53. Chapter 53
Chapter 53
The following Wednesday, after leaving Jacob at the loft with his favorite babysitter, Casey, David met Paige at Lauren’s office a little after 6 p.m. Jacob’s third appointment had been the day before, and when it was over, Lauren had told David it was time for them to talk, much to his relief.
The moment he and Paige stepped inside the waiting room, Lauren immediately enveloped Paige in an emotional hug that seemed to last five minutes. When the two women finally separated, both were wearing affectionate smiles.
“It’s so good to see you,” Lauren said.
“You, too,” Paige returned.
Lauren looked her over, taking in Paige’s casual, yet flattering work ensemble: a flowing, ankle-length, black skirt, topped by a button-down, white linen shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, and a wide, brown leather belt. “I can’t believe how happy and healthy you look. It’s … quite transformative.”
“Thank you.” Paige felt herself actually blush a little at the compliment, partly because they could still take her by surprise, but also because Lauren had seen the very worst version of Paige, and clearly didn’t see any of that version today. “I’ve been doing what you told me to do, to live my best life, experience things in a new way, and own it. Apparently it works.”
Lauren chuckled.
“I’m glad you two found your way back to one another,” Lauren said, smiling at David for a moment.
“Me, too,” Paige said.
Lauren then took a deep breath, her expression turning serious. “So, are you two ready?”
When they nodded, she led them into her main office, which had a very strong seventies vibe, with shag rugs, mis-matched chairs, and multi-colored crocheted afghans. There were also a variety of crystals scattered around—on the bookshelves, on Lauren’s desk, and on the coffee table—some of which were pyramids, towers and beautiful spheres on little stands. A couple of aromatherapy candles were burning, filling the room with the relaxing scent of vanilla and lavender, and after closing the door, Lauren indicated they should all take a seat around the coffee table.
“Jacob’s love of drawing really came in handy,” Lauren said, as she laid a picture down and slid it over to David and Paige, who both immediately leaned in to look.
“This is Ashley, and this is Jacob,” Lauren explained, pointing to the respective figures, which had been drawn with quite a bit of detail, and were easily recognizable. She then slid another picture across the table; this one had been ripped in half, and taped back together. “And this is Ashley’s boyfriend.”
“She has a boyfriend?” David asked, even though it came out as more of a statement.
Lauren nodded. “Yes. His name is Liam, and she’s been seeing him for a couple of months, I think.”
“A couple of months?”
“Yes.”
David exchanged a long look with Paige, before focusing on the picture again, taking in the less-detailed, darkly drawn figure of a man with brown hair. He was also a little out of proportion, much larger than either Ashley or Jacob, with big hands. “She’s never mentioned him,” he said, then added, “And neither has Jacob.”
“Well, I don’t know why Ashley never mentioned Liam to you, but I know why Jacob never did, and we’ll get to that, in a minute,” Lauren told him, pointing to the dark figure. “He’s the problem.”
David took a deep breath. “Not Ashley.”
“No. Now, that’s not to say she’s not a part of this, because she is, but … Liam’s the main perpetrator.”
At the word perpetrator, David felt a little nausea roll through his gut, making everything real.
“And when I say ‘perpetrator’, I don’t mean in a sexual sense,” Lauren was quick to point out. “All right?”
“All right.”
“Now then,” Lauren continued. “He’s been at Ashley’s place almost every weekend Jacob has been there, and stays the entire time. From the beginning, Liam has been emotionally abusive—he’s told Jacob to ‘shut-up’ whenever he makes too much noise, and told him to quit whining when Liam took Jacob’s Scooby-Doo DVD away from him and wouldn’t let him watch it—” she broke off, seeing David’s expression. “What is it?”
“Jacob told me he left it at Ashley’s,” he answered. “When I unpacked his bag after that visit, I asked him where the DVD was, and if he forgot it. He said he didn’t forget it, that he just left it there, but didn’t say why. I thought it was really weird, since it’s his favorite DVD, and he wouldn’t want to be without it for two weeks. I ended up just buying another one.”
Lauren cleared her throat. “Things started to get a little physically abusive about a month ago when Jacob wet the bed over there. Jacob said Liam didn’t like it when Jacob came in to get Ashley—and based on what he said, I’m pretty sure he interrupted Ashley and Liam having sex—”
“Jesus Christ,” David muttered. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, but fortunately Jacob doesn’t know what they were doing, nor did he see anything explicit because it was dark in the room.”
David rubbed his forehead, thanking God for small favors.
“Anyway, Liam got mad,” Lauren continued. “Jacob said when Ashley went to change his bedding, Liam called Jacob a ‘pain in the ass’, pulled him by his pajama shirt and ‘hit his bottom’ for ‘pissing’ in the bed.”
“Oh, God.” Paige covered her mouth with her hand.
David was sure he looked like he was going to throw a chair through a window, because he wanted to throw a chair through a window. “He put his fucking hands on my son?”
Lauren nodded. “Liam also told Jacob if he told on Liam for ‘spanking him’, that Ashley would be mad at Jacob because she really likes Liam and she’d punish Jacob for being a brat and trying to cause problems.” Lauren looked at David. “Liam also told Jacob that if he told you, that you wouldn’t love Jacob anymore, or want to have a ‘tattletale’ and a ‘cry-baby’ around.”
As all of that settled in, David found himself almost unable to breathe, as his heart was breaking for his boy. “That motherfucker.”
Lauren gave him a moment, before saying softly, “There’s more. So, during his last visit, when Jacob wet the bed on Friday night, he was afraid to wake Ashley up because of Liam, so he didn’t,” Lauren said. “He just … stayed in bed the rest of the night.”
“Jesus Christ,” David muttered. It felt like his skin was trying to crawl off his body, and he barely felt it when Paige put her hand on his knee and squeezed.
“In the morning, Ashley asked Liam to watch Jacob while he took a bath so she could change and wash the bedding. Jacob said Liam called him a ‘fucking brat’ and ‘pushed him around’ in the bathroom, scaring him.
“Jacob wet the bed again Saturday night, but this time, instead of staying in bed, he spent the rest of the night trying to sleep on the floor. On Sunday morning, when Ashley realized what had happened again, she seemed ‘really mad’. Liam was put on bath duty once more, and as Jacob was getting into the tub, Liam pushed him, almost making him fall into the water, and called him a ‘little shit’. Liam then repeated his threat from the day before, doubling down on what would happen if Jacob told anyone about Liam.”
David swallowed hard and scrubbed at his face with both hands. “Holy fuck.”
Paige’s entire body felt like a block of ice as she pictured what Jacob had been subjected to. His having been repeatedly abused by a grown man brought a lot of her pain to the surface, and she vowed to help protect the little boy with everything she had, from this moment on.
Lauren leaned forward, resting her forearms on her thighs. “Now for the visit to the park.”
Even though David knew some of what had happened, he knew there was probably more, and that it probably wasn’t good, so he steeled himself and waited.
“When Jacob said he had to go big potty, instead of taking him into the women’s bathroom with her, Ashley asked Liam to take Jacob into the men’s bathroom, which was a little farther away,” Lauren said. “They didn’t get to a toilet in time, and Jacob basically had diarrhea, which made the situation worse. I’m guessing it was mostly because of all the stress he was dealing with, but living off McDonald’s chicken nuggets and French fries all weekend was a contributing factor, I’m sure.
“When Liam realized what had happened, he pulled Jacob by his shirt again and ‘hit his bottom hard’ several times, this time making Jacob cry. Liam told Jacob to quit being a ‘fucking cry-baby’, before taking him back out to Ashley, who then took him into the women’s bathroom. Jacob said she was ‘really mad’ while she was cleaning him up, and when she was done, they left the park and she brought him straight home to you.”
Next to David, Paige wiped her eyes while his remained dry. Ashley’s behavior toward Jacob was bad enough, but Liam putting a hand on Jacob filled David with rage—and the fact that Liam had done it after Jacob had had an accident like that … it made David actually feel murderous. No wonder Jacob looked like he’d had PTSD when he got home that day.
“There is one more thing—a good thing, actually,” Lauren clarified quickly, when David groaned in dismay. “Jacob told me that since he’s been going to Ashley’s place, a babysitter named Hannah has watched him numerous times, usually on the Friday and Saturday nights when Liam is there and he and Ashley go out, but also when Liam isn’t there. According to Jacob, Hannah is ‘really nice’ and watches movies with him, plays hide-and-seek, and makes popcorn with butter.”
“This is fucking unbelievable,” David said, picturing Ashley as she agreed to the ‘no babysitter’ rule, verbally, and in writing. Of course, that was the least of her transgressions, but still, it pissed him off to be deceived and lied to—again. It also pissed him off that a few hours with a babysitter were clearly the best part of Jacob’s weekends with his mother.
“I don’t think Ashley knows what Liam’s been doing,” Lauren continued. “Jacob said Liam’s ‘okay’ when she’s around, which means Liam is deliberately hiding his abusive nature from her. However, that being said, as Jacob’s mother, Ashley is responsible for whomever she brings around her child. She’s been very careless in that regard, especially by exposing Jacob to Liam very early in the relationship—a relationship that she’s also purposely kept from you.”
“I was careless, too.” David stared down at the table, thinking about the times he’d dropped an unhappy Jacob off at Ashley’s. “From the beginning, I knew he didn’t want to go over there—”
“But his reasons in the beginning for not wanting to go over there had nothing to do with Liam,” Lauren pointed out.
“But I still made him go. I basically kept returning him to that shitty situation.”
“This isn’t your fault, David,” Paige interjected quietly. “You had a custody agreement with her, and you did everything you could to limit the time Jacob had to spend with her.”
David glanced at Paige, noting her red-rimmed eyes, slightly puffy from crying, and her devastated expression; hearing how Jacob had been abused had obviously affected her a great deal. For a moment, he was so grateful to have her at his side during this nightmare, that when it occurred to him most of the time he’d spent with her had been when Jacob was over at Ashley’s, it gave him pause.
Had he made Jacob go because of Paige? Had he been so focused on being with her, that he hadn’t taken Jacob’s distress seriously, minimizing and overlooking it for personal gains? The thought made his skin turn cold, because if he was guilty of doing that, it made him a terrible father. “But I knew Jacob was getting worse when he started wetting the bed. I should’ve seen something was really wrong, then, and done something,” he insisted.
And maybe he would have, if he hadn’t been so focused on forging a relationship with Paige. The horrible thought kept circling back, no matter how hard he tried to push it away.
“You did see it.” Lauren’s tone took on a bit of an edge. “You just didn’t know what you were seeing, because you didn’t know about Liam. If you had, you would’ve connected the dots and been able to do something about it right away. Most of this could’ve been avoided, but the fact that it wasn’t, isn’t your fault. It’s Ashley’s, because she was irresponsible and exercised extremely poor judgment in bringing Liam into Jacob’s life so quickly, and so thoroughly. Her indifference for Jacob’s well-being enabled Liam, as did her not telling you about him.”
David appreciated what Lauren was saying, but he knew he wasn’t without blame, either. Jacob was his life, and David should’ve pushed harder, protected him better. Paid more attention, and not been so caught up in—
“Why do you think she didn’t tell you about Liam?”
He almost flinched at the sound of Paige’s voice. “I don’t know,” he answered, barely looking in her direction, having a hard time focusing at the moment, especially on the reasons Ashley didn’t tell him about her cocksucker boyfriend. That was obviously going to be addressed in the very near future, but speculating on her reasons now was a waste of time.
David leaned forward, shifting his attention to Lauren. “So, now what?”
Lauren glanced from David to Paige, then back to David. “Well, that depends.”
“On what?”
“On what your ideal outcome is.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, if you could have an ideal outcome, from all of this, what would it look like?”
David knew she was asking for a reason, so he took his time thinking about the question before answering. “Liam would be charged with a felony, Ashley would be charged with a misdemeanor, and I’d use that to get sole custody of Jacob, because full custody is no longer enough.”
Lauren steepled her hands together. “All right. So, what do you want first—the good news, or the bad news?”
“The bad news.”
“Okay, the bad news is that it’s unlikely any charges will be brought against either Liam, or Ashley, not based on what I’ve uncovered.”
He stared, appalled. “Why not?”
“Because it’s not … bad enough.”
Now, he was pissed. “What?”
Lauren held up her hands. “That’s obviously not my opinion, or yours. I do think it’s bad enough, but I’ve been around the overrun legal system long enough to know what to expect, and the most likely response to my reporting this will be … not a whole hell of a lot.
“The case against Liam is fairly strong, possibly strong enough for an investigation to be opened—and by investigation, I really mean that Liam would likely only be asked a few questions—but given the volume of reports, and the shortage of staff, it’s doubtful. But, if there was an investigation, a felony charge would be unlikely, since he could argue he hadn’t meant to say the things he’d said, and was very sorry for saying them, and his physical abuse of Jacob was nothing more than a few disciplinary ‘spankings’, which can be allowed by law. That would clearly be a stretch, given the context of the ‘spankings’, but it would come down to what would be considered reasonable or unreasonable … and since Liam didn’t leave any bruises, the case could reasonably be made against physical harm.”
Lauren paused, taking a moment to choose her next words carefully. “Also, you should know that during this possible investigation, Jacob would be questioned in an official capacity, and children his age rarely do well. It’s a scary situation for them to be in, especially after going through trauma, and the majority of the time they end up walking back their story a little out of fear, weakening the case against their abuser.”
David pictured a scared Jacob being questioned by a stranger and having to go through the nightmare with Liam again, and could hardly stand the thought of it.
“However,” Lauren continued, “if Liam was charged with a misdemeanor, chances are that he would get probation, especially if he has a clean record, a decent job, owns his own home, and appears before a judge in a nice suit and tie, looking like an upstanding citizen—maybe with his crying mother sitting behind him for good measure. But, given that he’s not a parent or guardian, his probation would probably include having no contact with Jacob, so that would be a win … at least while his probation was in effect, which could be as little as six months.”
“That’s it?”
“I’m afraid so. Now, as far as Ashley goes, her case is the weaker of the two, so if there was an investigation—and again, it would likely come down to Ashley getting asked a few questions—Jacob would be questioned during this time, too. And as hard as it would be to answer questions about Liam, it would be much harder for him to answer questions about Ashley, because she’s his mother, and even if the bond is tenuous, it’s still there. If she did end up being charged with anything, it would probably only be neglect or negligence—”
“What about ‘failure to protect’?”
Lauren shook her head. “That would only apply if she knew what Liam was doing, and failed to do anything about it, and I honestly don’t think she knows.”
David sighed. “Okay.”
“Now then,” Lauren continued, “if Ashley was charged with neglect or negligence—a misdemeanor—that would almost certainly be bumped down to probation by the judge, if not outright dismissed.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah. We have several lenient judges when it comes to single mothers, and I rarely see them proceed with investigations, let alone charges, especially against first time offenders who don’t look like drug addicts. And if that happened, Ashley would likely maintain her custodial status as long as she didn’t violate her probation, which could be as little as six months.”
“So, basically, what you’re telling me is that probably nothing will happen to Ashley, and her douchebag boyfriend would maybe get probation?”
“I hate to say it, but … yes. In cases like this, people who do get questioned during an investigation, either lie about what they’ve done or pretend they’re really sorry and are usually given the benefit of the doubt, then released. More often than not, they go on to abuse again and again, until there are injuries that can’t be overlooked and there have to be charges. But until that happens, nothing happens.”
“Fuck.” David got to his feet and began pacing around the office, disgusted and agitated at hearing all of that. “So, what’s the good news?”
“The good news is that if I submit my findings and they are deemed to be insufficient to open an investigation, there still might be a way for you to get sole custody.”
“Really? What is it?”
Lauren gave a little shake of her head. “I’d rather not discuss Plan B until we have to, okay? And I should know by early next week if we have to.”
“Okay.”
“In the meantime, I assume you’ll want to restrict Ashley’s access to Jacob, so his visitation with her this weekend will need to be cancelled.”