Chapter 5 - The Phone Calls
By 9:00 PM, I was sitting on the comfortable velvet sofa in my apartment downtown, holding a ice pack against my face. The quiet of my living room was a sweet relief compared to the chaos of the afternoon.
Then the phone calls began.
First was my mother. She had been living in Florida for the last four years, completely detached from the daily realities of our lives, relying entirely on Lauren's filtered, glowing updates.
My phone screen illuminated with her contact photo. I answered and placed it on speaker.
"Claire!" my mother shrieked into the receiver, her voice high and breathless. "What on earth have you done?! Lauren just called me hysterically crying! She says you had Evan arrested at their own house?!"
"It's my house, Mom," I said calmly, taking a sip of water. "And Evan slapped me across the face in front of twenty-three people."
"He was stressed!" my mother yelled, using the exact same excuse Lauren had used. "It was an accident! Lauren said you bumped into him and knocked over expensive catering drinks!"
"I have a deep contusion on my jawline, Mom," I replied, my tone icy cold. "I have an official police report, photographs taken by a doctor, and a video recording of him swinging his hand into my face while I was standing still. It was not an accident. It was assault."
"You don't put your sister's husband in jail, Claire!" she argued, refusing to listen. "Family doesn't do that! You are humiliating our entire family! What are the neighbors going to think? What is Aunt Diane going to tell her friends?"
I let out a soft, humorless laugh. "I don't care about Aunt Diane's friends, Mom. And I don't care about Evan's reputation."
"You need to go down to the police station right now and drop the charges!" my mother demanded. "And tear up that ridiculous eviction paper! Lauren says you gave them fourteen days to move out!"
"Fourteen days is generous," I said smoothly. "David wanted to give them seven."
"Claire Bennett! I raised you to be better than this!" she screamed.
"No, Mom," I corrected her firmly. "You raised me to be Lauren's doormat. You raised me to pay her bills, fix her mistakes, and keep my mouth shut whenever she took advantage of me. But Grandma left that house to me, not her. And I am done paying for her life."
"If you do this, you won't have a sister anymore!" my mother threatened, her voice trembling with rage. "I will not stand by and watch you destroy Lauren's marriage!"
"Lauren destroyed her own marriage the second she stood beside a man who hit her sister and told me to apologize," I said quietly. "Goodbye, Mom."
I hung up the phone and immediately placed her contact on mute.
Ten minutes later, my phone buzzed again. A text message from Cousin Mark: Claire, I saw the police pull up. I'm so sorry I didn't say anything at the party. I was just shocked. Tessa showed me the video again. You did the right thing. Evan is a bully.
I replied: Thank you, Mark. Tell Tessa I appreciate her courage.
At 10:30 PM, Lauren tried calling three times in a row. When I didn't answer, a long, rambling text message arrived from her number: Claire please answer me. Evan is being held overnight without bail because of his previous DUI charge. His bail hearing is tomorrow morning. His boss found out about the arrest and suspended him from his job. Please Claire, we will lose everything. He's sorry. I'm sorry. Please drop the charges and let us stay. We have nowhere to go.
I stared at the glowing text message on my screen.
Three years ago, those words would have sent me into a panic. I would have rushed to the station, paid his bail, lied to the police, and apologized for causing trouble. I would have set myself on fire to keep them warm.
I looked at my reflection in the dark television screen—the purple and yellow bruise painting my left cheekbone, the firm, resolute line of my mouth.
May you like
I typed a simple, eight-word response: Speak to my attorney, David Sterling. Do not text me again.
I locked my phone, turned it face down on the coffee table, and walked into my bedroom. For the first time in seven years, I slept through the entire night without waking up once. (1412 words)
