So sorry for the long wait! I've been incredibly busy. Note that I am NOT giving up on any of my stories. They're just going to be slowly posted, as they are. I don't want anyone thinking I'm abandoning them. So here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter 9
"I want you to help with the reconstruction."
Lisette started, eyes shooting up from the cash register and focusing on Beth. Beth'd come in for a drink and had only made small talk with Lisette. Lisette hadn't been expecting something like that.
"But…what about reporters?" Lisette asked, an arm snaking in front of her. She gripped her other arm tightly, trying desperately to quell her anxiety. The children were giggling on the floor by her feet, slowly tearing up a newspaper she'd bought for them to play with. She focused solely on the sound of their giggles.
"They won't focus on you. Just on Tom. Tom's doing it," Beth said. And Lisette's heart ached. It ached at the thought of Tom having to go on the path his best friend had taken the night before he'd died.
"I'll ask Alec. See what he says," Lisette offered. There was a flash of distaste on Beth's face when those words left Lisette's mouth, but she nodded nonetheless.
"Would you like to go out sometime? I don't…I don't get a chance to hang out with anyone much anymore," Beth offered, her face so full of hope it was almost painful for Lisette to meet her eyes.
"I…yeah. Sure. I'll have to ask Paul when he can watch the children," Lisette said slowly, but Beth shook her head.
"Bring them with. It'll be fine. I just…I need to talk to someone. Get away from home. Every time I try to leave the house, everyone has to know exactly where I'm going and they try to go for me," Beth complained.
"They care about you. They just…don't realize you need to get out," Lisette tried explaining, and Beth nodded.
"I know. It's just…it's hard, yeah?" she said. Lisette nodded sympathetically.
"I can't say I know exactly what you mean. I never really had the chance to grieve. I still don't have a chance to grieve. I've got to keep my head on me at all times. For my children," Lisette tried explaining her own emotions. Because at times like these, when she was with Beth, she felt as if her own emotions were indifferent, too uncaring.
She was still pondering that when Jack arrived later that day, to check in. He'd been taking a much-needed vacation, since Lisette had taken over for him.
"Jack," she called carefully before he headed out the door. Jack paused and turned to face her, waiting for her continue.
"When your son died, how did you grieve?" she asked. Jack shut the door he'd opened and slowly made his way back to her. He gestured towards a chair, and she sank into it.
"I didn't eat. I didn't sleep. I fought with my wife. But everyone grieves differently. I went to work each and every day after my son died – we needed the money to pay for the funeral, and I knew my wife was in no condition to work herself," Jack said.
"But I don't…I don't feel like I should," Lisette tried explaining.
"Are you sad?" he asked.
"Sometimes."
"Then you're moving on. That's a good thing. You have to be able to move on. You've moved on out of necessity," Jack explained.
"But I don't think I ever grieved," Lisette finally managed to say.
"You never cried over your husband? Your brother? The child?" Jack asked her.
Lisette had confided in him a few days before about the real reasons she'd made it to Broadchurch.
"No. I woke up in the hospital and had to run. I've been running since."
"You've been suppressing it all. Out of fear. And out of necessity to protect your children," Jack realized. Lisette nodded in agreement.
"After all this is over, you'll be able to grieve," Jack reassured her. He headed back towards the door once more.
"But what if it's never over? What if they never catch him? What if I have to spend the rest of my life, looking over my shoulder in fear he'll find me again?"
"You'll find yourself grieving at some point," Jack reassured her before disappearing through the door.
That night, Lisette found herself standing outside of Alec's room, children in the stroller next to her. She knocked on the door and considered leaving before Alec opened the door, half undressed.
"Oh, hello," Alec said, surprised. He stepped to the side, allowing her to enter the room.
"Beth stopped by the store today and asked if I'd take part in the reconstruction."
Alec closed the door firmly as he heard those words. He didn't turn to face her immediately.
"It would be a risk," Alec told her.
"I…I know. I don't know what to do," she admitted. She sank down onto the bed in the room, her head falling into her hands.
A hand rested on her shoulder. Her head shot up in surprise. Alec sat down on the bed next to her.
"Have any reporters tried to talk to you yet?" he asked her.
"No. But I was at the Latimers when the reporters were," Lisette explained. Alec frowned at her words.
"Then it's only a matter of time before one of them gets too curious and comes to you. And they'll look into records. Reporters dig. We'll need to come up with a solid way of giving you a disguise," Alec mused.
Lisette could feel her eyelids droop with her words. Alec was there, and he was thinking over it for her. He continued talking, but Lisette's eyes drifted shut.
Alec was aware the moment she fell asleep. She leaned into him and then was leaning on him. He laid her down on the bed, standing up carefully.
She'd wore herself out, worrying. That much was obvious. The children were asleep in the stroller, Emmaline's head on Jasper's shoulder and Jasper's head on top of hers.
They were all happy here. And one reporter asking the wrong questions could change that.
He pulled his mobile from his pocket and called Paul's number. He was having to talk to Paul more and more, something that worried him, especially considering Paul was still a suspect. He had a feeling it would tear Lisette up if it turned out to have been Paul.
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's Hardy. Lisette fell asleep in my room. I don't think she's going to wake up any time soon."
There was a pause.
"What was she doing in your room?"
"Talking. Beth asked her to do the reconstruction. Which would make the reporters look further into her. She came by for advice."
"And the children?"
"Here also. Also asleep."
"Okay."
That was all he said. Alec frowned at the phone but didn't press it. And then Paul hung up.
Alec hung up as well, frown still on his face.
She was lying in his bed, hair splayed around her, shoes still on her feet.
The least he could do was take off her shoes.
Alec gently peeled the sneakers off of her feet and placed them next to the stroller.
Only to hear a knock on the door. With a quiet sigh, he made his way across the room and opened the door.
Becca Fisher stood in the doorway.
"Hi. Can I come in?" she asked. Alec glanced over his shoulder at Lisette and hesitated before nodding, stepping aside.
When she saw Lisette, her eyes widened.
"I am so sorry. I didn't realize you had company," Becca said quickly.
"It's okay. She's asleep," Alec said, "What did you need?"
"I…Reporters are asking for rooms. I wouldn't ask, but since I really need the money, I was wondering…" she drifted off.
"Wondering what?"
"Are you planning on staying here? With them?" Becca asked.
Alec had a feeling that was not what she intended to ask him.
"She still lives with her brother," Alec said.
"Yeah, but everyone's saying you're married to her. I figured it was a matter of time before you rented a house and moved in with her and your kids," Becca said.
"Is that what everyone thinks?" Alec asked, eyebrows flying up. Becca nodded.
"That wasn't…on the forefront of my mind," Alec said slowly. Becca nodded, biting her lip.
"I am going to rent rooms to the reporters. I won't tell them about the back door, and I'll try to keep them as far from your room as possible," Becca said. Alec nodded.
"Listen, there's some cheap places down by the docks for rent. Especially now, since we aren't getting our usual tourists," Becca said.
"Thanks, but Lisette is terrified of water," Alec said.
Becca frowned.
"Odd place for you to live then," she observed.
"Was there anything else?" Alec asked. Becca shook her head and quickly left the room.
Alec could only sigh. When did this all get so complicated?
When it became obvious that Lisette wasn't going to be waking up any time soon, he pulled her jacket off of her and took the children from the stroller, checking their diapers before removing their shoes and tucking them into the bed as well.
He considered sleeping in the chair, but it was so bloody uncomfortable he knew he'd be miserable the next day.
So he slid into the bed as well on the opposite side, leaving the children asleep in between him and Lisette.
Lisette was disoriented when she woke up. The children were in bed with her, and the bed felt wrong.
And the room was wrong.
And Alec Hardy was also in bed with them.
She sat up quickly and slid out of the bed, hurrying for the bathroom.
She'd come over last night to talk to him about the reconstruction, and then her mind when blank.
Lisette could only scowl at herself. She must've fallen asleep. She only hoped Paul wasn't too worried about her.
She washed her face and ran her fingers through her hair before entering the room again. Alec was awake.
"Morning," he said.
"Morning," she repeated.
"Sleep well?"
"Yeah. I…thanks," she said. Alec nodded to her, but he had a curious look on his face. He opened his mouth then closed it twice.
"Becca Fisher came by last night. Stopped in to see if I planned on living here much longer," Alec said.
"What? Why wouldn't you?" Lisette asked worriedly.
"She was under the impression that we would move in together, away from here," Alec said. He was watching her face carefully.
"Oh," was all Lisette could say.
"Oh is right. She suggested we look down by the docks for a cheap place to rent," Alec said, still examining her. He noted how her shoulders tensed at the word dock.
"What do you think?" Lisette asked him.
"I think we should get married."
The moment the words left Alec's mouth, he wished he could take them back. Lisette's eyes went wide and she took a step back from him.
"What?" she asked, the word rushing from her lips as the air left her lungs.
"On paper. So when the reporters start digging, they'll see something," Alec tried explaining quickly.
"But they'll see that we just got married," Lisette said, her chest feeling tight.
"They'll assume you've been my mistress awhile. That happens a lot, actually," Alec explained.
"And after we get married? Then what?" Lisette asked him.
"We can rent a house. A small one, away from the docks," Alec reassured her. And she just squared her shoulders back.
"Find one by the docks if you want. As long as it's cheap – I can't afford to have my meager savings decimated," Lisette said.
Her entire demeanor had changed. It was as if a switch had been flipped.
"I need to take the children with me to work. Let me know what we need to do," she told him as she tucked the still-sleeping children in the stroller, not even bothering to check their diapers.
It looked like she was running.
"You're not leaving town, are you?" Alec asked, leaping to his feet quickly.
For a moment, her eyes were normal. She seemed shocked he would suggest that. And then they shut down once more.
"Of course not. I have work to do. I need to bring the newspapers in and separate them out," Lisette said.
"Oh. Right. I'll see you later today?" Alec asked her.
She didn't answer him.
She was running, just maybe not from town at that moment.
He should have found a better way to bring up the subject.
Lisette opened the news shop on autopilot. She didn't want to think because if she thought, her mind would go back to what Alec had said.
Get married?
How could she get married?
Saying she was married was one thing, but actually doing it? That would be…she just couldn't. What if something happened?
What if she needed to run again?
She couldn't do that with a husband.
She also couldn't afford to rent a place. But she knew she needed to. Her brother was used to his solitude. He needed it. And with her and the children there, he didn't get any solitude. None whatsoever. They needed to get out of there.
But the docks?
She couldn't imagine living right alongside water. There was no way. She couldn't do it.
But the children. It'd be safer for the children, that way, wouldn't it?
She shook her head, trying to redirect her thoughts from that path.
Jack came in that day, and Lisette left the children with him around lunch to hurry off to see Alec.
He was there, at the station. And he looked rather shocked to see her. He lept to his feet quickly.
"Lisette! What are you…doing here?" he asked, looking lost.
"I thought about what you said. We should get married," Lisette rushed the words out before she could change her mind or rethink her decision.
"You do?" Alec asked.
"If you still want to," Lisette corrected quickly.
"No, I do. The sooner the better. It'll keep your identity safer," Alec agreed, standing up. He grabbed his coat and wallet off the table.
"You mean, like, now?" Lisette asked, feeling her heart stutter.
"Yeah. Sooner the better," Alec repeated. Lisette swallowed and nodded.
"Okay. But I don't have a lot of time. I left the children with Jack at the store."
Less than an hour later, Lisette Hardy returned to work.
The night of the reconstruction, Lisette couldn't stop shaking. She bundled the children up and wandered to the pavilion she'd been at the night Danny had died, standing there in wait for Tom and the crowd to come their way.
When she finally spotted the lights, she considered running. Running away and hiding. How helpful could she possibly be?
But no. She'd told Beth she would. Alec expected her to. And she was married now.
To Alec.
She couldn't just run.
Tom rolled up on his skateboard and got off.
"Mom told me you would do it, but I didn't think you would," Tom admitted.
"I didn't think I would either," Lisette admitted, running her arm. She glanced over her shoulder at the children, asleep in their stroller just behind her.
"Did he really stop to talk to you?" Tom wanted to know.
"He did. I wish I'd convinced him to go home," Lisette admitted guiltily.
"I'm sure you did whatever you could," Tom tried reassuring her.
"Are you warm enough?" Lisette asked him instead.
"I am. See you soon?" Tom asked.
"Be careful," Lisette made him promise. Tom nodded and rolled on.
The group following passed by her curiously, each of them's eyes lingering longer than the last until DI Hardy made his way to her and grabbed the stroller.
"We'll join the end of the line. Come on," he told her. Lisette allowed him to pull her along.
"Can you get tomorrow and Saturday off?" Alec asked her.
"If I ask Jack, I should," Lisette said.
"Ask him. We're going on a trip," Alec told her.
"Where to?"
"Sandbrook. It's time you met my daughter." Lisette nodded, glancing behind her.
"Maybe I should double back and go talk to Jack. He was outside, wasn't he?" Lisette asked.
"He was," Alec agreed. He paused for a moment, still holding the stroller.
"Have you told your brother yet? About us?" he asked.
"Not yet. I…I'll tell him before we leave tomorrow. So he has time to get over it," Lisette suggested, her voice wavering.
"As soon as we get back, I'll look into places for us to live," Alec reassured her.
"Why are you doing all this?" Lisette asked him.
"Because you need to be safe," Alec said.
"Do you do this to all of the people who come to you?" Lisette asked him, trying to keep her tone joking.
She didn't miss the flash of guilt that shot through his face.
"I'll see you in the morning, okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah, sure," Lisette said.
"Can you drive? We could take a taxi, but it would be cheaper if you could drive a car I rented," Alec suggested.
"I can drive," Lisette agreed.
"Good. See you at ten in the morning?" he asked her.
"Sure. See you then," Lisette said.
And Alec gave her a brief kiss on the cheek before relinquishing his grip on the stroller to her.
Lisette left the back of the group and headed back towards the news shop. The streets seemed eerily empty now that the masses had passed on by. She could still see their torches when she glanced over her shoulder.
She hurried away, stopping at Jack's store. Jack was still standing outside, watching the distant lights fade away.
"Hey. Alec told me to ask for tomorrow and Saturday off. Is that okay?" Lisette asked him. Jack gave a startled look to her.
"What?" he asked.
"Alec told me to ask off. We're supposed to go meet his daughter," Lisette said, feeling incredibly awkward.
"Sounds like a big step," Jack admitted. Lisette nodded.
"We got married already. So I'm now Lisette Hardy. He said he took care of the paperwork for me," Lisette explained.
"Married? Maybe meeting his daughter isn't as big of a step as I'd thought. Go ahead. See you Monday morning."