Submission

Chapter 44

 Lorelei left Molly's wedding without saying goodbye to anyone. She had not stopped crying since she got to her apartment. She was curled up in a ball with the blanket over her head.

She popped her head out from underneath the blankets when she heard her phone ring. Her vision was blurry with tears, but she could see Jody's name on the screen. Jody spoke before Lorelei could say hello.

"What the hell happened at that wedding?" Jody asked. "Jesse called me all upset so I went over to his place. As we were talking, two cops showed up at the door. I don't know what crawled up their butt and died, but let's say they were using unnecessary force."

The reality was sinking in. She had spent the last hour trying to convince herself that Jesse would not be in any trouble. That hope now seemed so naive.

"He's not hurt, is he?" Lorelei asked with a wobbly voice.

"He's going to have some bruises," Jody said.

"What do you think is going to happen to him?"

"I don't know, but he's not going to see a judge until Monday at the earliest."

Lorelei squeezed her eyes shut. She was going to spend all weekend haunted by the thought of Jesse stuck in jail with criminals. He was going to be the cop abuser that all of the staff would hate. They would treat him even worse than a typical inmate.

"He's so screwed," Lorelei said.

"Why?" Jody asked. "He said that another guy was assaulting you. He can play it off as some sort of self-defense, can't he?"

"That guy was a cop."

"Oh, shit."

Lorelei pinched the bridge of her nose. She kept thinking about that cold look that was in his eyes when she stopped him from punching Bryan more.

"Have you ever seen Jesse attack someone before?" Lorelei asked.

"No," Jody said. "I mean he got crazy jealous about me working with Mateo, but I was never afraid for Mateo's safety."

"I had to stop him," she said. "If I didn't, he would have kept punching Bryan."

"He should have killed that piece of shit."

Lorelei's eyes opened and her jaw dropped.

"You can't be serious?" Lorelei asked.

"I sure am," Jody said. "Are you forgetting that a man assaulted you? What do you think would have happened if Jesse did not show up?"

Lorelei was unsure of what Bryan would have done to her. She struggled to get out of his hold. She wondered if his hands would have wandered and grabbed her inappropriately. He was talking about wanting to have sex with her. Would he have gone all the way and raped her?

"I love him, but I did not recognize him," she said. "It was like he was a whole different person."

"He's upset that he did it only because it upset you," Jody said. "Other than that, he said he would do it again to keep you safe."

Lorelei sighed as she rolled onto her side. Milo jumped up on the bed and meowed.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Lorelei said. "He's in jail because of me."

"This isn't your fault," Jody said. "You need a little distraction. Come with me to my photoshoot tomorrow. You said you would come to one."

"I don't know if I am in the mood."

"It'll get your mind off of it."

Milo meowed again and rubbed his head against Lorelei's arm.

"Okay," she said. "Just to distract me."

"Perfect," Jody said. "I'll come by your apartment tomorrow afternoon."

--

Lorelei could not sleep all night. All she thought about was Jesse in a cold dark cell. She pictured him sleeping on a thin mattress surrounded by criminals. She worried that he was being abused by either inmates or staff.

Lorelei's chest tightened every time she thought about Jesse. She could smell his cologne on her blankets. He had spent many nights in her bed. She reached out across the cold sheets, wishing that he was lying next to her.

She dragged herself out of bed when Jody texted that she was on her way. She changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater. She didn't bother to brush her hair and pulled it up into a ponytail.

Jody texted Lorelei that she was outside, so Lorelei grabbed her purse and keys before leaving the apartment. Jody was waiting in a car in front of Lorelei's building. Lorelei climbed into the passenger's seat.

"You look rough," Jody said.

Lorelei pulled down the visor to look at herself in the small mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and rimmed red from crying all night. Under her eyes, she had dark heavy bags. She wished that she had worn sunglasses.

"I shouldn't be going to this," Lorelei said.

"You can't stay home crying," Jody said.

Lorelei sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"He'll see a judge tomorrow," Jody said. "He'll probably get out on bail. I doubt he'll serve any time."

"I wish there was something I could do," Lorelei said. "I feel so helpless."

"Jesse fucked up. He's a grown adult. He can deal with the consequences."

Lorelei bit down on her lip as she nodded. Jody put her hand on Lorelei's shoulder. She looked up at Jody. Her eyes were burning with tears.

"He's going to be alright," Jody said. "Probably the hardest part for him is not being able to see or speak to you."

"I don't know if I want to see him again," she said.

"You wouldn't be this upset if you didn't love him."

Lorelei closed her eyes. She did love Jesse. She fell in love with a man that was sweet and compassionate. Now, he was a man who was arrested for assault and battery. She had to remind herself that he did that to protect her because Bryan was forcefully kissing her. She could also see the cold murderous look in his eyes. He would have continued to beat Bryan if she had not stopped him. Lorelei did not recognize that Jesse.

Confusion and anger were building up in her body. She banged her hand against the dashboard and swore.

"I hate feeling like this," Lorelei said.

"We definitely need to distract you," Jody said. "And I have the perfect idea of how to at the photoshoot."

"What's that?"

"You'll see. You and Jesse will enjoy it."

Jody winked before pulling the car away from the curb and headed toward the photoshoot.