EMBER #3
“Ma’am, it sounds like he’s stalking Ms. Alden…” The officer starts speaking to her before she cuts him off, holding her hand out to stop him.
“My son is her biological son. The man who is stalking her is his biological father. I have a reason to be worried about my son’s safety in this,” she tells the officer matter-of-factly.
Everyone goes silent. His eyes spread wide, jumping back and forth between different people. My eyes land on Harley’s, who’s eyes are already on me, watching me closely.
“This is only the second time I've been around Rawley, but Dean isn’t stupid,” I say out loud to no one in particular. “Rawley should have protection.”
The cop rubs the back of his head with his hand, clearly not knowing how to go about this. “The problem is, he hasn’t done anything to the boy to warrant a protection order.”
Charlee’s face is a mix of understanding and frustration. Dean hasn’t done anything to him as of now. He could have thought he was a random kid.
“If we had a solid pattern of evidence of him stalking your son,” he says, looking at Charlee before flashing his eyes to me. “I mean your son. I mean the boy. Then we could put a protection order in place.
“He’s her son,” I tell the officer, trying to reassure Charlee. Charlee gives me a tight smile, before looking back to the cop.
“So we can’t do anything until something happens, am I correct Officer?” she asks pointedly.
“Yes ma’am,” he tells her. He writes on a new sheet of paper in his pocket book before ripping the page out. “If you don’t have cameras, I’d suggest it. Even if it’s just to see if you can get evidence,” he tells her. “If you recognize him lurking around, give me a call and I'll come check it out.”
That gives me some bit of comfort. I can’t help but hope that he never noticed Rawley and he stays creeping outside my house.
If he’s watching me, he’s not watching Rawley, and his safety is more important.
After the cop leaves, getting all the information he can for my own restraining order to be put in place, we all stand there in silence.
“I’d like to talk to you, Ember, but I want to get Rawley home.” Charlee looks at me, our eyes connecting, and I feel nervous. The air is thick around me. She reaches out, placing a hand on my arm that's crossed over my front. “He gets anxiety too. I’m not mad. I just have more questions.”
She goes to drop her hand and I reach over and grab her hand, holding it tight when I say, “Thank you for being his mom.”
She pulls me into a hug, her arms around my neck. One of those tight hugs, that feels genuine. She’s a stranger, but she feels so familiar.
“We’ll talk later. I’ll get your number from Atlas.” She gives me a squeeze before she follows Atlas into the house.
I stand there, feeling so many different things at one time that I almost feel nothing at all.
Asher clears his throat. “Well, I'm going to head in and check the kids and Atlas.” He kisses me on the cheek and whispers in my ear. “Be nice.” Then he walks into the house without another word to Harley or myself.
I don’t look up when I speak. “I want the truth now, or this is done here and now.” I can’t look at him yet, I know I'm too vulnerable and I'll fold. I hear him step closer. “No, Harley. Don’t touch me right now.” I raise my eyes to meet his.
“I logged into your camera the night we installed it so that I could keep an eye out for Dean too,” he tells me.
“Why wouldn’t you just ask me if that was okay, Harley?” I ask him, my voice trembling with a mix of frustration and desperation.
“It was the second day I was back in your life after seventeen years apart, Ember!” Harley shouts, using his hands. “I stood by and let him hurt you once, and I was not about to let it happen again.” He pleads with me to try and understand.
“You were sixteen years old Harley, and you were a bitter ex-boyfriend,” I point out. “You weren’t an adult that could have made a difference for me.”
Harley looks at me like he wants to be sick. “I knew what he was doing,” he tells me, his eyes meeting the ground, ashamed. “I knew he was cheating, I knew he was a piece of shit and wasn't good enough for you, and I didn’t do anything.”
Finally, seeing where he’s coming from at least partially, I reach for him.
“Even if you would have told me then, I wouldn’t have believed you, Harley,” I tell him.
I widen my legs in a hard stance, arms still crossed in front of me to protect me.
“I didn’t believe anyone who tried to tell me, until I was too tired of it and saw the proof with my own eyes,” I reiterate to him.
Not that I forgive him for invading my privacy, but I can see why he thought he was in the right.
He wraps me in a hug, and plants a kiss on top of my head. I allow him to hold me for just a second.
Just as we’re heading into the house, the front door is pulled open, and Charlee and Rawley step out of the threshold.
I smile at the two of them, not sure what to say. Charlee smiles at me, looking exhausted now that she’s laid eyes on her baby. Rawley walks over to us, and I feel myself stiffen, unsure of what was said in the house.
I’m not ready for this.
“Thanks for the pizza, Ember!” he says to me before looking at Harley and sticking his hand out. “Thanks for paying me to help today, I’m gonna get the Minecraft game this week!” Harley laughs and shakes his hand.
My heart flutters and my eyes meet Charlee’s again. The look in her eye isn’t sadness, and it isn’t joy either. I guess we both have a lot of feelings to navigate.
“Yeah, man, no problem. We got a good bit done today,” Harley assures him.
“I hope everything goes okay for you,” Charlee says to me, “Be safe, and I’ll call you soon.” She and Rawley head to the car and I hear Rawley ask if I'm okay, and my heart stutters once again. I shouldn’t care that he seems to care. He’s just a curious kid.
We walk inside and find Atlas raiding the fridge. She pushes the door closed when we get closer, turning to look at us.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Ember?” Atlas asks with clear anger in her voice. I knew this was coming.
“Because nothing has really happened,” I tell her. “Until recently.” Which is mostly true. I knew he’d followed me, but he hadn’t done more than just send texts.
“You should have told me.” She looks at me pointedly. She's not mad, she’s scared. I walk over to her and pull her close. “I promise I'll tell you everything, but right now I am emotionally wiped,” I say, my body still not completely relaxed after today’s events.
“We got a good chunk of stuff done today.” Harley speaks up, trying to lighten the mood. “If there is anything else that’s a priority, just let me know,” he says as he pulls her into a hug as if she’s his own sister.
“I’ll let you know,” she says as she hugs him back before letting go. “Just take care of my sister.”