Chapter 28

Beca

"Has she said anything to you?"I ask Chloe. It's been 3 days since Jesse went after Stacie and she killed him. I haven't heard or seen from her and it's starting to worry me.

"No, she gave her statement to the cops, but I'm not on the case. All I know is what you do. That he broke in and hurt her causing her to shoot him out of self defense." Chloe grabs my arms and gently pulls me against her so we're hugging. I wrap my arms around her waist and sigh.

"How did I get so lucky?"

"You got lucky?"Chloe laughs, her blue eyes sparkling. "I'm the one who got lucky. I found my mom and brother. I'm being elected to be the next chief. Not to mention, the beautiful woman I get to be with and the best little girl that I get to see everyday." Chloe looks over at Emily who is sitting in a high chair in Chloe's kitchen. I've been staying with Chloe since that night and I haven't made a move to change anything. I like staying with Chloe. Scratch that, I love staying with her. She doesn't treat me like I'm broken but instead, like I'm something to be cherished. She loves Emily like her own and I'm not afraid to admit that I think I'm falling in love with her.

A sudden knock at the door jerks me out of my thoughts and into instant alert mode. It might take a while to get used to being safe again.

"I'll get it,"Chloe whispers, kissing my cheek and then going over to the door. I notice how her hand rests on her gun that's always in the holster by her side. She opens the door and I frown when she looks over at me.

"It's Stacie,"Chloe says. "Come in."

"Thanks,"Stacie replies and walks through the door. I flinch when I see her scabbed over lip and fading bruise on her cheek. Knowing that Jesse did that makes me sick. It was one thing that he did it to me but my best friend…..

"How are you?" I ask her not sure where we stand. She just nods and walks over to Emily.

"How is she doing?" Stacie keeps her eyes on Emily and I start to get really worried when she doesn't pinch her cheeks or make a comment on how Emily isn't reaching for her.

"Good. She's getting bigger everyday." Stacie nods and finally turns toward Chloe and I.

"I wanted to tell you guys what happened with Jesse."

"You don't have to if you're not ready,"I walk over to her, hurt when she moves away.

"I'm ready. Can I sit down?"

"Of course,"Chloe tells her and then shoots me a worried look. I motion to Emily and Chloe grabs her while I follow Stacie into the living room.

"Did I do something wrong? I thought we apologized."I blurt out. Stacie sits and past the spot next to her. I sit and she grabs my hands. Chloe sits down on a chair across from us with Emily in her lap.

"I..I wasn't sure if you were mad at me for killing him,"Stacie says, shocking me.

"Why would I be? He abused me for years and now I don't have to worry about him anymore." Stacie hangs her head.

"I know but you did love him at one time and anyway, I killed a person. Nothing justifies that."

"He was a bad person. He came at you and you defended yourself, correct?" Stacie looks up, tears in her eyes which makes me tear up. This is the second time I've seen her cry and it's unsettling. It's like I can see the cracks that are slowly forming on her wall and eventually, it's going to break. Then, everything that she's keeping inside is all going to come rushing out and it may destroy her. Depends on what she's holding back and how much.

"I was in my kitchen thinking about you when I heard glass break and the front door open. I started to run upstairs when he grabbed me and just started hitting. Good thing I took those self defense classes though so I managed to knock the wind out of him. I ran upstairs and grabbed the gun I kept in my nightstand drawer. He came in the room and just laughed. Like it was some big joke and I was the only one not getting it. He told me that I wouldn't shoot and then started forward. When he pulled out the knife, I pulled the trigger. The rest is history." I pull Stacie into a hug.

"You are amazing. Thank you so much for helping me feel safe again." She nods and pulls away, then looks over at Chloe.

"You're the cop. Any questions?"Stacie smiles, letting Chloe know that she's messing with her.

"Actually, yeah. When did you get a gun?" Stacie freezes and I turn towards her, also curious about that.

"I've had it for a while."

"Where'd you learn to shoot it?" Stacie relaxes a little making me wonder why she was so tense in the first place.

"My dad taught me when I was younger and then I took classes when I got it." Chloe nods her head in approval. Her dad must've taught her before we met because she told me he died.

"We should go to a shooting range sometime. See how good you are."

"Sure,"Stacie says calmly but I can hear the slight shake. Like she's nervous.

"So I've never hung out with both of you together,"Chloe states and I grin. "So you guys have been friends your whole lives?"

"It feels that way,"I tell her. "She used to live on the other side of town but when we were 14, she moved here and started going to the same school as me. That was before I was all bold and stuff. I mean, I was always sassy but at school I was shy and didn't talk to anyone. That made me a target for bullies. So one day, I was in the cafeteria, about to go to the library when Alice came over. She was like the mean queen of the school. Anyway, she started teasing me and when I didn't respond, she pushed me. At that point, I was in tears and everybody was just watching. Nobody was brave enough to stand up to her, Well, all except one." I smile at Stacie and she picks up where I left off.

"I was the weird new kid with the crazy hair and bad ass attitude. It was my first day and I was actually just going to grab something to eat and then head outside. I was waiting in line when I saw Alice picking on Beca. Usually, I would just let it happen, you know, stay out of trouble. But Beca looked so small and something about her just spoke to me. Though she had tears in her eyes, I saw determination. She wasn't going to let Alice's words get to her. So I walked over and was just ready to let my fists fly when she pushed Beca, but I didn't. Instead, I tapped on her shoulder and asked her why. She told me because it was fun so I shoved her. She got all fired up and was like, why did you do that. So I said-"

"Because it's fun,"I cut in saying it in unison with Stacie. We both crack up laughing and Chloe joins in.

"Did she leave after that?"

"Oh not at all. She punched me and knocked my ass on the ground,"Stacie laughs, the tears in her eyes now from laughter. "I got right back up and it kept going like that. Eventually, a teacher saw and took her away. She was suspended for a long time. Her parents put her in homeschooling, I think. Beca and I became instant friends and by the time she showed her face again in high school, Beca and I were the queens." We laugh and just keep talking about our high school days. Chloe shares some of her awkward teen moments and we just stay like that for a while. Getting to know each other and not having to worry about anything.