Holding On
Chapter 2
That morning, Dwayne was wide awake and making coffee and cooking breakfast. His mind was racing. The images he saw of Shelby were still in his head. She was beaten. That angered Dwayne. The thought of anyone hurting her..made him extremely pissed. He wanted to know, who, what, when and where. Just then Shelby made her way into the kitchen and said, "Good Morning, something sure smells good." Dwayne just stared at her and then spoke. That's my famous jalapeno hash browns. He made a plate for them both and they sat at the table eating. These are great..thanks Dwayne. Your welcome honey. Dwayne couldn't stop looking at her. Finally Shelby noticed and spoke up. Dwayne what is it? What do you mean? You have been staring at me all morning. Dwayne dropped his head and then looked back up. Me and you need to talk, Shelby..lets go upstairs. Shelby agreed, but she felt nervous. She thought, what is going on?
They went to Shelby's office for privacy in case the team came in or Rita woke up. Dwayne did not want anyone to hear their conversation. Dwayne what is all this about? Well Shelby, I kinda came in here last night and I found something. What did you find? Dwayne picked up the file and handed it to her. Shelby was pissed. You had no fucking right to come in here and go through my personal stuff. Dwayne shot back. I have every damn right, Shelby. I am senior field agent and I run this show. Shelby was in panic mode. She wanted to hide in a corner. She wanted to run but she knew Dwayne would catch her. She told Dwayne she had to get out of there but he refused to let her leave. Why didn't you tell me honey? Why did you hide this from me? I didn't want you to know Dwayne..why? It was a long time ago. When I was still married. So your ex-husband did this to you? Yes he did. Can we just drop this? No Shelby, we need to talk more about what happened. Okay Dwayne, what do you exactly want to know? What happened the day..it was night. Okay night that this happened? Don't make me do this King, please...Shelby tell me...please.
That night we had gone to a bar. One that we both liked. Well when he went to the bathroom, a guy came and set by me. Brought me a beer and I told him I was with someone else. The guy didn't care and kissed me as soon as he came back. I was pushing him off and I ran outside. When my ex came outside behind me he grabbed me by the arm and slapped me. Dwayne tensed up. He was hearing what she was going through and he was getting mad...so he dragged me to his truck and told me that I was in trouble. He threw me in and I hit my head on the console. Instead of taking us home, he took me to the middle of nowhere. He pulled me out of the truck and started punching me..as hard as he could..over and over. Dwayne was fucking pissed now. His expression was hard. He clenched his fists. He wanted to beat the hell out of this man. Then he told me what a sorry piece of shit I was and hit me in the stomach. He beat me hard and then he ripped off my clothes when I was barely conscious and he raped me Dwayne. Dwayne was pass angry now. He wanted to kill the son of a bitch. He abused me like that for 4 yrs. I finally got away and divorced him. Shelby was crying and Dwayne was speechless. He comforted her. He hugged her and told her thank you for telling me. He said he was so sorry. No one will ever hurt you again darling. I will make sure of it. He kissed her head and she felt her heart race.
Just then there was a knock on the door and it startled Shelby..she jumped back real quick out of Dwayne's arms. Dwayne looked at her puzzled and she told them to come in. It was Rita. Shelby turned her head and frowned. Hey you two..what's going on this morning. Dwayne said just discussing a case. Then Dwayne leaned forward and kissed Rita. Shelby became very sad. She excused herself and went outside. Shelby walked to the River. She wanted everything out of her mind. Marcus, that is her ex. Rita and Dwayne..it was breaking her heart. She was thinking about how good it felt to have Dwayne's arms around her. To feel his hands on her body. To feel his lips on her head. She never wanted him to know but now he does and he's being so caring. Damnit, here came the tears again. Well Shelby thought, at least he doesn't know I'm in love with him and he never will. Shelby didn't want to lose him. She knew that Dwayne would want to talk more about Marcus later. She had to ready herself.
Like clockwork..Dwayne tapped on her door
Come in.. Hey darling. How are you this evening? I'm okay. How about you? I'm fine Dwayne said. Dwayne I know you want to know more about Marcus. He was a mechanic. He was 35 and I was 20 when I married him.I was young and naive. For the first 5 yrs we were good and then he became an alcoholic and he became abusive. I had him arrested but he got out until that night. They arrested him and convicted him. He got 15 and a half yrs. I was looking at my picture because I got a notice saying he's being released next week. Are you afraid he will come looking for you? No I know he will. He sent me letters telling me he would be with me again one day. I will protect you Shelby. I know you will Dwayne. Your so good to me. I take care of the people in my life. Especially my friends. He grabbed Shelby's hand and held it and winked at her. Shelby was melting. She wanted him so bad. She pulled away from Dwayne. He seemed puzzled again. Dwayne didn't understand why Shelby did that. Maybe she was afraid to be touched? He thought. She always seemed nervous. I have to get home Dwayne and you have to get to Rita. Yep, I sure do. Before Dwayne walked out, Shelby stopped him. She called his name and he turned around. Shelby walked up to Dwayne and put her arms around his neck and hugged him as hard as she could. Dwayne hugged her just as hard and then she whispered in his ear...thank you, but then she really shocked Dwayne. She kissed him on the cheek. She let it linger longer than she should have and Dwayne felt something. Something he shouldn't be feeling. Then Shelby smiled and Dwayne looked in her deep blue eyes. He was speechless. Goodnight Dwayne. Dwayne nodded and left her office.