What Have You Done(15)

Vanessa’s emotional downturn had come quickly and without warning. Liam had seen shades of what he’d been through with his own mother, and it frightened him. He began to turn away as she locked him out of a suffering she wanted all to herself. When her mother finally passed, Vanessa filled her suddenly empty hours with an abundance of overtime shifts at the hospital and an unwillingness to get back to the life she’d known beforehand. Liam tried to reconnect with her, but she shut him out. It wasn’t long before the marriage had disintegrated to the point where they’d only see one another while passing in the hallway as one returned from a shift to watch the other leave. Their conversations became mumbled greetings.

When Vanessa had eventually turned to alcohol to help make it through her days, Liam had seen the finality of it all and had contemplated divorce. His decision to stay with her had been based on the reality that despite their problems, he knew leaving would ultimately destroy her, and he couldn’t be responsible for that. He’d seen what abandonment had done to his own mother. He couldn’t do that to Vanessa. Instead, he had pursued an extramarital relationship with Kerri. It had lasted for a few years until one night, out of the blue, Vanessa had broken down and asked him to love her again. They’d sought help from a counselor and found ways to rebuild what they had once had. She’d quit drinking, and together they’d begun a new life and found the hint of a passion that had been dormant. She wanted to take care of him, and he would let her. He’d try to make it work. He owed her that much.

His relationship with Kerri had lasted for almost two years. Sean had introduced them, and much like when Liam had first laid eyes on Vanessa, there was an instant attraction, despite Kerri being a little younger than he was. They’d had fun together, laughed, and made love as if they were in love. Then one day she’d ended it, imploring him to make things right with Vanessa. She wanted him to go back to his wife to try to make things work again. She didn’t want to be the reason Liam’s marriage couldn’t last. She said he needed a clean slate, and he had reluctantly agreed. But he missed her. He missed everything about her. And now she was truly gone. Dead. It was almost too much to bear.

Sean knocked on the window and snapped him back to reality. Liam grabbed his briefcase and stepped out of his car onto the driveway.

“You okay?” Sean asked.

“Yeah. Daydreaming. Let’s go.”

The two of them walked along the stone path toward the front of the house. Liam opened the door and was met by a symphony playing on the stereo. The soothing music tried to caress him, to lull him into its arms and protect him from the harsh realities of the outside world, but it fell flat against a headache that was coming on with ferocity. He placed his briefcase down next to a small bench by the stairs and sat to take off his wet shoes.

“That you?” Vanessa called from the living room.

“Yeah. Sean too.”

“Dinner’s in the fridge.”

“I already ate.”

Vanessa walked into the foyer. She was dressed in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. She smiled as she walked over, kissed Sean on the cheek, and gave him a tight hug. “I wish you hadn’t eaten. There’s enough for all of us.”

“Long day today,” Sean replied. “Had to grab something while we could.”

“Liam bring you by as a peace offering?”

“No. We were in the area going over a new case, and I just wanted to pop in and say hello. See how you’re doing.”

“That’s nice of you. I’m doing fine. Can I get you anything?”

“No, I’m good.”

“You boys figure out what happened last night? Did you fill in all the blanks?”

“Just too many drinks,” Liam said.

Sean nodded. “Yeah. We started with shots, moved to beer, then ended with shots. I drove him home.”

“And your clothes?”

“I left them in Sean’s car. Apparently I started stripping on the way home.”

“Actually,” Sean interjected, “he puked a little, and it stunk, so we threw them in the trunk. I’ll bring them by after I wash them. They’re at the house now.”

Vanessa moved in closer toward her husband. “Are you all right?” she asked. She touched his forehead with the back of her hand the way a mother would do to a child. “You don’t look good.”

“I’m fine. Caught this new case today, and it has me wiped.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Tell me about it. It’ll feel good getting it off your chest.”

Liam looked at his wife, but all he saw was Kerri. For a brief moment, he resented her for being alive, then brushed that thought away as he climbed off the bench and walked toward the stairs. “I don’t think so. I feel like crap. I’m just going to head up, take a shower, and go to bed.”

“Yeah, I gotta get going too,” Sean said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Sean pecked Vanessa on the cheek. “Good to see you, as always. And go easy on my brother. He can’t handle his liquor.”

Vanessa chuckled. “So you were brought here as a peace offering.”

“Maybe.”

Vanessa walked Sean to the door and watched him scurry back down the stone path and into his pickup. When he was gone, she turned back to her husband. “Look,” she said. There was a hint of desperation in her voice. “I’m sorry I was a bitch this morning. I don’t know why I freaked about you going out last night. It’s really no big deal. I don’t wanna fight. Deal?”