Chapter 140 Temporary Relocation
JASON'S POV
We had been at Tommy's for two days and Caitlyn was falling apart. She barely slept. Barely ate. Just sat holding Emma and staring at nothing. I was worried about her. Really worried.
"You need to eat something," I said. I brought her a sandwich. "You have not eaten all day."
"I am not hungry," Caitlyn said.
"You have to eat," I said. "You are still nursing Emma. You need to keep your strength up."
"I cannot," Caitlyn said. "Every time I try to eat I feel sick. I just keep thinking about that rock. About how close it came to hitting Emma."
"But it did not hit her," I said. "She is safe. You are safe. We are all safe here."
"Are we?" Caitlyn asked. "How do we know Vanessa's supporters will not find us here too? How do we know we are actually safe?"
"Because Tommy's address is not public," I said. "And we have not told anyone where we are. No one knows we are here except the people we trust."
"What about Detective Rourke?" Caitlyn asked. "What about DA Walsh? They know where we are."
"And they are not going to tell anyone," I said. "They are on our side remember?"
"I do not know who is on our side anymore," Caitlyn said. "I thought the public would be on our side. I thought telling the truth would matter. But it does not. People believe whatever they want to believe."
Tommy came into the room. "How are you guys holding up?" he asked.
"Not great," I said honestly. "Caitlyn is not eating. Not sleeping. I am worried about her."
"I am fine," Caitlyn said. But she was obviously not fine.
"You are not fine," Tommy said. "And that is okay. You went through something traumatic. Your home was attacked. Your baby was put in danger. You are allowed to not be fine."
"I just want to go home," Caitlyn said. "I want to go back to our apartment. Back to our life. But we cannot. Because of lies."
"I know," Tommy said. "It sucks. Really sucks. But you cannot go back there right now. It is not safe."
"When will it be safe?" Caitlyn asked. "How long do we have to stay here?"
"As long as you need to," Tommy said. "You can stay here forever if you have to. I do not mind."
"But it is not our home," Caitlyn said. "It is your home. We are intruding. Disrupting your life."
"You are not intruding," Tommy said. "You are family. And my home is your home. For as long as you need it."
"Thank you," Caitlyn said. She was crying again. "I do not know what we would do without you."
"You will never have to find out," Tommy said. "Now please eat something. Jason is right. You need to keep your strength up."
Caitlyn finally took a bite of the sandwich. Then another. Tommy smiled at me and left the room.
"He is a good friend," Caitlyn said.
"He is," I said. "The best."
My phone rang. It was the landlord of our building.
"Mr. Cross," he said when I answered. "I wanted to let you know that we have repaired the window. And we have increased security. But I think you should know there are still protesters showing up. Not as many as before. But some."
"How many?" I asked.
"Five or six," the landlord said. "The police have been dispersing them. But they keep coming back."
"So it is not safe for us to come home yet," I said.
"I would not recommend it," the landlord said. "Not until things calm down more."
"Okay," I said. "Thank you for letting me know."
I hung up and looked at Caitlyn. She had heard the whole conversation.
"We cannot go home," she said. "Can we?"
"Not yet," I said. "I am sorry."
"Stop apologizing," Caitlyn said. "None of this is your fault."
"It is not your fault either," I said. "You know that right? None of this is your fault."
"It feels like my fault," Caitlyn said. "If I had not testified. If I had not agreed to help with the trials. None of this would be happening."
"But those men would be free," I said. "They would be out there hurting people. You did the right thing."
"Did I?" Caitlyn asked. "Because right now it does not feel right. It feels like I ruined our lives."
"You did not ruin anything," I said. "Vanessa ruined things. The protesters ruined things. But not you. You were brave. You told the truth. That matters."
"Does it?" Caitlyn asked. "Because I do not see how anything I did mattered. Those men got convicted sure. But at what cost? Our home? Our safety? Our peace of mind?"
"The cost was worth it," I said. "Justice is always worth it."
"I wish I believed that," Caitlyn said.
Emma started crying so Caitlyn picked her up. Started nursing her. I watched them. My wife and my daughter. The two most important people in my world. And I felt helpless. I could not protect them from this. Could not make the protesters go away. Could not fix what Vanessa had broken.
"Jason?" Caitlyn said.
"Yeah?"
"What if this never ends?" Caitlyn asked. "What if we are stuck here forever? What if we can never go home?"
"Then we find a new home," I said. "We start over somewhere else. Somewhere no one knows us."
"I do not want to start over," Caitlyn said. "I am tired of starting over. I just want to live."
"I know," I said. "Me too."
Detective Rourke called later that evening. He said he was working on something. Something that might help clear Caitlyn's name. But he would not tell me what it was yet. Said he needed more time.
"How much time?" I asked.
"A few more days," Rourke said. "Maybe a week. But I am close. Really close to proving Vanessa is lying."
"Okay," I said. "Keep working on it. We need this to end."
"I know you do," Rourke said. "And it will end. I promise."
I hoped he was right. Hoped he could find whatever he was looking for. Hoped we could clear Caitlyn's name and go home.
Because living like this was not sustainable. We could not stay at Tommy's forever. Could not keep running. Could not keep hiding.
We needed to fight back. Needed to prove Vanessa was lying. Needed to reclaim our lives.
And I would do whatever it took to make that happen.