The Dysfunction Of Evan: Books 1-3 Collection

17. According to You

Monday morning, Tom and I went down to Bowling Green to start the process of my divorce. Since I didn't feel the need for a lawyer, it was as simple as getting the petition forms, filling them out, and paying the fee. We were told it would take six to eight weeks to process, and I had to pay an extra fee for them to retrieve a copy of the marriage certificate. Tom handed over his debit card. 

"You'll get a notice in the mail for your court date. We'll send a copy of the petition to your husband along with the court notice." The clerk said. We thanked her and turned to leave. 

"Oh, you've left under duress?" She asked. I turned to see her looking at the paperwork I'd given her. 

"He was mentally abusive, and even though I've lived separate from him for four years, he continues to harass me. I included all the evidence I have." I told her. She leafed through the extra paperwork I'd left with her. I saw her eyes get big. She looked up at me. 

"I'll make sure this gets to the judge as soon as possible." She said. I smiled at her. 

"Thank you." I said. Tom tucked his arm around me as we left. 

We were halfway home when his phone rang. He answered it. 

"Hello, Luke." He said with a friendly smile, which faded as he listened to this PR manager. He started to look angry. "I don't care what it was triggered by, he has no right to do that." 

I glanced at Tom, I'd never seen him look so pissed off. 

"No, we haven't seen it yet. We've been at a court house getting her divorce started." 

A pit formed in my stomach. This was about me. The way he kept looking over at me, told me such. 

"I need to you take care of this, Luke. Find someway to discredit him. Papers were filed today, she left him four years ago. He abused her to the point of wanting to commit suicide, find a way to clear her name." Tom had a roughness in his voice. He paused. "I don't care how it looks for me. The fucking world can hate me for all I care, but I will not let him make her a victim again." Tom said, on the verge of shouting. He hung up the call and started looking through his text messages. 

"Do I even want to know?" I asked carefully. 

"Not while you're driving." He said. He stayed silent until we walked into my house. 

"Okay. What's going on?" I asked sitting down at the kitchen table. He sat down next to me and pulled out his phone. He set it on the table in front of me. It was an article about me. 

Astrid Long's Husband Speaks Out: I Was The One Abused. 

Early last week, our office received an interesting e-mail from Marcus Long, the estranged husband of Astrid Long (Who was seen yesterday getting very cozy with co-star Tom Hiddleston at the Toledo Zoo).  After reading the email, I flew out to Ohio to see what the man had to say. I met with him in a local coffee house, and he spilled the beans. 

Standing at six foot seven inches and weighing in at an estimated four hundred pounds (Really.), this man looks like a teddy bear. He's got shaggy brown hair and  Guy Fawkes inspired facial hair. We ordered drinks and sat down to talk.

ML: We met in 2007, she was 18 and I ran the guild she joined on World of Warcraft. She was friendly, very flirty, and very fun to talk to. I was already seeing someone at the time, and she was hung up on some guy in Canada. 

Me: So what led to you guys dating?

ML: Well, a few years later, after she got dumped at Walmart, she and I started talking. I'd recently found out that my fiance had cheated on me and my son wasn't actually my son. It was nice having someone to talk to. We'd been internet friends for a while, so it felt natural that we'd start talking. After a couple weeks, we decided to try our cards at a long distance relationship.