Made For Another (Caroline Dawson Series - Book 1) (5 page)

"Not a lot. I hope you don't need much. I have a note he wrote me with his phone number and name and a short note. I just got off work, can I come by tonight?"

"Sure, I'm just putting on a light dinner now, why don't you pick up a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and come eat with me."

"You're a life saver, Aunt Carrie," Sarah let out a sigh of relief. Maybe that was being a little dramatic, but she couldn't think of anyplace else to turn.

~ # ~

On the way to her Aunt Carrie's house, Sarah wondered what would happen next with Tony. She had seen her friends become involved with men who were abusive, and she wanted nothing to do with it.

There was something wrong with a woman who was willing to stay with someone who was abusive to her. When Sarah had talked with her friends who had been in that position, they always wanted to justify it. Sarah suspected that more than anything, the women had self-esteem issues, and for some reason thought they either didn't deserve to have someone who treated them nicely, or that they wouldn't be able to find anyone better. So they stuck around.

But violence, or even the threat of violence, was something that Sarah would not put up with. So she wondered what she might say to Tony the next time he called. In truth she didn't really want to see him again. She didn't like the way she'd felt when she was with him last night.

And what was he doing grabbing her at the door? That was totally uncalled for. She had done nothing to make him angry with her, and she did not like being manhandled.

In fact, that was the second time she had to ask him to back off. If warning signs hadn't come up before, they certainly were waving directly in her face now.

~ # ~

Carrie was warming tortillas while Sarah chopped the salad makings. It had been a couple of weeks since they had last talked, so it was nice to catch up on things.

"School's okay. Sometimes I get a little lost in that organic chemistry class and I'm a little worried about getting a passing grade, but everything else is pretty much under control for the moment," Sarah reported to her.

"How about you, Aunt Carrie. Found any cute guys yet?" Sarah knew all the sordid details of her aunt's very messy divorce, so she knew it would probably be a while before Carrie would want to date again. But Sarah couldn't help teasing. "There are plenty of fishermen around, and it's crab season, you know, so they're all hanging around town."

"Right, so all I have to do is wave some nasty old fish around or look under the rocks and they'll come skittering out." Carrie laughed. Sarah liked seeing her aunt laugh - especially after the mess she'd been through.

"Well I hear they have some new cologne at the market in town, Eau de Dungeness, I should have picked some up for you when I got the wine." Sarah ducked as Carrie threw the hand towel at her.

"Just what I need, a crusty old fisherman complete with barnacles. You know what they say, Old fishermen never die..."

"...they just smell that way," finished Sarah with a smile. She loved her Aunt's silly, punny sense of humor and word play. It reminded her of her dad. It must have been a family thing. It certainly made her feel like she was at home.

"Let's do the set-up here on the counter," Carrie said, transferring the fried fish over to the serving platter. "It's easier."

They made their fish tacos, grabbed wine glasses and moved over to sit at the table so they could watch the sun setting over the ocean. Thank goodness the days were getting longer, just a month before and it would have already been dark.

"So where's the sample of writing?" Carrie asked her as they stacked the dishes in the dishwasher. Sarah had been dreading giving it to her. On one hand she hoped it would verify what she suspected, but on the other hand she was reluctant to hear the worst. That it would show that maybe she hadn't been such a good judge of character.

Even though Aunt Carrie usually worked with jury selection and forgeries, that meant she also knew a lot about personality profiles. Depending on the details of case and the likely approach of the Defense, she knew how to spot certain personality characteristics in the jurors' writing that could help or hurt the case the Prosecution was building.

Sarah took the note out and handed it to her aunt.

"Now where did I put my glasses?" Carrie asked.

"Did you lose your cheaters again? I swear, I'm going to tie them to your wrist or something!"

"Oh, it's not that bad. I just misplaced them. I don't really need them anyway," she insisted.

"Right. That's why you have a pair on every table and you still can't find them," Sarah teased her aunt.

"Sarah! You know I only use them for detail work, when I want to see something up close."

"But that's the only kind of work you do."

"True enough, but remember, I'm NOT working. I am taking a year off to figure out what I want to do next."

"Just make sure it's not detailed work," Sarah sassed her with a laugh, handing her a pair of non-prescription reading glasses.

"Shall I tell you about him?" Sarah asked her.

"No. Actually, it'
s better for me to just review this first without any input. I mean, I know you're concerned, and you said he got a little weird, but let's not color my interpretation just yet. I may ask you some questions for clarification, but give me a few minutes first."

Carrie started jotting down notes on a pad next to her. There wasn't a lot to go on, just the number, his name and his "Call Me" note.

Sarah sipped her wine and watched as the sun slipped totally behind the clouds at the horizon. The spectacular colors had already begun to spread across the sky. She loved the way the underbelly of the clouds picked up the pinks and oranges against the dark blue-gray of the tops. Sometimes the entire cloud turned brilliant hot pink. But tonight she got the benefit of both pinks and blues.

Carrie took off her glasses and set them down. She rubbed her nose and took a long slow sip of her wine. She turned to look at her niece.

"So... how well do you know this guy?"

"We went out a couple of times."

"But there's something about him that made you nervous or concerned? And that's why you asked me to look at his handwriting, right?"

"He was okay the first time we went out, but he got a
bit too forward with me. He apologized and I went out with him a second time and that's when things got weird."

"
Mm hmm. Sarah, you need to stay away from this guy. He has several things in his handwriting that make me concerned for your well-being."

Sarah looked at her aunt and raised her eyebrows. "So tell me."

"Notice that the first stroke on these small letters start way below the baseline? That shows that he has a lot of resentment - some that he may not even be aware of. 

"Do you see this small tight circle here at the beginning of his capital T and the C? That indicates he has a lot of jealousy. He is likely to be possessive of those things that he thinks are his. "

"Oh, that's exactly how I felt last night. He was acting so jealous, like I belonged to him, but we've only been dating for a week or so."

"Did he exhibit anger? Did he pick a fight, or was he moody?"

"Yes, he tried to pick a fight with a guy at the bar because he thought the guy was flirting with me."

Carrie frowned and looked back at her notes. "See these kind of slashing marks here as the t's are crossed, sort of slanting downward and pointed? Those indicate someone who is very domineering, and the pointed end is kind of like a knife, indicating that the person can be cruel. 

"The way he makes his small letter a's and c's  shows that he has some anger towards women. It doesn't necessarily mean that he will fight with them, but he will always try to find one who is a challenge to him. So, that means if you try to hold him off, it just makes him want to be with you all that much more."

"So then, when I tell him no, it just makes him more determined?"

"Yes, that could certainly be one result. Why, has he forced himself on you?"

"Well, he started to get fresh, but I told him to stop. But he's still been too pushy with me. I don't like it. It makes me nervous. He just doesn't seem to want to take NO for an answer."

"Sarah, do you like this guy?"

"Aunt Carrie, I really wanted to. He can be funny and he can be charming - and he's even kind of exciting. But then he gets moody or angry or pushy, and that part worries me."

"I want you to promise me that you're going to stay away from him. He has way too much anger and resentment, and you don't need to become the focus of it. There are lots of other guys out there who will treat you nice, so there's no reason for you to stay in any kind of relationship with anyone who isn't respectful of you or your wishes."

Sarah nodded. She knew that her aunt was right. Now all she had to do was figure out how to get out of her date with Tony without getting him even more angry with her.

~ # ~

Sarah was putting away laundry from the day before when the phone rang. She glanced at the number and didn't recognize it. She reached over and picked up the handset.

"Hello?"

"Sarah. Tony. What time I should pick you up tomorrow night?"

"Tony, I don't think I should go out with you again. I'm not sure that we're well suited for each other."

"Sarah, what are you talking about?"

"Tony, I don't think we should see each other again."

"Sarah, you trying to dump me?"

"Tony. Please listen. I don't think I'm your type. I just don't think we should see each other anymore."

"Sarah," he said pleadingly, "Aww come on. It's not like I ever hit you or nuthin."

It was like red lights and warning bells all went off simultaneously in Sarah's head. Her heart started pounding wildly. O-M-G, did he really say that? Was that a threat - or was it a warning of what was to come if she stayed with him? Sarah was speechless. She hung up the phone.

When it rang a moment later, she refused to answer it. The phone rang another five more times that evening, but Sarah refused to even look at the phone, letting the calls go to voicemail.

If it hadn't been creepy enough before, this thing with Tony was definitely creepy now. She didn't think he would do anything stupid, but she couldn't know if he would show up at her apartment, and that was the last thing she wanted to deal with.

Sarah knew she needed to leave, and the sooner the better. The first person she thought of was her Aunt Carrie. She knew she'd be welcome as well as safe.

Sarah called and made arrangements to stay there over night.

Thank goodness she had a place to go.  She'd figure out what she needed to do tomorrow. At least she'd be safe tonight.

It had been rough staying at her aunt's house the previous night. Sarah had appreciated having an option, but it was always hard to sleep away from home - no matter how comfy the sofa was!

She'd gotten to Aunt Carrie's around 8:30, and they'd sat talking until about 11 when they were both yawning so hard they could hardly keep their eyes open.

Sarah missed her family, especially her mom, and it was nice to have Carrie there with an older woman's perspective. Plus Aunt Carrie was very smart. She understood law, and she'd given Sarah advice not only about men, but also about getting a restraining order.

At first she thought that Aunt Carrie might have been over-reacting, but Sarah had her own misgivings, and she knew that Carrie was only looking out for her.

It had been a long day. She was tired and anticipated getting off early - even if she wasn't looking forward to dealing with the court system to take care of the retraining order.

Sarah was putting away the supplies in the storage closet when she heard a soft scraping sound behind her. The air in the room suddenly felt cold as she noticed the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"Sarah."

Tony! Holy Shit! She froze at the sound of his voice. What was he doing here?

She spun around as Tony closed the door behind him.

She stared at him - not moving. He stared back, standing directly in front of the door.

Sarah forced herself to breathe as she felt the walls in the tiny room suddenly closing in on her.

"Sarah. Why did you hang up on me? Why are you being mean?"

"Tony." She said, trying to keep the terror out of her voice. "What are you doing here?"

Think. She had to think.

"I had to see you, Sarah. I had to find out what was wrong."

She was stuck. And there was nothing she could do. He was blocking her only escape. Don't make him angry.

"I told you. I don't think we should see each other," she managed to speak calmly.

"But I want to see you. And you know you like me.  Why are you being difficult?" He raised his voice a notch.

Sarah was doing her best to stay in control of her fear. She wanted to run, but there was no way around him.