Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80302 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80302 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
The rest of the evening is uneventful. The guy with the Raiders’ hat looks only mildly disappointed when he realizes that his date disappeared.
Boomer leaves without ever approaching the bar or looking in my direction.
Chapter 5
Boomer
Some things were harder than others to get used to after leaving the compound ten years ago. Wearing restrictive clothing wasn’t one of them. I loved the freedom a soft t-shirt and lounge pants allowed over shirts buttoned to the chin and work pants that had no give in the fabric.
I tug at the collar of my shirt, gaining a frown from Alyssa as she reaches over to re-straighten my tie.
“Would you stop twitching like a child,” she mutters.
“That sounded very motherly,” I mutter.
She gives me a small smile. It tells me that the test we purchased a few weeks ago didn’t bring with their use the news she was hoping for.
Harley has nothing but love in his eyes as he walks in our direction, a cup of fruit punch in each hand.
He frowns playfully when Alyssa takes them both, offering one to me. I wave my hand at her, rejecting the offer. My stomach is in knots right now. I’ve been a part of this endeavor since almost the beginning, but I see too much familiarity in the women mingling around to be comfortable.
Growing up, it never sat right with me when a woman would be corrected at the hands of her husband, no matter how much he said it was the responsibility of the man to ensure his wife made it to Heaven. Even if it took a slap to the face to get her there.
After years in the military and now the jobs we do for Cerberus, I’d never sit idle again after watching someone strike someone else.
Violence is almost never the answer, but even thinking that feels almost contradictory, considering the missions we complete while working for Cerberus. I justify those actions because of the heinous crimes those people are committing against others.
“There’s a lot of women here,” Alyssa says, leaning her head on Harley’s chest as her eyes travel the room.
“Too many,” Harley says.
“This isn’t even half of them,” I say. “A lot of the women we’ve helped aren’t comfortable in large crowds.”
“Dr. Alverez is here,” Alyssa says.
“And talking to Drake?” Harley adds, sounding just as confused as I feel at the sight of him across the room.
I’m instantly annoyed at the sight of him. It’s one thing to flirt with me at the bar or approach me in Target, but showing up here of all places is disrespectful.
There’s no way this is coincidence. There’s a very slim chance, after going months and months of never seeing him outside the bar, that I’m now running into him for a second time. A sense of unease and violation settles inside of me as I excuse myself from Harley and Alyssa’s company and cross the room.
Dr. Alverez is walking away by the time I approach him.
“Boomer,” he says, a light smile on his face, his eyes a little shifty.
“Are you kidding me? Of all the places for you to show up,” I snap, trying to keep my voice down even in my annoyance with the man. “We’re doing serious work here for domestic violence survivors. Being here is disrespectful to everyone involved.”
Drake doesn’t look guilty, and it further adds to my irritation.
“You need to stop,” I hiss. “Stop showing up everywhere I am. Stop sending me bottles of water at the bar. Stop flirting with me because it’s never going to happen.”
“Boomer, I—”
“And now I’ll give the floor to Drake Hill,” Dr. Alverez says.
Drake takes a deep breath before stepping around me and climbing the three steps leading up to the small stage at the front of the room.
I watch in pure confusion as Dr. Alverez hands him the microphone.
“I see some familiar faces,” he begins. “Some from work, some from group.”
The man looks down at his feet before lifting his face to the crowd.
“I’m nervous, and I know that may surprise a lot of you.” Laughter echoes around the room. “I normally don’t have a problem talking, but today is a little different. There are a lot of misconceptions, a lot of preconceived notions about what domestic violence looks like. I’m not here to change your mind, but to open your eyes to all the possibilities. Partner violence isn’t always a man against a woman. Sometimes, the man is the victim. Sometimes, it happens in same-sex partnerships, and that’s the situation I found myself in a couple of years ago.”
I swallow as I take a step away from the stage.
I just confronted this man, accused him of practically stalking me, and it turns out I’m the asshole here.
I’ve always been the first one to step up and remind people that domestic violence doesn’t look like just battered women. It’s one of the reasons I joined this coalition with Slick and Dr. Alverez, to bring more awareness to what goes on behind the closed doors of more households than people want to accept.