Over the Phone

Chapter Fifteen

Adam did a double take. Surely, she couldn't be there, in his bed, obviously without clothes on, just waiting to take advantage of a situation she shouldn't be in. First, he felt color flood his cheeks in complete and total embarrassment. His jaw was resting somewhere on the floor as his mouth gaped open in shocked horror. Once that wore off and he realizes she was, in fact, in his bed naked, his neck went pink with instant anger. How dare she! Who the hell did she think she was?! How had she gotten into their apartment?! And then the sudden thought of Chloe seeing this...

Oh, God, he thought to himself. She's gonna kill her. He turned around to stop her from coming into their room, but it was too late. There she was, right in front of him, and trying to push past him into the bedroom so she could put the new sheets she'd just bought into their closet.

"Adam, what are you-" And then she saw it; that hot pink demi cup push up bra she'd seen lying on the floor of her old apartment so many times that there was absolutely no mistaking it. Slowly, she raised her eyes to Adam's and he saw the fire there.

"Babe," he said in quick defense, "I didn't-" She cut him off with a wave of her hand and stepped around him into the bedroom. She looked at the bed, knowing full well what she'd find, and there she was...

"Oh, I know you did not just put your disease ridden ass all over my bed! Thank God I just bought new sheets, because I'm going to have to burn those ones! Hell only knows what kind of pestilence you've just spread in my house!" Chloe. Was. Livid. Adam looked at her as she just went off, and the only words he could have thought of to describe the situation in front of him was 'dangerously radiant'. Chloe was glorious in her rage. She walked over to Beck where she sat barely covered by the sheet and literally dragged her out of the bed, shoving her toward her clothes.

"What the hell-" Beck tried to protest, but Chloe was having none of that. She silenced her with one finger extended as if to say 'one more word, I dare you!'

"I don't want to hear a damn word out of you, Rebecca. You'd better put your clothes on, and fast, or the police will be taking you away bare ass naked. Adam, please call the cops to report a break in. I see broken glass where she broke our bedroom window to get in here."

Adam didn't hesitate. His girlfriend was pissed, and if that much anger could come out of a woman so tiny, he didn't want to be on the receiving end. Ever. He dialed 911 and looked toward the window as he did. Sure enough, there were shards of glass all over the bedroom carpet underneath their window. He moved into the other room when the call was answered.

"Yeah, hi, I want to report a break in. They broke a window to get into our house. Yeah, my girlfriend and me. And the intruder is still inside."

"Your bedroom?!" Beck looked confused as she pulled her underwear on quickly, having heard Adam talking to a dispatcher. Chloe didn't say a word in response, just crossed her arms over her chest and kicked Beck's mini skirt toward her. Adam appeared in the doorway, phone to his ear still.

"Babe," he whispered, "We're being advised to wait outside for the police to get here." Chloe stalked past the half dressed Beck and she and Adam made their way outside.

"Do you think I was too harsh," she asked after a moment of chill air cooling her skin, her courage temporarily failing. Adam pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"Chlo, I think she's had this coming for a long time. I didn't think it'd be coming from you, but I'm pretty sure the cops are already looking for her; the dispatcher seemed very eager to send a car when I told them it was Beck inside." She sighed to herself.

"Am I a bad person for what I said to her?" Adam laughed out loud and kissed her hair again.

"No, sweetie, you were as angry as I've ever seen anyone in my life, though. I'm sure that's what brought all those words to the surface. You try so hard to bury things... you don't have to do that."

A police car pulled up with sirens blaring and two officers exited the car quickly. They both looked around them to make sure it was safe to approach the apartment and one of them quickly trotted toward them before advancing toward the door.

"Are you folks okay?" Adam nodded.

"Yeah, we're fine, she's just still inside, unless she crawled back out the window." They approached and entered with caution and Chloe had the thought quickly run through her mind that this had to be what it must be like to be on a cop show on tv.

She felt like she was there, but not really there; like she was looking in on someone else's life through their eyes. She watched as an officer lead a cuffed Beck from the apartment, her face streaked with tears, as he read her her Miranda rights. She was put into the back of the squad car as the other officer came to them and was explaining to them what was happening, but Chloe hadn't actually heard a word of it yet.

"Miss Whitaker...? Miss Whitaker," the officer said again, waving a hand in front of her face. Chloe looked up at him, slightly startled.

"Hmm? I'm sorry, what?" Adam ran his hand up and down her arm comfortingly as the officer sighed and repeated himself.

"I was saying that your attacker, Jeff Webster, rolled and named Rebecca Garris as an accomplice at least in the planning of the attack against you. Apparently she paid him for that attack on you with sex. This break in will only help to solidify the case against her, should you wish to press charges." Chloe's heart constricted at those words. Press charges?! Beck was her friend!

Is she really, she thought. Friends don't do sexual favors to have you attacked... No, this had been a series of violent crimes, and Chloe was still paying the price for them, so maybe Beck should be, too.

"Yes," she said shakily. "Yes, I'd like to press charges." The officer took their statements, gave Chloe his card, and told them both he'd expect to see them down at the station soon to deal with the situation. Chloe walked back into the apartment on wooden legs. How had her life come to this? How had her and Beck come to this place. Sexual favors in exchange for assault? Over a man who wasn't even interested...

"It's been a weird day... can we just clean up and go to bed for awhile," she asked, feeling much less brave than she had when she'd confronted her former best friend. Adam put his arms around her from behind and cradled her to his body.

"Why don't you just go lay down, babe," he said, feeling her tremble beneath his hands. That confrontation had taken a lot out of her, and she was shaking so badly she could hardly stand. "I'll clean up this glass and cover the window and come to bed in just a few minutes." Chloe tried not to smile, but she couldn't help it. That morning when they'd gotten out of bed, he'd called her 'babe' for the first time, and had been doing it ever since.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea..." Chloe was suddenly drained of energy and didn't have enough left to fight him. She didn't even bother going to the bathroom to change. She stripped off her tee shirt, pulled on one of his oversized ones, slipped her jeans off, and climbed into bed. By the time Adam joined her fifteen minutes later, she was already asleep.