Chapter Fourteen
Chanel
“What? Get the hell outta here!” Xavier laughed as we strolled through the tables of the downtown farmer’s market.
“No, I’m serious!” I squealed. “You know Beyoncé told Jay to have a free option for TIDAL, but his ass, being a man, probably was all ‘A’ight baby, I got this,'” I said in my mock goofy male voice. “And you know Bey was like, all right. And look what happened? Shit is a mess. He shoulda listened to his wife.”
“And how you know it wasn’t Bey who encouraged him to make it exclusively for pay?” he countered.
“Well, I don’t know for sure, but I know it in here,” I pointed to my chest. “Because women are just more intuitive. Bey knew what would’ve worked better.” I nodded, sure of my argument.
“Whatever, man. Don’t trip on my man Jay; he ain’t no lightweight when it comes to business either.”
“Granted,” I conceded. “Jay’s no slouch in his own right. They do make a hell of a team, the two of them. He just might need to listen to his wife more.”
Xavier threw his head back and laughed, and I loved the sound. Wanted to hear more of it.
“Oh, this is the place I was telling you about,” I stated, excited to see the cookie spot with the best chocolate chip cookies I’d ever had. You could tell they were made from scratch and with love. After we’d awoken that morning, Xavier asked me what I wanted to get into. Since it was Sunday, I needed to get my groceries for the week, and I wanted my favorite cookies, so the farmer’s market it was.
“What kind you want?” he asked.
“All of them. You’re laughing, but I’m serious,” I giggled. I had a serious sweet tooth.
“These damn things can’t be all that good.”
“Nah, see, now you’re trippin’,” I mocked in a fake deep voice, imitating him.
“Can I have one of the chocolate chips? My friend here doesn’t seem to think you guys are the real deal,” I asked the older man behind the counter.
“Here you go.” His face wrinkled as he smiled.
“Try this.” I practically shoved it in Xavier’s face.
He shook his head but took a bite. I followed the movement of his lips, my mouth watering to lick off the crumbs left behind on his mouth. Unfortunately, he used a napkin to do that.
“A’ight, you may have a point. That is delicious.”
“I told you,” I gloated. “Can I have a dozen, six in two separate boxes, but make three of them in one box the vegan ones?”
“A dozen?” He grinned.
“Don’t judge me. Anyway, you said you were stopping by your mom’s later, so one box is for her, and the three vegan cookies are for Gabby. She loves this place too,” I explained.
“You’re buying cookies for my mom?”
I shrugged. “I just thought you’d like to take them over to her. Who doesn’t like cookies?” I went to hand cash to the clerk behind the counter, but was stopped by Xavier’s arm.
“I got this,” he said as he handed the clerk his card.
“Why? It’s supposed to be a gift.”
“Oh, well, I’ll tell her it’s from you.” He tossed me a wink.
I grabbed the boxes from the counter. “Fine, but I’m eating the rest of that cookie.” I snatched the one he’d taken a bite of.
“That’s fine. I ate your cookies last night anyway.”
My eyes bulged, and I nearly choked on the bite I’d taken. I couldn’t even respond before we were interrupted.
“Ms. Chanel!” I heard my name and turned to see a familiar face.
“Noah?” I’d remember that face anywhere.
“Hi!” He waved before looking over at Xavier. He scrunched his face, as if trying to recall where he remembered Xavier from.
“Noah, where’s your mo—?”
“Noah! You know better than to run off—” Anne Marie’s scolding abruptly stopped when she noticed Noah was talking to me. “Chanel.” Her voice was full of surprise, and then I saw panic rise in her eyes. Her eyes slid over to Xavier as he stood beside me, and the recognition on her face was immediate.
“Anne Marie, how are you?” I questioned, bringing her attention back to me.
“She’s fine,” a male voice responded.
The man appeared to be about five-eight, dark brown hair, medium build. He looked a few years older than Anne Marie. He was handsome, but the look in his eyes told me he could also be dangerous. I knew this was Michael, Anne Marie’s husband—the one she’d called me late at night to escape from.
“And you are…?” Michael asked, directing his growing suspicion toward me.
“Xavier Grant,” Xavier answered, although the question was directed at me. “And this is Chanel.” He stuck out his hand for Michael to shake, moving slightly in front of me. That move both pissed me off and made me feel grateful at the same time. Michael begrudgingly shook Xavier’s hand.
“How do you know my wife and son?” He again posed that question to me.
I looked at Anne Marie, whose eyes were filled with a fear I was all too familiar with. She’d pulled Noah by his shoulders against her front. He’d gone quiet, as if he sensed the tension among the adults.
I smiled what I hoped looked genuine and answered, “We met a few months ago here at the farmer’s market when Anne brought Noah for one of the children’s events. I was with my niece and nephew.” I felt Xavier’s entire body go rigid at the lie; I squeezed his hand in mine when he gave me an are you serious? look.
Michael stared at me for a few moments, then took a quick glance at Xavier, who was still slightly in front of me. He appeared mollified by that answer when he exhaled and wrapped a possessive arm around Anne Marie’s neck.
“Yeah, she’s always bringing him to one thing or another. Says it’s good for his adjustment, since he still an only child. But we’re working on that, right, Anne?”
She winced when he asked that, but quickly schooled her face to one of pleasantry when Michael turned to look down at her.
“Yup,” she responded. “N-Noah would like another brother or sister.”
Noah’s eyes were downcast. He didn’t even look up at the mention of his name, totally unlike a child his age. Trauma has a way of changing one’s psyche that way. I’m sure by now, he knew the best way to avoid his father’s ire was to become as invisible as possible.
“I bet he would. It was good to see you, Anne Marie. Hopefully, I’ll see you and Noah around. It was nice meeting you,” I said to Michael.
I tightened my grip around Xavier’s hand, signaling that it was our time to depart. It took a few nudges, but eventually, he turned to head for the exit. I willed myself not to turn back and look at Anne Marie or Noah, although it pained me to walk away.
****
“What the hell was that!?” Xavier yelled once we got in the car.
I didn’t even look over at him. I closed my eyes and counted from ten backward down to one, before opening my eyes and facing him.
“That,” I pointed over my shoulder at the place we just exited, “was me trying not to get a woman killed.”
His face crinkled into confusion and anger. “How the hell was that? You saw the look on their faces. They’re scared as fuck of him. And we’re just going to pretend like he isn’t beating the shit out of his wife? What if you’d been by yourself? I saw the look he gave you before I stepped up.”
I sighed, rubbing my forehead. “He wouldn’t have done anything to me.”
“And how the fuck do you know that?”
I rolled my eyes skyward, hating this conversation. Hating that I knew all too well the inner-working of abusers.
“I just know it.” I didn’t want to explain all the details of my knowledge.
“That’s not good enough. How the hell do you know what that man is capable of? How do you know he wouldn’t have hurt you on the spot?”
“And what would you have had me do? Confront him on the spot?”
“Of course not. Call the police? You know that man is abusing his family.”
A sarcastic laugh escaped my throat, and I shook my head in disbelief. “You think it’s that easy, huh? Call the police? Or what? Why can’t she have one of her male relatives handle him for her, right?” I’d heard all those suggestions too many times to count.
“Well?” He looked at me as if that was exactly what Anne Marie should’ve done.
“You don’t get it,” I shook my head.
“Explain it to me. Why can’t she just fucking leave?” His voice was heated.
“Do you know the many ways abusers manipulate their victims?” I began feeling my anger rise. “Do you know they spend months—hell, even years—isolating their partners from family and friends, so they have no one to turn to in times of need? Abusers don’t hit victims on the first date. They wine and dine and are some of the most charming people you will ever meet in your life. All of that gains trust, all the while slowly gaining control over their victims. By the time the first hit does come, victims believe it’s their fault. So they try to behave better, dress more conservatively, not talk back, not get the attention of other suitors as to not set off their abuser’s jealousy. Anne Marie has been with her husband for years. She’s a stay-at-home mom, which means he has control of all the finances. She feels trapped—exactly how he wants her to feel.”
Xavier’s jaw clenched as he thought it over.
“So yeah, just telling her to leave sounds simple, but do you know when the most dangerous time in an abusive relationship is?” I fully turned to make sure I had Xavier’s full attention, waiting for him to look at me.
“When the victim tries to leave. It’s the time when an abuser feels most compelled to act out violently, because they’re losing control. Nine times out of ten, when a victim of domestic abuse is killed by their partner, it happens when the victim finally left and tried to move on with their life. And in Anne Marie’s case, it’s even more critical because she has a child with him. That increases the likelihood of violence and even death. So no,” I ran my hand through my hair, turning from Xavier to look out the windshield. “I didn’t tell Anne Marie to leave or call the police because I don’t want her or Noah to die.”
I pressed my back against the seat, feeling depleted after that explanation. I closed my eyes, waiting for Xavier’s response. It was quiet for a long moment until I heard the car start and we began pulling out of the parking lot.
I was too exhausted to open my eyes after that exchange. I was also worried about Anne Marie and Noah. It’d been nearly two months since I’d last heard from her, right before she left the women’s shelter. I saw the look of fear in her eyes when Michael asked how we knew each other. I feared what Michael would do if he found out I was a divorce attorney. I was afraid of it all, and I’d been fearing for her in the two months since I’d last spoken to her. Carrying the burden of fear was tiring, so after I’d spilled all that to Xavier, I felt drained.
Eventually, I did open my eyes, looking over at the man in the driver’s seat. His jaw clenched in a way that looked almost painful. I looked out the window to notice we’d passed the exit back to my place.
“Why’re we headed back in the direction of your home?” I questioned.
“’Cause I want to spend the rest of the day with you.” His voice was low, filled with something I couldn’t pinpoint.
“I thought you were going to visit your mom today.”
“I can go see her tomorrow.”
I teased, trying to lighten the serious mood, “Are you trying to kidnap me?”
He simply grunted and kept driving.