Grieving Time Pt. 04

Diana looked up as he came closer, "Oh good, you're here. Where did you go? The police asked me a few questions, then left. He said another would be here in a few minutes to talk to us."

"Yea, they talked to me too. I was just in a waiting room till they could let me in. Guess they had to make sure there was no blood pouring everywhere."

He sat in a chair opposite to his niece with Ashley between them. A hand slid out from on the bed for Brian to hold. Ash squeezed his hand tightly but she didn't say anything as a nurse cleaned the broken areas of her skin. Brian had noticed Diana was holding onto Ash's other hand.

Diana continued speaking, "The doctor said I just had some bruising to the side of my face that will look bad and hurt for a while. I shouldn't have any lasting problems though. The doctor has seen mum and will be back in a minute. They will be getting X rays of both of us to be on the safe side. Mum has been quiet, I think they gave her something mild for the pain which is helping her rest."

The nurse let them know this was true, but it wasn't strong enough to knock her out, or prevent the police talking to her. Ash gripped his hand tighter at these last words, or from the pain of having her cuts and bruises touched. The nurse had pulled back the cover that was over Ash's body to help her in the treatment, and Brian couldn't help cringing at the extent of the bruising over her body. He guessed there had to be some damage done inside her.

Brian turned to his sister and advised her, "You must talk to them tonight Ash. What he did was more than a little pushing and swearing at you.

The doctor arrived and started working on her, and before long a female police officer arrived. Diana and Brian were asked to let her talk to her alone, but Diana got upset at leaving her mother, and Ash would not release Brian's hand. The police woman relented and the interview went on with her taking notes. After a while she asked to take photographs of both women and Brian's hands. Not wanting to be obstructive and hoping his agreement wouldn't bite him in the bum later he allowed the photos. The two women also agreed and it went ahead. He tried not to look at his sister's naked body, but he could not take his eyes away from the damage that had been wrought against her. He had tears falling soon after he had arrived. Diana had come and sat sideways on his lap facing her mother, with her arms around his neck and him holding her tightly around her body. Ashley had to stand for the photos which was hard for her to do due to the pain, and the swelling was hindering any movement. The doctor and nurse remained in attendance for her giving her physical support as needed.

When it was finally over the police officer made arrangements for them to go to the station in the next couple of days to sign their statements. She left and the three were taken to the radiography section adjacent the emergency area for X-rays and ultrasound on Ashley. Waiting for the final clearance they huddled together with Brian trying to give the women strength to keep going. It was extremely late now and tiredness was settling on them all. The doctor returned to let them go, issuing the usual medical warnings, especially about possible concussions and what symptoms to look for, and when to book follow up appointments.

They were finally allowed to head for home and were soon tucked into beds for what remained of the night, Diana and Ashley sharing the spare bed.

#4

He was the first to rise on Sunday and prepared for a late breakfast. They joined him in the kitchen after they smelt coffee brewing. Ashley was quiet and had trouble looking anyone in the eye. She tried to keep her head averted. Diana sat near her and rested a hand gently on her shoulder. Brian was pouring his coffee and juices for the others. When he placed an orange juice in front of Ashley, he tilted her by the chin to look up at him.

"Sorry no coffee for you till we know you are okay," then he gently kissed her on the forehead as he quietly said, "We love you Ash. You have nothing to fear, be ashamed of, or embarrassed about. It is just us here, and we have no secrets. We will go back to get whatever else you need from your house and the two of you will stay here with me," he put a finger to her mouth when she opened it to speak, "No, I insist you be here with me. We can easily go there to check the mail and whatever else needs doing."

He thought for a moment she would argue with him, but was relieved when she nodded agreement and held her arms out to hug him, joined by Diana.

He heard her whisper in a croaky voice, "Thank you little bro."

A minute later he pulled back, returning to his seat with his own coffee he asked, "Are you working today?" getting a shake from Ashley and nod from Diana. "So we need to let Tina and Ronnie know to fill in this week for you, and a replacement for you today Di."

He got surprised looks along with the requisite nods and shakes, so taking the front spot he found his phone and started the calls. As expected Christina and Veronica were devastated at the news and would have been over straight away except Brian reminded them they had the shop this afternoon. They said it will be okay without Diana today. He did promise they could come over tonight after work, he would get some food for dinner.

A few hours later after the women had more rest Brian drove them to their house to pack more clothing and turn things off. He even took a couple of coolers to empty the fridge and freezer of anything likely to go off in the near future.

While at the house Ashley received a phone call from the police to say they had found Martin in his car outside a hotel, drunk and abusive toward the police officers. He was arrested and is currently in jail, and would remain there until he is brought before a magistrate. They suggested he will be held for some time as spousal abuse and physical harm is taken very seriously. She thanked them for letting her know. Brian and Diana left her alone when she went out to the back yard. They were saddened by it all and heartbroken for her. Brian also felt that he had let them down, which added to his already present guilt over surviving his wife's departure.

The tray of the utility was reasonably full with personal items when they returned to his home. They made up the extra bed in the third bedroom so each had their own room for sleeping. It was a relatively quiet evening with their friends.

+++

Brian took the week off work, not wanting them to be alone. His boss was happy that Brian was taking some time off, having accrued so much over the past couple of years. He wasn't happy at such short notice, but let it pass due to the circumstances.

They went to the police station on Monday afternoon and signed their statements. She found out Martin had been denied bail due to the violent nature of his offences. He would be in prison until his trial which could take a few months.

+++

Brian answered his home phone on Tuesday to receive a recorded message stating it had originated from the state prison and would the recipient accept the call. He wanted to just hang up, but this wasn't his decision, so he called Ashley into the room and explained what was happening. She sighed and was wanting to ignore it, but knew she had to face reality and took the phone from Brian as he punched in the number for accepting. He moved to leave her alone but was held in place by her hand gripping his arm. So taking a seat to be with her, he was surprised when she plopped herself down sideways onto his lap and with one hand pulled his arms around to hold her waist. The call took a minute to connect through.

Brian could hear Martin's voice as he talked to Ashley, "Ashley, I am so sorry dear. I don't know what came over me. I must have been drunk because I would never do anything like that to you."

"Enough Martin. Don't say anything if you think you can squirm out of this. I am covered in bruises, literally all over me. I have stitches on my face where your fists hit me. It is only sheer luck you didn't damage anything inside or break my bones. I am divorcing you which I should have done a long time ago when you started behaving badly. We are finished. I never want to hear from you, or see you again. Do you understand?"

Martin let out a sigh and responded, "Yea, I understand. But it wasn't all me."

"I'm hanging up now, I did nothing, it was your demented brain. Don't ever contact me again."

"Wait, just that my lawyer, Bill Dollers needs a retainer. Can you please send him some money. I still have half of everything, you can't steal that from me."

"Tell him to contact me, and maybe he can sort out your half of the divorce as well," then she immediately disconnected the phone call.

Tears were falling and she put her face into his shoulder and cried. Brian hugged her as she got the stress from the phone call out of her system. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement as Diana quietly left the doorway after bearing witness to the conversation. He wished he could make all the hurt go away for the two women he loved above all others, except Jenny.

That night Brian's sleep was disturbed when Ashley joined him. He was startled when first awoken, but when his new companion just snuggled up against he relaxed. Now on his back with an arm around her, and her planted firmly against his side they went to sleep. The morning found him by himself, wondering if he had dreamt having company. In the kitchen he was hugged and thanked by Ashley for being there for her when she needed some comfort during the night. At least he had not dreamed it, in fact he admitted to himself he enjoyed having her company in bed. He guessed he was finally getting used to not sleeping alone, and actually sleeping through the night.

+++

Ashley saw a lawyer on Wednesday to get the divorce underway. Police reports, Martin in jail and her physical evidence still visible should make this a straightforward affair according to her lawyer, although he did repeat that you don't need any reason for divorces except agreement from both parties.

The three new house mates easily created a routine with only rare bumps to a smooth life. Brian tried talking to both of them assessing their mental health. He was no expert but thought they were coping well enough. By Wednesday night Ashley thought she was well enough to return to work, but was stopped by her friends saying they did not think customers being served by a bruised woman would be conducive to sales. Christina thought she might be alright by next week provided her makeup could cover most of the discolouration, and after the few stitches on her cuts were removed. These masked the real reason that they thought she would need more time to come to grips with her plight before facing the public. Ashley wasn't stupid enough to take their reasons at face value, and appreciated their concern for her. It rankled being coddled, but gave her a good feeling that she was cared about.

+++

On Thursday Brian received a call from Dan who had just remembered the phone number from Patricia for him. Brian was amazed that his friend had followed up last week after he left the bar and was helping him. He wrote the number on a pad he kept on the kitchen counter, deciding to call her next week, and promptly forgot all about it. Dan hadn't said anything except to call her, not relaying anything from his own conversation with her. He didn't think small details were all that important, just passing the number was enough.

Ashley was preparing the evening meal when she came across the pad with the name and number on it. Being of the more curious gender she just had to find out what it meant, and asked her daughter who was sitting nearby doing something on her phone. Getting the usual response of a shrug of the shoulders and a verbal, "Dunno, not mine."

She then called to Brian in the next room, "Brian, is this your note here on the pad? Were you meant to make a call today?"

He wandered into the kitchen to see Ashley holding up the pad with his note showing. It took a minute of thinking to recall what it was.

"Oh yea, it's mine. Dan from work rang today to tell me she had given him her work number so I could call her. I was going to do it next week, no hurry."

"Who is she? It just says Trish. Come on baby bro, tell me about her. Who is she?" hearing a giggle from the other side of the room, as Diana overheard the familiar interplay between the siblings.

"Oh, there's not much to tell. I met a girl at Tina's barbie before Christmas. You know, the one for the orphans and foster kids she helps. Anyway we talked a couple of minutes then Tina wanted to leave. That was all it was till last Friday night. I was with Dan, and the guys from work, at the pub when I bumped into her. We talked for a minute and that was it. I left the pub and came home."

Ashley growled at her brother in frustration at how obtuse he could be, "No, little brother. That's not all it was. A woman does not give her phone number to a stranger at a pub to then pass onto someone else if it was only a little conversation. There has to be more to it. So, give it up," having her hands on her hips and legs parted as though talking to a naughty child. They heard a laugh from the kitchen table area.

"Okay, but I'm not sure why she did it, except for some reason Dan spoke to her after I left and she gave him her work number to pass to me. Surprised me, as the last I saw her she was mad at me for some reason, and before you ask I've no idea what. She had turned away and definitely did not want to speak to me any more. Case closed. That was all it was. As far as I know she wants to just yell at me for whatever I did wrong."

He shrugged his shoulders at her, making her even more frustrated and curious. She knew her brother and he could be quite oblivious of other people, their body language and verbal clues. She then had the incredible idea of interfering again, or still.

In an agreeable voice she closed the conversation, "No problems Brian. Whatever you think best."

Diana picked up her mother's odd sounding voice, Brian just agreed with her, glad it was over and done with. Looking at her mother she could tell that the cogs were whirling around in her head, and the funny look she was giving her brother made Diana shudder. All she could do was be thankful the that look wasn't being aimed her way.

+++

Friday morning brought their problems back to the forefront when Ashley received a phone call from the lawyer representing Martin. The moment she knew who was calling she sought out her brother finding him in the back yard. Getting his attention he saw she was upset and went to her, grabbed her and sat on a deck chair with her on his lap. He could feel her body relax the moment they were together. By this time the usual introductions were over and the lawyer began telling Ashley about what was going to be happening regarding the case against Martin.

"Excuse me Mr Dollers, but that is his problem, not mine. I, and our daughter, were the victims in this. You will see what I mean if you look at the police photos of us. My brother also got hurt when he was protecting me from him. Now that I know your details I can get my lawyer to send you the divorce papers. You can do whatever needs doing with them assuming you have a divorce lawyer in your firm. Your client had talked briefly to me a few days ago and let me know you will need money to represent him. Can you message me the details of where to send the money and how much you need. Half of everything is legally his I guess, so I can't hold that back from him. That is all the contact I want regards to him. So please send the information in a message to this number, thank you and good day to you."

She disconnected the call then leaned back against me. There was no heartfelt crying this time, just a deep sadness radiating from her. Diana appeared as if by magic, although she had just been behind us out of sight, and knelt down to put her arms around her mother resting her head on her lap. Ashley sat there between us, gently stroking the top of her daughter's head with her palm.

The remainder of the day was a normal day, with grocery shopping and time to check Ashley's house again. Diana stayed behind as the siblings did the necessary running around. Ashley had been thinking about her brother while they were out, so after returning to his house she quietly went to the kitchen to find the message pad. With this in hand she went to her bedroom, shut the door, sat on the bed and made a phone call.

#5

Later in the afternoon Brian spent some quiet time in his hot tub calling out if the others wanted to join him. Ashley was still in her room with the door shut as Diana walked past on her way to join her uncle.

She called out to her mum, "Why don't you join us mum. Brian's in the hot tub and I'll be there too."

Hearing her mum call back, "Good idea sweetie. Give me a couple of minutes to change and I'll join you."

When Ashley went to grab her one piece bathers she noticed the other sets she had inadvertently packed. The way her husband had treated her and then expected that she help defend him made her anger boil. In defiance of his accusations of her being unfaithful to him made her put on a smallest bikini she possessed. It was a couple of years old and she only bought it when trying to fix her marriage, thinking all it would need was for her to be sexually alluring to regain his attention. In her mind it was only fitting she wear it for the person with whom he continually accused her of cheating.

Seeing his niece in her small bikini was an unsettling sight as she walked to the tub and settled into the water. He could appreciate her youth and beauty, especially in such revealing bikinis. He only just managed to keep his dick flaccid despite seeing Diana in what amounted to little triangles of fabric held together by strings. Even resting in the water her perky tits sat at water level, teasing him. He had trouble remembering she was his niece, his family, and shouldn't be thought of like any other woman. They relaxed together quietly talking about nothing in particular, as he tried to think about anything but how sexy his niece looked. It was no surprise when Ashley came out after a short time, what did surprise Brian was the blue bikini she was wearing. It may not have been as tiny as her daughter's, but it was certainly small for her mature figure and just as sexy. His eyes boggled at the sight of her magnificent boobs bulging out around the bikini top, and her glorious hips in the not quite covering pants. She only just hid her pubic region and when she climbed into the tub he got an eyeful of most of her glorious behind and barely covered crotch.

A giggle from his niece and sister brought him back to reality, and reminded him just who he was ogling. His blush was testament to exactly how much he had enjoyed the view. He felt totally embarrassed when his already tight bathers became tighter due to the bulge of his cock. Fidgeting to disguise his erection, he quickly reached out and turned on the pump to get the jets going. Sighing at how he had dodged a really bad moment, sure that Ashley would have been disgusted with him. He was so flustered he missed them staring at his crotch in all its glory as he stretched to reach the button to start the pump. He also missed the amused expressions of the two women, who looked at each other before hiding their laughter from him. His reaction to her display of feminine charms was exactly what Ashley needed from a man. It had been too long since any male had made her feel wanted and desired. It didn't matter that he was only her brother, his approval and attention meant more to her than any other man could ever do.