Page 49 of Copper

I whistle to myself – an old tune from a nineties band my mother liked. Eventually, I find a level that will do and turn to go back upstairs.

My head tilts to the side as I look at the wall, my brows coming together in confusion. There’s a small piece of white tape that looks like drywall tape at eye level. Looking around the area, a bucket of paint sits on the floor behind one of Lucy’s boxes, a used paintbrush across the top of the can. We didn’t buy that color at Home Depot.

I eye the wall again and flip on my phone’s flashlight. As I shine it all over the wall, a small square appears from the bad tape job. Did Lucy have something fixed while I was at work?

Carefully, I scrape the end of the tape until I grip it between my thumb and index finger. Once I have a firm grasp, I pull the tape from around the square, watching it slowly peel. If I wasn’t so confused, it’d be satisfying to watch. Once the tape is off, I go back to my tool bench, remove a wrench from the table, and shine the light on the square before knocking a hole in my own wall. Why would Lucy re-drywall the basement wall? Did she hide something of Beck’s she didn’t want to see in her boxes?

Moving chunks of semi-fresh drywall, I freeze and suck in a large breath. My mouth dries until it feels like I’m eating a wad of cotton. I push aside a few pieces of drywall and reach into the rusty toolbox that’s seen better days. As soon as the rusty hinges open, I know. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I’ve known for a few weeks. I just didn’t want to see it. It’s amazing how our minds make us believe what we want to believe.

But I can’t unsee this.

I bend forward, gasping and trying to catch my breath as I stare at the flathead screwdriver. It’s clean and just a screwdriver, but I get it now.

Chapter 25

Lucy

“Whatnext?”Iask.

Aaron doesn’t turn around and he doesn’t answer. His hands are braced on each side of the hole, and he pants with his eyes squeezed shut. He didn’t hear me when I came into the storage room, that much is obvious. But my shit drywall job is open, and his hand is still on the metal of my uncle’s old toolbox. Peter didn’t want it when my uncle died, and the tools in it were old and not something that forensics could trace to a recent Sears purchase.

“Why?” he asks, his voice husky like it is when we fuck. But there’s no desire in his voice. Just shock. “H-how?” he stutters.

“Have you ever been threatened with bodily harm?” I ask, walking a large circle around the area and moving boxes aside. “I’m not talking about the danger of being shot on the job. I’m talking threatened with harm every single day of your existence. Kicked. Punched. Sodomized. Raped by his friends while he watched and smoked a cigar or held you down. Raped because he wanted to impress a client. Choked until you lose consciousness. That’s what I went through with Beck every fucking day of my life while you were here in your safe world.”

Aaron turns to me, his face unreadable, but his eyes don’t leave my gaze. A tear fills his left eye, and he blinks to keep it from spilling onto his cheek. He may be crying about discovering what I’ve done, or maybe this is the first time I’ve really told him what Beck did to me. What Beck had his friends do to me. Something tells me Aaron’s tears are more for what I endured. He knew I was hit and kicked. He didn’t know Beck let his friends and clients rape me.

I wave my hands and pace, energy flowing through every vein. I’ve been holding this in for months, and I finally get a chance to get this out. Damn the consequences. This is Aaron. My Aaron. Not some beat cop that hates women. I should have told him months ago. I wanted to tell him all along.

“That does things to a girl. I often marvel how you didn’t piece it together.”

“Was this a fun fucking game for you? Did you do this to laugh at me? Was it fun to watch me chase my tail? Was it fun to watch me worry about you?”

“No.” I shake my head and stick my hand up in a stop motion. “I would never laugh at you, Aaron. No matter what you think right now, you’re my person. You always have been. I just questioned if you were blind to what was right in front of your face. You had to have suspected.”

“How could you think I’d ever suspect you?” He clutches his chest like he’s having chest pain. I hope he’s OK. After all I’ve been through, I can’t lose him that way. His girls can’t lose him. “I love you so much, Lucy.”

“What did you come down here for?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.

“I needed a level to add some more boards and noticed the drywall tape. No offense, but it looks like a girl did it.”

“That’s insulting and probably the most misogynistic thing I’ve ever heard you say, Aaron Dwyer.” I wag my finger at him. “I think the last few months have shown that I shouldn’t be underestimated.”

Aaron takes deep breaths through his nose, and his hands flex at his side. His chest heaves like his breath is catching up with the conversation. His jaw ticks, and he blinks like he’s waking up from a deep sleep.

Or recovering from a shock.

I back up against the wall. Beck beat my ass every day of our marriage, and I know the look as it forms on Aaron’s face in real time. It’s pure anger, but I’m not sure exactly what he’s angry at. Fear grips me, and my stomach lurches as Aaron crosses the room in two quick steps. His hand goes to my neck, and he shoves me gently against the wall like he still doesn’t want to hurt me, pushing my legs apart to stick his thigh between them. His hand not at my throat gently grips my hair, almost like he can't help but lovingly stroke it, and our eyes lock. “Tell me everything!”

I don’t believe for a second that Aaron Dwyer will be the death of me, but he’s unhinged. “Tell me right now!” he yells an inch from my face, a drop of spit hitting my skin.

If he wasn’t filled with blind rage, it’d be a great time to fuck him with some passion. I could just turn around and bend over, letting him take me hard and fast. He’s the only man that could ever do whatever he wants to my body. Something deep in my soul tells me we’ll get through this, and the makeup sex will be insane.

“Beck was first.”

Aaron shakes his head and blinks like I hit him. “Beck’s dead?”

“He was never missing. I’ve always known exactly where we put him. I told you on charades night. I know he's not coming here.”

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