Torn (Lords of the City #1) (51 page)

“E
mily…? Emily, we know you’re here. Open the door,” Linda insisted from my hallway. I dragged myself off of the couch and padded to the front door in the teddy bear house slippers I’d had since I was twelve. I turned the knob and my friends pushed into the living room.

“We have takeout,” Linda announced, lifting a bulging white plastic bag.

“And booze,” Melissa added. She set a brown paper sack on the coffee table and set off for the kitchen.

I brushed my fingers through my greasy hair. “I really appreciate this, but I really meant it when I said I wasn’t up for company.”

Three days had passed since my arrest and subsequent breakup. The first day, Ethan had called every hour on the hour. The second, I downloaded an app that blocked his number. I’d ignored my friends’ calls but returned their texts, promising I was okay and insisting I wanted to be alone. They didn’t listen.

“You’ve been locked up in this apartment all week. You don’t have to entertain us or even talk to us if you don’t want to. But we’re not leaving until we’ve at least seen you eat something,” Linda insisted.

Melissa returned from the kitchen with three plates and three tumblers of ice. Linda loaded lo mein and lemon chicken onto the dishes while Melissa poured three rum and cokes. They carried everything to the coffee table and sat down on the floor in front of me. I wanted to stay in my pouty mood, but the food smelled too delicious. I took a plastic fork from the bag and swirled a bite of noodles around it. The three of us ate in silence for a while before Melissa cleared her throat.

“So how are you holding up?”

I shrugged. “How do I look?”

She studied me for a moment and frowned. “Awful, if I’m being honest.”

At that point, I considered awful a compliment. I’d been wearing the same sweatpants and t-shirt for days, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d run a brush through my hair, and I knew I probably didn’t smell fantastic.

“Well, that’s how I feel.” I took a long drink of my cocktail and stabbed a piece of lemon chicken.

“Have you heard from Ethan?” Linda pressed.

“No. I don’t have anything to say to him.”

Linda and Melissa exchanged a knowing glance and Melissa turned back to me.

“Emily, I know that this is an impossible time. But are you sure you didn’t overreact, just a little?”

“I’ve been accused of attacking a
child,
Melissa. Reporters were crawling all over the hospital when I was arrested. You saw the footage of them swarming him when he left. And all he said was ‘no comment.’ He’s supposed to love me, but he can’t be bothered to defend me? That’s not the kind of man I want. I can’t believe you’re defending him.”

“I’m not defending him,” Melissa assured me. “I’m just not sure you fully understand things from his perspective.”

“Ethan has a lot of people depending on him, Emily,” Linda added quietly. “We all know he loves you. It’s all over his face anytime you’re in the room.”

“This is the Stallion’s first season, Emily. It’s almost unheard of for a brand new team to get this far in the playoffs. They’re primed to be one of the best teams in the league. But they won’t survive an ugly scandal. I think Ethan felt he was choosing the lesser of the two evils… and I’m not sure he wasn’t right.”

“You honestly think it’s okay that he chose the team over me?” I snapped. I tossed my half eaten dinner on the coffee table and reached for my drink. I needed to calm my nerves before my anger got the best of me.

“I think that Ethan knows you’re innocent and knows it’s only a matter of time before everyone else knows that too. I think that there are a lot of players, trainers, groundskeepers, and countless other people depending on the Stallions’ success. And I think Victor Montez is a big enough ass to follow through with his threat to terminate Ethan’s contract midseason. They won’t win without him, Em. They proved that while he was injured.”

“So I’m supposed to let Victor and Martha hold my life hostage because they disapprove of me? I’m supposed to be satisfied with Ethan supporting me behind closed doors but not speaking a word in my defense to the people calling me a monster?”

“Well… yes,” Melissa agreed. “Honestly, Emily. I’m in this business and I’m telling you, the less this is talked about, the better. If you don’t feed the story, it dies. One five-second sound bite and it’ll keep going for at least another week.”

“And with any luck, this will be over in less than that,” Linda added. “Have you heard anything from the police?”

I shook my head. “I talked to my lawyer today. He said the police are still looking at the surveillance footage. The prosecutor’s office is investigating every aspect of my life. You should probably both expect a call.”

“I hope they call,” Linda insisted. “I’ll tell them you’re the last person who’d ever hurt a child.”

“Personally, I think Ben was behind it,” Melissa suggested. “I mean, think about it. How many people even knew that those snacks were there? And out of those people, who knew what Alfie was and wasn’t allergic to?”

“We sent home a list with the parents. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been hard for someone else to get their hands on it. As for the snacks, Ben, you guys, and Ethan were the only ones who knew about them.”

“So it had to be Ben,” Linda said matter of factly. “I don’t know how I’m going to send the kids to PE on Monday.”

“I know Ben being behind this makes sense. But I just can’t believe he’s capable of hurting a child. You’ve seen him with the students, Linda. He really cares about them. If he wanted to hurt me, he’d hurt me directly. Someone else is behind this. We just have to figure out who. Do you have any other ideas?”

They shook their heads in unison. I took another bite of my lo mein and chased it with the rest of my rum and coke before turning back to Linda.

“What’s the theory going around the school? Does everyone think I’m guilty?”

“If they do, they’ve been smart enough not to mention it to me. No one’s really talking about it at all, actually. But everyone’s taking extra precautions. The janitors changed out all of the classroom locks this week and a security company was there today adding more cameras. I think everyone’s assuming this was an outside job.”

“It had to have been,” I agreed. “We just have to figure out how everything connects.”

“That’s a chore for another day,” Melissa said, pouring us all another round. She passed me a drink and then reached for her oversized purse. She pulled out a gallon sized Ziploc bag full of every beauty product you could imagine.

“I know you feel like shit,” she explained. “I know because you look it. Maybe if we do something about that, you’ll start to feel better. We’re going to have a spa night. But first, you’ve
got
to take a shower.”

“You’ll feel so much better when you get out,” Linda insisted, a hand covering her mouth.

“Okay. I’m not the best at taking a hint, but I understand blunt statements. There’s some precut cookie dough in my fridge. Why don’t you guys pop them onto a cookie sheet? I’ll go wash off this smell and then I’m all yours.”

***

My night with my friends made me feel better. But when I woke up alone in bed the next morning, the cloud of depression consumed me again. I’d started the school year feeling nothing but optimism about my future. And before the end of the first semester, my entire life had crumbled around me. Without my job or my boyfriend, I had no real reason to get out of bed. It didn’t help knowing I wouldn’t be able to make it down the block without someone snapping my picture. I spent another week hiding out at home, leaving only to meet with Frank. So far, there were no new developments in my case.

I forced myself to shower, do my hair, and put on makeup every day for the sake of not seeing the looks of concern on the faces of my family and friends. Everyone had taken to dropping by unannounced, and pretending to be fine was easier than telling the truth. Inside, I felt like I was dying.

Melissa’s advice kept echoing through my head and my heart ached to call Ethan. I compromised with myself and unblocked his number, but it was too late. Three days passed without a single call from him. I decided that as much as it hurt, it was probably best to let him go. But the thought of never seeing him again was more terrifying than anything else I was going through.

I was popping a single serve pot pie in the oven when the doorbell rang. It startled me and the top of my hand brushed against the hot rack.

“Son of a bitch,” I hissed, waving my stinging hand in the air. I rushed to the sink and ran my hand under cold water as panicked knocks filled the air.

“Emily?” Ethan called out. “Emily, are you okay?”

My heart raced as I turned off the faucet and grabbed a dishtowel. “I’m fine,” I called out. “I’m coming.”

I answered the door, still in shock that he was on the other side. His eyes lit up when he saw me, but then quickly shot to the cardboard box in his hands.

“Hey,” he said awkwardly. “I thought I heard you swear.”

“You did. I wasn’t expecting anyone. The bell startled me and I burned my hand on my oven.”

He stepped past me and set the box on the coffee table. “Let me see it,” he insisted, reaching for my hand. I lifted it to him, melting inside at his touch. He gently stroked my scalded skin before pulling away again.

“It doesn’t look too bad. Do you have any aloe?”

I nodded. “I’ll put some on it before I go to bed. What are you doing here, Ethan?”

“You never called about picking up your things, so I brought some of it over. I have a few duffle bags in the car. I didn’t want to carry everything up until I knew you were home,” he explained.

He’s not here to fix anything. He’s just here to finish ending it.

“I haven’t ventured out much. Thanks for bringing everything over. I’ll help you with the bags.”

“I’ll get them,” he insisted. “Go take care of that burn. The longer you wait, the worse it could get.”

He went for the rest of my things while I tended to my hand. When I went back to the living room, he’d already returned with the bags. He was perched awkwardly on the edge of the sofa, his elbows resting on his knees.

“Would you like something to drink?” I offered. “I have Coke and bottled water. And some rum Melissa left last week.”

“I’m okay. How are you holding up?”

I shrugged and sat down in my overstuffed armchair. “Okay, I guess. Just waiting impatiently for the slow wheels of justice to turn. I was hoping to be back at work before Christmas vacation, but it looks like that’s not going to happen. My uncle hired a PI to look into the Hollis family. He thinks we’re on the wrong track, thinking Alfie was hurt to get to me. The PI is looking into possible enemies of the family.”

“That makes as much sense as any of this,” he agreed. He took a deep breath and let it out, loud and slow. “Emily, I am so sorry. I was an ass. Everything happened so fast and I had people coming at me from all sides. I felt so much pressure… and I caved, at your expense. I’ve been kicking myself since the moment you left my house. I don’t know what I was—”

“I understand,” I interrupted. “I didn’t while it was happening. But I do now. On one side, you have me. On the other, there’re hundreds of people depending on the Stallions’ having a successful season.”

“That’s how I felt last week,” he agreed, his face tightening with emotion. “Now, I don’t give a damn about anyone else. You’re the only one I care about, Emily. The next time a reporter asks me about your arrest, I’m going to tell them exactly how I feel about it. I’m going to tell them that you’re the most caring, generous woman I’ve ever met. That you wouldn’t hurt your worst enemy, much less a child. I’m going to do what I should have done the moment all this started. And I’m going to tell my parents that I love you and their opinions don’t matter. I’m hoping you’ll forgive me and take me back. But I’m doing all of this whether you do or not. I love you, Emily.”

I wiped a stray tear from my cheek and joined him on the couch. All of the stress, fear, and anxiety lifted off of my shoulders as I fell into his arms.

“I love you, too. I missed you, Ethan. I’m still a little mad at you. I wish you’d explained
why
you wanted to handle things your way. When you told me we couldn’t be photographed together, I thought you were ashamed of me. I thought you felt your job was more important than our relationship. But Melissa helped me understand that it wasn’t just your job you were worried about, that a bad first season would affect everyone connected to the team. Do you really think your stepdad is that spiteful?”

He nodded. “Yes, but I don’t care anymore. I love you. If that costs me my spot with the Stallions, so be it. It’s not like Victor can kick me out of the league. If he releases me, I’ll sign with someone else. Or I’ll retire. My investments are doing well. We could spend the rest of our lives traveling if you want. There’s no limit, Emily.”

A sad sound that was supposed to have been a laugh escaped my lips. “There is at the moment. I’m not allowed to leave town,” I reminded him.

“That will be worked out soon enough. I want you to know that I have never once doubted your innocence. And I certainly wasn’t ashamed of you. You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. You have this silent strength that pulls me toward you. I am so proud to be the man by your side, if you’ll still have me.”

I gave him a quick, firm kiss on the lips and then pulled away and studied him with a raised eyebrow. “You’re absolutely sure about this? The last thing I want is for this to backfire and you to resent me for ruining your career.”

Ethan cradled my face in his wide, rough hand and stared longingly into my eyes. “You asked me once why I play football when I can afford not to work at all.”

“And you said not playing would be a waste of your talent.”

He nodded. “I’m proud of my talents. I see them as a blessing, and blessings aren’t to be squandered. But
you
are my biggest blessing, Emily. Regardless of what happens, I will spend my life worshiping you, not resenting you.”