Chapter 34- Tammy or Lauren

The minute that the Matthews family pulled up to the Greiger house, Topanga felt something was off. It wasn't a feeling she could place, but she could feel something was not right. Maya had agreed to watch Auggie during this meeting and they were hanging out at her house. Topanga and Cory walked up to the porch, hand in hand, Riley following behind. When Cory rang the doorbell, Riley could have sworn that she saw someone watching through the curtain and disappear. Evan answered the door and welcomed them inside, showing them to the living room to sit. There were two glasses of wine for Cory and Topanga and a glass of apple cider for Riley on the coffee table. Cory and Topanga glanced at each other and shrugged as they sat down. Riley and Evan held hands as they waited for Evan's mom to emerge.

"While we wait for your mother, Evan, let's get to know you." Cory spoke up, putting the spotlight on Evan. "How long had you known my daughter before getting her into this…situation?" Shocked at the forward question, he was rendered speechless. Topanga slapped Cory's forearm.

"CORY! Really? Way to be subtle." She rolled her eyes.

"The time for subtlety has long since passed. Carefully approaching this subject is no longer the course of action. Blunt. Straight to the point." He looked at Evan, waiting.

"Well, are you going to respond?" Cory prodded.

"I have known Riley since the beginning of last year, sir." Evan replied respectfully.

"And when did you decide that defiling my daughter was the best thing for her future?" Cory demanded.

"And this is where I draw the line at badgering my son, Mr. Matthews!" interjected a voice from the kitchen. Cory, taken aback at the voice that came out of nowhere, stopped and listened for a moment. There was something very familiar about that voice. He looked at Topanga, whose eyes were as wide as he had ever seen them. She was scared of something. They glanced at each other and slowly stood up from the couch, silently signaling Riley to come with them. Confused, Riley slowly stood up and followed her parents out the door. Evan, confused, watched from the front door. Riley turned back and shrugged, continuing to follow her parents. When they got in the car, Cory could see that Topanga was shaking.

"Was that-?" Cory started. Topanga nodded, not needing him to finish the question.

"I think it was, Cory. But how? I thought she…" Topanga trailed off. Cory pulled out his phone and dialed 911. Riley was confused as ever as her father spoke to the 911 operator.

"Yes, I am 100% sure it is her." Cory's voice was shaking on the phone. "She is going by a different name, but I would know that voice anywhere. Please." Cory listened to the operator on the phone, giving him explicit instructions. He nodded, acknowledging her directions. Taking a deep breath, he hung up the phone and started the car. Topanga looked at him expectantly waiting.

"Well," Topanga said, "What'd they say?"

"They said they will have an officer here momentarily and do not engage her. At all." Cory replied. Riley was tired of being kept out of the loop.

"Um. What is going on?" She asked.

"Evan's mother," Cory explained, "is Lauren. Remember the ski lodge last year? Her." Riley's hand flew to her mouth and her eyes widened. She had literally fallen for the son of her enemy. She was suddenly feeling physically sick.

"Can we go home, Dad? Please?" Riley begged. "Can we just go? I don't feel well right now." Cory sighed.

"I know, honey, but we need to wait for the officer to get here and then we'll go. Okay?" Cory explained sympathetically.

"Fine." Riley groaned and lay down across the backseat of the car. She wasn't laying down for more than five minutes when Cory perked up in the driver's seat.

"They're here." He said quietly. Cory slowly unbuckled his seat belt and opened his door. The officer approached him and they talked for a minute. The driver side window was slightly opened, so Riley could hear everything they were discussing. Cory told him all about Lauren's obsession with him. He told the officer about the kidnapping and the torture that was inflicted on Maya and Auggie. He left nothing out. The officer sighed and shook his head.

"We have been looking for her for a year, and she was hiding out in the suburbs?" the officer scoffed. He made a signal to the other officer and they both approached the house and rang the doorbell. There was an additional officer covering the backyard. Evan opened the door, smiling, expecting Riley to be on the other side. His face fell and changed to confusion when he saw the officers. Being respectful, he let them in. A few moments later, there was a commotion in the back yard. The officers inside the house ran out and assisted the officer in the back. When all three officers emerged from the side of the house, Tammy/Lauren was in handcuffs and they had to practically drag her to the squad car. Evan stood on the porch, terrified and confused. He was pacing back and forth and tugging at his hair. He was starting to cry tears of frustration. Before she was wrestled into the car, Lauren glared at Cory and Topanga.

"You will regret this! I promise you! You will regret the day you fucked with me!" She screamed at them. "I will bury your asses so far underground, they will never fuckin' find you! I will be back! Mark my fuckin' words!" The officer finally got her in the car and closed the door. He wiped his brow and let out a low whistle.

"Whoo! She does not sound happy, does she?" he remarked, heading in Cory's direction. The officer wanted Cory and Topanga to provide a report for the incident, documenting everything that happened today. They would have to go to the station to fill one out and wouldn't take very long. On the way to the station, they dropped Riley off at Maya's house.

"Where are they going?" Maya asked Riley as the car left the driveway. Riley shook her head.

"You are never going to believe this, Maya." Riley told Maya the whole story, her eyes getting wider with every detail.

"Lauren? Crazy, psycho, tried to kill us Lauren is Evan's mother?" Maya asked, incredulously. Riley nodded, not believing it herself.

"They finally caught her and she is going to prison. We don't have to worry about her anymore." Riley absentmindedly rubbed her belly and glanced over at Maya who was doing the same. They giggled together and finally felt a sense of safety for the future of their babies.

Riley noticed a missed call on her phone and opened her phone log. Evan had called her and left a voicemail.

"Riley? I don't know what just happened, but I feel like you do. Please call me back and explain. Please?" She called Evan back right away and he picked up on the first ring.

"Evan? It's Riley. Are you okay? I'm sure that was scary."

"What just happened? One minute, I am getting grilled by your dad. The next, my mom is in handcuffs? I am confused."

"Calm down, Evan. I will explain everything." Riley looked at Maya for permission, who reluctantly agreed. "Come over to Maya's house and we will sit down and talk." Riley gave him the address and said he would be there in 10 minutes. Hanging up, Riley took a deep breath.

"You're gonna tell him everything, Riley?" Maya asked. "You sure you want him to know all of it?"

"Yeah, why not? He deserves to know what a monster his mother is, right?" Riley replied. Maya shrugged. She couldn't really argue with that.

When Evan arrived, breathless from running, at Maya's door, Riley ushered him inside and had him sit in the kitchen chair. Maya fished a small bottle of whiskey left over from a party long ago. She had been hiding it because she did not want to mess with Shawn's sobriety. She poured what was left in a small shot glass and placed it front of Evan. He looked confused.

"I don't-" he started to say, pushing the shot away.

"You're gonna need it. Trust me." Maya pushed it back toward him. He downed it and almost threw it back up but recovered. Taking a deep breath, he nodded. Taking turns, Maya and Riley told him the whole story from arrival at the ski lodge to the moment they left. When they concluded, Evan looked sick. Riley wasn't sure if it was the whiskey or the details, but she was fairly certain that it was the latter.