway, this morning, I told him that I wanted to take a step back because school is going to start soon, ya know? I mean, this is freshman year, and I don’t know what my classes will be like,” she finishes.
The cop nods. I can see in his eyes that this story isn’t new to him.
I take a moment to appreciate his difficult job before focusing back on Lexi.
She pulls her hand away to adjust the ice pack Joslyn gave her, then grabs my hand again.
My heart warms knowing she still needs my support, and it’s helping to keep me calm too.
I give her another squeeze. She shoots me a small half-smile and then continues with her story.
“At first, he seemed fine, but then he started asking me all kinds of questions. Was there someone else? Who was the guy I was talking to the other day? Why was I so friendly with everyone at my job? Was I cheating on him? That kind of thing. As he’s asking me all these questions, it dawns on me that he’s been watching me.
Everywhere I go. All the time. Because he knows everything I did and everywhere I went yesterday, and it’s starting to get creepy. Who does that?”
She shoots me a confused look.
“And it all came together, ya know? I mean, I took a general psychology class during my senior year in high school. I know that kind of thing is not okay, so I started to question him. Asking him what he’s been doing and where he’s been going.
At first, he’s calm, acting like I’m the crazy one, but as I kept asking, I saw him getting frustrated and angry. That’s when I should have stopped.”
Her breath is shaky, and I can see the self-recrimination written all over her face. I squeeze her hand again, letting her know I’m there. She straightens her back and keeps going, and I’m so proud of her.
“Then, he starts getting really mad. He’s yelling and calling me nasty names. Then, his fist shoots out and catches me in the eye, and I freeze. Like an idiot, I just stood there. I didn’t run away or say anything. I just stood there. Who fucking does that?”
The tears are rolling down her face again, and it’s everything I can do not to pull her back onto my lap.
I can hear every bit of self-blame she’s feeling in her voice.
I know it’s going to take some time for her to let that go.
She looks at me and tries to smile, but it only makes her cry harder.
I can’t hold back, so I pull her into my lap again and hold her gaze.
I want her to take my words into her soul.
“You did nothing wrong, Lex. Nothing! It’s completely normal to freeze in that type of situation, especially if you’re surprised. It’s not your fault, baby girl. This is on him and him alone. You did nothing wrong.”
I’m quietly emphatic. This message is so important, and I’ll keep repeating it until it’s imprinted on her very being.
I want to hug all her pain away like I did when she was three and fell off her bike, but I can’t.
So, instead, I stroke her back in soothing circles.
She’s finally starting to relax when there’s a commotion from the hallway.
“You better arrest that asshole or else. He assaulted me. Do you know who my father is? I’ll make sure you lose your job.
Do you understand me?” Carter yells, being led out in handcuffs by the other policeman.
I try to shield my daughter, but my beautiful girl is so much stronger than I’ve ever given her credit for.
Abby growls and starts to bark. Joslyn looks toward the hallway and tells Abby to hush. She quiets down at her command, but she’s still on guard, ears up and hackles raised.
Atta girl, Abby.
“Carter? Carter Huntington?” She stands and walks toward the officer holding Carter’s arm. His look is calculating, eyes shifty, as his face lights up with recognition.
“See! She knows who I am. She’s the owner of the Wolves, and she knows who my dad is! Tell them this is all a mistake, Mrs. Robertson. He attacked me. I’m the victim here. She’ll set you straight.” His arrogance and entitlement are back in full force now that he thinks he’s found a sympathizer.
I watch Jos as her spine straightens, and an icy demeanor takes over her body. This is a woman who finally knows her own power, and it’s fucking glorious. I’m so damn proud of her because I know this whole situation can’t be easy for her.
“Oh, I know your father, Carter. And your mother,” she replies, a cold disgust filling her face.
“And I know without a doubt that they would be ashamed of your behavior today. Since she and I sit on the board for SafeHouse, I’m quite sure she’ll have plenty to say, and you can be damn sure that we’ll be discussing it.
Now, I suggest you behave and let the nice officer do his job.
” She turns her back on him and walks away.
I watch the color drain from Carter’s red, swollen face while Jos is speaking, and it’s vindicating.
He’s finally coming to grips with the realization that there isn’t a sympathetic face in the room.
But that doesn’t stop him because a minute later, that shrewd look is back on his face as he looks at Lexi.
“Lexi, baby, you know I didn’t mean it, right?
It was an accident, baby. I love you. You just make me so crazy because I love you so much.
” His pleading voice makes me want to vomit, but damn, my daughter’s a badass.
She stands up and turns toward him. Her face is a mask of pain and anger, but behind that is a core of steely resolve that I’ve never seen her display before.
The women in my life are blowing me away today.
“That’s not love, Carter. It won’t matter how many apologies you make.
We’re over. I never want to see you again.
Ever.” She turns away from him abruptly and resumes her seat next to mine.
I want to cheer. I’m so damn proud of her.
She’s breathing hard, but she’s not sobbing, and to me, that’s a win.
“Time to go, Mr. Huntington.” The officer pulls his arm before he can formulate a response and drags him down the hall.
Joslyn gives me a thoughtful look, then heads to the kitchen. As the EMTs come through the door with their gear, Joslyn returns with another ice pack.
“For your hand,” she says, and I take it, ignoring the sting as I hold it to my right hand. She reaches out and squeezes my other hand before adding, “I’m glad you were here for her, Damon. I’m glad she has you.”
I lift her hand, pressing it gently to my lips. I want to tell her I wish with all my heart that she’d had someone to do the same for her, but now isn’t the time or place.
“Me too, Jos.”
An hour later, after a thorough examination by the EMTs, the bruising on Lexi’s face, wrists, and arms is starting to show.
They didn’t suspect any broken bones or internal injuries.
I’m taking her to the hospital after we’re done with all the police questions, just in case.
The Wolves’ new team doctor will meet us there.
He’s already signed an NDA for the team, so Joslyn assures me that Lexi’s privacy is protected.
She left the room at one point to call Carter’s parents, but we haven’t had a chance to discuss it yet.
She did say that she’s meeting his mother for lunch later in the week so they can talk.
I’d love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.
I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to thank her enough for her help.