Constructions

"Nah, I'll come with you," she said and followed him upstairs.

Tommy was concerned and unhappy. Laura tried to smoothen the wrinkle between his brows as they lay in bed.

"You're not afraid of him, are you?" he asked and looked at her.

"No. Although I realize I probably should be."

"Yeah, probably so. I feel so bad for Maria and the kids."

"The kids?" asked Laura. "Devon and who else?"

"The girl," said Tommy. "Haven't you seen her?"

Laura shook her head.

"Well, she isn't too keen on being seen," Tommy said. "But yeah. I'm afraid he'll hurt them too much one day. But there's nothing I can do. She isn't even trying to leave, and even if she was it would be better not to meddle. God, I hate this crap."

"We can move out if you wanna," Laura said.

"Maybe we should. I'll give it a couple of days, see how this settles down. But I don't want you here alone."

"It's alright," Laura said. "It's kinda nice when you're being so protective."

Tommy smiled feebly. "I hope it's just a pointless precaution."

Laura leaned closer to kiss him and they made love. It was nice and slow and very tender. With Tommy it seemed to be so that the more upset he was the more gentle he got, and Laura thought he was like the polar opposite of Hector. She didn't think about Hector for that long, though.

Tommy was on his knees and held her in his lap. She wasn't exactly riding him, she didn't have enough leverage for movement. Tommy had his arms around her hips and was moving her a little, she had hers wrapped around his neck and could feel the muscles moving on his shoulders and arms when he lifted her and let her down again. He got in just enough movement with his hips, and his thighs felt like steel under hers, he was so tense. They weren't kissing but they had their heads very close together. She loved the way her breath mingled with his and how he was so close to her with all of their sweaty bodies. The buildup was excruciatingly slow this way, but she knew the release would be all the more powerful. They weren't exactly tantra sex type of people, but sometimes it just had to be this way.

"A...ah," said Tommy hoarsely and she could feel him twitching inside her. "Awh God, Laura."

His voice was low and he thrust just a little bit more, and she tensed against him and felt her orgasm overwhelming her. She squeezed around him, pulsing, and he let out a shivering sigh and tensed even more. His thighs trembled when he came, he throbbed inside her and she pressed as close as she could and they rocked through it together.

He keeled her over with just enough uncontrolled speed that she knew he just couldn't hold her up any longer, his strength left him now that they'd cum. They cuddled close to one another and kissed a little, and then they fell asleep together.

-#-#-#-#-#-

They awoke with a jolt. It was still dark, they could see the lighter rectangle of light where the window was, street lamps were illuminating their room. There was a crashing sound from the adjacent room.

"Shut up!" they heard Hector growling. "You shut up I tell ya!"

There were more noises, he was probably pushing Maria around and she stumbled against furniture.

"God, you're ugly", Hector said with scorn. "Turn around so I don't have to look at your buttugly face."

There was more thumping and then muffled whimpers of pain and rhythmic squeaking, probably from the bed. It went on for some time and then it became mercifully quiet.

They looked at each other. It was dark but they could just about see each other's face.

They knew they hadn't been quiet enough, no matter how quiet they'd tried to be. And they also knew they couldn't stay here and listen to him rape and abuse her again.

-#-#-#-#-#-

The next day they searched for a cheap motel nearby and moved their stuff over. They hadn't said goodbye to Maria or Devon or "the girl" Tommy insisted lived in the house, but they had paid for full month in advance, and they hoped no harm would be caused by their sudden disappearance.

The construction company was finally ready to start working on Tommy's house. He was excited, and took to hanging around his lot, even when there wasn't so much he could do himself. Laura accompanied him most times, her script was now in the hands of an editor and it left her with ample free time.

That Sunday the building had been stabilized enough for Tommy to get up on the roof, and he did, there was a part that had caved in and he wanted to patch it in case it would rain. Laura sat on the hammock watching him, a little afraid now that he was so high up, despite the safety harness he was wearing. She supposed rain was highly unlikely, but that he just needed to get to do something, get to work on his house again, regain some sense of ownership and control.

Movement caught her eye and she realized it was Devon. He was hiding behind the fence, peeking at her.

"Hi, Devon!" she said, trying to be friendly and not intimidating. "What's up?"

Devon fidgeted, clearly trying to make up his mind, but then he climbed over the fence and came closer. Laura could tell he had probably been crying, there were messy stripes on his cheeks which seemed even dirtier than normally.

"Could you...would you...come and see Maria?" he mumbled and didn't look at her.

"Why, has something happened?" asked Laura. "Did Hector hurt her? Is he there?"

Devon nodded first and then shook his head. "She's not waking up," he said and swallowed hard. "Hector beat her up on Thursday and left. I haven't seen him since."

"Okay," Laura said. It looked like it took a lot from him to ask, and Laura didn't want to question him too much. Instead she got up and took a few steps towards the house.

"Tommy!" she shouted. Devon flinched at her loud voice. "Tommy come down!"

"Wha?" he shouted and peeked over the edge. "Oh, right! Wait just a sec."

He came out a few minutes later, fumbling with the safety harness, and he seemed to have guessed what was up. "Is it your mom?" he asked Devon, who flinched like he had hit him.

"I don't have a mom," he said sulkily. "It's Maria."

"Oh, okay," said Tommy. "Sorry, I thought she was your mom."

They started walking towards Maria's house. Hector's car wasn't in the yard. Devon led them inside, and for the first time ever they went into Maria's bedroom.

The room was simply furnished and relatively clean and nice. There was a weird stench about the place, spiced with the more familiar smell of urine, and some empty water bottles and plates near the bed. They approached the bed carefully.

"Oh, God," Tommy said in disgust when they saw how bruised Maria's face was. It was blue and purple and swollen, her breathing was difficult but she was breathing. Maybe her nose was broken. "Maria?" Tommy said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Maria?"

He touched her shoulder carefully. Maria didn't react at all. Tommy touched her forehead, her neck. "She's really hot," he said. "This is not good. I think we need to call the ambulance."

Devon whimpered. "Do you have to?"

"I'm afraid so," Tommy said. He looked at Devon and then back at Maria. He got up and pulled the blanket off so that they could see better.

"Oh, God," said Laura this time.

Maria had only panties and a t-shirt on. There were cuts and welts all over her legs, and they seemed badly infected. Tommy patted down her torso and especially her stomach. Maria didn't react and Tommy seemed pleased.

"I don't think there's any internal bleeding," he said. "That's good, I suppose. But we need to call for help anyway. I take it that your...the girl who lives here hasn't been around for a while?"

He looked at Devon again.

"Mariana," said Devon. "She doesn't stick around when Hector's here."

"Do you have a way to reach her?" asked Tommy.

"I have a number but I don't have a phone," said Devon.

"Alright," said Tommy. "Listen, you two. I'm gonna call for paramedics. It's probably going to get police here as well, and then possibly child protection services. So we're gonna say we're still living here, okay? Maybe they'll let Devon stay home then. Or what?"

Devon nodded so fast it looked like he got the idea immediately. Laura nodded as well, she could see Tommy thought it was important, and so she agreed. She had a lingering suspicion she didn't quite grasp what she was agreeing to.

It went down just as Tommy had predicted. The ambulance came along with a police patrol. The police called the child protection services, and they came around a bit later. Tommy and Laura told the police all they knew, while Devon stayed mostly silent. They explained they'd been away for business and had just gotten back, and so hadn't known about the situation earlier, but that they were going to stay at the house from now on and could take care of Devon while Maria recuperated. The child protection people took Devon away anyway, despite his loud complaints, and after they left it felt really quiet.

Tommy walked around the house slowly and found evidence of Maria's beating all over the place. He called the police who had left his information and asked if they could clean up, and the police said no, they should wait until the place had been checked out. Tommy told them they'd be staying at the motel until the house was cleared for cleaning.

In the evening they were back at the motel when Tommy's phone rang. It was a number he didn't recognize but he took the call. It turned out to be Mariana. He told her where they were, and she showed up half an hour later. They sat on the terrace of their motel room, Laura next to Tommy and Mariana on her own opposite to them, perching on the edge of her chair as if ready to flee at any second.

She looked about seventeen, small and slim bordering malnourished. She had long, black hair and wild eyes that nervously scanned her environment every few moments. She looked like Maria might have done when she was younger, although there was a hint of determination about her that there wasn't in Maria. Maybe there had been once and Hector had beaten it out of her.

"I take it Devon gave you my number," Tommy said.

"The police did," Mariana said. "They called me and asked me to come to the hospital."

She fidgeted, bouncing her leg nervously.

"I should've checked out on him," she huffed suddenly. "He's been there alone with her for two days."

"It probably didn't start so bad," Tommy said. "Maria probably told him not to call anyone, that she would get better if she just rested."

Mariana looked at him and nodded. "Well, she's got a concussion and a broken nose and bruised ribs and all those wounds you probably saw, which have caused the infection. And all the fingers in her right hand have been broken. But she'll live. I bet she'll be out of hospital in days."

She stopped bouncing her leg and crossed them instead. She was in constant motion. It looked somehow jerky and nervous, like she was constantly getting ready to run away.

"I don't know how we'll get Devon back, though. Maybe when mom gets out."

"So she is your mom?" asked Laura. "We thought she was Devon's mom, but apparently not."

Mariana sighed. "Okay, well. So here's how it is. Maria is my mom and she was married to Javier, my dad, until he died seven years ago. You've seen mom...she isn't very independent, and so when Hector said he'll take her in she just went with it. And oh, so Hector was with Juliana back then, she was my aunt. Mom's sister. That's how they knew each other. And Devon is their son. So we're cousins."

She glanced around again. It was as if she was constantly scanning for a threat.

"Juliana died five years ago. I don't really know why but she was ill for a short while. And things went from bad to worse. Because Hector was always violent and in and out of jail but when Juliana wasn't there to take it he...turned to us. On mom, mostly. But he'd beat Devon and I and he would...try to...so I took to not being there when he was out. He's been mostly in prison, though. But he never stays long, he only gets caught on small stupid things."

She uncrossed her legs and crossed them the other way. She was fiddling the hem of his shirt.

"So I don't know what's gonna happen to Devon. Hector's going to jail when the police find him. And Maria is not his mom. It's been like that before but the child protection services have never gotten him before. So I don't know."

"Well, that remains to be seen," Tommy said and for some reason he looked sad. "Nothing we can do about it tonight. Do you have a place to stay?"

Mariana looked at him suspiciously. "Yeah I do."

"Wanna eat dinner with us before you go?" Tommy asked. "I'm buying."

Mariana was tempted but hesitant. In the end it wasn't that difficult to persuade her to come to a nearby restaurant with them. She ate like she'd never seen food in her life. After that she left, and Laura wondered if that was the last they'd see of her.

On Monday they went to see Maria in the hospital. She was surprised to see them and clearly ashamed, but still so out of it she didn't get too bothered. She still had fever and was weak and a little confused. She had a drip going to the back of her unbroken left hand, her nose had been taped and her right hand was in a cast. Tommy kept up a light conversation. It would've been funny how he could talk about anything but not Hector beating her up, if it wasn't so awful at the same time.

They went again on Tuesday. As soon as they'd sat down a police and a social worker came in. They suggested Laura and Tommy get out of the room, and they did. The officials told them they could come back in fifteen minutes, and that it would be nice for Maria to have friends with her.

They were curious, and so they lingered around. To their amazement Mariana was in the room when they got back. They hadn't seen her come in. And then again she was good at moving unobserved.

Laura sat down on the one free chair next to Maria's bed. Tommy stood beside her. Maria looked at them, then at Mariana, and then she said, "They've found Hector. And he's...he's dead."

Laura felt her jaw drop. "What! How?"

"Apparently they were driving around wasted after he beat me up on Thursday, he and two of his friends. They crashed the car."

"Oh," Laura said. "Well. I feel I shouldn't be happy about someone's death but I have to say I'm not gonna miss him."

Maria chortled. It was the happiest sound Laura had ever heard from her. They were all quiet for a while. There was a weird vibe lingering, there was relief but something else as well.

"What about Devon?" Tommy asked and Laura realized that was what was still not right. "He's an orphan now, right? I guess the child services will hang onto him?"

Maria and Mariana looked at each other. They seemed to have some sort of telepathic connection and there probably was. They had been too intimidated to voice their thoughts so they'd probably just tuned into reading each other over the years.

"Mom will be released on Thursday if there's no complications," Mariana said. "But they're placing Devon in a temporary foster home in the neighborhood. He'll have the same school, for now at least."

Tommy sighed. "Okay," he said. He sounded somehow defeated. Laura glanced up at him. He tried to smile and set his hand on her shoulder. She put hers on top of his, trying to give him strength.

"The officials said you said you still live in the house," Mariana said. "Did you just say that or are you gonna do that for real?"

"We will, if you'll have us back," said Tommy. "I'm sorry we split like that. I just couldn't be where Hector was. It would've gotten bad, sooner or later. And I've got a rap sheet, I'd gotten in trouble for beating him. Or who knows, he might've killed me in my sleep or something. But I'm still sorry, I feel bad we left you there and it ended like this."

"It's on me," Maria said. "It's not your fault I let him treat me that way."

Laura glanced up at Tommy and her smile was mischievous. She even blushed a little.

"Well, we should furnish a room in your house as well," she said. "It's stable enough already, right? I mean just...for...ahem. Afternoon breaks."

Mariana looked quizzical but Maria blushed as well. "No, really, it's okay," she said. "It's so nice how you love each other. It reminds me of my husband. He was a good man."

Tommy chortled and leaned down to kiss Laura's forehead. "You're just awful," he said, but gently.

After visiting hours Laura, Tommy and Mariana drove back to the motel to check out and then to the house. The police had cleared it and they took to cleaning. It felt good to open the windows and let the air flow, scrub all the miserable remains of Hector's violence away and let the scent of detergent fill the house. Mariana seemed a little dazed that Tommy participated in the dirty work.

Later Tommy cooked dinner and they ate together. Mariana was still quiet and jittery but some of her nervousness had vanished.

—#—#—#—#—#—

On Wednesday afternoon Tommy was working on the roof when Devon came to the yard with a tall, scrawny man with thinning hair and small glasses. He waved at them and climbed down.

"Hiya, big guy," he said to Devon when he got to the yard. "Boy am I glad to see you! I was afraid they'd just make you disappear."

He smiled at Devon. He didn't say anything but smiled back. Tommy turned towards the man.

"I'm Tommy," he said, extending his hand. "Tom Holstein."

"Joshua Bishop," the man said and shook Tommy's hand firmly. "I'm from Devon's temporary foster home. We're just two streets over towards the Main Street."

"Oh, okay," Tommy said. "Nice to meet you. Lucky it's so close, at least he gets to stay in the same school, huh?"

"Sure is," said Joshua with a glance that meant "it's probably not gonna be for long". Tommy looked down at Devon and knew he'd noticed.

Tommy crouched down to get more on Devon's level and said, "Devon, I'm sorry about your dad."

"He was an asshole," Devon spat out with surprising passion.

"Yeah, but he was still your dad," Tommy said. "So I am sorry."

Devon pondered this and then nodded, acknowledging his gesture. Tommy nodded as well and stood back up. "So, what brings you here today?" he asked Joshua.

"Devon's been asking to come," said Joshua.

"Do you suppose he could come see us?" Tommy said. "I mean after school. This is quite close."

Joshua hesitated. "Well, we would rather know where he is."

"What if we'll come get him? And walk him back?" asked Tommy. "Would that make it work?"

"It might," said Joshua with an expression that was a little wary of how enthusiastic Tommy was to spend time with the boy.

"Can you come over to his old house?" asked Tommy. "I'd like to introduce you to Laura, my...well I should say girlfriend, but I think we're getting a bit old for that. My lady friend? That sounds silly, as well. Anyway, she's the love of my life. And Mariana could be there. Devon's cousin."

Devon looked hopeful and Joshua accepted. They walked over and Tommy explained how he was fixing the house and Laura had free schedules as a writer and so either of them could come pick Devon up and drop him off if he would be allowed to visit.

Devon seemed surprised at how clean and cozy the house was, but didn't let it show too much. He went to get some things from his old room as Tommy introduced Laura and Mariana to Joshua.

Later Tommy and Laura walked Joshua and Devon back to the home to see where it was. Joshua sent Devon inside and turned to them.

"Devon has repeatedly asked to go home, and to get to see how your renovations are going," he said to Tommy. "I do think he can be allowed to come see you after school, if you walk him to and fro. I'm afraid I'm not able to say how long Devon's going to stay in this location, though."