The Presence of Grace (Love and Loss #2)(65)
“Hey,” I said to her softly. “How’d it go?” I asked the question quietly, not wanting to embarrass her in front of the boys by talking about her period. “Any issues?”
She looked up at me and smiled. “Nope. It was gone by the time we went to Disney.” A smile broke out across her face and then she leaned into me again.
My eyes met Devon’s as I had both his children wrapped in my arms and he mouthed, “I love you.”
All I could do in response was pull his children closer and mouth back, “Thank you.”
With their bags loaded into my car and the kids buckled into my backseat, Devon kissed me soundly on the lips and said he’d be home as soon as he could.
The drive home was filled with story after story of their time in California, all the fun things they’d done with Evie and Nate, and how they couldn’t wait to visit again next summer. I sat quietly and listened, loving the way they were sharing everything with me, uncensored, without thinking. They trusted me and wanted to share things with me, and that made me unreasonably happy. Happier than I’d been in a very long time.
Along the way, I happened to notice a small white car make a really quick lane change behind me, squeezing in where there was hardly any room. The white car’s driving made me nervous, so I sped up to put some distance between us. For the rest of the way to Devon’s house I noticed the white car made all the same turns I did. By the time we were on the outskirts of their neighborhood, I was starting to worry.
When I pulled into Devon’s driveway, I watched as the white car drove past. I let out a breath of relief when it turned at the end of the block, but my pulse was still racing.
Jaxy and Ruby climbed out of the car, arguing about who got control over the television remote first, as I went to the trunk to unload their bags.
“Ruby, will you please go unlock the door and leave it open so we can get everything inside?” I said, handing my keys to her.
“Sure,” she said with a smile.
I opened the trunk and grabbed Jaxy’s tiny suitcase that had Ninja Turtles on it and handed it to him.
“Here, Jaxy, take this inside. And if you could, before you fight over the TV with your sister, take all your dirty clothes to the laundry room so I can start a load.”
“Okay,” he said, happily taking his Ninja Turtle suitcase from me.
Just then I saw the same white car coming back toward the house. Panicking, all I could think of was getting the kids inside.
“Jaxy,” I said, trying to keep the sudden terror from my voice but doing a horrible job. “Go inside and lock the door. Do not let your sister come out. Call your father and tell him to come home immediately.”
“What?” His eyes were round with worry and confusion.
“Jaxy, baby, you have to do as I say.” I looked over and saw the white car coming closer still. “Go inside. Now!” He ran from me, terrified, and my heart hurt for scaring him, but I had to keep him safe. The white car pulled to a stop across the street and I watched as the door opened and a man got out. Distantly, I heard the door lock behind me and Ruby yelling at Jaxy, trying to figure out what was going on, and the only thing I could think was that I was the last thing standing between whoever it was in the white car and those kids.
As the man stepped closer, I finally recognized him and my heart stopped cold.
“I only want to talk,” he said, now in the middle of the street, walking straight toward me.
“I have a restraining order against you. You’re not supposed to be within fifty feet of me. You need to leave.”
“Not until you listen to me.” His hand was in the pocket of his hoodie and the thought of what he could have in it made a huge lump form in my throat. My eyes were glued to his arm where his hand disappeared into the black fabric, but he kept talking. “Listen, this is all just one big misunderstanding. I’m not a criminal. I don’t deserve to go to jail.”
“You should have thought about that before you assaulted me behind the bar.”
“I don’t even remember that!” he screamed at me, moving even closer, his body jolting and jumping erratically. I heard more yelling from inside the house and all I could hope was that the kids would stay inside. “I was drunk! I’m not some scumbag who’d rape someone behind a bar.” One of his hands came up to run through his hair, but halfway through his fingers gripped it and he tugged. “There’s just so much pressure,” he said, coming closer still. I took a step back but he just continued forward. “I’m supposed to graduate this year, get a job, be the successful businessman my father is, but I can’t do what my father does. I can’t be my father. I hate him.”
My eyes kept glancing at his hoodie, hoping and praying he kept his hand in there, for fear of what he was holding.
“If I get charged with assault, my father will disown me,” he said as if it were explanation enough. As though at his words I should just shrug and say, “Oh, well why didn’t you say that in the first place?”
But I didn’t say anything. I just took another step back, silently cursing when the back of my legs hit the bumper of my car. I was effectively trapped.
He came closer and my breathing quickened. I had nowhere to go and I had no idea what was in his pocket. I feared the worst, scenarios running through my mind. Would he shoot me? Stab me? Would Devon get here in time? Would the kids find me dead? All thoughts caused a whirlwind in my brain. My lungs worked overtime. Suddenly, there were spots, and my vision was spinning.