Page 19 of One of Our Own

“And?”

“It’s awful. Like, really awful. There’s nothing of the actual assault, but they start filming her afterward, when she’s super disoriented and traumatized. You can tell she’s terrified and has no idea what’s happening.” He paused for a second, clearly wrestling with his emotions. “You want to know the worst part about the whole thing?”

I couldn’t imagine the worst part. It all seemed awful, and I hadn’t even seen it. I didn’t think I ever would. I wasn’t sure I wanted to live with those disturbing images in my head. Hearing about it had already been too much.

“It’s the laughing. The way they’re all mocking her and making fun of her, especially this one guy. It’s the cruelest thing I’ve ever seen, and it’s burned into my soul in a way I’m never going to forget. Makes me question what the hell is wrong with kids these days. How could anyone do that? How do you take enjoyment in another person’s suffering and humiliation like that?”

I just shook my head. I didn’t know either. It was impossible not to be affected by her case. “I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. I haven’t heard anything from her since this all came out. All I can think about is how she’s doing, especially after all this attention. Did she even know her parents were going to go on the morning show? How did that even happen?”

“Mr. Danes is one of the executives at the station. I don’t think they could say no to him. I watched it, too, and you could tell Miguel and Rachel were shocked when he held up her picture. I understand why he feels like this is necessary, but I’m not sure it’s the best move. He has a very clear idea of what needs to be done and exactly how it has to happen, though. And he doesn’t seem like a man who’s used to being told no or not getting his way.”

“I just don’t know what to do,” I repeated myself. I’d been parked in the lot in front of my office for the last few minutes. I didn’t know how I could shut all these emotions off and just go do my job. Especially now that I had a name and face. All I kept seeing was the picture Chloe’s father had flashed. Her smile. The navy-blue Buckley polo. Something about her being in uniform was like an extra stab to the heart.

“There’s nothing you can do, Felicia. You’re just going to have to do your best to let it go. Let the people who are trained to deal with these sorts of things be the ones to handle it.”

Maybe he was right. I’d already done enough damage. The more I tried to help fix things, the worse they got. Maybe I should just step out of the way and let them take care of it. But deep down, I knew I was partially responsible for today. I was the one who’d made her go to her parents. This was probably why she was so afraid of her dad.

“Okay,” I said. “Just don’t forget, there’s a gun in the house.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Do you need to take that?” my client asked with a slight eye roll. Usually, I turn my phone on silent and tuck it away during any meeting with clients—it was inconsiderate to have it on the table. But today, I couldn’t take the chance of missing a call from Chloe. So far, she hadn’t called, but lots of other people had. The phone had been vibrating through our entire meeting.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know it’s rude to have my phone out, but I’m waiting on a really important call. I can’t miss it.” I’d already explained that to her before we sat down.

She raised her eyebrows as if to say: Wasn’t she important? She really was the worst client to be doing this with, because she already required delicate handling. One of those people who thought the world revolved around them, and everyone else was just a pawn in their universe. If I’m being honest, it didn’t surprise me that her husband was divorcing her.

“Maybe you’d like to reschedule?” She said it so snottily, and any other day, I would’ve been able to ignore it and push through. I dealt with difficult and hostile people all the time, it came with the job. But today, I didn’t have it in me.

“You know what?” I asked, starting to gather all of her financial disclosures, which I’d laid out on the table for us to goover. “That’s probably a good idea. Let’s just reschedule this meeting.”

Her jaw dropped, and she was clearly annoyed. She’d said it, but she hadn’t really meant it. She was only trying to make a point, but now it was too late. Maybe next time she wouldn’t be so passive-aggressive.

I tucked all the papers into their respective folders and quickly slid them inside my briefcase. “Why don’t you call my assistant and have her book a new time for us?”

She huffed, insulted, but I didn’t care. I turned around and headed out of the conference room before she had a chance to say anything else. Let her find different counsel if she wanted to. It wasn’t like I didn’t have a wait list of clients who would be more than happy to fill her spot.

I headed down the hallway toward my office but, at the last minute, took a turn and hopped on the elevator instead. I couldn’t be here today. I’d cleared my entire afternoon for this client, so now it was free, and I couldn’t spend it working. I didn’t know where I was going, but I had to get out of there and clear my head.

I took the elevator down to the parking garage and decided to head to Saul’s for lunch. There was nothing like comfort food to make you feel better, and an order of pancakes slathered in their homemade syrup might be exactly what I needed.

The server recognized me immediately and brought me to my favorite table. I’d been coming here for breakfast since before I had Hunter. Breakfast food was my favorite, and I was always one of those people who believed it was perfectly acceptable to eat it for any meal—lunch or dinner. Hunter was the same way. This was his favorite place, too. We used to come here on Saturday mornings after his swimming lessons.

Thoughts of Hunter got me running through the conversation I was going to have with him when he got home tonight. Now that the assault had been blown wide open and everyone knew about it, I didn’t have to pretend like I didn’t. I could have an actual conversation about what happened without being so secretive.

Was he one of the kids on the list to be interviewed today? I couldn’t imagine the ensuing shitstorm when parents found out the police were interviewing their kids at school without their consent. Parents always thought police needed their permission to talk to their kids, but technically, they didn’t. I wondered how they were going to figure out who was at the party. Or were they just interviewing the entire school? I had so many questions, but I knew I’d definitely exceeded my limit with Stan. He’d already given me more than he was supposed to, and I didn’t want to push it.

I felt much better after a good meal followed by a nap in my favorite chair in the living room. I took a nice long shower when I woke up, and by the time Hunter got home from practice, I was refreshed, clearheaded, and ready for our conversation.

“Hey, hon,” I called out when I heard him at the front door. “Can you come into the living room? I want to talk to you about something.”

His footsteps padded through the house. “What’s up?” he asked, taking a seat across from me on the leather chair. He plopped his feet on the ottoman. His forehead shone with sweat and his hair stuck up all over the place. It was always wild after his practices.

“I wanted to talk to you about Jett’s party again,” I said slowly, gauging his face for a reaction. Instant annoyance. Then, a dramatic eye roll.

“Mom, good lord, we already talked about it. How many times are you going to ask me the same question? It wasn’t even a bigdeal. I told you—me and Shai are fine. We worked it out. You worry too damn much,” he said, giving me a dimpled smile at the joke we’d had since he was ten.

It was funny, because the first time he said it was also the first time he’d ever sworn at me or in front of me. One of those milestones you didn’t know was happening until after it was over. He was in fifth grade and getting ready to go on his first overnight sleepover at the wilderness adventure club outside of Madison. He was fine, but I was a nervous wreck, scurrying around the house and snapping at him about everything he needed to pack until he finally reached his limit and snapped back.

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