CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
I love you More Than Anything
Than anything, I do
And I'd give anything and everything I have
Just to be with you
These feelings I hold inside
Are emotions I cannot hide
These feelings will not subside
I'd give anything, anything
When I look into your eyes
I see something special about you
And when I hold your hand
You seem to understand
That I love you More Than Anything
Than anything, I do
And I'd give anything and everything I have
Just to be with you
These feelings I hold inside
Are emotions I cannot hide
These feelings will not subside
I'd give anything, anything
When I think of life without you
It brings me right down to my knees
Cause I can't enjoy life without you
You are my strength, the thing that keeps me holding on
I'd do things that can't be done
I'd fly to the moon and then around the sun
If you'll just say that I'm the one
I'd do anything, anything
TAYLOR
Walking Mel inside the house, Taylor made sure to lock the door behind him. He removed his sport coat,
tossed it over a nearby chair, and un-tucked his shirt. It took him seconds to roll up his sleeves before he turned his attention completely on Mel. The bruise on her cheek seemed to darken by the second.
Walking over to her, he moved her hair out of her face for a better look at her cheek in the light. His heart felt incredibly heavy in his chest. "Good god, sweetheart, I am so sorry," he said to her quietly. Mel didn't respond.
"Come on. Let's go and get you cleaned up, okay?"
He went to lead her up the stairs but she wouldn't budge. Instead, she looked up at him and shook her head. "I can't."
Tay narrowed his eyes at her, puzzled. "What do you mean, you can't? We need to get you changed and get some ice on your face."
"I mean I can't take off my dress. They're coming, they'll be here any minute."
"Who? The cops?"
"Yes. Did you think he wouldn't call them?"
As if on cue, there was a pounding on Mel's front door. The both of them stared, wide-eyed, at the door. "Stay here," Tay said to her.
Taking a deep breath, Tay unlocked the door and opened it to find Zac and Kate standing there. "We came as fast as we could," Zac said.
"How did you--?"
"Drew called me. She should be right behind me in a minute."
To Tay's surprise, Kate didn't say a word. She shoved past him and walked straight to Mel and hugged her. "Come on," Kate said to her. "Let's go sit down over here."
Tay and Zac looked at each other in question.
At that moment Drew came bursting through the door behind Zac, shoes in hand. She barely acknowledged Zac's presence. "Where is she?"
"Uh, with Kate..." Zac pointed into the living room.
As Zac stepped further into the foyer, Tay was about to close the door when he saw them pull up. Blue lights on. Two of them. "Shit!" he said under his breath.
"Did you call the cops?" Zac asked.
"No..." Tay let out a breath. "I beat his ass."
"Go, TAY!"
"He's a cop."
"Shit..."
"Exactly."
The two officers got out of their cars and approached the door that Taylor already had standing open. One was a tall, bald, black man that could have given Jason a run for his money in regards to size. The other one was a
slightly younger white man with brown hair, significantly shorter than the other officer. The taller one obviously ran the show tonight.
"Good evening, gentlemen," his deep voice greeted them as the two officers stepped into the foyer. "Which one of you is Mr. Hanson?"
"I am," blurted a voice from the doorway that didn't come from any of the parties present.
The officers turned around and gave Isaac a curious look as Nikki rushed past them to the living room with Mel and the other women.
"Uh, we all are, actually..." Zac said, pointing to the three of them as Ike rounded up the testosterone-filled circle of five.
"Okay..." the officer looked at all three of them. "Which one of you is Taylor Hanson?"
Standing between his brothers, Tay listlessly raised his hand. "I am."
"Mr. Hanson, do you know why we're here tonight?"
"I do. And I'd do it again in a second, too."
Ike looked completely bewildered. "Do what? Tay, what did you do?"
The tall officer glanced over at Ike and then back at Tay before he spoke again. "This is a pretty serious allegation against you."
Tay motioned to the living room. "Have you seen her face?! And she hasn't even taken off her dress yet, there's no telling WHAT kind of treasures I'm going to find under there!"
Both officers now looked at Tay in complete confusion. "Hold on. We're talking about the assault on Officer Eric Masters, correct?"
"Yes!"
"You assaulted a cop??" Ike asked.
"Yes," Tay said, answering the officer. "I caught the sick bastard right before he got the chance to rape my girlfriend."
The two officers glanced at each other and then looked back at Tay. "I think we need to speak with your girlfriend," the shorter one said.
"Uh, yeah, sure. In here." Tay led the officers into the living room where Mel sat on the couch and Nikki, Kate, and Drew surrounded her. They all looked up when the men entered the room.
________________________________________________________
MEL
Mel was dreading this part. What was she supposed to do here? Cry? Act scared? Be upset? She felt no emotion at the moment, mostly because she didn't really know what she was supposed to feel. So instead
she felt nothing.
"Miss Banks?" the taller officer said to her. "I'm Officer Carter and this is Officer Danner. We need to ask you about what happened tonight."
Mel found herself smiling faintly. Officer Carter reminded her of Big Willie. She missed Big Willie all of a sudden.
She was suddenly aware of Taylor's presence and looked from him to the officers. She said to Officer Carter, "I can't talk about it in front of him."
"Mel, it's okay," Tay said.
She shook her head. "No. I don't want him to hear it."
Officer Carter turned around and looked at Tay and then Zac and Isaac came and lead him into the foyer. Drew, Kate, and Nikki stayed with Mel.
Officer Carter sat on the ottoman across from Mel while she sat on the couch. "Miss Banks, how do you know Eric Masters?"
"We were friends in high school."
"Did you keep in touch over the years?"
Mel answered all this questions about high school and how she would characterize his personality back then and about how she met back up with him recently and how he seemed perfectly normal at Drew's going-away party. She also remembered to include how he constantly called and texted her up until that night.
Officer Carter listened intently, making notes as she spoke.
"How did you end up in his vehicle tonight, Miss Banks?"
Mel sighed and rubbed her face. "Taylor's ex wife showed up at the reunion. I didn't know she was there. When I saw her I jumped to conclusions and walked out of the hotel, intending to leave. I realized Taylor still had my car keys and I didn't want to retrieve them from him so I found Eric in the parking lot and asked him to drive me home. He was supposed to be my friend, I was supposed to be able to trust him."
Officer Carter listened and nodded. "How did the two of you end up on the side of the road?"
"I didn't feel well and I thought I was going to throw up so I asked him to pull over. As soon as we stopped I got out. I took a couple of deep breaths and when I looked up, he was standing in front of me. It scared me
at first but then I just thought he was there to check on me. And he did, at first..."
"It's okay. Take your time."
Mel took a breath. "And then he started saying things to me. Coming on to me. Told me he liked the way I looked, Taylor didn't deserve me, that he was getting back together with Natalie--told me I should be with him instead. That he could--" Mel could feel it rising in her throat and she was almost too embarrassed to say it. "--that he could 'show me what a real man could do for me.' "
"That sick fuck..." Drew muttered under her breath.
"Miss Banks, I need to know what happened next."
Mel stared Officer Carter down. "Did you know that I used to be a cop? NYPD. Several years ago. I have a concealed carry license. Except I didn't have my gun on me. I had nothing. I should have been able to take him and I couldn't. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? That I couldn't fight him off? I was trained for situations like that, Officer! You know what kind of training I mean!"
"I do," Officer Carter said softly. "But I need you to tell me what happened."
She took in a deep breath. "So then he tried to kiss me. And I asked him what he was doing and told him he was crossing the line of friendship. I told him I was happy in my relationship. He said the fact that I was there with him meant that I actually wasn't and that I didn't know what I wanted and that he was going to show me. And that's when he tried to kiss me again and, again, I pushed him away. By this point he was
becoming angry and that was when he pinned me. He managed to get one of my legs apart and all his body weight was on top of me as he pinned me down. I'm sure I have bruises all over the insides of my thighs because I felt him pinching my skin in his rush to try to push my dress up. I guess I'm thankful that it's a tight dress...anyway I fought him as best I could. He had my leg trapped so I couldn't kick him. His entire arm crossed over my chest and I couldn't move my arms to fight. As he fiddled with his belt buckle the only thing I could do to him was spit in his face, so I did, and that's when he back-handed me across the face. With his body weight shifting from the hit, I was able to free one of my arms and attempted to hit
him again but by that moment Taylor had gotten there and pulled him off of me."
"Okay. So he didn't rape you?"
"No. He didn't even get inside my underwear. But he was trying."
"I see. So Mr. Hanson pulls him off of you and then what? Eric swings at him, threatens him...?"
Mel shook her head. "Uh, no, it was pretty much a one-sided fight. Tay totally beat his ass. The fucker deserved every bit of it."
"I see. Danner, get a female from Sexual Assault over to this address."
"Um, I don't need a rape kit," Mel said.
"No, but there's still evidence we need to gather. When she gets here, she'll let you know what she needs. I'm supposed to bring you down to the station for this but given the sensitive circumstances we can make an
exception."
"Sensitive circumstances? You're going to let the bastard get by with it, aren't you?"
"Miss Banks, we are going to thoroughly investigate every aspect of this incident. You stay right here while I go and talk to your husb--boyfriend."
_________________________________________________________
TAYLOR
As the officers talked to Mel in the living room, Taylor, Isaac, and Zac talked quietly in the foyer. Tay told them all the sordid details of how the night had gone down. Zac was ready to go out and hunt Eric down.
Ike was a bit more reserved. "I'm glad she's okay. I mean, I'm glad it didn't--get that far."
"Ike, it was the most horrifying thing I've ever seen in my life. I knew he was a cop. I knew the whole time. But I just--I reacted. I lost control and I didn't care."
Ike shook his head. "Tay, if you get arrested, the band--"
"Ike!" Tay hissed. "Are you seriously thinking of the band at a time like this?? My girlfriend was just...assaulted, for fuck's sake! What would you have done if it had been Nikki?"
Ike winced his eyes in pain at the thought. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know. I get it. I would have done the same thing, absolutely. What do you want us to do?"
Tay looked from Ike to Zac. "Just be there. And give me a little time. A few days."
"How is she taking it?" Zac asked.
Tay chuckled in disbelief. "Uh, better than I am, actually. She's blaming herself. I'm having a hard time convincing her that she did nothing wrong."
"She wanted to beat his ass herself," Zac guessed.
"She's said that several times, yeah."
"Her pride's hurt," Zac continued. "You know how she is."
"Tay. How are YOU doing?" Ike asked.
Taylor took a deep breath and looked at both of his brothers. "I'm a goddamn basket case right now. I just--left a cop's face bloodied and laying on the side of the road--I couldn't begin to tell you what it felt like to come down off of that...and now--shit, all I wanna do is take care of her. She's hardly spoken since it happened."
"She doesn't really need to speak right now," Ike said. "Let her come around. But for right now...fuck, I hate to say it but I'm pretty sure you're getting arrested tonight. I mean Zac and I will follow you all the way there and post bail the moment they give the green light."
At that moment, Officers Carter and Dannon walked back into the foyer. "Well, Mr. Hanson, it sounds like you've had quite an evening."
"Well I'm not exactly trying to flaunt it."
"We have another officer on the way to collect evidence from Melody. Look, we know who you are. And I want you to know that we plan to investigate this thoroughly in accordance with the law..."
Tay's stomach jumped up into his throat.
"However in the interest of your status and the position of the department, we're going to treat this as a very delicate case. And try to keep it as quiet as humanly possible."
"That would be much appreciated," Ike interjected.
"Off the record, and if you were some Joe Schmoe down the street we wouldn't be telling you this, but the department has been investigating Eric Masters for awhile now. Too many suspicious reports to ignore. What
you did was a felony. But what he did was absolutely heinous and the way you handled it makes me want to shake your hand right now. I would have done the same thing if it were my wife and Danner, here, too."
"I'm not looking for a medal," Tay said. "I was ready to finish him off. But right now all I want is for her to be okay and for her to get past it. I want to be there for her to help her."
Instantly picking up on the meaning of his last statement, Officer Carter nodded knowingly. "Mr. Hanson I'm going to ask you a series of questions about tonight's events and I want you to answer them honestly. This is
going on the record."
Tay nodded, shifting his weight. He ran his hand through his hair. "Okay, yeah. Sure."
Officer Carter began a line of generic questioning. Once again, Tay rehashed the evening, every sight, every sound, every gory detail.
His last question caught Tay temporarily off guard but he answered honestly. "Mr. Hanson, was the nature of your alleged attack on Eric Masters, after you witnessed his assault on Melody Banks, retaliation against a
posed threat from him?"
Tay's eyes searched the floor, frantically trying to understand the question. "Uh...um, no. I pulled him off of her and started wailing on him. It was all a blur..."
"Mr. Hanson," Officer Carter's eyes bore into Tay's eyes. "I am going to ask you one more time, for the record. Did you feel threatened by Eric Masters? Did he swing at you at ANY time after you pulled him off of
Miss Banks?"
This time, Tay's eyes stayed on Officer Carter's, realizing what was going on. "Yes..." he answered.
Officer Carter closed his book. "Thank you, that's all I need. Like I told Miss Banks, normally this type of thing goes down town but given the nature of the case--between your status and the police department, we felt it was best to keep it as quiet as possible. I suppose, while we wait for the other officer to get here, we need to know if Miss Banks intends to press charges."
"Well, yeah, of course she does."
"I need to know directly from her. Of course if she does, you do know there will be legal proceedings that we have no control over."
"I understand. I want that fucker's badge, is what I want. He's not fit to be an officer. I'm out for blood."
This garnered an amused chuckle from Officer Carter. "You're all right, man. You're all right. I like you."
______________________________________________________
Two hours later, the house was empty again. It was nearly one in the morning. Taylor thought he would lose his mind when the Sexual Assault Officer came to see Mel. The entire process made him sick. She took
her behind closed doors. He knew she made her strip and took pictures of her, put her beautiful dress in a menacing plastic bag, and all sorts of other invasions of privacy that he just couldn't imagine. His heart
ached for Mel. He wanted so badly to take her place.
The positive side here was that he didn't get arrested and he felt pretty confident that whatever had gone on with those officers tonight had only worked in his favor. It was apparent that Eric Masters was not a very popular figure in the city of Tulsa.
Tay ran a hot bath for Mel in nearest downstairs bathroom. Swallowed up in an over-sized t-shirt and pajama pants, she lay curled up on the couch. He approached her and crouched down next to her. "Come on,
sweetheart. Let's go get you cleaned up. I drew you a bath. I'll help you."
He was thankful when Mel allowed him to lead her to the bathroom. He went to help her undress when she stopped him. "Don't look," she said.
His heart ached again. "Mel..."
She shook her head. "I don't want you to see."
"It's just me. I want to help you. And if I'm going to help you, I'm going to have to look at you."
Silently, Mel allowed him to pull her shirt over her head. It was when she gripped the top of her pants that tears welled in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice cracking, as she pushed her pants down her legs.
Taylor couldn't fight the tears that came when he saw her legs. He could maybe count four or five bruises forming per thigh, inside and out. He also thought he saw a couple of finger prints. It would all only get darker in the next day or so. How could someone do this to her? How could someone do this to anyone? How could a man bring himself to abuse a woman like this?
Tears and anger overwhelmed his body instantly and he had to turn his head away for a couple of seconds, clearing his throat to keep his emotions at bay. Then he turned back to her. "Stop apologizing," he said.
"You did absolutely nothing wrong.'
Gently, he helped her into the bathtub, allowing her to take her time. From there, he bathed her. He was gentle with her, treating her as if she were fragile and precious. Because she was. To him.
Helping her out of the tub, she insisted on drying herself. He brought her a fresh change of pajamas and she dressed herself. He stood behind her and tied her wet hair up for her. "I don't feel like going all the way upstairs," she said to him quietly.
"Okay," he said. "You tell me where you want to go."
"I'm just going to lay on the couch."
"Okay."
He let her curl back up on the sofa and he covered her up, making sure she was comfortable. "I'm going to find something for your face. I'll be right back."
"Good luck," she managed to croak out.
Tay felt a small smile cross his face as she attempted to crack a dry joke. However she wasn't kidding. There was no ice in the ice-maker...
He walked back in the living room with the only things he could find. "What'd you end up with?" she asked.
"Uh, frozen vegetables and a dish cloth."
"That'll work."
She insisted on holding her own vegetables against her cheek. Taylor sat down on the floor beside her. She smiled at him. "I love you so much. You're so good to me."
"I just want to take care of you."
Mel took the vegetables off her face and looked at him, matter-of-factly. "Tay. We both had a shitty night. I'm not the only one here." She moved a strand of hair off of his forehead and smiled. "Who's taking care of you?"
He moved his face into her hand and kissed her palm. "I'm fine, don't even worry about me."
"Tay--"
"Seriously. I'm okay. Let's worry about you first."
She smiled weakly. "You were such a badass tonight."
Tay smiled, blushing. "It's not exactly a position you want to find yourself in."
"What do you want me to do for you? Name it."
"I want you to rest..."
"At least go change your clothes."
"I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere."
"Well," she said groggily, putting the vegetables back on her face and making herself comfortable. "Eventually you're gonna have to pee."
Tay managed a chuckle. "I'll have to cross that bridge when I get there, I guess."
"What's on TV?"
"At this hour? Infomercials."
"Good. I haven't seen a bad infomercial in ages."
Tay turned around and rested his back up against the couch in front of Mel as he turned on the television. He smiled and closed his eyes as she rubbed the back of his neck.
Only when he realized that Mel had stopped rubbing his neck and he felt the bag of vegetables soaking the back of his shirt, did he realize that Mel had fallen asleep. He turned around and retrieved the thawing vegetables from the upholstery and pulled the covers over her and watched her sleep for a moment. Then he returned to is regularly seated position, not really ready to move yet. It was the first time he had been left alone with his thoughts since the whole sordid incident happened. He didn't like the silence.
He spied Mel's cell phone all of a sudden. It lay on the coffee table within arm's reach of him. Mindlessly he reached for it and lit the screen up. He wasn't quite sure what he was looking for but he found himself in
her contacts list. Going down the list, he made sure to delete Eric's phone number. Then he kept scrolling. Each letter of the alphabet had contacts in it. He didn't even think he had this many contacts in his own phone. Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling until he stopped on a name that he couldn't seem to tear his eyes from.
Jason Kamealoha.
Taylor sighed and rubbed his eyes, looking back at the phone. He should probably be informed. After all, he was as close to her now as Drew was. And Mel wouldn't tell him. Tay knew Mel and he knew Mel wouldn't tell him. After what he had already been through tonight, he didn't want another burden on him. He couldn't handle it. He decided that he might as well give up the fight and accept Jason for his role in Mel's life. In the end, what choice did he have?
Tay felt a groan escape his throat as he hit the 'talk' button on his number. "Hey, gorgeous!" Jason's voice was cheerful on the other end.
"Um, Jason, this is Taylor..."
"Oh, uh. Sorry, man. It's, uh, it's just a nickname..."
"I know," he said.
"Hey, why are you calling me? Where is she?" Tay could hear the anxiousness rising in Jason's voice as he spoke.
"She's okay. She's right here. She's asleep."
"What's going on?"
"Um, look, Mel--well you mean a lot to her. You know that. She adores you. And--I know her and I know she wouldn't tell you so I thought I'd do her a favor and talk to you for her."
"About what...?"
"There was an incident tonight. She...was attacked..."
"Attacked HOW?"
"Um," Tay could barely even bring himself to say the word. "Uh, sexually..."
"Are you telling me she was raped?" The anger in Jason's voice was unmistakable.
"No. No, she wasn't raped. I got there just in time."
"You caught him."
"Yes."
Jason sighed. "How did it happen?"
Now it was Tay's turn to sigh. "Well you know her high school reunion was tonight. And Natalie showed up. And if you know Mel, well then you know..."
"She flipped out."
"She stormed out of the hotel, asked for a ride home from Eric, her old friend from high school."
"The cop?"
Tay was momentarily taken aback at the fact that Jason knew who he was talking about. Damn, how often DID she talk to him? "Yeah. I went to follow them and found them on the side of the road. He hit her. She has bruises all over her legs, a bruise on her cheek. It's not pretty."
Tay could practically feel Jason's anger radiating through the phone. "But she's okay..."
"Yes, she's fine, I promise."
"Taylor, so help me god, if this guy is still walking around..."
Tay found himself chuckling. "I laid that fucker out cold in the grass on the side of the highway. And then I called the sheriff's department and told them to come scrape him off the ground."
"Nice! You know I would have helped you hide the body..."
"I know."
"Seriously. She's the closest friend I have. I don't keep a lot of people around."
"I know. Trust me, she makes it a point to remind me every day."
"So how are you holding up?"
Tay didn't expect Jason to inquire about him. The truth was he didn't really know the answer to his question. "Um...it's the worst ass-beating I've ever delivered, that's for sure. Otherwise I'm not really sure. On one hand I'm glad I was able to keep it from happening to her, but at the same time I'm kicking my own ass for what DID happen to her. I think, right now, I just want to kill something. I think that's where I'm at."
"I've been in your position a time or two. I mean, not under those circumstances, but similar ones. Post ass-kicking. It takes a bit for the rage to die down but eventually it does. I usually try to drown myself with beer."
"That actually sounds pretty good right now," Tay said. Both men chuckled.
"Look, Taylor, thanks for calling me. It means a lot."
"Hey, man, anytime. You know she's gonna kill me when she finds out I told you."
"You're probably right. You just call me, I'll come protect you."
Tay laughed. "I'll need it."
After a couple more minutes, they wrapped up the phone call and Tay replaced Mel's phone back on the coffee table. Turning around, he looked at Mel as she slept soundly. He hadn't even heard her stir as he talked to
Jason.
Standing up, he leaned over and scooped her up off the sofa. She stirred but she didn't wake. Her head rested against his chest as he carefully carried her up the stairs. In what was now their bedroom, he lay her down and tucked her in, watching her stir as she made herself comfortable in her sleep.
Tay then changed his clothes and sat on the edge of his side of the bed, his head in his hands. For the first time that night, he finally allowed his emotions to take over.
Taylor was not a crier. He never really had been. But the tears had been coming more often lately the past few months due to the abundance of emotions he couldn't control. He would never admit it and he would never tell anyone, but he felt better after he cried it out on the side of the bed. However still feeling like a fool once he'd dried himself up, he climbed into bed and scooped Mel into his arms.
He didn't sleep a wink that night.
__________________________________________________________
I love you More Than Anything
Than anything, I do
And I'd give anything and everything I have
Just to be with you
These feelings I hold inside
Are emotions I cannot hide
These feelings will not subside
I'd give anything, anything
When I look into your eyes
I see something special about you
And when I hold your hand
You seem to understand
That I love you More Than Anything
Than anything, I do
And I'd give anything and everything I have
Just to be with you
These feelings I hold inside
Are emotions I cannot hide
These feelings will not subside
I'd give anything, anything
When I think of life without you
It brings me right down to my knees
Cause I can't enjoy life without you
You are my strength, the thing that keeps me holding on
I'd do things that can't be done
I'd fly to the moon and then around the sun
If you'll just say that I'm the one
I'd do anything, anything
TAYLOR
Walking Mel inside the house, Taylor made sure to lock the door behind him. He removed his sport coat,
tossed it over a nearby chair, and un-tucked his shirt. It took him seconds to roll up his sleeves before he turned his attention completely on Mel. The bruise on her cheek seemed to darken by the second.
Walking over to her, he moved her hair out of her face for a better look at her cheek in the light. His heart felt incredibly heavy in his chest. "Good god, sweetheart, I am so sorry," he said to her quietly. Mel didn't respond.
"Come on. Let's go and get you cleaned up, okay?"
He went to lead her up the stairs but she wouldn't budge. Instead, she looked up at him and shook her head. "I can't."
Tay narrowed his eyes at her, puzzled. "What do you mean, you can't? We need to get you changed and get some ice on your face."
"I mean I can't take off my dress. They're coming, they'll be here any minute."
"Who? The cops?"
"Yes. Did you think he wouldn't call them?"
As if on cue, there was a pounding on Mel's front door. The both of them stared, wide-eyed, at the door. "Stay here," Tay said to her.
Taking a deep breath, Tay unlocked the door and opened it to find Zac and Kate standing there. "We came as fast as we could," Zac said.
"How did you--?"
"Drew called me. She should be right behind me in a minute."
To Tay's surprise, Kate didn't say a word. She shoved past him and walked straight to Mel and hugged her. "Come on," Kate said to her. "Let's go sit down over here."
Tay and Zac looked at each other in question.
At that moment Drew came bursting through the door behind Zac, shoes in hand. She barely acknowledged Zac's presence. "Where is she?"
"Uh, with Kate..." Zac pointed into the living room.
As Zac stepped further into the foyer, Tay was about to close the door when he saw them pull up. Blue lights on. Two of them. "Shit!" he said under his breath.
"Did you call the cops?" Zac asked.
"No..." Tay let out a breath. "I beat his ass."
"Go, TAY!"
"He's a cop."
"Shit..."
"Exactly."
The two officers got out of their cars and approached the door that Taylor already had standing open. One was a tall, bald, black man that could have given Jason a run for his money in regards to size. The other one was a
slightly younger white man with brown hair, significantly shorter than the other officer. The taller one obviously ran the show tonight.
"Good evening, gentlemen," his deep voice greeted them as the two officers stepped into the foyer. "Which one of you is Mr. Hanson?"
"I am," blurted a voice from the doorway that didn't come from any of the parties present.
The officers turned around and gave Isaac a curious look as Nikki rushed past them to the living room with Mel and the other women.
"Uh, we all are, actually..." Zac said, pointing to the three of them as Ike rounded up the testosterone-filled circle of five.
"Okay..." the officer looked at all three of them. "Which one of you is Taylor Hanson?"
Standing between his brothers, Tay listlessly raised his hand. "I am."
"Mr. Hanson, do you know why we're here tonight?"
"I do. And I'd do it again in a second, too."
Ike looked completely bewildered. "Do what? Tay, what did you do?"
The tall officer glanced over at Ike and then back at Tay before he spoke again. "This is a pretty serious allegation against you."
Tay motioned to the living room. "Have you seen her face?! And she hasn't even taken off her dress yet, there's no telling WHAT kind of treasures I'm going to find under there!"
Both officers now looked at Tay in complete confusion. "Hold on. We're talking about the assault on Officer Eric Masters, correct?"
"Yes!"
"You assaulted a cop??" Ike asked.
"Yes," Tay said, answering the officer. "I caught the sick bastard right before he got the chance to rape my girlfriend."
The two officers glanced at each other and then looked back at Tay. "I think we need to speak with your girlfriend," the shorter one said.
"Uh, yeah, sure. In here." Tay led the officers into the living room where Mel sat on the couch and Nikki, Kate, and Drew surrounded her. They all looked up when the men entered the room.
________________________________________________________
MEL
Mel was dreading this part. What was she supposed to do here? Cry? Act scared? Be upset? She felt no emotion at the moment, mostly because she didn't really know what she was supposed to feel. So instead
she felt nothing.
"Miss Banks?" the taller officer said to her. "I'm Officer Carter and this is Officer Danner. We need to ask you about what happened tonight."
Mel found herself smiling faintly. Officer Carter reminded her of Big Willie. She missed Big Willie all of a sudden.
She was suddenly aware of Taylor's presence and looked from him to the officers. She said to Officer Carter, "I can't talk about it in front of him."
"Mel, it's okay," Tay said.
She shook her head. "No. I don't want him to hear it."
Officer Carter turned around and looked at Tay and then Zac and Isaac came and lead him into the foyer. Drew, Kate, and Nikki stayed with Mel.
Officer Carter sat on the ottoman across from Mel while she sat on the couch. "Miss Banks, how do you know Eric Masters?"
"We were friends in high school."
"Did you keep in touch over the years?"
Mel answered all this questions about high school and how she would characterize his personality back then and about how she met back up with him recently and how he seemed perfectly normal at Drew's going-away party. She also remembered to include how he constantly called and texted her up until that night.
Officer Carter listened intently, making notes as she spoke.
"How did you end up in his vehicle tonight, Miss Banks?"
Mel sighed and rubbed her face. "Taylor's ex wife showed up at the reunion. I didn't know she was there. When I saw her I jumped to conclusions and walked out of the hotel, intending to leave. I realized Taylor still had my car keys and I didn't want to retrieve them from him so I found Eric in the parking lot and asked him to drive me home. He was supposed to be my friend, I was supposed to be able to trust him."
Officer Carter listened and nodded. "How did the two of you end up on the side of the road?"
"I didn't feel well and I thought I was going to throw up so I asked him to pull over. As soon as we stopped I got out. I took a couple of deep breaths and when I looked up, he was standing in front of me. It scared me
at first but then I just thought he was there to check on me. And he did, at first..."
"It's okay. Take your time."
Mel took a breath. "And then he started saying things to me. Coming on to me. Told me he liked the way I looked, Taylor didn't deserve me, that he was getting back together with Natalie--told me I should be with him instead. That he could--" Mel could feel it rising in her throat and she was almost too embarrassed to say it. "--that he could 'show me what a real man could do for me.' "
"That sick fuck..." Drew muttered under her breath.
"Miss Banks, I need to know what happened next."
Mel stared Officer Carter down. "Did you know that I used to be a cop? NYPD. Several years ago. I have a concealed carry license. Except I didn't have my gun on me. I had nothing. I should have been able to take him and I couldn't. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? That I couldn't fight him off? I was trained for situations like that, Officer! You know what kind of training I mean!"
"I do," Officer Carter said softly. "But I need you to tell me what happened."
She took in a deep breath. "So then he tried to kiss me. And I asked him what he was doing and told him he was crossing the line of friendship. I told him I was happy in my relationship. He said the fact that I was there with him meant that I actually wasn't and that I didn't know what I wanted and that he was going to show me. And that's when he tried to kiss me again and, again, I pushed him away. By this point he was
becoming angry and that was when he pinned me. He managed to get one of my legs apart and all his body weight was on top of me as he pinned me down. I'm sure I have bruises all over the insides of my thighs because I felt him pinching my skin in his rush to try to push my dress up. I guess I'm thankful that it's a tight dress...anyway I fought him as best I could. He had my leg trapped so I couldn't kick him. His entire arm crossed over my chest and I couldn't move my arms to fight. As he fiddled with his belt buckle the only thing I could do to him was spit in his face, so I did, and that's when he back-handed me across the face. With his body weight shifting from the hit, I was able to free one of my arms and attempted to hit
him again but by that moment Taylor had gotten there and pulled him off of me."
"Okay. So he didn't rape you?"
"No. He didn't even get inside my underwear. But he was trying."
"I see. So Mr. Hanson pulls him off of you and then what? Eric swings at him, threatens him...?"
Mel shook her head. "Uh, no, it was pretty much a one-sided fight. Tay totally beat his ass. The fucker deserved every bit of it."
"I see. Danner, get a female from Sexual Assault over to this address."
"Um, I don't need a rape kit," Mel said.
"No, but there's still evidence we need to gather. When she gets here, she'll let you know what she needs. I'm supposed to bring you down to the station for this but given the sensitive circumstances we can make an
exception."
"Sensitive circumstances? You're going to let the bastard get by with it, aren't you?"
"Miss Banks, we are going to thoroughly investigate every aspect of this incident. You stay right here while I go and talk to your husb--boyfriend."
_________________________________________________________
TAYLOR
As the officers talked to Mel in the living room, Taylor, Isaac, and Zac talked quietly in the foyer. Tay told them all the sordid details of how the night had gone down. Zac was ready to go out and hunt Eric down.
Ike was a bit more reserved. "I'm glad she's okay. I mean, I'm glad it didn't--get that far."
"Ike, it was the most horrifying thing I've ever seen in my life. I knew he was a cop. I knew the whole time. But I just--I reacted. I lost control and I didn't care."
Ike shook his head. "Tay, if you get arrested, the band--"
"Ike!" Tay hissed. "Are you seriously thinking of the band at a time like this?? My girlfriend was just...assaulted, for fuck's sake! What would you have done if it had been Nikki?"
Ike winced his eyes in pain at the thought. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know. I get it. I would have done the same thing, absolutely. What do you want us to do?"
Tay looked from Ike to Zac. "Just be there. And give me a little time. A few days."
"How is she taking it?" Zac asked.
Tay chuckled in disbelief. "Uh, better than I am, actually. She's blaming herself. I'm having a hard time convincing her that she did nothing wrong."
"She wanted to beat his ass herself," Zac guessed.
"She's said that several times, yeah."
"Her pride's hurt," Zac continued. "You know how she is."
"Tay. How are YOU doing?" Ike asked.
Taylor took a deep breath and looked at both of his brothers. "I'm a goddamn basket case right now. I just--left a cop's face bloodied and laying on the side of the road--I couldn't begin to tell you what it felt like to come down off of that...and now--shit, all I wanna do is take care of her. She's hardly spoken since it happened."
"She doesn't really need to speak right now," Ike said. "Let her come around. But for right now...fuck, I hate to say it but I'm pretty sure you're getting arrested tonight. I mean Zac and I will follow you all the way there and post bail the moment they give the green light."
At that moment, Officers Carter and Dannon walked back into the foyer. "Well, Mr. Hanson, it sounds like you've had quite an evening."
"Well I'm not exactly trying to flaunt it."
"We have another officer on the way to collect evidence from Melody. Look, we know who you are. And I want you to know that we plan to investigate this thoroughly in accordance with the law..."
Tay's stomach jumped up into his throat.
"However in the interest of your status and the position of the department, we're going to treat this as a very delicate case. And try to keep it as quiet as humanly possible."
"That would be much appreciated," Ike interjected.
"Off the record, and if you were some Joe Schmoe down the street we wouldn't be telling you this, but the department has been investigating Eric Masters for awhile now. Too many suspicious reports to ignore. What
you did was a felony. But what he did was absolutely heinous and the way you handled it makes me want to shake your hand right now. I would have done the same thing if it were my wife and Danner, here, too."
"I'm not looking for a medal," Tay said. "I was ready to finish him off. But right now all I want is for her to be okay and for her to get past it. I want to be there for her to help her."
Instantly picking up on the meaning of his last statement, Officer Carter nodded knowingly. "Mr. Hanson I'm going to ask you a series of questions about tonight's events and I want you to answer them honestly. This is
going on the record."
Tay nodded, shifting his weight. He ran his hand through his hair. "Okay, yeah. Sure."
Officer Carter began a line of generic questioning. Once again, Tay rehashed the evening, every sight, every sound, every gory detail.
His last question caught Tay temporarily off guard but he answered honestly. "Mr. Hanson, was the nature of your alleged attack on Eric Masters, after you witnessed his assault on Melody Banks, retaliation against a
posed threat from him?"
Tay's eyes searched the floor, frantically trying to understand the question. "Uh...um, no. I pulled him off of her and started wailing on him. It was all a blur..."
"Mr. Hanson," Officer Carter's eyes bore into Tay's eyes. "I am going to ask you one more time, for the record. Did you feel threatened by Eric Masters? Did he swing at you at ANY time after you pulled him off of
Miss Banks?"
This time, Tay's eyes stayed on Officer Carter's, realizing what was going on. "Yes..." he answered.
Officer Carter closed his book. "Thank you, that's all I need. Like I told Miss Banks, normally this type of thing goes down town but given the nature of the case--between your status and the police department, we felt it was best to keep it as quiet as possible. I suppose, while we wait for the other officer to get here, we need to know if Miss Banks intends to press charges."
"Well, yeah, of course she does."
"I need to know directly from her. Of course if she does, you do know there will be legal proceedings that we have no control over."
"I understand. I want that fucker's badge, is what I want. He's not fit to be an officer. I'm out for blood."
This garnered an amused chuckle from Officer Carter. "You're all right, man. You're all right. I like you."
______________________________________________________
Two hours later, the house was empty again. It was nearly one in the morning. Taylor thought he would lose his mind when the Sexual Assault Officer came to see Mel. The entire process made him sick. She took
her behind closed doors. He knew she made her strip and took pictures of her, put her beautiful dress in a menacing plastic bag, and all sorts of other invasions of privacy that he just couldn't imagine. His heart
ached for Mel. He wanted so badly to take her place.
The positive side here was that he didn't get arrested and he felt pretty confident that whatever had gone on with those officers tonight had only worked in his favor. It was apparent that Eric Masters was not a very popular figure in the city of Tulsa.
Tay ran a hot bath for Mel in nearest downstairs bathroom. Swallowed up in an over-sized t-shirt and pajama pants, she lay curled up on the couch. He approached her and crouched down next to her. "Come on,
sweetheart. Let's go get you cleaned up. I drew you a bath. I'll help you."
He was thankful when Mel allowed him to lead her to the bathroom. He went to help her undress when she stopped him. "Don't look," she said.
His heart ached again. "Mel..."
She shook her head. "I don't want you to see."
"It's just me. I want to help you. And if I'm going to help you, I'm going to have to look at you."
Silently, Mel allowed him to pull her shirt over her head. It was when she gripped the top of her pants that tears welled in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice cracking, as she pushed her pants down her legs.
Taylor couldn't fight the tears that came when he saw her legs. He could maybe count four or five bruises forming per thigh, inside and out. He also thought he saw a couple of finger prints. It would all only get darker in the next day or so. How could someone do this to her? How could someone do this to anyone? How could a man bring himself to abuse a woman like this?
Tears and anger overwhelmed his body instantly and he had to turn his head away for a couple of seconds, clearing his throat to keep his emotions at bay. Then he turned back to her. "Stop apologizing," he said.
"You did absolutely nothing wrong.'
Gently, he helped her into the bathtub, allowing her to take her time. From there, he bathed her. He was gentle with her, treating her as if she were fragile and precious. Because she was. To him.
Helping her out of the tub, she insisted on drying herself. He brought her a fresh change of pajamas and she dressed herself. He stood behind her and tied her wet hair up for her. "I don't feel like going all the way upstairs," she said to him quietly.
"Okay," he said. "You tell me where you want to go."
"I'm just going to lay on the couch."
"Okay."
He let her curl back up on the sofa and he covered her up, making sure she was comfortable. "I'm going to find something for your face. I'll be right back."
"Good luck," she managed to croak out.
Tay felt a small smile cross his face as she attempted to crack a dry joke. However she wasn't kidding. There was no ice in the ice-maker...
He walked back in the living room with the only things he could find. "What'd you end up with?" she asked.
"Uh, frozen vegetables and a dish cloth."
"That'll work."
She insisted on holding her own vegetables against her cheek. Taylor sat down on the floor beside her. She smiled at him. "I love you so much. You're so good to me."
"I just want to take care of you."
Mel took the vegetables off her face and looked at him, matter-of-factly. "Tay. We both had a shitty night. I'm not the only one here." She moved a strand of hair off of his forehead and smiled. "Who's taking care of you?"
He moved his face into her hand and kissed her palm. "I'm fine, don't even worry about me."
"Tay--"
"Seriously. I'm okay. Let's worry about you first."
She smiled weakly. "You were such a badass tonight."
Tay smiled, blushing. "It's not exactly a position you want to find yourself in."
"What do you want me to do for you? Name it."
"I want you to rest..."
"At least go change your clothes."
"I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere."
"Well," she said groggily, putting the vegetables back on her face and making herself comfortable. "Eventually you're gonna have to pee."
Tay managed a chuckle. "I'll have to cross that bridge when I get there, I guess."
"What's on TV?"
"At this hour? Infomercials."
"Good. I haven't seen a bad infomercial in ages."
Tay turned around and rested his back up against the couch in front of Mel as he turned on the television. He smiled and closed his eyes as she rubbed the back of his neck.
Only when he realized that Mel had stopped rubbing his neck and he felt the bag of vegetables soaking the back of his shirt, did he realize that Mel had fallen asleep. He turned around and retrieved the thawing vegetables from the upholstery and pulled the covers over her and watched her sleep for a moment. Then he returned to is regularly seated position, not really ready to move yet. It was the first time he had been left alone with his thoughts since the whole sordid incident happened. He didn't like the silence.
He spied Mel's cell phone all of a sudden. It lay on the coffee table within arm's reach of him. Mindlessly he reached for it and lit the screen up. He wasn't quite sure what he was looking for but he found himself in
her contacts list. Going down the list, he made sure to delete Eric's phone number. Then he kept scrolling. Each letter of the alphabet had contacts in it. He didn't even think he had this many contacts in his own phone. Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling until he stopped on a name that he couldn't seem to tear his eyes from.
Jason Kamealoha.
Taylor sighed and rubbed his eyes, looking back at the phone. He should probably be informed. After all, he was as close to her now as Drew was. And Mel wouldn't tell him. Tay knew Mel and he knew Mel wouldn't tell him. After what he had already been through tonight, he didn't want another burden on him. He couldn't handle it. He decided that he might as well give up the fight and accept Jason for his role in Mel's life. In the end, what choice did he have?
Tay felt a groan escape his throat as he hit the 'talk' button on his number. "Hey, gorgeous!" Jason's voice was cheerful on the other end.
"Um, Jason, this is Taylor..."
"Oh, uh. Sorry, man. It's, uh, it's just a nickname..."
"I know," he said.
"Hey, why are you calling me? Where is she?" Tay could hear the anxiousness rising in Jason's voice as he spoke.
"She's okay. She's right here. She's asleep."
"What's going on?"
"Um, look, Mel--well you mean a lot to her. You know that. She adores you. And--I know her and I know she wouldn't tell you so I thought I'd do her a favor and talk to you for her."
"About what...?"
"There was an incident tonight. She...was attacked..."
"Attacked HOW?"
"Um," Tay could barely even bring himself to say the word. "Uh, sexually..."
"Are you telling me she was raped?" The anger in Jason's voice was unmistakable.
"No. No, she wasn't raped. I got there just in time."
"You caught him."
"Yes."
Jason sighed. "How did it happen?"
Now it was Tay's turn to sigh. "Well you know her high school reunion was tonight. And Natalie showed up. And if you know Mel, well then you know..."
"She flipped out."
"She stormed out of the hotel, asked for a ride home from Eric, her old friend from high school."
"The cop?"
Tay was momentarily taken aback at the fact that Jason knew who he was talking about. Damn, how often DID she talk to him? "Yeah. I went to follow them and found them on the side of the road. He hit her. She has bruises all over her legs, a bruise on her cheek. It's not pretty."
Tay could practically feel Jason's anger radiating through the phone. "But she's okay..."
"Yes, she's fine, I promise."
"Taylor, so help me god, if this guy is still walking around..."
Tay found himself chuckling. "I laid that fucker out cold in the grass on the side of the highway. And then I called the sheriff's department and told them to come scrape him off the ground."
"Nice! You know I would have helped you hide the body..."
"I know."
"Seriously. She's the closest friend I have. I don't keep a lot of people around."
"I know. Trust me, she makes it a point to remind me every day."
"So how are you holding up?"
Tay didn't expect Jason to inquire about him. The truth was he didn't really know the answer to his question. "Um...it's the worst ass-beating I've ever delivered, that's for sure. Otherwise I'm not really sure. On one hand I'm glad I was able to keep it from happening to her, but at the same time I'm kicking my own ass for what DID happen to her. I think, right now, I just want to kill something. I think that's where I'm at."
"I've been in your position a time or two. I mean, not under those circumstances, but similar ones. Post ass-kicking. It takes a bit for the rage to die down but eventually it does. I usually try to drown myself with beer."
"That actually sounds pretty good right now," Tay said. Both men chuckled.
"Look, Taylor, thanks for calling me. It means a lot."
"Hey, man, anytime. You know she's gonna kill me when she finds out I told you."
"You're probably right. You just call me, I'll come protect you."
Tay laughed. "I'll need it."
After a couple more minutes, they wrapped up the phone call and Tay replaced Mel's phone back on the coffee table. Turning around, he looked at Mel as she slept soundly. He hadn't even heard her stir as he talked to
Jason.
Standing up, he leaned over and scooped her up off the sofa. She stirred but she didn't wake. Her head rested against his chest as he carefully carried her up the stairs. In what was now their bedroom, he lay her down and tucked her in, watching her stir as she made herself comfortable in her sleep.
Tay then changed his clothes and sat on the edge of his side of the bed, his head in his hands. For the first time that night, he finally allowed his emotions to take over.
Taylor was not a crier. He never really had been. But the tears had been coming more often lately the past few months due to the abundance of emotions he couldn't control. He would never admit it and he would never tell anyone, but he felt better after he cried it out on the side of the bed. However still feeling like a fool once he'd dried himself up, he climbed into bed and scooped Mel into his arms.
He didn't sleep a wink that night.
__________________________________________________________