The Fine Line Book One Between Worlds Series (10 page)

She laughed and nodded.

“
Thank you, and yes, I do
have a boyfriend; a very handsome boyfriend.”

She observed as Matt walked to Olivia and
knelt.

“
Listen,” he began
quietly, “how about we go rent some movies? Maybe we’ll go to
putt-putt golf and then come back here and hang out? Maybe order a
pizza?”

“
Yeah!” she shouted,
jumping up and down wildly. The claps echoed down the hallway as
she ran to her room to get her shoes.

Robin smiled. “She is beautiful, Matt.”

“
Thanks.” He stood up and
walked to Robin. “Those plans okay with you?” he asked
thoughtfully.

“
Yes. You should’ve told
me she was visiting this weekend. I feel like I’m
imposing.”

“
You’re not. And just for
the record, I have a little something extra for you later,” he said
as he walked closer to her.

“
You do?”

“
Oh yeah,” he said as a
seductive grin found his lips. He leaned closer and kissed her
lips. “I’ve missed you,” he said sincerely “and we’ve got some
catching up to do. I can’t get a little taste of you and then go
without for a week.”

“
But we saw each other
Tuesday and Wednesday.”

“
Yeah, but we had clothing
on both times.”

She gave him a friendly smack on the
arm.

“
What?” he asked shrugging
innocently. “It’s not the same as when the clothing is strung all
over the floor.”

After a very quick stop at the movie rental
store, they arrived at putt-putt golf. Olivia was very good at it.
Robin enjoyed watching Matt with her, impressed by what a wonderful
father he was. She felt privileged to be part of his life. Each
time Olivia made a putt, Matt shouted madly as if she were a
pro-golfer on the tour.

After putt-putt, they arrived at the pizza
parlor. By 8:30 they settled back in at the apartment. After
Olivia’s bath, Matt popped in
The Wizard of Oz
. Matt sat in
the rocker-recliner with Olivia who quickly fell asleep on his
chest.

He finally excused himself and carried her
to her room as Robin waited quietly on the couch. She heard the
refrigerator door open after a few moments. “Bottled water okay?”
Matt asked.

“
That’s fine,” she
replied. “Is it okay if I take a shower though? I’m sort of sweaty
from playing putt-putt in this heat.”

“
Of course.”

Her shower didn’t last long and she emerged
wearing a red t-shirt belonging to Matt. He sat in the recliner,
beer in hand, wearing his plaid cotton boxers and no shirt.

After grabbing the bottled water, Robin
walked to the sofa and sat down. Matt stood and walked to the
opposite end of the couch and sat down. He leaned over and put the
beer on a coaster that sat on the end table. Then, he grabbed
Robin’s feet and plopped them on his lap. To her surprise and
delight, he massaged them. The room was quiet, the TV off.

“
I will make sure I’m gone
by the time she wakes up. I think that sends a bad message to her
if I stay all night and am here when she gets out of bed,” Robin
said considerately.

“
I appreciate
that.”

“
She’s an amazing little
girl, your Olly,” she complimented.

“
She is,” he said with a
long pause. He reached for the beer and took a drink. “Too bad
she’s not really mine.”

Robin said nothing. Speechless, she simply
took a swig of her water. She didn’t press the issue either.

“
Sheryl had one affair
right after the other when we were married,” he continued. “Seemed
like I could never keep her satisfied; I felt like a failure. The
sex was never good enough for her. Communication was never open
enough for her. She used to find fault in everything I did. Six
years ago she had one affair that we would both live with for the
rest of our lives. She had gotten pregnant with Olly. We hadn’t had
sex for months, so I knew I wasn’t the father. I remember just how
matter-of-fact she was when she told me she was pregnant; makes me
sick when I think about it now. Olly is the result of one of her
many affairs. Honestly, I don’t think she even knows who the dad
is. But I was raised to honor my marriage, so I stayed with her.
Olivia has always known me as her daddy; that’ll never change. I’m
the one who walked the floors with her while she had colic. I’m the
one who fed her and bathed her and watched her learn how to walk
and talk. I don’t give a damn about her biological father or who he
might be. The point is, I’m her father and she’ll never know the
difference.”

“
That is commendable
Matt.”

“
Believe me, I wanted to
run far and fast. But I made a commitment.” He took another drink
from the bottle of beer. “I’m loyal. Even to people that don’t
deserve it.”

“
You’re a good man,” she
said with a smile. “I can’t relate to the dissatisfaction she
talked about though. Personally, I think she needs her head
examined. I don’t agree with any of her criticisms at all.You are
an unbelievable lover; so tender and sweet. As for communication,
you and I talk about everything. I feel like I can share anything
with you. You are kind and you always think of me first in every
situation without thought of reward or personal gain. You are a
wonderful, wonderful man. I know you were sent to me. You’re a
blessing to me, Matt. Sincerely, you are.”

“
Thank you,” he said as
his cheeks began to turn the color of rose.

“
Look who’s blushing now?”
she pointed out.

“
You don’t see this often
in a man do you?”

She could see his embarrassment. “I love
it,” she assured him.

Nudging her on was the still small voice in
her mind telling her to confide in Matt about her past with
Brett.

“
I need to tell you
something,” she began quietly as she made eye contact with
him.

He shifted his weight and sat facing her.
The intensity in his posture made it difficult for her to find the
words.

She took a deep breath in and then
began.

“
I am going to tell you
something that only a few people know and completely understand. I
really don’t know how to start, so I’m just going to. I met a man
named Brett. We were together almost four years and the first two
years were great. Many times, I thought it was too good to be
true.”

She stopped and realized the situation with
Matt felt similar to her now and that terrified her. She struggled
to continue.

“
After the two years,
Brett turned into a different person. He got involved with some
people that he shouldn’t have. He had an addictive nature anyway,
so when he was introduced to drugs, everything changed. We had
already moved in together, too. When he was high he became this…
this… other person as most people with substance abuse do. He was
mean and very hateful. He used to say things to me about my
appearance; my weight.”

“
Your weight?” Matt
interrupted.

She nodded. “The beatings didn’t start until
the last part of our relationship. The first time he ever put his
hands on me was when I had burnt a pizza. He grabbed me by my arm
and squeezed it so hard I thought it would break. He called me a
fat, lazy bitch; told me I was no good to anyone. I can’t even
remember how many times Brett slammed me against the wall or
punched me in the stomach. I didn’t dare tell anyone. I was so
ashamed. You see, I knew better. My education had taught me that no
one should ever stay in situations like mine. But I thought he
would change and I loved the man he was before the drugs. I lost
count of E.R. visits and all of the lies I told. It didn’t take
Wendy long to figure everything out and she confronted me about it.
She was one person I knew I couldn’t lie to. She knew me better
than anyone.”

One night he pulled my hair out in chunks. I
went to Wendy’s crying. She went with me to the police and we filed
a report. I met a domestic violence counselor and I filed a
protection order against Brett. Colin, do you remember him? He’s
the police officer from softball?”

“
Yes, I remember,” he
replied.

“He was the officer who took the report.
After that, he took me on as a personal charity case,” she said
with a chuckle. “Anyway, because the apartment in Hamilton was
legally mine, Brett had to move out. Colin was there to make sure
he left quietly while I stayed with Wendy. For the first few weeks,
things were good. I was starting to feel a little stronger. Wendy
stayed at the apartment with me a lot. I went to my counseling and
my domestic violence groups. It really helped me understand things.
There I was a social worker and couldn’t dig myself out from
underneath the torture of a violent relationship. I was so upset
with myself.”

The tears rolled down her cheeks and she
barely held herself together. As Robin’s eyes met Matt’s, she could
see his heart breaking as she told the story. He continued
listening attentively.

“
One night after one of my
groups, I walked to my car. I got in and the next thing I felt was
a gun to the back of my head. Then I heard his voice. He told me to
drive to the apartment and if I didn’t do it or if I tried to flag
down help, he was going to shoot me. I had been trained to run in
situations like that, but it’s amazing what happens when you’re
actually put in a situation like that. Everything you’ve learned to
protect yourself goes right out the window.

“
So, I drove to the
apartment, just like he told me to, we went in, and that’s when it
all started. He tortured me for hours.” She choked on her words.
“He did things to me that no one should ever have to experience. He
raped me repeatedly. He burned me with cigarettes. I lost count of
all of the times he punched me. He threw me around like a rag doll.
I just knew I was going to die. I knew he wasn’t going to let me
walk out of that apartment. Because I always called Wendy when I
got home and she hadn’t heard from me, I knew that was my only
saving grace because I hadn’t called her. Thankfully, she called
Colin. Colin called my apartment and Brett answered the phone. My
life was in Brett’s hands for an entire night and day. There were
times when I begged to die.” She breathed deeply and brushed the
tears from her face. “SWAT busted down the door eventually and they
took Brett away in cuffs. I wanted to see him rot. He took my
dignity. He took my trust. He destroyed me. That day, after it was
all over, I sat on the apartment steps with Colin. He was there for
me. He rode with me in the ambulance. He held my hand. He promised
to protect me. Several of my ribs were cracked, my wrist was
broken, and I was covered in bruises and cuts. My face swelled so
badly I couldn’t see. I didn’t even recognize my own face. Just one
simple mistake in judgment led me into one of the darkest places in
my life.”

“
You’re wrong,” he
interrupted.

Her face contorted and she tilted her
head.

“
What happened to you,”
Matt continued, “didn’t have anything to do with your judgment.
Drugs had everything to do with it.”

She nodded. “You’re right, but I blamed
myself. I felt like I should have known better; like I should have
seen the signs and ran. But, I didn’t run. I stayed.” She sighed.
“But, there is so much that therapy taught me. I have learned to
forgive myself. In fact, you’ve taught me how to overcome my doubts
and most of my fears. Like I said, Matt, you are my miracle.”

“
You rose from the ashes,
Robin,” he interjected. “That had nothing to do with
me.”

She smiled. “I did, but, still, it has a lot
to do with you.” She nodded. “You’ve taught me how to smile again
and how important it is to believe in myself. The situation with
Brett… it put me on high alert, though. I still am cautious.”

Matt stood and walked to Robin, kneeling in
front of her on the floor. Her hands trembled as he took them into
his. He then swept the tears from her face and grinned.

“
Listen, I will never,
never do anything like that to you; ever. It pisses me off that you
had to go through that. You are such a great person, Robin; worthy
of so much more. Worthy of respect and love; you know that,
right?”

“
I do now,” she said
softly.

“
I want you know how much
it means to me that you told me about this. I feel honored that you
trust me enough to confide in me about such a painful experience in
your life. I know that I tell you this all of the time, Robin, but
I’m telling you again. You are amazing. It makes complete sense to
me now why you were so guarded and so scared before, but you don’t
need to be scared anymore.”

“
I know.” She still cried
softly.

The closeness she felt when Matt took her
into his arms provided comfort that she simply couldn’t put into
words. She continued weeping for what seemed to be an eternity, but
Matt didn’t seem to mind.

When they made love that night, she felt the
determination in his touch. The intent to wipe out all of the
negativity associated with her troubled past. She felt the same way
about him. With each kiss and with each caress, she hoped to erase
all of the heartbreak in his past, too.

As they lay in bed, resting, she nestled
into him.

“
No matter what happens,”
he whispered, “I will always be the one you can count
on.”