CHAPTER 19
ROMAN
I thought I knew what mental and emotional exhaustion was with everything I dealt with in my past, getting arrested, court trials and going to prison at nineteen years old. It all seems like a piece of cake compared to sitting in that interview room for seven hours telling my story then waiting alone in another room while James told his. Realizing that this whole thing is so much bigger than I ever imagined.
I could tell in the beginning that the detective was doubtful of our claims. I had spent fifteen years in prison for this crime that a jury of my peers found me guilty of and now I’m here with this crazy story that I couldn't prove back then but expect to be able to prove now. I can’t blame him for being skeptical. I guess Eric's reputation precedes him because as soon as he advises the detective that he is going to take my case and investigate it, he starts to take our accusations seriously.
Reliving everything that led to my relationship with Terry, and subsequently my arrest, was harder than I ever could have imagined. Telling my mom, Ryan and even Carter was hard, but I didn’t need to go into detail with them. What was even harder though and had me swallowing against a lump in my throat was knowing James was alone in his interview room retelling, reliving, his experiences with Terry and how that night actually happened. His regret and guilt over it all is so apparent. He is bravely admitting to being the one that attacked Terry, then panicked when I arrived so he called the cops and told them it was me. He was going to admit to every lie he told and hand over my old cell phone which he had kept all these years for who knows what reason. It turns out Terry found it when he was released from the hospital and since he had pointed the finger at me he wanted the phone gone. So he gave it to James as a show of trust. Manipulating him into believing that Terry was protecting him.
The whole thing made me sick to my stomach and feeling more emotionally raw than I can deal with. So when it’s finally over and they come to let me out, I walk out of that room and straight into Carter's arms and I know there is nowhere else I would rather be. This moment isn’t romantic, we have been at the police station for almost twenty hours, probably stink and have both been through the wringer but none of that matters. When I pick him up off the ground and bury my face into his neck the words just come out like they have a mind of their own.
“I love you, Tatts, fuck I love you so much, I was so scared.” His grip tightens around me and he kisses my hair.
“I told you, Muscles, you are my soulmate. Falling in love with you was inevitable. Everything is gonna be okay.” His words are as raw as I feel. “Can I take you home now?” he asks, dropping back to the floor and linking our hands, refusing to let me go even when Ryan steps forward and pulls me into his own embrace. I have so much I need to tell him and Carter about what just happened and how there is a chance to have my conviction overturned. I can’t get that time back but at least I can clear my family’s name. I just don’t have anything left in the tank to go over it all again now.
Eric moves in front of me, he lost his suit jacket and tie a few hours ago, he looks as tired as I am but somehow manages to look composed at the same time. “Everybody go home and get some sleep. Roman, I will call you in a few days after I have had some time to look over all of the notes.” With a nod and a wave he leaves. I look around for James, hoping he hasn't left yet. I’m not sure anybody will understand the protectiveness that I feel toward James. I don’t even think I understand it, but I can’t just let this guy go home alone after what he just went through in that room. The guy is potentially facing prison time and having his life put on blast. Everybody makes mistakes, especially teenagers, but not everybody has to face those mistakes in such a public manner. It is strange but I don’t hold any resentment toward him. I want to help him.
I look down at Carter, his arm still wrapped around my waist. “Do you trust me?” I ask and he nods. I drop a kiss on his lips and thank him for not questioning me. Stepping out of the huddle of my friends, I approach James as he sits on the seat Gavin just vacated, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Sitting down beside him I rest my shoulder against his.
“Come back to our place, you shouldn’t be alone right now,” I tell him and hear him sniffle and laugh as he shakes his head in disbelief that I would even offer.
“You are a really good guy, Roman.” Thankfully, he doesn’t argue and just stands up and follows us outside to Gavin’s truck. We are all exhausted so the silence on the drive home doesn’t feel awkward. Everybody, except Gavin and I, has closed their eyes. Carter is on one side of me and James on the other, both leaning their heads against the window. Likely still processing everything in their own way.
Pete and Gavin both step out of the truck in Carter's driveway and offer us all consoling hugs, James included. The heaviness of my spirit and body makes it hard to even walk upstairs behind James. I mumble a goodnight to him as Carter shows him the spare room and the half demolished bathroom before he joins me in our bedroom. Sitting on the edge of the bed I look up at him and he reads me just like he always does. He steps between my legs and pulls my head to his chest, dropping kisses to my hair and just holding me.
CARTER
We climbed into bed around eight a.m. after getting cleaned up, I've never been more happy to have a hot shower. Thankfully, I splurged on the blackout curtains when I moved in so we pulled them closed and slept all day, or tried to anyway. Even though Roman was awake for an entire twenty-four hours and left the police station physically and mentally drained, his mind just couldn’t let him rest. He was tormented by nightmares. I kept waking up to his screams and shouts, his body tense like he was preparing to fight for his life. My heart broke for him as I held him in my arms, rocking with him until his body stopped shaking and passed out again, only to be woken a few hours later with another nightmare.
As much as I want to stay in bed and sleep for four days straight, my stomach thinks my throat’s been cut, I am absolutely starving. Slipping out of bed I leave a sleeping Roman tucked in, hoping that he doesn’t have another nightmare while I'm making food.
I clearly forgot that Roman brought a random stray guy home with us last night. I probably should have questioned who the guy was and if he was likely to steal my shit but with how Roman was pleading with his eyes and asking me to trust him, I just went with it. So when I walk into the kitchen in just my boxers, a massive yawn widening my jaw, I almost jump out of my damn skin to see the guy still wearing his full suit and sitting at my breakfast bar.
“I made coffee, I hope you don’t mind. I couldn’t sleep. Your dog is very cute though, so it wasn’t too bad.” He sounds so defeated, barely even lifting his head to look at me. Which I'm kind of glad of because… boxers. Stepping into the laundry room, I grab the first pair of sweats I can find before coming back out and pouring a cup of coffee from the pot. My eyes glance at the time and see it's eight p.m. Thank God James took Hulk out, looks like he even fed him. I feel so guilty. Poor Hulk hasn’t seen us for a whole twenty-four hours. He’s definitely going to be mad at me today. I look out the kitchen window and see him sunning himself on the porch. Knocking on the window to get his attention I wait for him to come inside, but he just looks at me then looks away. Yup, he’s mad. I’ll let him be mad for a bit while I chat to James.
“I didn't get to introduce myself last night, things were kinda crazy. Name’s Carter, I’m Roman’s worse half.” I smile, offering him my hand to shake, hoping that a subtle joke might help relax him a little. The poor guy looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“James. Thanks for letting me crash here. Roman is too kind for his own good.” I can’t argue with him on that one. My man is a fucking saint.
“Nice to meet you, James. How do you know Ro?” I mean that isn’t the biggest question I have for this guy but I figure I need to start slow and ease him into the interrogation. This guy came out of the interview room after Roman so he must have something to do with his past.
“I work at the center.” Well fuck, I didn’t expect that. Now I'm even more curious.
“Okay. Cool, cool, cool. You hungry, man? I’m gonna make a shit ton of bacon and eggs, maybe some pancakes too,” I offer, hoping to entice him into opening up a little more, so far he's not giving me anything.
“I’ll definitely take some pancakes and bacon, Tatts.” Roman’s sleep-rough voice has me spinning around and drooling at the sight of his naked, inked chest. Seeing him up and about, not curled up in a ball letting his demons win, makes me so fucking proud to be his.
“You got it, Muscles. Sit down, I'll bring you some coffee.” Slapping his ass I send him over to his friend while I get a late night breakfast ready. I try not to eavesdrop on their conversation but my brain doesn’t have the same morals as I do. That bitch is all up in their business.
“Thank you for bringing me here. You have no reason to be kind to me, so I really appreciate it. If it's okay with you I think I might actually try and get some sleep.” My mouth moves before I have a chance to remind it that we aren’t supposed to be eavesdropping.
“Not a problem, man, but hold up and let me give you some food to take with you. You will sleep better with a full stomach, or so my mama would say.” James nods with a shy smile and thanks me again. I throw him a friendly wink and get back to making breakfast. Hopefully once James is upstairs Roman will finally tell me who the fuck he is and why the fuck he waited outside an interview room for eight hours for him.