Battered Hearts 3: Crossing the line (37 page)

Wyatt winced. “That sucks.”

“Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?” Tino agreed. “Sucks big-time.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Tabitha was drowning.

Slowly but surely she was sinking beneath the surface of fear, losing air and steam faster than she could fight against it. For four months, she had lived in a fairy tale. Being with Wyatt had clicked her brain back into a place before her shattered innocence. She hadn’t dreamed in all that time.

Since the hardware store, the nightmares had returned with a vengeance.

Vaughn’s face was planted in her mind, as if thirteen years of therapy hadn’t done a damn thing to help her combat the horrible reality of being raped and beaten by a man who bought Tabitha from her brother for drugs.

“I have to leave,” she whispered miserably as she looked up at Terry from across his kitchen table. “I can’t hide it from him anymore. I keep having nightmares and—”

“Sweetheart.” Terry reached across the table and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. “What if we told him? Have you considered that? That poor man still thinks you left over a fight.”

“God, no.” She shook her head.

“He’s sheriff now. He ain’t twenty-one anymore,” Terry said evenly. “He’s been the big man in charge now for a long time. He ain’t gonna fly off the handle like he did when he was younger. You got to see he’s grown up since you left.”

“I do.” Tabitha nodded, unable to help the flare of pride despite the horrible circumstances. “But God, sometimes I still see the old Wyatt. I don’t think I can risk it.”

“I know I’m not the best person to talk about this with. What the hell do I know about this shit? This is a very serious problem, Tabitha, and you don’t have any of your support network around. We need another opinion.”

“But Hal’s at work,” Tabitha said frantically. “I came here because you two are the only people in this dang town who know what happened. I don’t want to be this person, Terry. I don’t want to be afraid. I don’t want to be a victim, especially to someone like
him
.”

“Have you called anyone from your old groups?”

“They all think I should tell him.” Tabitha shook her head again. “But they don’t understand everything.”

“What if we called Melody?”

Tabitha let out a frantic laugh. “Clay’s girlfriend? Are you insane?”

“She runs a shelter for women who’ve gone through things like this.” Terry shrugged. “She’s the only one I could think of who might know what to do. She knows counselors who can help. She’s been through things like this herself. You need an outside opinion, and she knows Wyatt. That’s what you wanted, right? Support that really understands.”

Tabitha wiped at her cheeks, because tears had started running down her face without her permission. “No.”

“Why not?” Terry raised his eyebrows. “Ain’t she obligated to keep quiet? Isn’t that part of the code or something?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“I would not suggest it if I didn’t think it was the right thing,” Terry went on as he reached over and patted her hand. “You have been here four times this week. Every time Wyatt leaves the house, you show up at my door, and I don’t know how to fix this for you. You won’t go to the doctor and get him to prescribe you something for your nerves. You’re having nightmares every night. It’s obvious you ain’t sleeping, and you’re stuck in a house where you have to pretend everything’s fine and dandy. This is as unhealthy as it can get.”

“Shit,” she moaned, knowing she was already defeated. She didn’t want Vaughn to win, and she didn’t have the heart to hurt Wyatt again, or herself. She would honestly rather die than just pack up and leave like she’d never had a second chance. “Fine, call her.”

Tabitha needed to talk to someone. She knew keeping it locked up was a horrible decision. This wasn’t the only bout of extended anxiety she had dealt with, and she had learned a long time ago that when she was drowning, the first thing she was supposed to do was reach for a life preserver. It was the reason she came running to Terry, but he was right. He wasn’t the right person to help.

She covered her face with her hands as her arms shook from the force of her fear. Why couldn’t she fight back? She was a strong woman. She had survived so much. She was successful and independent. Why was she letting one chance encounter with Vaughn in the hardware store destroy her?

She had done all the right things after she left Wyatt. She went to support groups. She got therapy. She had done everything humanly possible to move past the trauma. She had even proven that she could still love and let herself be loved by moving in with Wyatt. Now it was all crumpling around her. She had no idea her house of cards was so easy to shake.

She needed someone to talk her off the cliff before she leaped and ruined her only shot at a happy ending. Clay’s girlfriend was Tabitha’s last chance at saving what she had reclaimed with Wyatt. If that wasn’t shit luck, she didn’t know what was.

It took Melody less than twenty minutes to get there after Terry called her. She walked into Terry’s house still wearing her waitress uniform from Hal’s. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a bun, and her black-framed glasses reflected bright green eyes that were swimming with concern as she sat down next to Tabitha on Terry’s couch.

“Hal said you might need a woman to talk to,” Melody started, her voice soft in a way that made her name very apt.

Tabitha leaned back against the couch and looked up at the ceiling. She needed to give Rocky a girlfriend in this book. She blinked at the fan, deciding to name her Harmony, something soft and sweet that matched this woman’s gentle nature that was impossible to ignore.

“Can I use you in a book?” Tabitha finally asked rather than talk about anything more pressing.

“Clay told me you write those
Heroes of Sapphire County
books.” Melody reached over and squeezed her arm. “I think that’s exciting.”

“Do you?” Tabitha asked in a dull voice.

“Yeah, ain’t they been on the
New York Times
list forever?”

“I guess,” Tabitha said indifferently.

“That’s a big accomplishment. I can’t even imagine doing something like that. You touched the whole world with your stories.”

The admiration was so pure in Melody’s voice, Tabitha believed it in a way she rarely did. “I’m so happy Clay found someone like you. He deserves that.” She turned to Melody and gave her a smile despite the tears. “He was my friend for a long time.
My first friend
. Did he tell you that?”

“He said you grew up together.”

“He hates me.” Tabitha let out a sob, finally acknowledging for the first time how much Clay’s cold shoulder had hurt since she returned. “I’ve only seen him that one time we ran into y’all at Hal’s, and another time when I met Wyatt at the Cellar, but he ain’t said more than two words to me. I know he’s angry.”

“Clay’s complicated,” Melody said softly. “He’s very loyal, and you know Wyatt was heartbroken when you left, but I’m certain he doesn’t hate you.”

“I wish I could tell him I didn’t take those drugs on purpose,” Tabitha whispered miserably as she wiped at her cheeks. “I mean, I was the dumb fool who took the drink from my brother, but I would’ve never just given up like he thinks I did. I’m not his mother. I’m not my mother either. I’m stronger than them.”

“Of course you are.” Melody reached down and squeezed her hand. “Why did you leave, Tabitha?”

“Um.” She took a shuddering breath as she second-guessed telling her, but in the end she needed to talk to someone who could possibly help. “Something happened. Something terrible. I couldn’t tell Wyatt. I couldn’t tell Clay either. I told Terry and Hal ’cause I needed someone to pick me up from the hospital and help me gather my things from my house. There was no way I could go back there. I can barely walk into it now, and it happened thirteen years ago.”

“What happened in the house?”

Tabitha turned to Melody, looking at her with tears streaming down her face. She couldn’t answer her, she just hope she understood.

“Oh, honey.” Melody reached out and hugged her. When she spoke again, her voice was choked with emotion. “I’m so sorry.”

“Me too,” Tabitha whispered, still shaking with the strength it was taking to keep herself from completely falling apart. “I didn’t want to leave him. I loved him so much. I still do. I never wanted to hurt him.
Never
.”

“And Wyatt doesn’t know?”

“No.” Tabitha hugged Melody back, which was odd considering she barely knew this woman. “But I ran into the guy who did it at the hardware store, and it’s all just falling apart. I don’t know how to hide it from Wyatt anymore. Why can’t I fight this?”

“This is so normal,” Melody assured her as she pulled back and looked at Tabitha. Tears shone in her eyes, and she took off her glasses to brush them away. “When Clay and I had to go to the trial for my ex-husband a few months ago, I was a mess the entire time. Even though I had Clay with me, and Justin was sitting there in handcuffs, I was still a nervous wreck. I can’t even imagine dealing with that without Clay knowing what happened. You have to tell Wyatt. You have to give him a chance to help you. It’s not fair to him if he doesn’t know what he’s dealing with.”

“Did Clay ever tell you about some of the things that happened when we were younger?” Tabitha asked curiously. “Did he ever mention how he and Wyatt became friends?”

“He said they got into a fight.”

“Did he say why?”

Melody shrugged and gave her an embarrassed smiled. “He said Wyatt said something dumb.”

“He did.” Tabitha sighed. “He started that fight ’cause he saw me hugging Clay, and I swear to God, Melody, Clay and me weren’t ever anything more than friends.”

“You’re afraid he’ll do something dumb if he finds out?” Melody asked in concern.

Tabitha nodded and wiped at her cheeks. “Yes, I am.”

“He’s sheriff now. He would never break the law.”

“I wish we could tell Clay,” Tabitha whispered. “Because I think he would disagree with you. There’s a side of Wyatt that’s darker than people realize. He can cross the line with the right motivation. I’ve seen him do it.”

“Well, if you can’t talk to him, you can surely talk to me.” Melody was surprisingly understanding. “Hal called someone in to cover my shift. Clay ain’t expecting me home until nine. If Terry don’t mind, we can just sit here and talk until you’re feeling up to going back to Wyatt.”

“I can make dinner,” Terry offered from his spot leaning against the archway into the kitchen. “If y’all want?”

“Sounds nice.” Melody nodded and then reached over and squeezed Tabitha’s hand again. “We’ll figure out a plan. You ain’t alone. I promise.”

Tabitha nodded as she whispered, “Thank you.”

* * * *

Melody pulled the keys out of the ignition of her new SUV. Clay had bought it for her birthday. It cost way too much money, but she would never hurt his feelings by complaining, and it was a fine vehicle. Certainly much nicer than the truck they’d traded in that was probably buried in a junkyard somewhere.

They’d put up Christmas lights last week, and Melody smiled as she looked at them twinkling in the night. Something about holidays left her cheery. Things were always a little happier once the air got crisp and the decorations went up. She’d met Clay last Thanksgiving, which just solidified her belief that November was her friend.

Which was why she hated being as brokenhearted as she was.

She walked up to the driveway, feeling her heart hurt for both Wyatt and Tabitha. She was supposed to leave other people’s problems behind at the end of the day, but she just couldn’t find a way to recover from the wrongness of what happened to them. It hit way too close to home, and it was made so much worse because no one save a handful of people know why Tabitha left. To think of everyone villainizing her was so incredibly unfair Melody could hardly breathe past the injustice of it.

She took a deep breath before she walked into the house and tried to remind herself it wasn’t Clay’s fault. He didn’t know what happened. If he did, his feelings about Tabitha would be much different. Melody was certain of it.

“Hey.” Clay met her at the door and leaned down to give her a kiss. “How was work?”

“I left early.” Melody put her keys on the table by the door. “I had a crisis call. Hal let me off.”

“That’s nice of him.” Clay frowned. “What was the crisis?”

“It was, uh”—Melody pulled off her coat and walked to the bedroom—“it was a rape.”

“Hell.” Clay sounded concerned. “Did y’all call Wyatt?”

“No, it happened a long time ago. She was just dealing with some post-traumatic stress. Sorta like me at Justin’s trial.”

“Is she okay now?”

“I think so.” Melody tossed her jacket on the made bed. “She went home to her husband. She just needed help moving past the nerves. He doesn’t know.” She choked up at the last part and turned away from Clay to hide the tears that were threatening. “I’m gonna take a shower.”

“I’ll get in with ya.”

Melody shook her head. “No, I need to be alone for a few minutes.”

“Mel”—Clay grabbed her arm and pulled her to him—“are you okay?”

“It was just a really sad story.” Melody hugged Clay despite her turbulent emotions about what he’d done. “It’s so unfair.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be going on these calls if they’re gonna upset you like this.” Clay rubbed her back. “You got your own set of issues to deal.”

“I’m fine.” She patted his bare chest and then pulled away. “I’m gonna take a shower and pull myself together. Didja eat?”

“I threw some leftovers in the microwave. Did you?”

“Yeah.” Melody started working on the buttons to her top as she walked to the bathroom. “I’m good.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to get in?”

Melody shook her head. “Let me gather my thoughts.”

Clay studied her with a scowl. It wasn’t like her to push him away like that, but she needed a little more time. A part of her was angry at Clay for hurting Tabitha worse by ignoring her since she had gotten back. Before tonight, Melody hadn’t pushed the issue with him, because like everyone else, she’d assumed Tabitha was just a rich, successful author who had left Wyatt in the dust.