"Please don't do this..."
Liz was overwhelmed. Less than a half hour ago she assumed her day would mostly be spent in bed with Dave, but now the grip he had on her wrists was so tight she felt her fingers begin to tingle. She could see the smug smile on Calliope's face as clear as day, Taylor's scowl was directed right at her husband and the tension around them was so oppressive she felt herself sag underneath it all.
She wanted to snap, allow herself to boil over and unleash all of the pain Dave had caused so many people right back onto him, but she wasn't about to give Calliope the satisfaction of witnessing their breakdown.
So, she calmly raised her chin and leveled his stare, "I won't fight with you, David. The terms in the papers are more than fair."
She wiggled one wrist free and made a half turn to walk away before he grabbed for her shoulders and hauled her back close enough that she had to tip her head back to look up at him.
"I don't-," his words flowed in a strangled rush as his hands stuttered down from her shoulders back to her hands, "How could- I don't want... I don't want you to leave me."
"Then why-," she wanted to ask why the hell he served her with papers if he didn't actually want a divorce, but was rendered silent when he opened her hand to press her palm against his chest. His heart was beating so fast that she dug her fingers into the white fabric of his shirt as if that would slow it down to a safer speed.
"Sign the papers, Davey."
His eyes flicked up at the sound of the syrupy voice and the hand gripping Liz's clenched so tightly her knuckles popped.
"Get her out of here, T," he growled.
Liz could hear Taylor's bare feet shuffle on the tile, but didn't take her eyes off of Dave's face. "No, man. I'm not cleaning up after you anymore. You gotta own up to-"
His eyes darkened as they moved off his best friend and onto Calliope, "How'd you get in the house."
To Liz, it felt like someone had pressed a pause button. Where there was once ambient noise and movement around them, now there was none. Everything had gone deathly still.
"I..."
The hand that Dave had pressed to his chest was released as he stepped around Liz, squaring his shoulders at the girl in the white dress. "How did you get in the fucking house, Cal."
Liz heard the undercurrent of fear in his voice and instinctively reached out to touch him again, dragging her fingertips down his forearm to tell him she was there for him. Feeling a bit more confident when he locked his fingers around hers, she allowed herself to look at Calliope who was stammering and stuttering, her eyes glued to their hands.
"The... that... the key you gave-"
"I didn't give you any fucking key," Dave spat, diving towards her so suddenly that Liz jumped to hold him back while Taylor sidestepped his way in front of Calliope.
"You broke into my fucking house, Cal," Dave bellowed over Liz's shoulder, "Admit it, you fucking nutcase!"
"I did it because you promised me, Davey!" she screamed right back at him, struggling against Taylor's hold as she tried to get at Dave, "It was supposed to be us with the big house on the hill, but then she got in the way! You promised me!"
"I didn't promise you shit," he scoffed cruelly, the harsh dismissiveness in his words making Liz's hands fall slack around his middle. She felt an unexpected pang of sympathy at Calliope being subjected to such coldness, but the feeling was gone as quickly as it came.
"It was implied," she insisted, grasping at anything and everything she could to keep her charade going.
"Okay," Dave finally had enough and started pulling Liz toward the hallway that led to the garage, "Time to go."
For once in her life, Liz obeyed. She followed him without so much as a dragged step knowing that she didn't yet have full story in front of her and until she did, she would stand firm beside him.
"No!" Calliope screamed after them, ripping her arm away from Taylor so violently that she stumbled backward. "Just remember that I can ruin you, Davey. You're the one that told me reputation is everything in this business."
To Dave's credit and Liz's relief, he ignored her completely, winding his arm around his wife for good measure before they ducked into the dark garage. Just before Liz shut the door behind them, she heard Taylor's voice echoing down the hallway.
"It's either an Uber at the bottom of the hill or I call the fucking cops. Pick one, Princess."
*
It was almost comically difficult for him to drive with one hand, but he wouldn't let her go. And Liz allowed him to cling to her, knowing he needed something to ground himself. The worryingly frantic pace of his heartbeat was still vibrating against her palm and it scared her. His silence scared her. The way his jaw clenched and his eyebrow twitched, she wasn't sure he could take much more before a complete meltdown ensued. So she sat quietly and waited for his cues.
It wasn't until they were at their gate that she decided the most unnerving thing was the silence. Dave never drove without music. Ever. It was just one of those things he needed, as if the car wouldn't kick into gear if the radio wasn't on. But now it was silent. It was on, Liz could see the name of The Zombies song scrolling across the little screen, but the volume was muted. And finally, just as the gate was open enough to allow the truck by, he was the one to speak.
"Call Sophie."
She stole another worried glance at him, "What? Why?"
He sucked in a deep breath and let it out with a tense blow. "Cal's going to release the photos."
Liz went into autopilot, shakily pulling her phone from her pocket and making the right combination of swiping, scrolling and tapping that would connect her with her manager. Her mind buzzed through all the different ways those photos would ruin her career, embarrass Dave and her family and-
"He-... hello?" Sophie's groggy voice surprised her and she winced when the clock on the dash confirmed it was still an ungodly early hour.
"Sophie, hey. I'm so sorry to call this early, but-"
"Elizabeth?" she sounded alert now, more worried. "Is everything all right?"
Liz waited through the rustle of fabric on Sophie's end and winced when she heard a deeper, sleepier voice in the background. Of course she would be interrupting the morning after a successful date... "I um... I think the photos are going to be released soon."
There was a pause and then more rustling, faster and more urgent than before and then, "Are you at home? I'm on my way."
The call ended just as Dave parked the truck in the driveway a good distance from the house.
"Wait here until I come get you," he told her, finally releasing her hand to unbuckle his seatbelt.
She took a breath to protest, having spent enough time around Travis to know he wanted to search the house before she went in, but something told her he needed to do it. There was a determination radiating from him that made her bite her tongue and tamp down the fear rising within her.
"Be careful," she managed before he climbed out, receiving only a little wave for her efforts and had to take deep breaths to calm herself when he shut the front door behind him.
She made it a grand total of three minutes before she couldn't take it anymore and went after him. Every bad thing that could possibly happen had run through her brain in great detail as she searched everywhere for him and was in the middle of checking Harper's room when she heard him yell.
"Elizabeth?"
"Shit," she breathed, running out to the hallway. He sounded panic-stricken and terrified at finding the truck empty. "Up here!"
Listening to his footsteps thunder on the stairs reminded her of just hours earlier when she had walked in on that scene and found her stare focused on her bedroom door, now slightly ajar. She was wondering if she could ever sleep in that bed again when he arrived at the top of the stairs.
"I'm sorry," she started, the terrified look on his face breaking her heart, "I just got worried."
He hurried to her with his arms outstretched and had just reached her when the doorbell rang once, followed shortly by the door opening and Sophie's voice.
"Liz?"
Dave waited until Liz had pulled free and passed him to let his face fall, but it was obvious by the way he slumped against the railing instead of following her that he was quickly breaking down.
"Hi, Soph," she said from the landing as she hurried down, "You got here quick."
"Hi, darling," Sophie words were sweet but rushed, as were the kisses she planted on both her cheeks. "Don't you look well and truly pregnant! I'll be in your office."
"I...-," Liz gaped at her retreating back, recognizing one of her old moto jackets around her shoulders and then spotted Travis standing by the front door with two helmets gripped in his hands.
"What's going on?" he asked.
She ignored his question, put two and two together and went right for the throat, "Are you sleeping with my manager?"
"No...," he said sheepishly, looking over her shoulder to where Sophie had been.
"That was you in bed with her when I called!" she cried, backing up when he walked past her and into the foyer.
"We've...," he looked around to make sure no one was listening, then dropped his voice to a whisper, "We've been on two dates, okay?"
"You were in bed together!" she repeated, bouncing on her toes a little. The news that Travis had finally found someone was a welcome distraction from the nightmare she was currently treading through and she wanted to concentrate on that.
"Yeah, but we haven't... you know," he looked positively mortified as a crimson tinge started below the collar of his shirt and rose quickly over his face. "We're taking things slow."
She wanted to be thrilled for him, wanted to hug him and tell him that he absolutely deserved someone as sweet as Sophie, but everything was muted the second Dave strode down the hallway towards them
"We're gonna come back to this okay?" she told Travis before Dave got too close, "Don't think you're off the hook here."
He gave her a pained look, then nodded a greeting at her husband.
"Hey, man," Dave said, the tightness of his voice revealing everything. "Can you help me outside real quick?"
*
Liz sat in front of Sophie, staring up at her composition piece and relaying the morning's events as her manager set up her laptop on her office desk.
"So she broke in? ... burgled you?" Sophie asked with wide eyes.
"I mean... I don't think she stole anything..."
Sophie's jaw dropped, "You found this barmy cow in bed with your husband and you're worried if she knicked your silver?"
Liz only shrugged. She hadn't had time to fact check anything so at the moment she was just trusting Dave, finding it was surprisingly easy to do considering the circumstances.
There was a light tapping on the door and Liz looked up to find Taylor leaned against the frame with a cocky grin on his face, swinging a white phone between his fingers.
"You stole her phone?" she gasped.
"My rep's at stake here too, Liz," he reminded her, stepping into the room to toss the phone in front of Sophie, who eagerly snatched it up.
"Oh... balls, it's password protected," she grumbled.
Taylor caught Liz's eye before offering, "Try one-one-four-six-nine."
Five taps later and Sophie looked up at him in surprise. "How did you-?"
"God, I hate that bitch," Liz muttered, annoyed that jealousy was seeping into her veins again.
"That's the spirit!" Taylor laughed and dropped onto the arm of Liz's chair. "I was wondering when you'd finally come around!"
"Did she go quietly?"
His laugh faded to a chuckle and he shook his head. "Hell no. Screamed the whole way down the hill until I told her someone was going to hear her and call the cops. For some reason, she's not fond of law enforcement."
"Can't imagine why," Liz grumbled, matching his sarcasm.
Watching Sophie work was like watching a montage from one of those forensic crime shows. She pulled a few cables from her briefcase and plugged them into her laptop and then into Calliope's phone, then pulled out her own phone and made a call.
Taylor began to nervously drum on his knee which Liz tolerated for a few minutes, then slapped her hand over his to stop him. He whispered an apology just as Sophie snorted a laugh into her phone, making both of them lean forward.
"All the outlets lowballed her," she giggled to them, "She was ready to take $35k for the whole lot."
Taylor's brow furrowed in confusion, "What the fuck does that mean?"
"It means she could have asked for a lot more," Liz said quietly.
"At least a bloody million more," Sophie chuckled, turning her attention back to whoever was on the other end of her phone call. "So what does the data say?"
Liz shut her eyes tight, unwilling to see Sophie's reaction to the answer. If Calliope had any sort of common sense, she would have copied the pictures elsewhere and had a backup. But if the only copies were on her phone, then they might be in the clear. She felt Taylor's hand on her shoulder and heard the sound of a pen scratching against paper while Sophie ended her call.
"Metadata says she only texted the photos to these two numbers," she tapped the paper with her pen and Liz felt Taylor shift beside her.
"That's Dave and... I don't think I know the other one. Liz?"
The 503 area code made her sigh and tears prick at the corners of her eyes, "It's Kyle."
*
She set off to tell Dave, leaving Sophie and Taylor to figure out the details and agreeing to the restraining and no-contact orders her manager recommended. She would do whatever it took to keep Calliope out of their lives for good, but didn't want to think about what she was capable of now that Dave had effectively shunned her. Desperation could be a dangerous thing...
He wasn't in the kitchen or the out on the deck, not in their bedroom or down in the bar, the garage and shop also proved empty and she was beginning to worry again when she heard him swear from the back of the house.
"Ow! Fuck!"
Liz ran down the hallway after his voice, slowing to look into each room she passed until she found him kneeling on the floor of the laundry room, blood dripping from his palm. She started toward him, his head snapping up when he heard her footsteps.
"No!" he shouted at her, throwing his uninjured arm out to keep her from coming any closer and she halted in what felt like mid-air.
The bite in his tone and the hurt it caused made her want to cry until she looked around and realized the room was covered in broken glass. Scattered all over the floor around Dave, on the countertops, in the cat's dishes... glass was everywhere.
A soft breeze of fresh air blew Liz's hair back revealing that the window above the washing machine was essentially gone, just the vinyl casing remained. But there was more glass on the floor than what had once been in the window and she looked back at Dave in confusion.
"Vodka bottle," he murmured, nodding to a ripped label just to his left.
Liz heard herself whimper as she looked him over for more cuts. Fifteen minutes ago he had been barefoot and had he wandered in there unaware...
"Dave?" Travis's voice came in from outside, just below the window. "She went Fatal Attraction on you, man! Used the patio furniture to climb up... and there's a shit ton of liquor bottles out here. Fucking cheap schnapps."
"... 'kay," he called back, killing the one-sided conversation while keeping his gaze on her face.
The hurt Liz felt was suddenly replaced. She felt violated, angry, scared that all it took was one intrepid, obsessed drunk flinging a vodka bottle at their window to gain access to their home. Her hand hit the wall to steady herself against the dizziness but Dave was right there, bringing her against him and careful to hold his cut hand out so he wouldn't bleed on her.
"Did you check on-"
"They were all huddled under Phee's bed," he said softly. "Stevie managed to take a chunk out of her arm."
Liz registered that he was trying to be lighthearted, but she wasn't there quite yet. "What if... if the kids were home?" she breathed against his shoulder, "And you were asleep! What if-?"
"Don't," he said softly against her hair, "Don't think about it, okay?"
*
"Sorry, it's just really deep."
His free hand gripped her forearm as she cleaned the cut on the other and she found herself silently praying to any god that would listen to distract herself from his grunts of pain.
Please don't need stitches.
Please don't admit that you slept with her.
Please don't ask me to sign any more divorce papers.
Please don't look at me like that..
"All done," she told him. "If it bleeds through that gauze in an hour we're going to the doctor, though."
She expected him to argue, to insist that he was fine, but he simply nodded and left the room as she put the first aid kit back together.
It wasn't even noon yet and she felt like she'd lived an entire lifetime in that one morning. Dragging herself to her vanity, she dropped into the chair and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
A pale woman with dark circles under her eyes and hair dulled with dry shampoo stared back, weathered and worn. She wasn't anything like Calliope, which made Jordyn's words echo around her, "... he keeps letting her back in."
The tears hit her all at once, so fast and so hard that she couldn't stop them and leaned her elbows onto the counter to sob into them. She hadn't been at it very long when a large hand gripped her shoulder and she looked up, expecting to see Taylor or Travis standing over her, but instead had to look down at Dave kneeling beside her.
The agony in his eyes made her lip tremble so he moved away, pulling the little teak stool by the tub to sit across from her. Their knees almost touched, so close and still far enough away that she could think and she was letting this sink in when he pulled a stack of folded papers from his back pocket.
"Is this what you want?" he said it low and evenly with no hints of accusations or malice, just a solid question that required an equally solid answer.
"No."
"I love you, Elizabeth. I want you to be happy and if this is what it takes, I-"
"Did you have the documents drawn up?" she interrupted, the questioning look he gave her being the only answer she needed. "You need to talk to Jordyn," she choked out as she stood to stand by the bank of cabinets that held their matching sinks.
"Liz?" he watched her dig around in a drawer and pull her hair up, her deep breathing the only thing keeping her from screaming.
"If Calliope copied some generic divorce documents from the internet, typed in our names and made them look legit, it doesn't mean they are. And based on the information that's been given to me, she did the same to you and Jordyn. So while I don't want a divorce, our marriage might not even be valid due to the fact that you might still be legally married to someone else."
He sat silently for a beat, then yanked his phone from his pocket and stormed toward the door, shutting it as their lawyer picked up.