After the back door to the cruiser was closed, the officer turned around. It was Cal. He waved at the house, and smiled softly. It was as if he was telling me that everything was going to be ok. As the cruiser pulled away, Cal jogged across the street, and up the walk to the house.
Before he got to the door, I flung it open. “What happened?” I looked past him at the group of cops all slowly leaving the scene.
“He assaulted someone last night. They pressed charges, and we had reports that he broke the order of protection. He’s heading to central booking now.” Cal touched my shoulder. “You’re safe. He’s not getting out for a few days at least, maybe longer.”
“You wanna come in?” I stepped back, but Cal shook his head.
“Gotta head back and process the paperwork for him. I just wanted to come over and tell you that he won’t be bothering you for a few days, minimum.”
“Thanks.” I waved as Cal made his way back to his car across the street.
“Looks like you can go outside after all.” Amy smiled.
“Yeah. I just wonder who he assaulted. I’m the only person he’s ever hit in the past. Did he find someone new already?” I lowered myself onto the couch and stared off into the distance.
“I don’t think that’s the case at all. I’m sure we can find out though.” Amy placed her arm around me. “Don’t be sad. Whatever happened wasn’t your fault and it’ll help your case.”
“I know. I know I shouldn’t feel bad, but I can’t help it. He hurt someone like he used to hurt me. It scares me to know he’s started going after others. At least when I was there it was just me.”
“Stop.” Donna came into the room. “You stop thinking like that right now. This isn’t your fault. Think about what we’ve talked about in group. You’ve come a long way since leaving him; don’t go backwards. You’re doing what you can to heal you. You can’t think about anyone else right now. You and Ava are your priority.”
“You’re right.” I slowly nodded.
“Of course, I am.” Donna grinned.
“Thanks, guys. I think I’m gonna go lie down for a bit before Roni gets here.” I lifted Ava, and headed back to my room. I needed to process all of this in a quiet place.
ooooooooo
“Knock knock.” Roni stuck her head through the door of my room. “I hope this is ok. Donna told me to come on back.”
“Sure.” I yawned. When Ava had fallen asleep, I’d napped too. I hadn’t realized how tired I was just from stress.
“We can talk in here.” Roni pulled the chair I had in the corner closer, and sat down. “First, I wanted to let you know that Warren was arrested this morning.”
“I saw that from the front window,” I mumbled.
“Well, I’m planning to use jail time as a bargaining chip for signing the divorce papers. I’ve talked to the DA and they’re willing to play ball along with the other victim. Since this is a first offense, the judge will probably grant probation and some type of community service. If the other victim wants to go to court, we can get assault three which comes with jail time of up to two years. I figured Warren won’t want to go to jail, so he’ll sign.”
“So, that’s it? He gets off if he signs?” I was confused. Did I want that?
“Not really. He’ll still be punished; it just won’t be as severe.” Roni smiled. “This is good, Brooke. Believe me, this is what we need.”
“Ok. If you believe that this is the best option, then I’m ok with it. I just want to move on. I want to live my life and not worry about him.” I glanced towards the window where the afternoon sun was starting to peek through.
“I’ll draft up a proposal and get this right over to his lawyer. We should get a response in a few days.” She stood, tucked the papers back in her briefcase, and walked out the door.
Was this really as good as Roni said it was? Would I be able to accept Warren being free, when he could serve time? Was the other victim really ok with this? I mean, they got hurt. I knew what that felt like, and I knew what it was like to not get any reparations for it. Why did it always seem that no matter what, Warren was lurking in the background? How much more was I going to have to endure?
Chapter 13
Brooke
I’ve spent the last couple of days in a fog. Roni sent our proposal to Warren’s lawyer, and now we wait. The waiting is the worst part. There’s no timeline, and Warren knows that the longer he takes, the worse it is for me. He used to keep me on pins and needles all the time when we were first married. He’d tell me that we ‘might’ be doing something or someone ‘might’ be coming over. I was expected to be ready regardless if it happened or not. The first time I thought he was joking around. The black eye I received said he wasn’t. Now, even though we’re living apart, he’s still pulling this crap.
“Brooke. Blake is here.” Amy stuck her head in the office. It was the middle of the day, and I wasn’t expecting him. I frowned as I stood up and made my way to the family room. When I rounded the corner, I was shocked at what I saw. Blake had a giant bruise on his cheek. It was a greenish purple color like it was a few days old.
“Hey.” He waved when he saw me, but I just stood there staring. “You should see the other guy.”
