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I barely hear anything Madison says after she gets off the phone with my mom. At some point, she helps me up to the guest room. I curl up, and she puts a blanket over me, promising me that she’s going to fix everything, and I have nothing to worry about. But it feels like everything is coming apart at the seams, and I have no faith that even our dynamic duo can fix it this time.
40
Cooper
When I get home, the house is empty, and I drop my bags before I collapse in the entryway. I pull out my phone and sit on one of the steps. There’s a message from the security team letting me know they’ve disabled all the security cameras, and they’ve done a sweep of Lizzy’s room and bathroom, and it’s come up clean. It gives me relief to see it in black and white, even though Trix and Madison already told me, and I passed the message on to Lizzy’s mom.
I send another message to her, thanking her again for keeping Lizzy until we decide on what the next steps should be and reiterating the information about the cameras that I passed on to her earlier. She responds shortly after expressing her own relief, and I close the chat for now.
I groan as I stand. My whole body still hurts from the fight Rob and I had, one I’m sure is going to continue when we’re on speaking terms again. The stress isn’t helping and I collapse at the counter in the kitchen with a bottle of water. The heaviness of everything finally hits me so hard I feel like I might crumble under it, especially in this dark, empty house.
I stare down at my phone, scrolling through the messages I’ve sent Bea that have gone unanswered. I glance at the dozen or so messages of support I’ve gotten from teammates and friends and open the one from Madison again, where she assures me Bea’s safe with her.
Madison told me she was upset, not wanting to talk to anyone, and not leaving bed. She asked Madison to keep her phone so she didn’t have to know about anything else happening for a while. I can only imagine that she’s been inundated with messages. I was torn about whether I should go straight to Madison’s or not when I got home, but I told myself to give her a little space first. I don’t want to be another voice overwhelming her, even if I’m also desperate to comfort her.
I make my way to the kitchen and grab a bottle of water from the fridge. The light illuminates the room and catches on a white envelope sitting on the kitchen counter on top of a pile of mail. “Beatrix” is written across the envelope, and my heart bottoms into my stomach. I walk toward it slowly, turning it over to see it’s partially unsealed—the corner is torn up at the side. I can see there’s a letter inside, handwritten, and my heart feels like it’s going to pound out of my chest. Thank fuck I told them to get out of the house.
I finish opening it, not thinking about the potential consequences until I’ve already gotten it torn open. Then, I slide the small piece of paper out and unfold it the rest of the way so I can read it. In for a penny, in for a pound.
Beatrix –
I hope you know I’m only trying to help you. I know you’ve been struggling lately. I can see it when I watch you. I know you need help, and I’m here for you. I can be there for you in every single way you need if you just let me.
You’re making a mistake. One brother after the other. He’ll fuck up just like the last one. I don’t know why you can’t see it.
You being here in my city is a sign. It’s meant to be. We’re meant to be. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, least of all you.
Leave him. Be with me. I can fix everything for you.
I’ll find you wherever you are. This would all be so much easier for us if you just let me in.
I feel sick all over again. But I take pictures of the letter and set it back down. If there’s any chance there are fingerprints on it besides mine, I want the cops to have the evidence. This whole house could be full of it. But I need to talk to Bea first.
Before I know what I’m doing, I’m hurrying to grab my keys and race for my car. I can’t stay away from her tonight. I want to be with my girl. I want to hold her and tell her everything is going to be okay. Then, I want to get to the bottom of this. I want us to figure out who this is and have him behind bars before he ever even thinks about touching her.
When I get there, it’s late, but the lights are still on, and I ring the doorbell. Quentin appears at the door a few moments later, looking worse for wear from being on the road but still dressed like he isn’t ready for bed. Madison appears behind him and gives me a sympathetic look.
“I need to see her.”
Quentin nods for me to come in, and Madison shows me upstairs. She knocks softly on the door and opens it. I hear the soft exchange of voices, and then Madison motions for me to go in. The room’s dark, and I can barely see any details other than her form curled up on the bed.
“Trixie? You okay?”
“Coop.” She holds her arms out, and I join her on the bed, wrapping my arms around her and holding her tight.
She starts to cry again, something I can tell she’s been doing most of the day from how hoarse her voice is and how swollen her eyes and cheeks are, and my vision starts to adjust to the dim light. I just keep holding her. Telling her I love her and that everything’s going to be okay. She squeezes me back, and finally, after a few minutes, we sit up. She leans back against the pillows and headboard and shakes her head, staring down at her hands as she plays with her nails.
“It’s awful. I don’t know how we fix it.”
“What if we could figure out who it is?” I pull the images of the letter up on my phone.
She sees her name at the top, and she frowns.
“What’s this?”
“It was on the countertop when I got home. It was unsealed, so I opened it and took photos.”
“From who?” she asks as she reaches for it.
