Page 25 of Trashed to Treasured
“Um, is this a recording or a real person?”
“This is a real person, sir. Do you have an emergency to report?”
Did I? “Oh, yeah. My ex-boyfriend is at my house, threatening me. I’m afraid he’s going to break the door down.”
“Is he armed?”
“Probably. He usually carries a knife for self-defense, but he might have something else on him. I think he used to own a gun, but I don’t know if he still does…or what kind.”
“Are you safe, sir?”
I looked around my room. I was as safe as I was going to get. “Yeah, I’m locked in the house.”
“Good, just stay there. A squad car is on their way to your home now. I’ll stay on the line until they get to your door.” He asked me some other basic questions like my name and address, but I wasn’t sure if that was needed or just a technique for keeping me from freaking out on the phone.
Surprisingly, it worked.
“Thank you.” I tiptoed down the hall, listening for sounds of Geo or an officer getting into it.
A moment later, the dispatcher was back on the line. “The officer has searched the perimeter of your home and no one is there. He’s going to knock on your door now, okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” I peeked out the window and saw a uniformed officer come up the porch, so I opened the door.
“Are you the homeowner?” He looked down at his notes. “Brody Mills?”
I nodded, looking around to see if Geo was about to pounce on us both. “Yeah, I live here. Not the homeowner, but my name’s on the lease, and I’m the one who called you.”
He slipped his notebook into his pocket. “Well, Mr. Mills. We’ve walked the perimeter of your home and don’t see anyone around. Did you see where your trespasser went?”
“No.” I felt silly for calling them now that Geo just left on his own. “I’m sorry for dragging you out here. I was scared and didn’t know what he’d do, so I went into the bedroom and didn’t see him leave.”
The officer tapped on the doorbell camera. “Does this thing work?”
“Yeah.” I held up my phone and realized I was still on with the dispatcher. “Oh, I’ll hang up now. Thank you.”
“Well, if you’d like to file a report, I’ll take your statement and give you a case number. Then you can call and give a formal statement.” His eyes drifted down and back up my body. “In fact, if this is an ex, you might consider a restraining order. They aren’t perfect, but they’ll deter sixty percent of harassers from coming back.”
“Sixty percent?” A shiver ran down my spine again. “That sounds like it’ll just piss him off.”
“Well, since you’re renting, you could move. Don’t let him know where you end up.” He nodded toward the camera again. “And keep this thing on at all times. If nothing else, it’ll be evidence if he tries anything more serious.”
That wasn’t ominous or anything. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”
I stood and watched the officer drive away, leaving me unprotected and terrified in my own home.
If only there were someone who could help me…
The idea of telling Aaron so he could protect me was appealing. Really appealing. But then the fear of him being put in harm's way because of me was too far on the opposite end of that spectrum. I just couldn’t risk him.
For once, and hopefully the last time, I had to figure this out on my own.
17
AARON
I hated not spending the night with Brody, but he needed his rest. And I didn’t want to come off as too clingy. Even though I would’ve happily spent every minute of every day with him if I could’ve gotten away with it.
I texted him first thing Monday morning, knowing he’d be at work. His response texts seemed normal, lots of emojis and cute comments, but something in my gut was telling me something else was going on.
