Break, page 12
A hint of anger flashes across her face before she wipes it away. Picking the knife back up, she continues to slice the meat as she tells me what drove her away, and it’s fucking sickening.
“A few days ago, I found out that he had another affair. When I confronted him about it, I told him I couldn’t keep turning a blind eye to his indiscretions and I wanted to separate. He was livid. Told me that when I married him, it was for life - for better or for worse - and that it was my duty, as his wife, to forgive him. When I told him I couldn’t, he swore to me he would change and it would never happen again. That night, when he came to bed, he told me he knew how to fix everything. That it was the only way for him to prove to me he was a changed man.”
Scoffing, I cross my arms. Danny is a fucking idiot. “What was his plan?” I ask her, assuming his suggestion would have been counseling or something. Instead, my jaw drops when she answers.
“A baby.” She continues to slice the meat, then gathers all the strips in her hands and places them into a bowl. Grabbing a few bottles filled with sauces, she mixes together a marinade to soak the meat with.
“What? What did you say? A baby is a terrible idea for fixing a marriage.”
Glancing at me, I’m surprised by the anger lacing her words. “I said no.”
There’s more to this story, but she’s being deliberately evasive. “And?” I ask, urging her to continue.
I feel sick when I see her close her eyes for a moment, like she’s recalling a memory. Her face goes slightly pale. “Danny doesn’t like to be told no.”
I run her words through my head, trying to comprehend what she’s saying without actually saying it. Then it hits me. He wants a baby with her. If she says no and he ignores that…
“He raped you?”
The bowl she’s rinsing in the sink clatters to the bottom with a loud bang when it slips out of her hand. “I’m his wife,” she announces, picking the bowl back up.
Mina isn’t looking at me, but I can see her hands trembling as she wipes away the food particles sticking to the metal. Who fucking cares if you’re married? If someone says no, that’s still rape, goddamnit!
I stand up to approach her, wanting to let her know that it’s not okay, but before I take a step, she continues in a soft voice.
“The next day, I went to the police station one more time to try to convince them I needed some help to leave. I have no money, no place to go, and no one who isn’t friends with both Danny and I. They told me the same thing as last time, that I should contact a lawyer for legal advice. Danny is friends with someone who works there and was notified about what I was trying to do. He wasn’t happy when he found out and… well, you know the rest.” She waves her free hand at her bound shoulder.
When she looks back up at me, she’s just… empty. I can’t tell what she’s thinking or what her worries are, and I’m interrupted again before I can ask her.
The front door slams, the sound ricocheting through the kitchen, making her jerk her head back down to continue prepping lunch.
Walter goes bounding to the front door with a bark and his tail wagging wildly.
“What’s going on, my people?” Vincent’s voice calls out from the living room. I ease my body back onto my stool where I’ve been planted for an hour now and look up at my friend as he walks into the kitchen. “Oohh, what smells so fucking good? You cooking, Mina?” He rubs his hands together like he’s excited over the prospect of eating a home-cooked meal.
I try to catch his attention by answering for her. “She offered to make lunch today. Let’s go grab Max. I think he’s outside.”
Vincent nods his head, his eyes locked on Mina as she hurries through the finishing touches on the meal. “Sounds good,” he drawls out slowly. He’s picking up on the heavy mood in the kitchen, throwing me a questioning look, then asks her, “You doing okay, Mina?”
Her whispered “fine” has me grinding my teeth, but I know now isn’t the right time to push her.
Gentling my voice so she hopefully understands I’m not angry at her. I’m only furious at the worthless human being she tied herself to. “We’ll go grab Max and get out of your hair for a few minutes.”
She doesn’t respond.
I grab Vincent’s arm to pull him out of the kitchen, stopping him from running his mouth without knowing what’s been going on. The fucker is smart enough to stay silent until we get outside where he jerks his arm and rounds on me. “The hell is going on? What was that all about?”
Looking back at the house, I speak softly, just in case she hears us. “I’ll let you know in a minute. Max first.”
Huffing in annoyance, he walks behind me, muttering, “You know, secrets don’t make friends. I brought the file, by the way, but maybe I’ll hold on to that until everyone stops playing games.”
Rounding on him, I take a breath to calm down. “I’m not keeping secrets, but I can only say what I have to say once without hauling ass out of here to commit murder.”
“Jesus, what-”
“Max. First,” I bite out through my teeth. Thankfully, he keeps his questions to himself until we find Max out in the detached garage where he keeps his shop. The woodworking hobby he does on the side is something he picked up shortly after his mom passed. His skills have drastically improved since he first started.
Looking up from where he’s sanding a rough-cut table top, Max turns off the machine and removes his goggles from his face. He looks between us, then back in the house’s direction. “Who’s with Mina?”
Vincent grins as he rubs his stomach. “We were just in there. She’s cooking, man. Clear this shit up so you can come eat. But not before Ethan shares with the class.” Looking at me, he leans against the wall and crosses his arms, waiting me out.
“Share what? Did something happen?” Max asks while he unplugs the sander and slowly wraps the cord around the base while studying me. “What’s going on?”
Taking a deep breath, I internalize how much I want to destroy Danny, and let my friends know her situation is worse than we thought.
“That day we saw her walking outside the station, remember?” I ask Max, and he nods that he does. “The night before that, Danny thought they could repair their marriage by getting her pregnant. When she said no, he fucking raped her.”
It only takes a second before Max heaves the sander across the room and slamming against the wall, shattering into jagged pieces which scatter across the room.
Chapter 17
Fuck Indifference
Max
The shards of metal splinter and fly across the floor of my shop, a couple of them coming to a standstill around my feet. I stare at them for a minute, my hands clenched while I breath heavily.
Once I have my rage under control, my eyes fly up to Ethan. “How the fuck did we miss this? We’ve known him for years. YEARS!”
My friend has his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels as he considers me. “Did we miss it? Or did we ignore it?”
“I didn’t ignore a goddamn thing. I wouldn’t have. Not with…” I trail off because they know what I was going to say. I feel my fury and disgust with Danny flowing through my body and settle into my stomach, feeling nauseous. I’d give anything to have him standing in front of me at this moment.
“He didn’t say you, man, he said we. And I gotta say, I’d have to agree. Danny has always been a loose cannon. We saw it in high school and then afterwards. Do you remember his bachelor’s party?”
“I do. That’s why I didn’t stick around for the train wreck of their wedding,” Ethan adds in.
I remember having to calm Danny down when Ethan was a no-show. He only had three groom’s men; me, Vincent, and Ethan. I also remember that there was no one standing up for Mina, and thought it was odd. Danny had a quick explanation that she had stated she just wanted to focus on the two of them for the wedding, and extra people weren’t necessary. Vincent and I had been insulted that she thought we weren’t necessary to be there for their big day. Now I’m thinking that isn’t actually how it went down at all.
“I knew there was something off about the wedding. She was really quiet, and I don’t remember her really talking to anyone that day. I figured she hadn’t wanted us there,” I mention, feeling like a complete fucking idiot.
I’d wager my life savings that she didn’t even want to be there, let alone annoyed that we were.
Vincent’s voice is quiet when he adds, “I heard him talking to her at the wedding when he thought no one was listening.” He looks away from us like he’s embarrassed but continues. “He told her she was humiliating him.”
“How was she supposedly humiliating him? I don’t remember anything happening that he should have been embarrassed about. Except for the fact that he was hammered by the end of the night.” The wedding was a mess from the start. Once the ceremony started, it felt awkward and stilted, like two people marrying after having only met each other for the first time. When Danny leaned in to kiss her at the end, I remember Mina being stiff when he tried to shove his tongue down her throat.
“Made comments that she needed to make more of an effort to engage with his guests. That now is the time that they are supposed to be presenting how they’re going to be as a couple. That it makes people uncomfortable when she won’t show interest in the topics discussed around her. I dunno, but I didn’t say anything… I just kept eating.”
Ethan simply shakes his head and walks toward the door. “We can discuss all of this later. She’s in there making everyone lunch, so let’s not keep her waiting.” Holding the door open for us, I follow Vincent out, glaring at the ground as we walk inside, Walter strutting calmly at my side. I check on him to make sure my outburst didn’t upset him, but he seems calm and relaxed, so I let go of my worry.
Walking back into the house, the smells of her cooking hit me all at once, making my mouth water. I don’t know what the hell she’s cooking, but I’m immediately starving.
I ignore Vincent’s words of greeting as my gaze roams over the meal she’s laid out on the table. Each plate perfectly set with silverware, empty glasses, and napkins. There’s a bowl filled with a large meat mixture with sauteed bell peppers and a creamy sauce, reminding me of a Philly-cheesesteak mix. There are other bowls filled with bread rolls, sliced fruit, chips, and a pasta salad.
Raising a brow in surprise, I survey the layout and ask, “Where did this all come from?”
Mina, setting down a jug of ice lemonade, pauses. “From the fridge… I-Is this alright? I thought it was okay to use some leftovers.” She spins the lemonade, so the handle is facing the same way as all the serving spoons are sitting in each of the bowls, and wrings her hands together. “Should I not have used it? Were you saving the steak for something else? I should have asked first…”
“No!” I quickly say, holding my hands out to stop her. “This is great. I just didn’t think something like this could come out of my kitchen.”
“This looks incredible! I don’t know about you guys, but I’m fucking starving.” Vincent says, grinning from ear to ear as he settles into one of the empty chairs.
Ethan sits next, rumbling out, “Thank you, Mina.”
I wait for Mina to sit when I notice that there are only three settings at the table. Looking over at the counter, I see a fourth plate with a small sandwich and a few chips on the side. Sighing, I realize she wasn’t planning to sit with us, and I quickly remind myself that she’s likely feeling unsure about her place here. Forcing a smile, I hold out my hand toward the table. “Would you eat with us?”
My question has Vincent whipping his head toward the woman standing awkwardly a few paces from the table. “You weren’t going to sit with us? But you put in all this effort! Put your feet up.”
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to eat with you all. I don’t mind going up to the room if you’d like.” Her voice is tentative, unsure if she should stay or go, and I fucking hate it.
“We’d like you to eat with us,” I assure her. She grabs her plate and then sits stiffly. I regret not giving her the option to eat away from us, but I want her to learn that we aren’t her enemies. Her body language is screaming that she feels out of place here. I don’t blame her. She’s only known us as Danny’s friends, and Danny is the villain in her story, making us his henchmen.
Vincent and I dig into the meal she threw together. Once Vincent lets out a groan of approval, her shoulders relax in relief. Ethan watches her as she takes a hesitant bite, then dives into his own meal. We all eat in relative silence, the guys and I chatting about trivial things while trying to draw her into conversation.
Her demeanor completely changes when Vincent mentions something about thinking of joining an intramural football team. I’m relieved that we’ve maybe swung the direction of talk into something she finds interesting, but it’s not the sports talk that has her eyes lighting up.
It’s the dog.
Walter’s nails click across the tile flooring as he meanders his way into the dining room, probably looking for some scraps that have fallen on the floor. He doesn’t pause as he saunters past me, then Ethan, to walk over to where Mina is sitting. Only half of her sandwich is missing, but she pushes back from the table and turns sideways to lean over and scratch him behind his ears.
I hold back my grin when Walter stretches his neck out to sniff at her chin, then lips, panting his nasty dog breath on her face. It’s fascinating to see how absorbed she becomes when he’s around, like she’s never been exposed to dogs before. When his tongue runs across her cheek and she giggles softly, I exchange a smile with Vincent, who’s already looking back at her with laughter in his eyes.
“Walter certainly seems taken with you,” I tell her, keeping my tone light.
She looks up at me, and her smile falters. Pulling her hand back from his head, he leans into her and shoves his nose into her lap, looking for more attention.
I didn’t want her to feel she needed to stop petting him. It’s like each time I speak, she acts like I’m scolding her for something.
“Did you have a dog growing up?” Vincent asks her, redirecting her attention towards him. “Wait, nevermind. I would have remembered if you had a pet when we were over at Danny’s.” His eye twitches when I bump his shin for bringing up a reminder of our association with her husband.
Her fingers are playing with her napkin nervously before she touches Walter’s head again in a soothing gesture across the bridge of his nose. I can hear the thumping of his tail on the floor, so I don’t begrudge him for essentially being eye-level with the table while there’s food present. Normally, he’s not allowed to be in the room when I’m eating because he’s a beggar. This time, though, he’s just looking for a little affection, so I let it go.
“Well, feel free to give him all the pets you want. He’s never opposed to getting attention,” I tell her, setting my napkin over my plate and pushing it away from me slightly. She sees my action and immediately stands up, coming around the table to grab it.
I eye her unfinished sandwich and stop her. “You don’t need to do that, Mina.” Nodding my chin toward her place, I add, “Sit. Finish your lunch. We wanted to talk to you anyway.”
She hesitates, then reluctantly moves back to her chair and sits back down. The three of us are finished, and she looks uncomfortable with all of us focused on her.
Ethan taps the table to gain my attention, and when I look at him, he raises an eyebrow. I’m at a loss here, buddy. I don’t know what to say to her to make her feel more at ease. My mind is scrambling to think of what to say next when Vincent takes the conversation in a much darker direction.
“So, Mina. We have something to tell you that you need to know.” He’s got a sheepish look on his face, like he’s done something wrong. I just know he’s going to tell her that Danny was released this morning. She needs to know, but I was hoping to get her to relax a bit more before we broke that news.
“Okay,” she says. She’s not eating anymore, so I assume she’s finished, and this is as good a time as any. I doubt she’ll have an appetite after we’re done.
He clears his throat and covers her hand resting on the table with his. She doesn’t jerk away like she did with me, but does pull it free to fold into her lap.
“They released Danny this morning on bail. Before I took him home, I verified that his restraining order was all set, but you need to know that he’s out now.”
Her mouth drops open, then snaps shut, processing the devastating news. “Y-you picked him up?” Her eyes turn to me and Ethan in question, able to see that we both aren’t surprised by the news. “Does he know I’m here?”
Ethan is quick with his denial. “No.”
Vincent answers at the same time as Ethan. “Absolutely not. We wouldn’t tell him that, honey.”
“Why not? He’s your friend.”
“He is not our friend,” I grumble out. Her flash of anger at my answer is a surprise, but it’s not unwelcome. I’m glad to see that there’s some fire in her.
“Since when?” she asks, then points a finger at Vincent. “He picked him up from jail and took him home. That’s something a friend would do.”
Vincent is quick to defend himself. “I only picked him up because we don’t want him to suspect anything. If he thinks we’re on his side, he may let us in on anything he’s planning, hopefully giving us a heads up. We’re only trying to stay one-step ahead of him.” He attempts another one of his trademark smiles, but doesn’t get the reaction he was hoping for. “We’re your friend too, Mina.”
I swear to God, the woman scoffs at him, and I’m proud of her. “You aren’t my friend.”
He settles his hand on his heart playfully, and I want to smack him for not reading the situation correctly. For a cop, he sure can be obtuse. “What? You’ve hurt me! Since when have we not been friends? We grew up together.”
Her silence is deafening as she stares at him, truly believing that we’ve never thought of her that way. Sure, we were asses growing up, but we were just kids and that’s what kids do. I don’t know if I, personally, would have called her friend, but maybe acquaintance.
