Page 7 of The Book of Wrath

One good thing I gained from his abuse was an amazing figure and the ability to outrun him most days. I guess that was the silver lining in our relationship. Max ate quietly as if the world was on his shoulders, and for all I knew it was.

“Penny for your thought?” I asked him. Maybe he would understand the term. Most people I said it around had no idea what I meant.

“That’s a saying I haven’t heard in years. Honestly, I’m just wondering how you’re going to hold up tonight in this house. I’ve heard the nightmares can get really bad when a victim returns to the scene of the incidents. I have work in the morning, but I can check in on you when I get home if you want,” his offer was sincere and seemed genuine. I guess I could see him as a friend.

“If you want to, you don’t have to check on me. You don’t owe me anything more than what you did by saving me that night. You did your job. I’m sure this isn’t a part of the job description,” I blurted out.

“It’s not, but I know things are bad for you right now and after seeing your family and your friend Ally, I’m sure you could use the company who won’t force you to talk about what happened,” he replied taking a bite of his burger.

I nodded and we finished our meal in silence. He gathered up the trash from the table and took it to the trash can in the kitchen. He even took the trash out. We spent the next three hours cleaning up the rooms, airing out the rooms and luckily he found my laptop where I hid it. No harm was done to at least one of my computers. I scheduled an appointment with a computer tech from one of those you break it, we fix it places. Hopefully I could get most of it replaced without it costing me a few thousand dollars. I couldn’t afford that.

We tossed out so much food, I’m going to have to go grocery shopping when we are done here. I’ll ask Ally to go with me after work. Max had rolled up the rug in the living room and took it outside. I don’t know if he put it in the trash can or next to it. Luckily for me the blood was mostly absorbed in the carpet and didn’t seep into the wood. He checked the basement, so I didn’t have to go down there. He said the room looked fine. Nothing seemed out of place and there was no sign of blood on the ceiling. I was grateful for him. This week is going to be tough. Going back to work is going to be a struggle. Going out alone is going to be a struggle and sleeping is going to be impossible without a sedative.

I walked Max to the door after he was done helping me with all the heavy lifting. “Thank you for helping me today,” I said as he opened the front door.

“You don’t have to thank me. I’ll talk to some of the guys down at the station and see if they can find it in their hearts to help get the rest of the destroyed furniture out of the house with me tomorrow, if that’s okay with you. I know at least three guys who would be willing to help. This is what they do,” he explained that three of his coworkers work a side job as guardian angels for people like me. I don’t want to be seen as weak, but I’ll accept the help. There is no way in hell I can get that bed out of here by myself.

“I’d really like that.” I said and gave him my number, “I promise I will charge my phone once I find a charging cord he didn’t cut in half.” I rolled my eyes at how petty this man was. Like I know women who aren’t as petty as he is.

“I think I saw one on his side of the bed. I guess he didn’t want to destroy his things,” Max said as he shrugged his shoulders. Boy if this dude had a single clue as to how right he was. “Have a good evening Megan.”

“You too, Max,” I replied and that was that. He turned away from me and walked to his car. I quickly shut and locked the door behind him. I don’t know why I wanted to slam the door shut the instant he was out of the house, but I needed the silence.

I trudged up the stairs and spotted Ryan’s charger on the floor. Thankfully we had the same phone. Another damn phone call I had to make in the morning, shutting off his phone. I plugged my phone in and waited the grueling three minutes for it to boot up. I wasn’t allowed to upgrade my phone until his phone was available for an upgrade and if mine was available first, he would take my upgrade and make me wait. My phone was two models ago, his was the latest and greatest. Also, the most expensive. I’ll be stuck with the payments still, but it will be worth it.

The phone screen lit up and his face popped across the screen, and I almost screamed forgetting his picture was my background. I quickly tapped my password into the phone and turned off location services. We shared location information with each other out of “safety”. More like control. I didn’t want him knowing where I was. I knew he was out and had his phone. I was afraid to look at any of my social media accounts. I didn’t need to see whatever vial he was spewing about me to his friends.

My phone then glitched out in my hand as hundreds of text messages came through my phone. Some from the friend group that I let down. Some from my sister before the incident happened, a few messages of disapproval from my mother and a few calls from my cousin. But it was the eighty-six missed texts and the hundred and three phone calls from Ethan that had my heart racing. No one told him.

I didn’t bother with the voicemails; I just tapped on his number and called him. Within the first ring he picked up.

“Where the hell have you been?! I’ve been calling morgues and funeral homes for days!” Ethan shouted into the phone. Well, this was going to be a fun conversation.

Chapter 7

Max

“So, are you obsessed with this girl or is there another reason you have been ten feet up her ass since she fell into your arms?” Tony teased me as soon as I walked in for my shift. I knew he would be the first person to give me shit when I got back. He also knew why I was so protective. Captain usually kept me off of domestic violence cases after what happened to my sister. He worried about how I would react to others in this situation and apparently he was right to worry. I’ve officially jumped into the deep end and have been texting Megan since last night. I wasn’t expecting a message back so quickly.

She had told me her friend Ethan was coming to stay the night with her and that he was military trained, so I had nothing to worry about, that she was protected. It was odd that she was telling me that and making sure that I knew he was gay. Something tells me her ex did some damage when she tried hanging out with this dude before. I just don’t want her thinking she needs to explain her actions to me. I mean, I’m not going to lie and say that a spark of jealousy didn’t twinge in my gut at the thought of another man in her home with her, but it wasn’t my place, and I had no reason to be jealous.

“So? What is it?” Tony prodded at me. I wanted to punch him, but I knew there were eyes on me here. Everyone had the same question. Including Sandra. Tony, however, could get away with asking this shit. He’s been my best friend since third grade. Shit head got me into so much trouble, but he always helped get me out of it.

“I’m just worried about her. He made bail. When Sandra came and told her, you should’ve seen the look on her face, Tony. She was afraid and not even the comfort of him having an ankle monitor seemed to comfort her,” I replied, buttoning up my shirt and getting my shit together for shift. It’s seven in the morning and I spent almost four hours texting Megan instead of getting my sleep. I might feel it later today, but that’s what monsters are for.

“How the fuck did he make bail?!” Tony all but shouted into the locker room. I hushed him and smacked his shoulder.

“The judge apparently thought it was in his best interest to be released to his uncle. The way she reacted made it seem like the uncle might help him break free of the monitor. I worry for her safety, and I won’t be able to sleep until I know he can’t get to her. I don’t want another Sabrina situation,” I said, watching the light dim out in Tony’s eyes. He was with my sister for five years before she dumped him for Mark Addler. The biggest mistake of her life and one she couldn’t ever take back.

“What do you need help with?” he asked me, and I knew the offer was sincere. He, like myself, would do anything to help someone in need. Peter Avery entered the room suddenly with his arms full of files, eyes wide like he had seen a ghost.

“What’s with you Pete?” I asked him. He wasn’t one to shy away from the darker things in our line of work. He was an officer, but he was more on the technical side of things, computers and junk. He dropped the files on the table behind us and took the seat.

“Do you know the amount of shit the DA’s office asked me to pull up on that Paxley dude? Years worth of shit. Like this dude should be behind bars for life for all the shit he’s done,” Peter spoke in one breath. I clenched my fists. So, this asshole has a record.

“Why are you telling us?” Tony asked. Pete slowly looked at me and nodded down at my fists.

“He’s why. That girl he saved and has been around, this dude is the assailant. Honestly, I don’t know how his family hasn’t locked him away. He has the makings of a damn serial killer. Mutilating animals and killing them as a teen, torture of a few female classmates in high school, drunken disorderly that ended up in a rape. It seemed to have stop a few years back, but I just think he got better at hiding it,” Peter sighed and ran an idle hand through his sandy blonde hair. Tony looked at me, I flexed my hands.

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