Page 117 of Another Love, Another Time
She moves as if to pull away. “I don’t know. We were building our friendship back, and you lied to me again. I asked you to tell me everything, and you still lied.”
“I was so scared you’d leave me again. I had just gotten you back. I couldn’t—” I choke back a sob. “I couldn’t lose you again. Please, River. Please.” I get on my knees and grab both of her hands. “Please give me one more chance to be the man you deserve.”
She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and looks up at the ceiling. I’ll give her all the time in the world.
But when she looks back at me, I see she’s fighting to hold back tears. She pulls out of my grip, and my heart thunders.
“I don’t trust you,” she says at last. “Trust, even in friendship, is important to me. Right now, we are partners, and I think that’s all I can handle right now. I just bought this house, and I’m still learning my job. That’s where my focus needs to be. I think you have a lot of work to do on yourself. You say a lot of pretty words, but your actions will speak louder. The kind of man you want to be is up to you. It’s up to me to decide if the man you become is someone I want to spend my life with. I won’t ask for a transfer; we can still be partners and build a relationship on a professional basis.”
I let loose a sigh of relief. “I’ll take it. We can start back on a professional level.”
She starts again, “I have shit I need to figure out too. My mom, the moms… I don’t know if I can handle them in my life. They make me feel like this whole thing with Melissa is my fault. I’m not sure how they will act….” She hesitates. “I’m sharing this with you not as a friend, but as my partner.” I nod.
She continues, “After our talk last night and after I got pulled into the captain’s office, I disclosed everything about my attack at prom, especially now after you told me about how Melissa threatened her ex-boyfriend’s wife. They can’t be the only ones she’s done that too. She’s not getting away with it anymore. I told him that I had information from a guy who may have been involved in my attack and was willing to come forward if he was given immunity and anonymity.
“I would never out JD, but if I can protect him from the fallout, then I think we can finally put her behind bars. I also want you to follow up with your old partner to see what her story is.” She’s silent for a minute before she continues, “I just don’t know how that will affect the family. It will most likely divide everyone, and I’ll understand if you stand with your family.”
“No, River. I stand with you. I’m on your side. Let me know what you need, and I’ll do it.” I can tell she doesn’t believe me.
“I don’t need anything right now. I just thought I’d give you a heads-up because shit’s about to hit the fan.”
Chapter 38
River
So, shit didn’t exactly hit the fan. Well, not yet. It’s been a few weeks since Auggie and I spoke about everything. Since then, we’ve been working every day on our cases, which has kept us pretty busy. He reached out to his ex-partner, and she said she had something to tell him, but she needed to do it in person.
Today was the first day that both of them had a free day. He had to drive down to St. Louis. I’m very curious to hear what she says.
In the meantime, I have continued to speak with both my captain and the district attorney to draw up an agreement for JD’s immunity. I’ve also spoken with JD about this, and he will do whatever I ask of him.
He’s a little nervous, especially now that he has a family. His wife called, crying. I understand. She doesn’t want to lose her husband or her baby’s father. I promised her that I would not say or do anything until I’m one hundred percent sure that there is no way this could come back on JD.
After we spoke, I think she felt a lot better. He has done a lot of work to be a better man. I don’t want him to get into any trouble. I won’t take the deal to him until I allow an attorney to read through to make sure it’s a solid agreement. I’ve offered to send the deal to him, and he can have his own attorney look over it.
My mom has been trying to get hold of me. I sent her a message letting her know I’m mad at her and that when I’m ready to talkto her, I’ll let her know. I’m hurt right now, and I don’t want to say things I may regret later. Also, I'm just not ready.
I called both my sister and brother and gave them a heads-up just in case she called them. I’ve changed my locks, so her key to my house won’t work anymore.
One day, I came home, and she and Aunt Connie were sitting on the porch. I just kept driving. Auggie told me I could hang out at his house, but I don’t want to be anywhere Melissa has lived. That led to a conversation about Auggie selling his house. He doesn’t want to live anywhere I won’t come to visit.
He’s talked to his mom since the morning when the moms came over. He told me they just want to apologize, but I’m not ready for an apology. I want to see how they react when I put Melissa behind bars. He agrees that right now, I can’t trust them to be on my side.
Auggie’s been staying with me. The first couple of nights, I made him go back to his house, but then Melissa started to text him and leave him voicemail messages, threatening me. Who knows if Melissa will manipulate someone else into attacking me?
Auggie wanted to block her, but I convinced him to keep them as evidence, just in case she tries to pull something. He has already filed a restraining order against her. I can’t file one against her since she had one filed against me already.
Auggie’s been staying in the guest room. I’m trying to keep this relationship as professional as possible, but I won’t lie; it’s nice to have someone here. We eat dinner every night while binge-watching Rookie Blue, one of my favorite series.
~~
Today, I’m working at my desk. I just got out of a meeting with the DA. I have a headache and need some Aleve. Of course, I forgot to refill the bottle in my bag. I’ll just check Auggie’s desk to see if he has any.
I walk around to his side and pull the bottom drawer out, but all I see are case files. Finally, I find a bottle in the middle drawer. I shake two into my hand and put it back in its place when I notice a frame lying facedown.
On my first day, I saw him throw a frame into his desk. My stomach drops. “What if it’s a picture of him and Melissa?” I wonder.
I know they weren’t together, but it would hurt, knowing he would keep a picture of her. I’m shaking. I shouldn’t even be in his desk, but that doesn’t stop me. I need to see what picture was so important to him that he felt he had to hide it from me.
