Chapter Eight

Her life was in complete shambles.

What had been planned as an innocent book signing had spiraled completely out of control. Her husband was dead, shot by his wife. She was pregnant with another man's child. A man who doesn't want this child. She thought to herself bitterly. She held onto that resentment because otherwise, she'd want to cry. The last thing she needed was tears; they didn't solve anything.

After giving Eli the benefit of the doubt and a few minutes to calm himself down and think about what she'd said, she dialed his number again.

He didn't pick up.

The number went straight to voice mail, which meant that his phone was off. She frowned. Was he really that upset with her that he would resort to childish tactic to ignore her? Tears welled in her eyes as she typed out a vicious text to send to him, but decided not to send it. That would've been childish of her to do, to lash out at Eli. She was the one who brought all this on him.

Even the unprotected sex was her idea. She not only could've killed him; she could have given him something that would eventually kill him. She closed her eyes as two tears spilled from her eyes onto her cheeks.

If Eli wanted to be left alone, that's the least she could do for him.

No matter how much it pained her to do so.

Taking a deep breath, dabbing her leaky eyes with her sleeve, Clare sat the phone down and stood up. She'd moped long enough. She was going to stop crying and start piecing her life back together bit by bit. There was just one last detail about Jake Martin that she had to deal with before she could move on and focus on the future.

Her mother and now ex-husband, Glen Martin.

She had to face them.

Could they handle the stories of abuse? Could they accept that Jake wasn't nearly as perfect as they thought he was? Or will their heart only break more, knowing that their at one time daughter killed him in self-defense? Would they even believe that he had tried to kill Eli? Clare's stomach turned. Her hand fell to her stomach instinctively. "Will they even be willing to listen to me?" She whispered to herself. Her vision began to swim, and she shook her head.

There was only one way to find out. She had to go home. She had to go to her mother, and see the look on her face. She needed to see forgiveness or condemnation. She just needed to know.

She reached for her pocketbook and keys, but stopped herself. How could she have possibly forgotten? She was under house arrest. She wasn't going anywhere. That meant she'd have to call, and see if she would come over and see her.

She groaned. Couldn't she just fall asleep and awake from this nightmare that was now her life?

It didn't seem that way as her phone began to ring, snapping her back to reality. She walked back over to it and noticed it was her mother who was calling.

How delightfully ironic. She said to herself, scowling. Taking one last deep breath, she hit accept. "Hey, Mom."

"Clare.." Her mother said. She sounded more than upset, like she'd been crying as well. "Honey, I can't talk long. I just.. Glen just called me. He told me what he heard on the news. I'm... I can't even.." Clare couldn't hear very well, but she suspected that her mother was now crying.

"Mom, what's wrong? What did Glen want?"

"I'm sorry," Her mother sobbed into the phone, "But he just called me to tell me that he's going to press charges. His son deserves some justice, he said. He wants to make sure you rot in jail." Her mother paused for a moment, and even sounded calm. "Clare, you need to get yourself a lawyer. Fast."

Before she could articulate a reply to that, her mother murmured a goodbye and hung up. Leaving Clare with uncontrollable tears. A lawyer? Jail? Charges? A child?

Her life was over. Why couldn't it just leave her alone, just for a little while? Just long enough to drift off into a deep sleep that she hoped never to wake up from.

As she slumped into the couch, she closed her eyes for just a moment. The tears she had spilled trailed down her cheek and onto her neck. So much had gone wrong, and despite being pregnant, she still felt that her future was bleak. She'd never gone to court before. She was afraid that she would be found guilty and never sees the light of day again. Could she even find a lawyer good enough to convince a jury of her peers that her actions were in self-defense of another human being? A police officer, no less?

She highly doubted it.

Just as she felt herself begin to drift off to sleep, she heard a knock at the front door. Her eyes quickly opened, and she rubbed them. Was this her mother? Had she come to explain everything to her? Explain why she had ended the call like she did? Perhaps suggest a few lawyers that she knows? Clare stood up and made her way to the door, opening it slowly and expected to see her mother.

Bit it was Eli. He looked almost out of breath.

"Do you know," He said, lips drawing upward into a smile, "How hard it was to figure out where you live?"

She wanted to melt. Finally, he was here. She wasn't alone. She had Eli, and everything was going to be okay. "Oh, Eli!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. She let the sobs that she had been holding in for so long spill outwards, and it felt good.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear. "I was just surprised. I thought that it would have been Jake that was the father."

Despite her sobs, she told him that it was all right. She forgave him his shock, and pulled him inside.

There was so much she needed to tell him.