AN: And the consequences of Jake's actions continue. We're getting closer to Edward, too.
My thanks to my wonderful team. To MeteorOnAMoonlessNight, Midnight Cougar and ghostreader24 for their help throughout this story. it would never be as good without their red pens and suggestions.
Disclaimer: SM owns it all.
Deceit and Destiny Chapter 30
Monday night was what felt like one long nightmare. A nightmare where CPS decided I was an unfit mother and took Connor away, not telling me where he was going. I woke up more than once sweating with fear.
As soon as the sky lightened, I made my way downstairs to find Dad seated at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee warming his hands.
"What are you doing up, Dad?"
"Couldn't sleep, sweetheart. You?"
"Nightmares."
He seemed to understand what I was talking about and nodded. "There's fresh coffee in the pot; I just made it."
"Thanks, but I can't drink coffee, Dad. It's not good for the baby."
I made myself a cup of tea and took a seat opposite him, both of us silent while we sipped our drinks.
"I'm sorry, Bella."
"What for, Dad?"
"For talking to you the way I did the other day. For interfering in your life. For not telling you about Jake and Sam, but most of all for all but forcing you and Jake into a bad marriage. If it hadn't been for me, you might have found true happiness. I should've known better."
"I know it isn't easy for you to admit it wasn't your place, but thank you for saying it anyway. As I said before, it's in the past, and I forgive you." I reached across the table, squeezing his hand. "I'm going to have a shower, then get Connor up and ready."
When I'd finished with my shower, I found a missed call on my phone from Emmett. After slipping into black pants and a cream blouse, I called him back.
"Hello, Bella. How are you?"
"I'm doing okay, thanks, Emmett. I had a missed call from you?"
"I wanted to let you know that Jake was granted bail this morning, on the strict understanding that he stays away from you and Connor. That's in addition to the order you were granted. He's staying with Embry Call."
"Thanks for letting me know, Emmett, I'm glad he won't have to stay in jail." I stopped for a moment. "Do you know what will happen next?"
"He pleaded guilty, and that's a good thing. The judge will hopefully see it as a good sign that Jake's truly repentant, but you should be prepared for him to go to prison, Bella. Assaulting a police officer is a very serious crime."
"God, I wish it hadn't happened," I said. "It's caused such a mess for everyone—Connor, me, and of course, Jake. Dad wants me to press charges, but I don't."
"The choice is entirely yours, Bella."
I was sure I was doing the right thing. My gut instinct was this was a one-off; the circumstances had changed and Jake wouldn't raise a hand to me or his son ever again. My only thought was I hoped that not pressing charges wouldn't be seen as a problem with CPS.
"Thank you, Emmett. I'll speak to you soon."
Two hours later, Mom, Dad, Connor, and I were dressed and ready to go. Both my parents were coming with us for moral support.
The offices were in Port Angeles, and I spent the twenty-minute journey talking to Connor, assuring him he could tell the absolute truth. No one would ever be angry with him for telling the person he was going to see exactly what he heard and saw, and how it made him feel.
I hoped I was successful in hiding how worried I was about the next stage of the process, and tried to push it away for now.
We were greeted by the receptionist who showed us to a family waiting room before calling for Shelly Cope, the interviewer. Her assistant, Gianna King, took Connor back to the interview room, where she explained he would be given toys to play with, and paper and crayons to draw or color pictures.
For two hours, I paced from one side of the room to the other, unable to sit still for more than a few minutes at a time. My worry for Connor and what he might be going through was making me more anxious with each minute that passed.
When the door finally opened, Connor bounded in, talking nonstop about the games he'd played and the pictures he'd drawn, behaving as if nothing was out of the ordinary. That couldn't be all, could it?
Mom and Dad took Connor out to the car, while I followed Shelly Cope to her office to talk in private.
"What happens now, Mrs. Cope? Did you get everything you needed from Connor?"
"Shelly, please, and may I call you Bella?" I nodded, and she continued. "The interview notes from today will be sent to the police and added to the information they've already put together. You'd have to speak to them to find out what happens next for them. For CPS, we will carry out a family assessment response. This means that we will assess your situation for Connor's safety and wellbeing."
"What if you think he isn't safe?" I swallowed nervously. "Will you take him away?"
"We'll work with you first and make a plan to ensure his safety. In cases like yours, we have sometimes found it in the child's best interest to place him or her outside the home." She placed her hand over mine when I let out a gasp. "Bella, we don't take children away from their parents lightly. We'll be doing everything we can to make sure Connor is safe with you, so he can stay with you. But, I would like to ask you a few questions. Do you have time now?"
I nodded and drew in a shaky breath. "Can I call my dad to let him know I'll be out a bit later?"
"Of course, I'll give you a couple of minutes. Would you like something to drink?"
"No thanks, I'm fine."
While she was out of the room, I called Dad, telling him to take Connor to the park for a while as I would probably be here for an hour or two. She returned with a cup of coffee and a glass of water, the latter of which she placed on the edge of the desk for me.
"What do you need to know?" I asked, once she had taken her seat again.
Pulling out a notebook, she answered, "A lot of the questions I'll be asking are to determine your relationship with Jake and Connor, and theirs with each other." She stopped to make sure I understood, then continued. "I think it would be useful for you to recount what happened the day before yesterday first. Then we can go over questions about usual behavior between the three of you. Okay?"
"All right. Shall I start now?"
When she nodded, I thought back to yesterday morning.
"I woke up feeling good for once and got up and dressed."
"Why would you have felt bad?" Shelly interrupted.
"Most days I have morning sickness. I'm pregnant."
She nodded, made a note, then asked me to continue.
"I asked Jake to wake Connor and help him get dressed, and reminded him that Connor would have to use our en-suite to clean his teeth because the sink in the other bathroom was blocked. I went downstairs to cook breakfast.
"Jake didn't know I was pregnant as I'd only taken a home test the day before. Connor found it and brought it down to ask me what it was. I didn't want to lie to Connor, so I told him I was having a baby. Jake and I . . . well we haven't been together for a while, so he knew the baby wasn't his. He wanted to know who the father was, and I didn't want to discuss it in front of Connor. Jake then lost his temper and swept all the dishes from the table and threw a glass in the sink."
"You had a relationship with someone else?"
"Not a relationship," I corrected, hoping I wouldn't have to elaborate too much on my short time with Edward. Shelly didn't ask anything more right now, but nodded for me to continue.
"Jake was swearing and shouting, and when I tried to get him to calm down, he grabbed me and shook me."
"Where did he grab you?"
"At the top of my arms. Connor was scared, but he grabbed Jake around the legs. Jake let me go and pushed him away, then went into the living room. He smashed some things and threw a table lamp through the window. He kept on asking me who was the father of the baby. I . . . I didn't want to tell him, and I think that made him even angrier."
"Why didn't you want to tell him?"
I lifted my chin. "I'd already told Jake I wanted a divorce, and I didn't think it mattered who the baby's father was."
She didn't say anything about it, and I continued reliving the disaster that was Sunday.
"I shouted at Jake about, umm . . . a friend of his that I found out he was seeing, then he really lost it. I walked backward and he stalked toward me until I was against the wall beside the mirror. He smashed it and the glass cut my arm. After that, Dad arrived and got Jake on the floor. The neighbors must have called the police, so Emmett—Officer McCarty—arrived quickly. Jake lashed out and hit Emmett, so he arrested him."
By the time I'd finished, I could feel the tears clogging up my throat. Wordlessly, Shelly pushed the box of tissues closer. I let a few tears fall, wiping them away, and felt better once the emotions had been released from remembering the scene.
"Can you tell me what your relationship with Jake is like?" Shelly began.
"Our relationship is easygoing, or it used to be. We're both working full-time, so we don't have a lot of time together, but we spend that bit of downtime watching television with Connor or visiting friends. Jake's quite a reserved man, but he's typically sweet and kind, and I've never seen him lose his temper other than this Sunday." I picked up my glass, taking a sip of the iced water, waiting for Shelly to ask another question.
"Do you have a lot of fights? Does Connor see you fight?"
"We have the usual squabbles and disagreements most married couples do, and we try not to talk about them when Connor is around. We mostly agree on parenting, housework, and other family things. Connor has never witnessed any fight because we've never had one."
"What about Connor? How do you discipline him? Does Jake discipline him? Has he ever hit him? How does Jake act with him?"
"Connor's mostly a really well-behaved child. I know that sounds as if he's perfect, but that's not quite true either."
"Only children can be well-behaved without siblings to encourage them," Shelly commented.
I nodded. I knew Emily had a lot more problems than I'd ever had, especially having two boys who constantly argued and fought.
"Yes, I've heard that more than one child in the home usually means more things for them to get up to. Connor does silly things like spilling milk, not putting away his toys, being cheeky, or ignoring what I've asked him to do, as all children do. So, punishment is things like sending him to bed early, not letting him watch his favorite TV programs, or not allowing him to sleep over with his friends. Jake has never disciplined him; he leaves that to me, and we would never hit him."
"Does Connor have temper tantrums? How do you deal with those?"
"He hasn't had one in a while, but it usually happens when I say no to something—like ice cream or sweets. I explain to him why he can't have them and if he carries on, I put him in time-out, either on his bed or the bottom step of the stairs for a few minutes until he's calmed down."
"And Jake? How does he act toward Connor?"
I shifted, uncrossing and crossing my legs nervously, not wanting to lie, but knowing I needed to be as honest as possible. "He's a good father, but he's busy at work, so most of his interactions are at bedtime and on the weekends. He doesn't shout at him, helps him to get ready for bed, and reads his bedtime stories when he's home from work early enough."
"Do they spend time together? How does Connor react to Jake when he's angry?"
"When Jake isn't working, he takes Connor to the park to play on the swings, or watch football. They kick a ball around, or Jake helps him to ride his bike. Sometimes, when we go to my parents, Jake will take him for a walk down by the lake. I've never seen Jake angry with either of us, and Connor, who's an honest child, would have told me if Jake had been angry when I wasn't there."
I cleared my throat nervously. "Some of the questions are difficult to answer because Jake rarely gets involved in the day-to-day running of the house, grocery shopping, and most of the tasks that affect Connor. He's busy at work a lot of the time, so most of the every day things fall on me."
Shelly nodded and made a note. "I understand, Bella. Just try to be as honest as you can." She looked down at her notes before continuing. "What was different about this time? Why was Jake angry?"
I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. What was different? Another difficult question to answer without telling a lie. I didn't want to make Jake look bad; although he wasn't the best parent, he certainly wasn't a bad father—just an absent one.
"Well, as I said, I'm pregnant and Jake was angry because I cheated on him and the baby isn't his. I think he was aware of the hypocrisy since he's cheated, too, but I don't know what triggered his temper. Maybe he was just overwhelmed . . . and hurt?" I felt my face color with shame as I admitted to breaking my marriage vows.
After a few minutes of silence while Shelly looked over her notes, she looked up at me.
"Well, I think I have enough for the moment, but I might have more questions later. Next, I'd like to visit you in your home. Are you staying in the home you share with Jake? Is he there now?"
"No, I've been staying with my parents, and I have a temporary protection order against Jake, so he's staying with his friend for now. I haven't decided exactly when we're going to move back, but I want Connor to feel safe there. Jake and I have talked about a divorce, but we've yet to discuss moving forward with respect to the house."
"Okay, I have your number and I'll call you when we're ready to move forward with the next step."
After making an appointment for Connor to see a child psychologist, I made my way outside where Mom and Dad were waiting.
"Sorry that took so long, guys. Mrs. Cope had loads of questions. Is Connor okay?"
"He's fine, Bella. He's over there visiting with a dog," Dad said. "Are you done now, or is there more?"
I looked over to where Connor was talking to a lady with a dog, while he petted it and threw a ball in the air. He'd always wanted a dog. I turned back to Mom and Dad.
"CPS will send Connor's statement to the police who'll forward it, with the rest of the paperwork Emmett has, to the DA. They'll decide if there's enough for them to prosecute Jake on domestic violence charges. Shelly said she might have more questions later, but for now, she'll call me to make arrangements to come and assess the house and my situation. After that, if she thinks it's necessary, she'll set up a plan to ensure Connor's safety and wellbeing. I don't know yet what that will involve."
"I still think you should press charges. You shouldn't let Jake get away with losing his temper no matter the provocation."
"No, I already told you I wasn't going to. Jake didn't mean for all that to happen on Sunday, and I'm sure he won't do it again, Dad. I think the assault charges for hitting Emmett will hit home enough to make him think twice."
"I'm not sure that's enough."
"Dad, I don't know all the answers. Emmett said Jake's staying with Embry right now. I don't know if he wants to move back in, or he'll stay with Embry permanently. I've already told him I want a divorce and nothing has changed my mind. He'll have been told I have a temporary protection order, so he'll know I mean business, and if anything happens, I promise I'll call the police immediately."
"Charlie," Mom interrupted, "I think we need to let Bella make decisions with our support. It's not our place to make them for her, is it?" Her unspoken words told him he'd already made a mess for me once by interfering and that he should stop. "Now, come on, let's get some lunch."
"Good idea, Mom. It's getting late and Connor must be starving, though that isn't unusual."
"Connor," I called. "Pizza?"
His head shot up, and he nodded, running in our direction. Jumping into the car, he didn't seem to be fazed by having talked about Sunday. I wasn't naive enough to think that would be the end of it. Shelly had told me it was likely he'd have flashbacks and his behavior might change for a while, but I was confident that with the right help we could get through this together.
~ oOo ~