7. Invasion #2
“WHO’S THERE!” I heard Lola yell.
“WHO’S OUT THERE!”
There was silence for a while. Then I heard a bloodcurdling scream that caused all the hair on my arms and neck to stand up tall.
“MARRRRRRKKKKK!”
I exhaled loudly. Mark was here. I burst out of the closet and fumbled around in my bedside table for the only weapon I could find — an old bottle of pepper spray I wasn’t sure worked anymore.
Still, it was better than nothing. As I edged my way towards the door of my bedroom, I began to hear the sounds downstairs even more clearly.
“Put the weapon down Rose.”
“NO!”
“I said put the weapon down. The police are on their way Rose. Let’s not make this any worse than it already is.”
“Worse?! This is your fault for running off with that slut. Cheater!”
“Rose, we’re divorced. This is breaking and entering. You’ve gone too far now… Put. The. Weapon. Down.”
I took a step downstairs and of course, the stairs creaked again. Rose’s neck snapped around and she looked up at me with bloodshot eyes. In that instant, she hardly looked human. Her visage more closely resembled that of a rabid raccoon or an angry fisher cat.
As she turned to look at me, Mark’s gaze shot up towards mine too. He seemed relieved that Rose hadn’t found a way to hurt me.
But as he turned his gaze towards me, that gave his ex-wife an opportunity to pounce. With her weapon in hand, she leapt towards Mark.
“DON’T LOOK AT HER. DON’T LOOK AT HER.”
Mark tried to lift her body off of his own, but Rose began to land blows on his body.
“STOP IT! STOP IT!” I yelled.
My voice was hoarse and my yells came out at a much lower volume than I intended.
Rose was screaming. Mark grunted as each time he tried to throw her off of himself, she returned with greater energy.
The ruckus was so loud that none of us noticed the flashing red and blue lights as the cop cars pulled up outside my house.
The front door was wide open so we were jolted from the terrifying scene by an officer with a gun raised yelling, “POLICE! Drop your weapons!”
Instinctively, I raised my hands in the air and squeezed my eyes shut, praying that the officers wouldn’t turn their guns on me.
Rose kept screaming, but Mark had stopped fighting back.
She was going berserk and two officers pulled her off Mark and restrained her until her screams turned into heavy breathing and sobs.
One of the cops put his hand on Mark’s back.
“I got you buddy. We’ll take her in for the night.”
Rose glared at Mark and then she turned her gaze towards me. My hands were still in the air. She spat in my direction, but I didn’t flinch. My heart was still racing and I was still desperate for this night to just be over.
The cops cuffed Rose and I felt much safer after they did. One of them led Rose out the door and the other one gestured towards me after replacing his gun in his holster.
“Hands down ma’am. Come on downstairs let me have a talk with you two.”
Mark nodded and I followed downstairs. Mark barely looked at me. I didn’t understand why. I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around him and thank him for saving my life. When I’d called, he’d come, and if he hadn’t who knows what Rose could have done to me.
The cop asked if we could talk in my living room and I nodded, suddenly realizing that I was too numb to properly communicate. The cop sat us down next to each other and we both stared at the ground without saying a word for a while.
“Miss, my name is Randall Burns. I’m a friend of Mark’s down on the force. You have nothing to be afraid of, alright?”
I wanted to nod in response to him, but my brain wouldn’t allow my body to move.
“I see you must be shaken up ma’am but if you understand, we need to take a statement.”
Mark rested his hand on my thigh and then spoke up, “Don’t make her speak. Ask me all your questions Randall.”
Randall nodded, “Noted Doc. Has she met the woman who broke into her home before tonight?”
“Yes. She has.”
“Has this woman made any threats like this before, or exhibited any behavior that may suggest why she did this?”
Mark seemed embarrassed, “I always knew she was capable of being dangerous.”
Randall noted a few things down and then sighed.
“Alright Mark. And ma’am, why don’’t you just come down to the station when you’re ready. I recommend you stay elsewhere for the night just to get some piece of mind. But I guarantee you, we’ll be holding her for at least 48 hours. If you want to press charges, you’ll have to make a statement.”
“Yessir,” I managed to say.
Randall stood up and looked at Mark and me.
“Well. You folks sure have gotten yourself into a bit of trouble with this one. But if you press charges, I can assure you, the department will back you.”
“Thanks Randall.”
“Now y’all ain’t hurt, are you?”
“No,” Mark replied.
I could see that he was bleeding from some of Rose’s scratches.
Randall continued, “Alright then. Well I’ll be seeing y’all soon enough. Keep me posted buddy.”
He left the house. As he closed the door behind him, I finally allowed myself to feel real relief. Rose was locked up. And I hadn’t been hurt. When Mark looked me in the eye, I could tell that relief was the last thing on his mind.
“I fucked up,” Mark said.
“Huh?”
“I brought this into your life,” He continued, “And I had no right to.”
“Mark… You saved my life.”
“No I didn’t. I brought Rose into your life.”
“You can’t help what she did!”
Mark shook his head, “No… I can. I knew what kind of woman Rose was, and I still got involved. I still put you at risk. I can’t do that anymore Lola.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that we can’t be together. And if Rose gets out, I think you should leave town.”
“Leave town?!”
Mark nodded, “Yes. I’ll pay for it and everything… I just want you to be safe.”
“Mark, this is ridiculous.”
“What’s ridiculous is putting your life in danger.”
I looked into Mark’s eyes and saw that he was serious.
“I have to go…” Mark said, “I think Rose probably has the kids at her place and I’ll need to take them to mine.”
“Okay…”
Mark sighed, “I can tell you’re upset Lola, but this is for the best. I can’t watch you get hurt again. A real man doesn’t put the woman he loves in danger.”
“Can we at least talk about this?”
Mark shook his head, “We can’t. I’ve done enough talking.”
He stood up and then left me in my living room — confused, but at least this time I was safe. I drove myself to a motel room a few miles away, just as the cop said. I was paranoid, so I checked in under a fake name. I didn’t bother calling back my sisters. I just fell asleep.
The next morning, I knew I had a lot of work to do.
First, I had to head down to the station and file a report.
Then, I wanted to see Mark. He was trying to protect me — and I knew that.
But I didn’t need or want his protecting.
I wanted to be with him. I wasn’t willing to let Rose win.
Plus, I was still carrying his child. We cared for each other, and it only made sense that we try to work things out for this baby, rather than running away.
I called Dawn and took the day off work.
Then, I got into my car from the motel and drove down to the station.
As I got there, I started to feel anxious.
What if the cops didn’t believe me? What if they decided that Rose was too innocent looking to get locked up and I was the one who was supposed to be behind bars.
In case you couldn’t tell, cops made me nervous. Very nervous…
Given the news these days, could you blame me?
I walked into the station, and nothing happened. I told the agitated and cold woman at the front desk that I wanted to speak to Officer Burns.
She called back in a shrill voice, “RANDALL!”
From an office in the back emerged Randall Burns, one of the men who had saved my life. He was a burly, intimidating man, but once he saw me, his face broke into a smile.
“Come on in Miss Hopkins. I’ll take your statement.”
I followed him back into his office where he offered me a cup of mediocre police station coffee and had me sit across from him.
“Mind if I record this?”
“No, I don’t mind.”
“Great,” He said, shifting in his seat, “Now can you tell me everything that happened last night?”
I nodded and then started to tell him everything.
He nodded as I went on with my story, asking me to fill in a few details here or there.
I got the sense that he actually believed me.
Once I was done, I sat back and let out a loud sigh.
There was only a wee bit of coffee in the bottom of my cup and I pounded it back.
“You alright?” He asked.
“No,” I replied honestly.
Randall smiled and nodded, “Well you didn’t here it from me, but I doubt our little friend is going to get out of here unscathed.”
“I want to press charges.”
“Figures,” Randall replied, “I don’t blame you. She’s been a troublemaker for years.”
“Troublemaker?”
Randall chuckled, “Figures that Mark hasn’t told you the whole story…”
“Of his marriage?”
“So you know that much?”
“The details are fuzzy,” I admitted.
Randall sighed and then looked at me, “Look ma’am, I’m gonna give it to ya straight.
Rose is a loon. During their marriage there was a domestic disturbance damned near every other night.
Mark’s a doctor, quite respectable man, but he got himself mixed up with a nut like Rose…
Everyone at the station has been waiting for her to lose her shit. ”
He paused for a moment then added, “Pardon my French.”
“No. I don’t mind.”
Randall nodded, “Well it’s likely her family will post bail. So you ain’t quite out of the woods yet. I’ll keep Mark posted.”
“Thanks.”
Randall continued, “And Miss Hopkins, if you and Mark are involved, don’t let him miss out on a chance at happiness on her account.”
“I don’t know if I’ll get him to see that.”
Randall grinned, “Pretty little thing like you… I hope he ain’t stupid enough to let you get away.”