Chapter 37
Hanging up on Gavin’s call, I rubbed my temples, inexplicably uneasy.
What exactly does Alex want to announce at the birthday party? That I’m his wife?
But Austin and I just broke up not long ago. Even though the online gossip about our love–hate saga had been suppressed, it was unlikely that those who were following it would let it go so quickly.
More importantly, there was no need for me to make my marriage public.
While I did want to give Austin a bloody nose, I didn’t want to become the target of everyone’s criticism.
Announcing being Alex’s wife in public, I might face much verbal abuse.
But honestly, Alex didn’t have a reason to ruin his birthday party for me, right?
I couldn’t help but recall that stunningly beautiful face that took my breath away, along with those deep–set eyes, seemingly gentle yet laced with laughter–his gaze sent chills down my back.
Suddenly, the abrupt ringing of my phone broke the quietness of the room. Glancing at the vibrating phone on the desk, I stood up wearily. Just as I picked it up, the ringing abruptly stopped.
Seeing the incoming number, I frowned slightly- it was an unknown number.
Immediately after, I got a text from my cousin Maliyah: [Laurel, are you in Nifelheim? Javier has been taken to the police station.]
I froze for several seconds, and before I could do anything more, Maliyah’s call came through.
Javier Peters and Maliyah Peters are the children of my aunt Bonnie.
Maliyah just graduated and got an internship at an ad agency this year, while Javier’s still a sophomore, with so–so grades, barely making it into a decent college.
But Bonnie was chill, ‘cause with Javier’s grades, just getting into uni was like a miracle. She was not banking on him making it big and just wanted him to get that degree and land a job.
“Laurel, are you in Nifelheim? I’m stuck at work, plus I don’t wanna call Mom, she’ll freak out.” The anxious voice of Maliyah came from the phone, sounding down and all.
“Where is he?” I asked, keeping it cool.
“Norfield Police Department,” Maliyah replied in a soft voice.
I frowned a bit, my eyes narrowing, thinking about Austin’s threat. “Why’s he out in the ‘burbs?”
“He didn’t come home this weekend, hung out at a friend’s. Ended up going to a restaurant, had a few drinks, and got into a fight with someone.” Maliyah sounded somewhat impatient.
“He beat someone up? Bad?”
“Nah, he got his ass kicked.” Maliyah cracked off a couple of laughs.
Relieved, a smile pulled at my lips. “Got it. I’ll go. Keep on working. Wanna grab dinner tonight?”
“Yeah, I’m up for barbecue.” Her voice rolled with a tease of delight, her mood lightening up fast.
Before hanging up, she shot, “Laurel, don’t snitch to Mom, or I’ll be in trouble too.”
“Gotcha.”
Finishing the call, I texted Angela. By the time I reached the lobby on the first floor, Angela was hurrying over to me and thrusting the car keys into my hand.
“Take my ride. It’s over an hour both ways,” she offered.
I paused a second, then took ‘em. “I won’t have time to join you for lunch today, so you’ll have to manage on your own.”
Angela nodded, reminding me as she saw me out, “Be careful on the road, and don’t rush.”
Rush? What’s there to rush about?
1/2
12:58 PM
Chapter 37
+58)
If it weren’t for the fact that the police can’t detain people for more than 24 hours, I wish that punk would stay locked up longer, so I wouldn’t have to worry about him causing more trouble outside.
Maliyah and Javier are real siblings, but they’re monumentally different.
Maliyah has always been a straight–A student since she was little, never giving her mom any trouble.
Back when we lived in the countryside, Maliyah’s room had a wall full of medals. She was the kind of trophy child parents always talked about.
On the other hand, Javier has been a troublemaker since he was young. When he was five, he actually picked a fight with a boy two years older than him.
He came back all beaten up, crying and hollering.
Bonnie was heartbroken, but still scolded him.
Ever since then, even if Javier was wronged in the worst way, he never came home crying to his mom.
After his dad passed away when Javier was eight, I saw him cry his heart out for the first and last time. Every time I saw him now, he was all bravado. My uncle died in the sweltering summer when Javier was in third grade.
Actually, my uncle had always been in poor health. He was diagnosed with late–stage stomach cancer when Javier was six, but he toughed it out for two more years, even hiding his illness from the family.
It wasn’t until three months before he died that Bonnie found out about his illness.
When I heard about his sudden death, I was caught off guard, let alone Maliyah and Javier.
Since Uncle passed away, Bonnie poured all her energy into her career.
She needed more money to support the two kids, though she didn’t really have to work herself to the bone because Uncle left them a settlement. But she hadn’t touched a single dime of that money until Javier got into a fight and smashed someone’s head with a beer bottle.
To smooth things over, my aunt ended up using that money. She gave the rest to Javier without saying a word.
We all knew she was seriously mad. After that incident, Javier stayed quiet for almost half a year, then went back to his old ways of getting into fights.
But, learning from last time, he at least knew the limits to his aggression. Still, his visits to the police station became more frequent.
Thinking about it, I let out a long sigh. My memories of Javier still lingered from his father’s funeral when he was eight. I never imagined that Javier, who didn’t even cry when someone broke his arm, could cry so bitterly then.
I even secretly felt fortunate at that time that I didn’t have a father, and even if I did, I couldn’t have shed so many tears as Javier could when I heard of his death, maybe not even a single drop.
Following the GPS, I drove to the police station. As I parked on the side of the road, I spotted a black Mercedes parked nearby–it looked somewhat familiar.
Walking into the station, I knocked on the door. “Hi, I’m here to bail someone out.”
i
