Chapter 17

She Never Really Left Him Behind

Leigh Anne was so triggered and baffled by the evening’s events that she needed to slip back into her old habits. She was supposed to go back to Dusty’s to tell Theo what happened, but all she wanted to do was sit in silence and be comforted by the sea-salt air, eating a corn dog and sitting on her bench. She learned something else. In all the years that their marriage dissolved, the losses of babies, the abuse and cruelty by his words, his hands, and his betrayal, she found out that she never really left him behind. That realization cut the deepest.

Leigh Anne slept with Gretel in her old bedroom to avoid Theo. She realized she had to tell him what had happened and what Ethan’s mother had planned to do. But he can’t see the bruises. She told him she was on her period. The ironic thing was that she was late.

Her condition caused her cycle to be irregular when she was off medication, but when on medication, she was always regular. Being late was concerning, but it was the least of her worries.

Waking up was a struggle. She felt safe and cozy in the plush fleece and sherpa blanket she wrapped herself in, but the constant meowing and kneading from her furry sleeping partner made the choices quite clear—get up and feed her or get mauled by the demon cat called Gretel.

“Okay, okay. Sheesh. Tell me what you want, Gretel.” Leigh Anne arched her back, stretching, and winced at the painful memory. “Oh shit, how am I supposed to hide these?” Leigh Anne eased her arm up, feeling her bruised ribs and hip. Then, as Gretel lovingly licked her elbow, she saw the enormous handprint that went around the whole circumference of the crook of her arm. She swallowed the lump she thought she had chased away last night with a vanilla milkshake and French fries, but it came back when she remembered where she was and who she would have to face, eventually... Theo.

Upon exiting the shower, she carefully wrapped the towel around her damp form, and she thought nothing of her surroundings because she had been alone this whole time. That sense of security was dashed when she stepped out of the bathroom and jumped at the clearing of someone’s throat.

“Hey, Theo. Good morning!” She inconspicuously checked her body, making sure the bruises weren’t visible. Thank goodness for the robe she was wearing.

“Good morning, baby. How did you sleep? All alone with a locked door and no explanation?”

“Oh, yeah, about that...” Leigh Anne was stalling as Theo rose from the end of the bed and handed her a mug of coffee. “How did you get in, then?”

He held up a screwdriver and pins. “You didn’t think I knew how to break into a locked room? I build houses and buildings where doors get locked, Leigh Anne.” He stood opposite her with arms crossed over his chest. “So, now explain. This should be good,” he remarked, arms still crossed in wariness. He didn’t look like he slept well, which added to her shame.

Taking a sip of her coffee, she pulled the Band-Aid off, pain and all. That’s when he gasped, pounded his fist on the coffee table, and cracked the hardwood down the middle. He knew she saw Ethan last night. Now, he would surely go to prison for second-degree murder.

But she pulled him back before Theo could storm out to commit the crime. With little to no fear of feeling the soreness from the browning blood clots, she held him against her.

“Please, please don’t go half-cocked, Theo. Please let me explain...”

Theo’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “I’d like to see how you explain those away,” he remarked as he turned and gently caressed her hip and arm.

Leigh choked back the fear of losing her words until he touched her in the wrong spot, and she winced at his touch. He retracted his hand, cringing at her nonexistent pain threshold. He must have held on to her for dear life. But now, life is at a standstill. Based on her explanation, it is whether he lives or dies.

“You won’t like what I have to say. And if you don’t, I understand. But I’ve made my decision.” Leigh Anne dressed in front of Theo in a long-sleeve black T-shirt layered under a short-sleeve black crew neck, dark-rinse skinny jeans, and black-and-white Vans.

Leigh, Anne, and Theo walked downstairs to sit on the patio. Now 11:00 a.m., she had to be at work in an hour—working until five tonight. She first explained why she didn’t sleep with him last night. It wasn’t simply because she was sick all night—but that wasn’t the only reason. She described the feeling of being stood up, how angry she was when she discovered his deceptions—he had told her about him and Carlie, but he didn’t say they were here this whole time. She got a bit animated when she conveyed and showed how she sucker punched Nancy and left Carlie visibly scarred.

Theo wouldn’t admit it, but those parts of her story made him proud, mainly when she depicted her saliva running down Ethan’s chiseled face.

“What happened to the part where he left you with those hallmarks on your arm and hip?” Theo attempted to use a poker face when inside; he was a vengeful volcano ready to shift plates and rise from the cracks of the earth in a fiery, explosive ooze; rivers of hot molten flames ran underneath his skin.

“I tried to get away. I fled the restaurant and wanted to go home, but he caught me and begged me to hear him out. That’s when --” she paused, gathering her composure. Her eyes rose and met his blue eyes, cold and hell-bent on destruction.

“When what, Leigh Anne?” he cut her off but spoke calmly. He knew he couldn’t lose it with her. She wasn’t fragile, but he didn’t want her to think he was angry at her. It was Ethan’s blood he wanted spilled.

“He showed me the wire.”

After that sentence, all bets were off, and there was no reasoning with Theo. If he ever saw him again, Ethan Klein was a dead man.

Theo kissed her cheek after she finished her story and told her he needed to blow off some steam... at the gym.

She saw a text message. Ethan wanted to see her after work. She told him to meet her at the Ferris wheel at the end of the pier. It was public and out in the open. He couldn’t kidnap her there, right? Out in the open with eyes everywhere?

She planned to go right after work. She texted Theo the details just in case he didn’t hear from her again, then he’d know who was involved.

Family Jewels

The lunch rush was crazy. They served typical bar food—mostly appetizers—but things were being ordered back-to-back. So, they had Leigh Anne running drinks and food, Lindsey behind the bar with Norm, a new girl named Amanda running food, and Chip busing and helping Leigh Anne and Amanda. She felt terrible leaving them short, but Theo would pick up the slack until the rest of his night staff came in.

On her way out, he barely looked at her, and she was having a hard time ignoring the abdominal pain that came in tidal waves. A few stops to the bathroom made her feel better for about five minutes, and then the flurries came back, followed by dry heaving.

“Leigh Anne, are you okay in there?” It was Theo. He was checking on her.

Oh, fuck no, she muttered to herself as her head flew back down into the toilet. “Oh, no, I can’t be...”

“Can’t be what, baby?” Theo leaned up against the stall on the other side of the door.

“Nothing... umm, nothing, Theo.” Leigh Anne stood up, but not without stumbling against the door from light-headedness.

“Are you coming down with a stomach bug? Does that mean you can’t go through with it today? There are other options.”

“No, Theo, it’s not a stomach bug.” She mumbled the last word, “bug.” “And yes, I have to go. This will work, Theo.”

Theo moved out of the way and was shocked by the state she was in. Her upper lip glistened with sweat, perspiration saturated her hairline, and she looked drained. She was experienced with these symptoms, but she was in denial.

“You look like a wrung-out rag, baby. You have to cancel or stand him up. It’s not safe. I have a bad feeling. At least let me go with you.”

Leigh Anne splashed cold water on her face, and then she sucked on a ginger candy to settle her now-empty stomach.

“No, we cannot be seen together, you know that. They already think we ended our relationship.”

“Yeah,” he hated how she could be so flat about that. It’s a lie! “Yeah, like him and that lush are divorced!”

“They don’t know I know the truth. They’re idiots. They think I’m meeting him there tonight to finalize our reunion. When I get there, I’m supposed to make a scene, tell them I know the truth, and report them to investigators for all the financial schemes, tax evasion, and abuse they did to me. I will record the meeting and then present it to the authorities.”

She stretched on her tippy toes, cupping his face with her hands. “What could go wrong?” Leigh Anne reached for Theo, leaned in, and pressed their lips together. Both inhaled the other’s scents—his aroma of lavender and her strawberries and crème.