A Life Unplanned (18 page)

"Videos?" Maylene asked looking at me curiously. She was probably thinking I was some nasty stalker who had been filming her baby boy's sexual exploits.

"After what happened in Boston…" I looked to Roger for help.

He cleared his throat roughly and nodded. "If Clara thinks she can help him, we need to let her."

I really hoped Trent wouldn't hate me for outing his collection.

Chapter 22 – Incriminating Evidence

The doctor stepped into the waiting room with a tired smile. "The surgeries went well. We weren't able to save the one damaged kidney or his gallbladder, but we were able to repair the damage done to his liver. His arm will be fine. They missed the bone completely, and we were able to repair the damage in both the bicep and forearm. He'll need to not use his arm for the next eight weeks, but I believe he'll have a full recovery."

"I thought you said he was only shot three times?" I asked worried. It sounded like he had been showered in bullets.

"The angle of one of the shots hit three organs. Like I said, he should have a full recovery. They're getting him settled in his room now. I'll have a nurse come get you once he's ready."

"Thank you," Maylene said with cool grace. I was a mess, ready to chase him down the hall until he took me to him.

Once the doctor was out of sight, Brian started asking about the videos and when he could have them.

"Let me ask Trent first. I shouldn't have even told you about them. He only told me because I found them on accident when I was looking for the vacuum."

"If he truly has evidence that can prove they were lying, we can throw them and everyone involved in jail. He'd be able to end things once and for all," Brian pushed, anxious to get his hands on the videos.

A nurse stepped forward, getting our attention. Only two people were allowed back at a time, and Roger kindly gave me his spot, so I could go back with Maylene.

When we walked in, Trent's eyes fluttered, like he was trying to wake up.

"Trent?" his mother called to him.

"Tyler," he gasped.

"He's fine. We have him. He's safe at your parents' house. My mom and dad have him and Katie," I answered quickly, before he could get too upset.

His eyes found me, and he looked so upset. "I'm sorry, Clara, I'm so sorry. I should've stayed away until I knew they wouldn't come after me. I should've-"

"How were you supposed to know they'd come after you? We'd already dealt with them once, and they were in no way violent. You can't put your life on hold, Trent," his mother cut in.

"She's still out there," Trent worried.

"She's dead, honey. The police found the cabin, and as soon as shots were heard, they moved in. She just kept shooting, but had turned on the cops. She was dead when the paramedics arrived."

He reached out to me with his good hand, and I took it, bursting into tears and kissed him. "I was so scared. There was security footage…"

"I'm sorry, I'll understand if you want me to stay away from you and the kids until..."

"No, she's dead, Trent. Tyler needs you. He's been crying for his daddy. We all need you."

I kissed his face all over, dripping tears on him.

"Brittney's dead, but I don't know who else might've been involved, Clara," he worried.

"Brittney? That was Tiffany. Brittney was killed in a car accident with her son."

Trent shook his head no. "That's not what happened. It was Tiffany who died in the accident…with my son. She didn't get an abortion, and she didn't stay at school. She talked her twin into taking her place and holding her classes. Tiffany left school and took over a little office management job that Brittney had been doing." He grimaced and shifted a little. "It was Brittney who was coming after me, trying to get me to take responsibility for my actions against Tiffany. I'd made Brittney's life a living hell, thinking she was Tiffany, and Brittney attempted suicide because of that, not because she was upset about an abortion. I'd really thought she was Tiffany, and I'd just assumed she had the abortion, because she was obviously not pregnant."

Maylene slipped out, when the nurse showed up at the door with Roger. I was thankful they didn't ask me to leave instead. "Have you told him what's going on with the hospital?" he asked.

I shook my head no, and Roger frowned.

"What's going on?" Trent asked.

"The papers Tiffany had you sign were affidavits admitting to rape. The confession was accompanied by journal entries. They pushed through your resignation immediately and are refusing to reinstate your position because of the journal entries."

Trent groaned, sounding more annoyed than upset. "What does Brian have planned?"

"Actually…" Roger started and looked at me.

"The accusations take place during college, you can prove you didn't rape them if you handover the tape with-" I started.

"No, Clara, I can't do that. I'm an OB/GYN. If it got out that I had a huge explicit collection of my sexual encounters, it would ruin me. Who did you tell about it?"

"It was only your mother, Brian, Kelly, and I who were present for the conversation about the videos."

"Just keep your mouths shut about it. I hadn't mentioned it before for a reason."

"But if it could help your case-" I started, but he cut me off.

"I'm sure Brian can handle it without the videos. We're trying to prove there was no sexual misconduct, not that there is! If I truly am fired, then showing them a private homemade porn collection isn't going to make me look any better."

"If the journal entries are based on actual events of that night, giving Brian the video to build his defense might help. He could poke holes in their story. I think you should turn the tapes over to him, even if they aren't being used as evidence. It could be considered your testimony of what happened that night," Roger suggested.

Trent let out a sigh and then looked over at me. "Are you okay with getting that for him?"

"Yes, I'm sorry I told them, but I thought it would help."

"It might, but it can't be used they way you were thinking."

I apologized and kissed him again. Brian came to the door, and I told Trent I'd be in the waiting room. Trent needed to strategize a defense with his dad and lawyer.

When Brian came back into the waiting room, he asked me to come with him to get the videos. I sat nervously silent. I hadn't ever really spoken to him or his wife. When we arrived at Trent's home, I walked over to the closet and pulled out the box of movies. "Can you give me dates? He has these numbered chronologically."

I found the first one easily, but couldn't find the second one. It was then I realized it was on the DVD I was on. The last time I had seen it was when we had watched it together. I tried to think of something I could do to distract Brian, so he wouldn't know I had to go track down the dirty movie of Trent and I, that I had made Trent watch with me.

"Does he not have one for this time span?" Brian asked.

"Yeah…just…give me a minute." I set the box aside and went to the front room. I found the case, but it was empty. I was worried it was mixed up in another CD case, because I knew he'd watched a couple of movies over the week we were apart. I had to find it fast and discreetly. I was opening the cases frantically, knowing Brian would step into the room any minute, wondering what I was up to.

"Did you check the player?" he asked, and I about leapt out of my skin.

"He doesn't watch them," I countered.

"Still…" he suggested with a nod. I wasn't very familiar with Trent's entertainment system, and it showed when I tried to use the remote to turn on the DVD player. The TV came on, and I hit a secondary power button, turning the stereo on, blasting TV static. I hit the third "power" button and was mortified. Splayed across Trent's fifty-inch TV was Trent and me. He had just finished and was pulling me into his arms, still touching me in places Brian should not see. Thankfully, Brian turned around.

"Well, I guess there's at least one girl he likes to watch," he said with a chuckle.

"Please don't-"

"I promise to only look at the footage needed for my case, Clara."

"I didn't know he was recording. I didn't know he was making a video. I would've never-"

"It's okay, Clara, I understand. I also believed him, when he told me he only made them for security reasons. He was just trying to protect himself, and now I'm going to use them for what they were made for. Everything will be done discreetly. The only other person who'll be looking at this will be my wife, Kelly. She has an excellent eye for details and can catch things others don't. There's no reason for us to go over your footage, though."

"Thank you," I said blushing scarlet and finally turned over the video to him. I really hoped it didn't get out. I was going to have to ask Trent why it was in the player, cued up to where it was. That boy had some explaining to do.

It was ten days later that Trent was released from the hospital. Maylene was very insistent that we all come stay at her house. Apparently, she believed I still needed looking after, since Katie was still so little and Tyler was such a busy body. I protested, but it was Trent's insistence that he'd be fine and could help me without any problem that made me cave. I knew he'd try to help and possibly hurt himself doing so.

I checked the bandages on his arm. He had Katie cradled in the other one as I worked. "Are you sure you're alright holding her?" I asked.

"I'm fine. She's light and far away from my incision, babe. We're fine. I need my cuddle time with my baby girl. If I thought Tyler wouldn't forget about my stitches, I'd hold him, too."

"I was surprised they used stitches, isn't glue and tape all the rage? That's what most kids leave with where I work at Dr. Coust's office."

"Gunshot wounds and exploratory surgery call for stiches. Have you decided to keep your job?" he asked sadly.

"No," I answered and kissed the pout off his face. "I just haven't quit yet, and it's hard to think of it as not my job, when that's what I'd been doing for the past three years."

"So…you still want to move in with me?"

"That's the plan, although, if things don't go well, you might need to move in with me, and I'll just keep my job," I said, as I carefully taped the last piece of bandage into place. I hadn't heard anything about the case since I had turned over the videos, and it was driving me crazy that Trent was so tight-lipped about it. The outcome affected more than just him.

"Brian has things under control," he said dismissively. I gritted my teeth and took Katie from him.

"That's great, that's just great, you let me know if you need anything else," I griped and shut the door a bit harder than I should have. I hated being left in the dark.

"Is everything alright, Clara?" Maylene asked me, as I rounded the hall corner.

I plastered on a smile. "Yeah, I'm just giving Trent some quiet time," I covered.

"Alright, let me know if you need anything."

It was only a few moments later that Trent came out of the room wearing a frown. "Are you mad at me?" he asked like the confused fool he was.

"Trent, what's going on with your case?" I asked outright.

"Just technical stuff at the moment, misfiled this, loophole that, obscure law here, misused jargon there…"

"Trent-" I cut off his non-answer, even more annoyed, "Just tell me how bad it is. Are you ever going to be reinstated, or am I going to be the breadwinner in our family?"

I didn't know why the asshole was suddenly smiling. I wanted to smack it right off his face. Instead, he pulled me to him with his good arm and started kissing me. After a moment, I pushed him away. "Your voodoo mind eraser kisses are not going to make me forget I asked you about the trial, Trent. What's going on?"

"Brian filed a few papers, about me being under duress when I'd signed the affidavit, and he's currently transcribing the video, so he can submit it as testimony of my version of the events."

"Transcribing?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, why are you smiling?"

"So, what's the document going to say when you get to the moaning and groaning part of things?" I teased.

He smacked my behind. "It won't be transcribed directly like that. The events will be described, not the sounds."

"You never did tell me why you had my movie in the player," I pushed. He seemed to suddenly need to do something, or we had been interrupted every time I had brought it up. This time was no different. Katie started crying, and my milk let down, making me uncomfortable.

"Looks like Katie needs you. I'll let you get to it-"

"You're not getting out of answering me, Trent," I said sternly, but Katie decided to cry louder in protest of her meal being delayed. "You'd better have an answer for me when we're alone in bed tonight."

His smile was too wide to be innocent. "Sure thing, babe. I'm going to go check on Tyler."

He was down the hall and out of sight within seconds. I had a feeling he was going to do his best to try to make me forget I had asked.