Sweet Talk (COMPLETE)

28 - He's Mine

My stomach twisted as I peeked up to find Scott Dwyer looking at me with so much pity I wanted to puke. He turned to the other cop and said, "I've got this. Go help finish with that guy so they can get him out of here."

Scott waited until we were alone to cross the room toward me. Wolfy let out a warning growl, but I pet his head. "It's okay, boy. He won't hurt us."

Scott's feet paused. "Will your friend hurt me, though?"

"No, he won't." I tried to smile at the teasing tone in his voice, but I didn't have it in me.

Kneeling in front of me, Scott let Wolfy sniff his fingers before petting him. "You did a good job, my man." Slowly, Scott reached over to take my hands. "Let me help you up."

Wolfy kept a close watch as Scott helped me to my feet, then over to sit on the side of the bed. Everything hurt and the skin on my face felt weirdly stiff. I swiped my hand over it and it came away red. Dry blood. I'd forgotten, but at least the bleeding seemed to have stopped.

"I'm sorry, baby doll!" Evan yelled from the living room, making me jump.

The cops out there told him not to talk to me, but he wasn't listening. Sounds of scuffling moved closer to the bedroom, then stopped as the cops got ahold of him again. Even though he couldn't see me, I still I had the urge to hide.

"You know I didn't mean it." Evan's voice softened. "Don't let them arrest me. We can fix this. I love you."

I sat there shaking like the weakling I was, unable to respond. Scott sighed and moved to the doorway. "For right now, she's not pressing charges. I am. I saw enough. Get him out of here."

It took a couple minutes until the sound of Evan being led from the house quieted. "Wait outside. I've got this." Scott spoke quietly to his partner before coming to stand in front of me. "Is it just your nose bleeding? Are your teeth okay?"

I swiped my tongue around my mouth to check and nodded, all the while wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole. Scott prodded gently around my nose.

"It's just swollen, not broken. Washcloths in the bathroom?"

I nodded again, and soon the water ran in the sink. Scott returned with a wet cloth and a hand towel. Sitting beside me on the bed, he held the warm cloth gently to my face. "It'll come off easier if you hold this here for a few seconds first."

I did as he suggested and studied the guy I hadn't seen in years as he scratched Wolfy behind the ears. He was even more handsome than he'd been in high school. An image of him and Jake smiling in their football uniforms as they ran onto the field filled my mind.

Did they still talk? A queasy feeling caused bile to rise in my throat as I thought about Jake seeing this.

"Okay, first things first." Scott pulled out a small notebook. "Run me through tonight. How did this get started?"

I spent the next ten minutes relaying every embarrassing detail and ugly thing Evan said, all because I wanted to go back to school. Scott's face was unreadable as he took notes and made occasional sounds to let me know he was listening.

When I finished, he frowned. "I know this'll be difficult, but we need to take some pictures for evidence."

I felt the color drain from my face as my mouth fell open.

"Don't worry. A female officer will come in. She's nice, you'll like her. It'll be quick and then I'll come back. Okay?"

"Will everyone have to see the pictures?" My timid voice was so low, I don't know how he even heard me.