Read Online Ever After by Annie Jocoby - Free Book Online

were a foregone conclusion.
    “Something like that,” I said. “Listen, Scotty, it took an act of Congress just to get you into that police station. Now it seems that I can’t motivate you to really get interested in getting him. I mean, it’s been over two weeks since you gave that cop your statement. Over two weeks. They were supposed to arrest him in a matter of days. Doesn’t that even concern you a little?”
    Scotty looked stricken, and I felt bad again. “Nick, no offense. But I’ve been down this road before. I told people before about him, remember, and nothing ever happened. I was the person who was looked at suspiciously, not him. Not him. I hate to sound cynical, but I really don’t think that anything is going to happen with this case this time, either, so maybe I just need to forget about it and move on.”
    I didn’t want to tell her that she was probably right. That Mr. Lucas would never see the inside of a jail cell. But I still wanted her to not lose hope or focus. I mean, she had a lot going on in her life, too, what with Aaron and her work with the firm and her therapist. So I decided to try to keep her motivated. “You can’t think like that,” I said. “You have to be interested in this. You have to be on Angie’s ass every day. Beat her down until she has to file charges. I can’t do all the heavy lifting, here, Scotty, and I feel that’s what’s happening right now. I mean, I call Angie all the fucking time. She’s been giving me the runaround, but I’m pissed because I feel that you call her once for every five times I do. And that’s not right.”
    Scotty stood up and started pacing the floor. “Nick,” she said. “I love you. And I love that you go so much out of your way to make sure that you’re doing all you can to protect me. But you really have to let me handle it in my own way. I know that you’re only trying to help, though.”
    “In your own way?” I asked, incredulous. “It seems like your own way would mean that the entire case is going to fall through the fucking cracks. And that predator won’t be punished at all. Maybe you shouldn’t have taken a sabbatical at school, since you obviously choose to sit on your ass instead of making sure that fucking bastard is nailed to the wall.” I had to admit that I was a little bit hurt. I wanted her to appreciate what I was doing to put Mr. Lucas behind bars. And if she only knew the lengths that I was willing to go through to make sure she was safe…
    “Well, Nick, maybe you’re right. But I was taking that sabbatical not just because of Mr. Lucas, but also because of Aaron and the fact that my therapy is digging up stuff that is overwhelming for me.”
    “Yeah, I can see how overwhelmed you are. So overwhelmed that you’re going to Bonnaroo and dreaming of sunning yourself on the beach. You’re just out there thinking about having a grand time, instead of focusing on your responsibilities. Maybe you took a sabbatical because you wanted to play.”
    Scotty now looked pissed. “Where is this coming from? Since when did you become the father that I’ve never had instead of my sexy lover?”
    Then I just blurted it out. “Since I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m probably going to literally have to kill that fucking predator, because you’re not doing enough to make sure he’s prosecuted.”
    Scotty looked at me, obviously not understanding. “Ok, ok, ok. I’ll be more proactive. And, by the way, you probably shouldn’t use the word literally in that context. Because, obviously, you aren’t going to literally kill him.” However, as she said that, she didn’t look entirely convinced of her own words.
    I immediately felt bad for tipping my hand. “Of course, I don’t mean literally. It’s a figure of speech. I just want to make sure that you’re doing all you can to get him, that’s all.”
    She sat back down. She looked a bit deflated, so I took her hands thoughtfully. “Hey,” I said,