Page 12 of Hard To Stay

Chapter Five

Lexi

I triedto focus on the notes scattered in front of me, but my mind kept drifting back to my morning walk with Brad. I nervously tapped my pencil against my forehead trying to ignore the undeniable chemistry that existed between us.

My eyes dropped to my mobile phone to see the text he had sent earlier. Even my pathetic little heart skipped a beat when I read his name on the screen.

Brad: Call Brett Sawyer, he’s a friend so don’t be nervous. He’ll take good care of you. And if he doesn’t, you let me know so I can kick his ass.

My finger hovered over the number as I contemplated if I was really ready to open up this can of worms. I was seriously questioning on whether or not this was a good idea. Realizing that this decision wasn’t going to get any easier, I sucked in a breath and dialed the digits.

After four rings I was caught off guard by the gruff greeting. “Detective Brett Sawyer.”

“Uhh… hello, this is Lexi Manning. I’m a friend of Brad’s… er, I mean Detective Morgan.” My fingertips gripped tightly onto the fabric of my dress as I fumbled with my words. Smooth Lexi, smooth.

Detective Sawyer chuckled at the apparent unease present in my voice. “Well, hello Miss Manning. Brad, uhh, I mean Detective Morgan told me to expect your call. How can I help you?”

Judging by his playful demeanor it was easy to see how these two men could be friends. “I guess I need to obtain a restraining order against my ex.” I explained, getting straight to the point. I purposely left off the embarrassing detail that I had almost married the son of a bitch.

“Hold on a sec, let me grab my notebook and a pen.” I could hear the squeaking wheel of his chair as it slid across the floor and a desk drawer being slammed shut. My mind started to race as the gravity of the situation started to weigh on my conscience.

As I started to roll through the details as best as I could, I swallowed hard carefully selecting details and descriptions that I thought would be useful. I was struck with a brief moment of regret. Digging this all up had me feeling more frustrated than ever. I was silently wondering if this conversation was actually helping or hurting matters. I just prayed whatever information I gave would be enough and that it didn’t come back to bite me in the ass.

There was a long pause from Detective Sawyer once I finished.

“Look Lexi, before I have you go to the trouble of filling out all the paperwork, I have a very important question to ask you.”

“Okay.” I said tentatively, unease growing in my voice.

“I believe every word you just told me so far, but I need to know if you have any formal or supporting documentation that corroborates your story? Do you have any recorded voice messages, copies of threatening texts, emails, or notes left by Colton?”

His voice came out loud and clear and I suddenly wished I could say I didn’t hear him. I didn’t want to tell him that I was an idiot, because, of course, there was no proof. Whatever hope I’d been feeling was quickly escaping like the air from a punctured tire.

“No. Unfortunately, I don’t.” In a feeble attempt to rationalize I started to explain. “It wasn’t for lack of trying though. There were a few small attempts, but once they learned who I was accusing, their willingness to help just seemed to evaporate.”

Hot tears stung my eyes. There wasn’t a judge in the state of Georgia who would come to my aid. Hell, even my own family had chosen Colton over me. When I couldn’t convince my own parents to help me I knew the only other option was to leave and never look back. So here I was…

“I see.” He sighed, and I felt my optimism start to fade real quick. “Look, Lexi, I’m going to be honest with you. I can get you an appointment to appear in front of a judge, but you’ll have to give one hell of a compelling argument. Most judges won’t want to issue a restraining order unless you have some type of documented proof. It’s possible that they might consider the circumstances around you leaving Atlanta, but there are no guarantees. I’m sorry, I wish I could give you better news.” He must have heard my quick intake of breath because he quickly added. “I said it would be difficult, but not impossible. You’re already taking the first step by creating a paper trail. I can get the ball rolling and see how it plays out.”

Deep down I knew this was coming. No matter how much I prayed that there would be a different outcome it never really mattered in the end. Colton always won.

“That’s okay, I expected as much. Thank you for your time.”

I set my phone down and blew out a deep breath. The clock on my computer screen told me there was still six hours left to my workday and not a damned thing I could do about it. I dropped my head in my hands with the feeling of defeat weighing me down.

I forced my way through the messages in my Inbox and returned a few calls and managed to make it to my lunch hour. I stumbled into the break room and opened the fridge. My nose was immediately assaulted by the smell of an open bowl of tuna fish salad. I grabbed my lunch bag and started to unwrap my turkey sandwich. I pulled out my carrot sticks and dip, leaned back in the uncomfortable metal chair and stared at my lunch. It was about as exciting as my mood right now.

“Hey. Buck up, little camper.” Abby greeted me with a smile, sliding into the seat across from me. When I didn’t respond, her eyebrows raised in question. “Bad day?”

“If you mean by bad day, that I basically have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting a restraining order against Colton then, yes it’s a very bad day.” She sat there hanging on every word as I told her the details of my conversation with Detective Sawyer.

Abby leaned back into her chair with a frown. “That sucks!” She opened her mouth to say something, but I stopped her.

“I was expecting it really, I should be used to it by now.” I admitted, as I picked up my sandwich knowing that I had to put something in my stomach. I pushed down a bite even though food was the last thing on my mind.

“Still, it doesn’t make it right.” She moved her salad around with her fork looking like she had something on her mind. She looked up at me then started chewing on her bottom lip. “You could look at the bright side.”

“Bright side? Do tell.”

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