I hear him lunge forward right before I'm tossed aside. I fall to the floor and by the time I turn around, Owen has already punched Trey. Trey is grabbing the counter for support with one hand and reaching for his gun with the other.
Owen is standing in front of me now, facing me, making sure I'm okay. My words don't come out, but I want to tell him to turn around, to run, to duck, but nothing will come out. Owen takes my face between his hands and says, "Auburn. Go downstairs and call the police."
Trey laughs, and Owen can see the onset of a new kind of fear in my eyes. He turns around and blocks me with his body, pushing me further away from Trey.
"Call the police?" Trey says, continuing with the laughter. "And who will they believe? The addict and the whore who got pregnant at fifteen? Or the cop?"
Neither Owen nor I speak as we both allow the words that just fell from Trey's mouth to sink in.
"Oh, and let's not forget the contraband you have hidden all over your studio. There's also that."
I can feel every muscle in Owen's body tense.
Trey set him up.
He broke into his studio not to steal stuff, but to leave stuff.
I fist my hands in the back of Owen's shirt, fearing the worst. "What do you want, Trey?" Owen asks. His voice sounds defeated. He's reached his breaking point with Trey, and that's not a good thing.
"I just want you out of the fucking picture," Trey says. "You've been a pain in my ass since the day we met, and you just continue to resurface." He takes several steps closer, and Owen pushes me further back, still shielding me with his body. "Auburn needs to be a mother to that boy, and he needs me to be his father. As long as you're brainwashing her, that'll never happen." Trey looks over Owen's shoulder, directly at me. "You'll thank me for this one day, Auburn."
Trey lifts the radio to his mouth. "En route to precinct six," Trey says. "Subject in custody for assault on an officer."
"What?" I yell. "Trey, you can't do this! He's on probation!"
Trey ignores me and begins spouting off an address into the radio. Owen turns to face me. "Auburn." His eyes are serious. Focused. "Tell them whatever he wants you to say. If he's telling the truth and he really did plant stuff in my studio, I'll go to jail for a long time. Let them arrest me for assault; it'll be a much lesser charge. I'll talk to my father in the morning, and we'll figure out where to go from there."
I refuse to agree with what he's saying. He hasn't done anything wrong. "If I just tell them the truth, you won't be in trouble, Owen."
He closes his eyes and exhales, practicing patience in a situation that warrants none. When he opens his eyes again, they're somehow even more focused. "He's angry. Trey knows what happened between us, and he wants his payback. And he's right. They'll never believe us over him. Not with my history."
My eyes begin to burn, and I try to remain as calm as he is right now, but it isn't working. Especially now that Trey is pulling him away from me. Owen puts his hands behind his back and Trey places the cuffs on them. Owen doesn't even resist, and I'm crying too hard to try to stop it.
I follow them down the stairs, across the studio, and out the front door to Trey's police car. He shoves Owen in the backseat and then turns to face me. He opens the front passenger door. "Get in, Auburn. I'll give you a ride home."
I get in, but only because there is no way in hell I'm allowing Owen to spend another day in jail that he doesn't deserve.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Owen
I'm quiet. So is she.
I know that neither of us is speaking right now because we're trying to figure out a way to get out of this. There has to be a way for her to get her son and not have to go through Trey to do it. And there has to be a way for me to get out of the situation Trey has just put me in without it affecting Auburn and her relationship with AJ.
I watch from the backseat as she turns her attention to Trey.
"What do you think is going to happen now?" she asks him. "You think I'm just going to forget the fact that you attacked me? That you destroyed Owen's studio? That you're framing him?"
Don't, Auburn. Don't make him even angrier.
He turns to face her, and she doesn't back down, even through his silence.
"I'll never love you like I loved Adam."
As soon as the words come out of her mouth, he jerks the car over to the side of the road. He lunges forward across the seat and squeezes her jaw, bringing his face inches from hers.
"I'm not Adam. I'm Trey. And I suggest if you want to continue being the half-assed mother you are to my nephew, you'll say whatever the fuck I tell you to say."
A tear slides down her cheek. My fists are clenched, and I want to beat on the barrier in order to get him to release her, but I can't. My hands are cuffed behind my back and I can't do a goddamn thing from this backseat to stop him. I bring my feet up and start kicking his seat.
"Get your hands off her!"
Trey doesn't move. He continues to hold on to her jaw until she gives in and nods. He releases her and slides back to his side of the seat.
She glances at me from her position in the passenger seat, and I've never felt more helpless. I see the roll of her throat as she swallows.
She pulls her knees up to her chest, and her tears begin to fall even harder. Her head rests against the back of the seat while her back is pressed against the passenger door. I can see just how much pain she's in. How scared she is. I scoot closer to her and press my forehead against the glass, trying to get as close to her as I can. I look at her reassuringly, wanting her to know that whatever happens, we're in this together. She keeps her eyes locked with mine until we pull into the police station.
Trey kills the ignition. "This is what happened. You called me to pick you up at his apartment because the two of you got into a fight," Trey says. "And when I arrived, he attacked me. That's when I arrested him. Got it?" He reaches across the seat and takes her hand. "Owen needs to be behind bars where he belongs, and if I don't make sure that happens, I'll never forgive myself if you or AJ are hurt. He's the only reason I'm doing this, Auburn. You want your son to be safe, right?"
She nods, but there's something in her eyes. Something I know isn't consent, and that scares me. I don't want her to go in there and defend me.
"Do what he says, Auburn."
My door swings open, and I'm pulled out of the car. Right before I look away from her, she makes a fist and holds it against her chest.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Auburn
I didn't do what Trey asked me to do. In fact, I didn't do anything. I didn't say anything. I didn't answer a single question.
Every question that was fired at me, I pressed my lips together tighter and tighter.
Owen may not want me to tell them the truth, but if Trey thinks for a second that I'm going to lie for him, he's more delusional than I even imagined.
When they told me I was free to leave, Trey said he would drive me home. I told him no thank you, and I walked right past him. I'm now standing outside of the police station, waiting for the cab I just called to arrive. Trey walks up beside me and stands next to me. His mere presence causes me to rub my hands up my arms to wipe away the chills.
"I'll give you a couple of days to cool off," he says. "But then I'm coming over. We need to talk about this."
I don't respond to him. I don't know how he thinks I would ever be willing to forgive him after tonight.
"I know you're upset, but you have to see things from my perspective. Owen has a criminal record. I don't know what kind of hold he has over you, but you can't blame me for thinking about the safety of your son, Auburn. You can't be upset that I'm trying to do what's best by getting him out of your life, so that you can focus on AJ."
It takes everything in me not to respond. I continue to stare straight ahead until he sighs heavily and makes his way back inside the police station.
When the cab pulls up, I climb inside. The driver asks for the address just as I'm pull
ing my phone out of my pocket. I type "Callahan Gentry home address" into the search engine, and I wait for the results to return.
I don't know what I expected to find when I appeared at Callahan Gentry's front door last night, but the man who stood in front of me certainly wasn't it. He looked so much like Owen. His eyes were kind like Owen's, but they looked tired. That very well could have been because it was the middle of the night, but I felt like it was something more than that. It reminded me of when Owen said he watched the life seep out of his father's eyes, and I truly understood what he meant when I saw it firsthand.
"Can I help you?" his father said.
I shook my head. "No. But you can help your son."
At first, he appeared somewhat defensive after my comment. But then it was as if something clicked, and he said, "You're the girl he talked about. The one who has the same middle name?"
I nodded, and he invited me inside his home. When I sat on the couch across from him and began to tell him what had transpired, I grew more and more nervous, thinking my plan might not work out. But the second he agreed to help me, I instantly relaxed. I knew I couldn't fight this alone.
My hands are shaking right now, despite the fact that Owen's father is sitting right next to me. I don't think anything could calm me down in this moment, because if it doesn't work out in my and Owen's favor, I'll have just made things a whole lot worse. My heart is in my throat as we wait for her to arrive.
I've been awake for more than twenty-four hours now, but adrenaline is pumping through me, keeping me alert. I wasn't even sure if his phone call would convince her to show up today, but his secretary just buzzed through the speaker to let him know she's here.
In a matter of seconds, I'll be face-to-face with Lydia.
I expect she'll be angry. I expect she'll argue. What I don't expect to see when she finally walks through the door is the man standing behind her. When Trey's eyes meet mine, I can see the curiosity cloud his face. There isn't any curiosity on Lydia's face. Just a world of annoyance when she witnesses me sitting here.
She gives her head a shake as she pauses across the boardroom table from us. "This was the emergency?" she asks, waving her hand in my direction. She gives a huge roll of her eyes, and she turns and looks at Trey. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this," she says to him. "I didn't realize it had to do with Auburn."
Trey's expression is tight, and he glances from me to Owen's father. "What's this about?" he says.
Owen's father, who insisted I call him Cal the second he found out how I knew Owen, stands and motions for them to take two seats across from us. Trey chooses to remain standing, but Lydia sits directly in front of me. I can see her glance at the cut on my lip, but she doesn't ask about it. She darts her eyes to Cal as she folds her arms over the table. "I have to leave in half an hour to pick up my grandson from preschool. Why am I here?"
Cal shifts his eyes to mine briefly. I warned him about her, but I think he may have thought I was exaggerating. He straightens out the papers that are in front of him, and then he leans back against his chair.
"These are custody papers," he says, pointing at the papers laid out in front of him. "Auburn is requesting custody of her son."
Lydia laughs. She literally laughs and looks at me like I've lost my mind. She begins to stand up. "Well, that was fast," she says. "I think we're done here."
I hate that she so easily dismisses the notion. She turns to walk out the door, and I look at Trey, who is still eyeing me. He knows I'm up to something, and my confidence is scaring him.
"Trey," I say to him, just as Lydia reaches the door. "Tell your mother we aren't finished yet."
Trey's jaw grows tight, and his eyes narrow in my direction. He says nothing to Lydia, but he doesn't have to. Lydia turns and faces me, and then moves her focus to Trey. Trey won't look at her because he's too busy trying to threaten me with his glare, so she looks back at me. "What's going on, Auburn? Why are you doing this?"
I choose not to respond to her. Instead, I place my phone on the table. I open up the file, and I press play.
"You think I'm just going to forget the fact that you attacked me? That you destroyed Owen's studio? That you're framing him?"
I pause the recording and watch as all the color drains from Trey's face. I can almost hear his thoughts, they're written so clearly across his face. He's trying to think back on last night and what he might have said to Owen or me on the way to the police station. Because he knows whatever was spoken inside that vehicle, I now have it on my phone as evidence.
He doesn't move a muscle, other than tensing his arms and shoulders. "Should I play the rest of our conversation from last night, Trey?"
He closes his eyes and looks down at the floor. He lifts his leg and kicks the chair in front of him. "Fuck!" he yells.
Lydia flinches. She's looking back and forth between Trey and me, but he doesn't look at anything other than the floor. He's pacing back and forth.
He knows his entire career is in my hands now.
And the fact that Lydia is sitting down again proves that she realizes it, too. She's staring at my phone with a look of defeat, and as much as I want to say her expression pleases me, it doesn't. I never wanted it to come to this.
"I'll stay in Dallas," I tell her. "I won't move back to Portland. You can still see him. As long as you aren't living in the same house as Trey, I'll even give you weekend visitation. But he's my son, Lydia. He needs to be with me. And if I have to use your son against you in order to get my son back, then so help me God, I will."
Cal pushes the paperwork toward her. I lean forward across the table, and for the first time in my life, I'm not scared of the woman sitting across from me.
"If you sign the custody papers and Trey drops the charges against Owen, I won't forward the e-mail that contains this conversation to every single officer in Trey's precinct."
Before Lydia picks up the pen, she turns and looks at Trey. "If that happens and someone gets hold of whatever she has on that recording . . . will it affect your career? Is she telling the truth, Trey?"
Trey pauses his frantic pacing, and he looks directly at me. He nods a slow nod but can't even verbalize a response to her. Lydia's eyes close, and she exhales.
The choice is in her hands. Either she can allow me to be a mother to my son, or I'll make sure her son pays for what he's done to Owen. For what he almost did to me.
"You realize this is blackmail," Trey says.
I look up at him and nod calmly. "I learned from the best."
The room grows quiet, and I can almost hear him trying to come up with a way out of this. When Trey doesn't offer up an alternative, and Lydia realizes they have no choice, she picks up the pen. She signs each form and then pushes them across the table toward me.
I try to remain calm, but my hands are shaking as I hand the paperwork to Cal. Lydia stands up and walks to the door. Before she exits the room, she looks back at me. I can tell she's on the verge of tears, but her tears are nothing compared to the tears I've shed because of her. "I'll pick him up from preschool on my way home. You can stop by in a few hours. It'll give me time to get some of his things together."
I nod, unable to speak due to the sob I'm keeping lodged in my throat. As soon as the door closes behind Lydia and Trey, I burst into tears.
Cal puts an arm around me and pulls me to him. "Thank you," I say. "Oh my God, thank you so much."
I feel him shake his head. "No, Auburn. I'm the one who should be thanking you."
He doesn't elaborate on why he's thanking me, but I can't help but hope that somehow, seeing the sacrifices his son has made for both of us will give him the strength to do what he needs to do.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Owen
When I walk into the room and see my father's face rather than Auburn's, my heart sinks. I haven't seen or spoken to her in over twenty-four hours. I have no idea what's transpired or if she's even okay.
I take a seat in front of my fathe
r, not even concerned with whatever it is he wants to discuss with me. "Do you know where Auburn is? Is she okay?"
He nods. "She's fine," he says, and those words instantly put me at ease. "All the charges against you have been dropped. You're free to leave."
I don't move, because I'm not sure I understood him correctly. The door opens and someone enters the room. The officer motions for me to stand and when I do, he removes the cuffs from my wrists. "Do you have any belongings you need to retrieve before you leave?"
"My wallet," I say as I massage my wrists.
"When you're finished in here, let me know and I'll sign you out."
I look at my father again and he can see the shock still registered on my face. He actually smiles. "She's something else, isn't she?"
I smile in return, because how did you do it, Auburn?
The light is back in my father's eyes. The light I haven't seen since the night of our wreck. I don't know how, but I know she had something to do with this. She's like a light, unwittingly brightening up the darkest corners of a man's soul.
I have so many questions, but I save them until after I sign out and we're outside.
"How?" I blurt out before the door closes behind us. "Where is she? Why did he drop the charges?"
My father smiles again, and I didn't realize how much I missed that. I've missed his smile almost as much as I miss my mother's.
He hails a cab as it rounds the corner. When it stops, he opens the door and tells the cab driver her address. He takes a step back. "I think you should ask Auburn these questions."
I eye him cautiously, debating whether to get in the cab and head to Auburn or check him for fever. He pulls me in for a hug and doesn't let go. "I'm sorry, Owen. For so many things," he says. His hold around me tightens and I can feel the apology in his embrace. When he pulls back, he ruffles my hair like I'm a child.
Like I'm his son.
Like he's my dad.
"I won't be seeing you for a few months," he says. "I'm going away for a while."
I hear something in his voice that I've never heard before. Strength. If I were to paint him right now, I would paint him the exact same shade of green as Auburn's eyes.