"All right, this is how you play this chord," Aaron said patiently as he placed Erin's hand in the correct position on the guitar. She was between his legs, resting against his chest, and if anyone were to come into the study, he knew that it would look like they were a couple. "Though I don't know why you'd want to learn how to play a murder ballad."
"I was feeling a bit like Pretty Polly," Erin murmured as she started to strum out the tune to the song. It was chilling, just how easily he could picture Erin in the place of Polly, and he shuddered a little before angling his head to kiss her cheek. Aaron could feel her smile before she turned her head and kissed him deeply. Throwing caution to the wind, he returned the kiss, pressing his hands against hers and stopping the sound of the guitar.
"I fucking knew it."
They sprang apart quickly, and Erin sprang to her feet, holding her guitar close to her chest as if to protect herself from whatever Dave would do. Aaron was a little slower to get up, but he made certain to position his body in such a way that he was protecting Erin, if Dave should decide to go for her. "This isn't what you think, David," she stammered out, and he watched his best friend's face contort with anger and disgust. "Truly!"
"Oh? Then did I just imagine my best friend kissing my wife like they were old lovers? Was I bewitched into seeing a fantasy that only the cruelest of devils would come up with to torment me? Or is the truth simply that my wife has made me a cuckold in my old age, and with my best friend?"
Aaron shook his head a little as he retreated, eager to protect Erin as best he could. Dave curled his lip into an ugly sneer at that gesture, and Erin then reached out, resting one hand on his shoulder. "David, please, I can explain!"
"There's nothing to explain. I want you and Aaron out of my house by the time I return."
"No, David, this is my home! I have nowhere to take the children!"
He chuckled, an unpleasant sound to Aaron's ears, and Erin curled her hand a little more tightly around his shoulder, as if she was afraid of what would happen next. He reached his hand up and covered hers, wanting to offer his reassurances to her. It was the entirely wrong move, since Dave shook his head slowly before taking another step closer to them. "My children are staying in my house. Did you really think that I would allow you to drag them into something like this? You have nowhere to go, and I know too many judges who will side with me, when I say that I have to keep a stable roof over my children's heads, and this is the only home they've ever known. How could any loving parent really want to remove their precious offspring from that?"
He had backed them into a corner, and Aaron knew that there was no place for them to turn in that moment. They needed to regroup, and fast, before Dave turned public perception against them. "You can't!" Erin protested, and he squeezed her hand softly, trying to get her to back off a little before she made things worse in the long run.
"I can, and you know it. You have nothing without me."
A broken sob was Erin's only answer, and he felt her head come to rest against his back, his shirt soon wet with her tears. "How long?"
"An hour. Maybe two. Move quickly." His best friend gave him another sneer. "I can't believe, after everything Haley did to you, you would do this to me. Enjoy your life together, you deserve everything that happens in the next few weeks."
Dave turned on his heel and stormed from the study. Moments later, the garage door slammed shut, and he felt Erin jump a little. Aaron spun around to face her, softly cupping her face with his hands and rubbing his thumbs back and forth across her cheekbones. "We don't have much time, Erin."
"I know," she whimpered before burrowing in close to his chest. "I should have known that this was coming, but I was so naïve, so blind. I, I, I have to leave my babies."
She broke down into fresh tears, and Aaron leaned in to press his lips against her forehead. "I know, but we won't leave things like this. Now come along, we have to get your things together."
Erin nodded brokenly, still clutching her guitar tightly. "I need to put this away, first. It's coming with me…"
"I'll find a place for you, don't worry."
She nodded and went to take care of her guitar before carrying it out to the hall. He followed after her, pulling his phone out of his pocket and quickly dialing Jessica. She picked up on the third ring, and he drew in a deep breath. "Aaron? Are you heading out on a case? I thought you had a lesson with Erin right now."
"I did. And I have a huge favor to ask of you."
"Dave found out, didn't he?"
"Yes."
"And he kicked Erin out."
"Yes."
"And you want her to move in with me, because you need time to tell Jack that his aunt Erin is in a relationship with you before Dave takes it upon himself to tell him that you were seeing her behind his back."
"You should work with us, Jess."
"I've just been around you that long, Aaron. Some of what you do has rubbed off on me." He listened to her take a soft breath, wondering what her answer would be. "I like Erin, and I will take her into my home until she can get on her feet again, or until she moves in with you."
"Thanks, Jess. We'll see you in about two hours?"
"All right. I'll tell Jack that…wait! Her kids?"
"He's keeping them."
"Oh, god, Aaron. Get here as quickly as you can, I'll come up with a believable story."
She hung up, and Aaron slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Jessica is willing to offer you sanctuary for the moment," he said as they started climbing the stairs.
"That is very kind of her, Aaron." He glanced over at her and saw that she was shutting down emotionally, which worried him. He has almost expected her to sob or be angry or something, anything, other than this blank, quiet, emptiness that was currently her. Following her in to the bedroom, Aaron watched as she methodically pulled out a few suitcases, setting them on the bed before going over to the closet and starting to pack up her clothes.
"What would you like me to do?" he asked, feeling useless in that moment.
"Go to the nursery and choose one dress from each of my daughter's dressers. I need something to keep with me, to remind me of them."
"All right." He didn't want to offer platitudes to her at this time, knowing as well as she did that they had no idea when she'd be able to see her twins again, if ever. Stepping over to her, Aaron leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, listening to her sigh before she leaned into him, letting her head come to rest on his chest. "I love you, that hasn't changed."
"And I love you. I just need to get this done, and be in a safe space. So please, go and do as I asked."
He nodded before stepping away from her and heading over towards the door. "I'll be back soon, Erin." She nodded absently, and Aaron turned and left the room, quickly heading over to the twins' room, and he began to rummage through their drawers, looking for the outfits that he knew Erin loved to dress Bella and Katrina in. He also took a stuffed animal from each bed, knowing that the toy might also help keep Erin a little more on even keel.
Heading back to the bedroom, he found that Erin had managed to get most of her clothes onto the bed, and was stuffing them into the suitcases haphazardly. "You're back. Good. I need my laptop, it's in the study." Aaron nodded, setting the items he'd already gotten into the suitcase closest to him before hurrying off and getting the device.
In tandem, they finished getting everything packed, and Aaron ran the bags down to his car, quickly filling the trunk with her belongings before coming in for more. And then, she was looking up at him, her eyes swimming with tears. "What is it?"
"I don't know. But I'm ready to leave."
It was a lie, he could see that much in her eyes, but he humored her by nodding and then wrapping his arm around her waist, leading her outside. The drive over to Jessica's took no time at all, but it was too quiet, and he kept glancing over to see that she was all right. She gave him a small smile before looking out the window at the passing scenery.
When he pulled into the drive, Jessica was waiting by the front door, opening it to welcome them in. "Will she like me? Or will she judge me?"
"She'll like you. It's me she's judging."
"Oh." Erin turned to look at him, a smile wavering on her lips as she leaned over and kissed him gently. "I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry for." He smiled a little before running the back of his hand across her cheek. "Let's head in."
Erin nodded and got out of the car, even as Jessica opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. They stepped towards each other, and as Aaron watched, Jessica opened her arms, hugging Erin tightly as her shoulders started to shake. His sister in law met his gaze, her eyes infinitely sad as she began to lead Erin into the house. And as he grabbed the first of Erin's bags, he suddenly felt grateful that Jessica had welcomed them into her home, somehow knowing that she would do her best to help Erin begin to heal from what had happened.