Before she married Ethan, she was married to Chris for about five years. During that time, he cheated on her, abused her mentally and physically, and at the end of their relationship almost killed her. He was a monster. He went to prison for what he did.
Last year he got out and immediately jumped back into the public eye. Before being arrested, he was running for a senator position in Michigan where they lived. Needless to say, the campaign was derailed with scandal upon scandal.
Once my mind wrapped around what I was seeing I pulled back and moved behind a small food truck. I could see them clearly, but I doubted Cleo would spot us.
They were talking. He was smiling, but she wasn’t. She looked upset. He reached for her hand across the table, but she shook her head furiously. He didn’t like that. I watched as they seemed to bicker about something. I wondered if Ethan knew about this. Of course he didn’t. He would have never let her see him, let alone go alone. What was she thinking?
Chris leaned down and pulled something out of a laptop bag I hadn’t noticed before. It was a book. He slid it across the table to her. She looked down at it but didn’t reach for it. He spoke, his mouth turning up in a smile that made him look like a cat with a mouse. Finally, she picked it up and examined it.
She turned it around and read the back, then opened it and began scanning it. After a few minutes she threw it at him. He ducked, then reached down to grab it off the cement. He crossed his arms on the table and she then stood up. She yelled something that I couldn’t hear from this distance, and then stormed off.
I watched him for a few more minutes. If he chased after her, I was calling the police, and then Ethan. Then probably Mark, just for good measure. You couldn’t be too safe when it came to that monster. I had seen what he could do.
He didn’t move from the table though. Instead he put the book back in his bag and picked up his phone to make a call. When I was satisfied that he was going to leave her alone I continued my walk.
I thought long and hard about whether to say something to anyone about what I saw, but decided to wait until next Wednesday, when I could talk to her alone. I wanted to get to the bottom of it before it got blown up into something major for no reason. It was killing me though.
That night at dinner I fought with myself about whether or not to tell Mark. The constant going back and forth made me lose my appetite. When he asked about my day, I almost spilled everything. Instead I chose to talk about the baby clothes I had bought for Tot.
“She’s convinced it’s a boy. I kind of think so too,” I told him. He chuckled and took a drink of his beer.
“Yeah, she’s mentioned it once or twice. Did she tell you her new name for him?”
“No, what is it this week?”
“Kermit. We’d call him Kermie for short.”
“Oh joy,” I sighed.
“Saturday night is the cast party. Are you coming?” I asked.
“Sure. Sounds like fun,” he said. I gave him a look and he smirked.
“Okay, it doesn’t, but I’ll still go with you. You support me with my things, I can support you too.” I reached for his hand. I don’t know how I got so lucky.
Friday morning Mark woke me up and insisted I hurry up and shower. “Come on, come on, come on. It’s time!” I groaned and put a pillow over my head.
“What time is it?”
“Time to get up to get me to the doctor. I need my drums, they miss me,” he whined. I sighed and groggily made my way to the shower.
Much to Mark’s dismay, although he was able to take his arm out of the sling, he couldn’t play the drums until he went through physical therapy. He was fairly confident that he would be able to play again.
“Know your limits. Otherwise next time you might not be so lucky.”
He let out a giant “Woo!” When he got outside. I rolled my eyes.
“You still have to do physical therapy. You’re not playing until you’re cleared,” I reminded him, but he ignored me as he whistled on his way to the car.
When we got home I asked him if he was hungry, but he laughed. “Hell no baby. I just got my arm back. I need to bang something.”
I assumed he was talking about his drums but the moment we closed the front door he was ripping off his shirt and pressing his lips to mine. My eyes went wide with surprise, but I embraced the moment quickly.
“You have no idea how much I have been wanting to get you upstairs and show you I still got it,” he murmured as he pulled away and quickly scooped me up in his arms.
I squealed as he turned and ran to the stairs. He sped up them as I giggled. I wanted to scold him for pushing his shoulder, but his adorable grin made me temporarily forget. He tossed me on the bed lightly and looked down at me, biting his lip. I sat up on my elbows and raised an eyebrow.
“You gonna show me or what?” I asked and he practically pounced on me.
