Under Attack 2022 #1
{{ Monday, August 8
Los Angeles
LAPD }}
Dom and I have two reasons to be out west again. One, Lisa got Dom booked on a new E! show, something called Hollywood Backstage. She says it's to talk a bit about how Deep Cover 2 isn't coming out, mainly for Dom to say a very public 'no comment' and distance himself from the accusations against his co-star Elias Stone. That's taping tomorrow though. Today, we are meeting with Detective Jeff Morrison, the detective who we spoke with weeks ago in Lisa;s office and first told us about the allegations. Dom has spoken to Detective Morrison once or twice since then, for updates, or for the detective to ask a follow up question. For this though, Detective Morrison requested us both to see him in person at the police station. We didn't want to involve Nora in this sort of thing, so we gave her the few days we would be in California off, and traveled with Heath on our own. It wasn't nearly as troublesome as I thought it would be, but I don't think I could do it during work.
Anyway, the three of us are here at the station. Heath is in his carrier, a light blanket draped over it to keep the bright lights from his eyes. He ate right before we came, so he should be quiet for a while. We're waiting for Detective Morrison in his office, a clerk led us here.
“Did he really not tell you anything about what this is about?”
“Not much. All he said was there was some more evidence and he needed to speak with us both.”
I shake my head. “I still don't understand why the police are involving me in this. I keep telling them I was never alone with the guy.”
“I dunno. Maybe they think you might have seen something and forgot, or...” Dom shrugs. “Or that you just don't want to talk about it if there was something.”
“You know me, baby. I would have said something immediately, not a year later!”
“I know that, but they don't.”
I sigh. “Its still ridiculous. This really isn't the kind of thing I should be dealing with. As if I need more reason to have another nightmare.”
Dom leans close to me from his chair and puts his arm around me. “I know, cakes. I keep asking them to leave you out of it. But I guess they feel they're doing their job thoroughly.”
“Well-”
I am interrupted by the office door opening. Dom sits up straight again as I look up. Detective Morrison walks in, carrying a laptop.
“Good morning, sorry to have kept you waiting. It's always something around here.”
“No problem, we haven't been waiting too long.”
Detective Morrison grins as he sits at his desk, setting the laptop in front of him. “Good. First of all, thank you for coming to see me face to face, I know it's a bit of a trek for you.”
“Actually it worked out, I have a TV thing booked tomorrow.”
“Oh. Lucky that.” He glances down at Heath's carrier. “I see you have a small tagalong, so I'll try to keep this as brief as possible.”
“He just ate before we came in, he'll be asleep soon. Pay him no mind.” I grin.
“Noted.” Detective Morrison grins back. “Well, I'll just jump right in, then. In the course of our investigation into the allegations against Elias Stone, we've discovered some security footage that seems to corroborate the first alleged victim's story.”
My hand involuntarily goes up to cover my mouth. Dom gives a questioning headtilt.
“I thought you guys said all the security footage was erased?”
“We thought so. But this footage is from a shoot you guys did at a different studio, for one scene.”
Dom's eyes widen a bit. “Oh riiiight. The one in the restaurant that we didn't have the setup for.” Detective Morrison nods. “They don't delete old footage?”
“They do when they need storage space. But that studio stage hasn't been used since your film. The set is even still there. The only recording that gets done is a few seconds every night when the security detail does their rounds. I have the footage here.” He pats the laptop. “It's dated September seventh, twenty-one, which was around three weeks after you started filming, right?”
“That's right.”
Detective Morrison starts to open the laptop. I don't know what's on that video but I know I don't want to see it. “If it's okay with you, I'd rather not watch this.”
“I will say that it doesn't show an actual attack. Just... well, some intimidating behavior.”
“All the same, I'd rather not.”
Detective Morrison flicks his eyes towards Dom. I can't see his face but I can assume the stare. The detective nods. “Very well. I'll just describe it.”
“Thank you.”
He closes the half-opened laptop and pushes it aside. “Alright. The view is of a hallway just outside the filming area of the set. I'm not sure who arrived in the hallway first, the clip sent to me by the detective who found it begins with Miss-uh, Jane One, leaning against the wall. Likely on a break. Stone is already in the frame and approaches her. They speak a moment, he leans in towards her, his hand on the wall next to her, blocking her from moving away if she wanted to. They speak some more, her face cant be seen as he talks, but her head can be seen nodding. Stone then backs away, grabs her hand, and pulls her a few feet down the hall. Not super aggressively but she did seem reluctant. He then opens a door, that she claimed was his dressing room. He enters. She looks both ways down the hallway, somewhat apprehensively, before following him inside. Obviously, there were no cameras in the dressing room. This is where she claims the assault took place. Going by the timestamps, forty-two minutes later, she walks out alone. Brushes her hair back, adjusts her shirt which was rumpled, and then she jogs off down the hallway, out of the view.”
I had closed my eyes halfway through this recount, and shake my head at the end.
“That's pretty compelling, I'd say....” Dom's voice sounds hollow, I can tell he's having a hard time accepting this about a man he worked closely with for six weeks.
“That's what we thought. It's not a smoking gun... but it's smoke.”
“Did she say where she ran to?” Detective Morrison looks at me suprised. I surprised myself speaking.
“Outside, to the parking lot. Says she drove straight home and showered.”
I just nod, I don't know why I asked. I am strangely jealous of this unnamed woman – she got to immediately clean up. I couldn't do that until hours later. But... my rapist is in prison. I guess that's the tradeoff. Hopefully she gets that closure, too.
“This leads me to my question for you. Mr. Teller, now that you've been reminded about shooting a scene at this different studio, is there anything else you can recall about Stone that may have struck you as odd?”
“Actually, a little bit, yeah. The date. I do recall that about three or four weeks in, some of the crew started avoiding Elias backstage, when they didn't need to be near him for the job. I just assumed it was because he's generally a grumpy guy and they were annoyed with his attitude. Maybe this woman told a few people, and...?”
“Perhaps.” The detective makes a note in his notebook. “And my other question for you...” Morrioson pulls a photo out from a folder that was tucked under the laptop. “This is a screenshot from the video, enhanced a little. Do you recognize the woman?” He slides the photo to Dom. I turn my head, I don't want to see it. A second or two later I look, and Dom is holding it, considering. Then I see his face drop. He knows her.
“Yeah. She's on the lighting crew. Dammit...”
“Do you have any reason to believe she would have made this up?”
“None. Whatsoever. She worked on the first Deep Cover film crew, too, I've known her a while. She's a good woman. Hard worker. Not a vindictive bone in her body.” Dom slides the photo back, face down.
“Thanks for that.” Morrison makes another note, then looks up at me. “And Ms. Lancaster? Anything else come to mind that could be relevant?”
I shake my head. “Still nothing. I keep telling you guys that was never alone with him and I was only around him a few times. I didn't even go to that studio set. It was only a few days. Right, Dom?”
“Yeah, three I believe. And Bree stayed home most of that week, she was early in pregnancy and not feeling well.”
“Very well. As always, if you think of or remember anything else, please call me.”
“Of course.”
“Can I ask you something, Detective?” I have to know.
“Um... sure.”
“Why do you guys keep involving me in this? I've already told you numerous times that I barely know the man and only saw him a handful of times.”
“Common police procedure, ma'am. Sometimes people forget things, then remem-”
“Stop. Tell me the truth.” Morrison blinks in surprise. “Is it because of what happened to me last year?”
Morrison sighs. “Alright. It is a common procedure. But... we thought you might be more open to helping us bust this guy, when most female witnesses tend to be hesitant to come forward. So, I guess I keep hoping any small thing will trigger a memory.”
I lean forward. “Let me explain something to you, okay? If Elias actually did hurt those women, I want more than anyone for him to be punished for that. The way you described that video, it sounds likely. But asking me a dozen more times isn't going to pull up something that isn't there. I wish I could help you, I really do. But I honestly don't know anything. I would appreciate it if you would leave me out of this going forward. I have a hard enough time dealing with my own experience.”
Halfway through my speech, the detective started nodding. “Yes, of course. I understand, and we'll do that from here. I apologize if we've caused you any undue discomfort.”
“You have.” He winces a tiny bit. “But I accept your apology.”
Dom stands up, I can tell he's upset that I'm upset. “Will that be all, then?”
“Yes, thank you.” Morrison stands, and the men shake hands. I get up, and pick up Heath's carrier. I can hear him snoring. Baby snores are the cutest.
“Please keep me updated, will you?”
“Of course.”
Dom nods in acknowledgment and opens the door for me. I follow, putting the carrier carefully through the door to not bump the door frame and jostle my son awake.
As soon as we step outside the station's door, Dom takes the carrier from me, then wraps his other arm around me.
“I'm proud of you.”
“You are?”
“The way you stood up for yourself? Of course I am! You're right, there's no reason to keep asking you the same question over and over again. You were on set, what, maybe six days total? I thought there must be a reason, thorough investigation or something. I can't believe he admitted it was just because of last year! Putting you through hearing all this, knowing it had to be upsetting you! I... I just can't believe the audacity of it. I should file a complaint.”
“You don't have to do that. It's over. I understand what he was trying to do. But it had to stop, and it will.”
We get to the car and Dom sighs as he sets the carrier on the hood while I dig for the key. “Alright. If you're sure."
“I'm sure.” I finally have the key fob dug out of my purse and press the button. The doors beep. “What's her name?
“Who?”
“Her. The woman in the video, the accuser. You said you know her. What's her name?”
“Oh... it's Jenna.”
“Jenna. Thanks.”
Dom just nods and grabs the carrier from the hood. He didn't have to ask why I wanted to know her name. She experienced something similar that I did. I just needed a name to keep her a person in my mind, not just a vague human. Dom opens the door to secure Heath into the carseat base for his carrier. I get in the passenger seat and exhale. At least now I won't be directly involved in any of this Elias Stone mess. I believe Detective Morrison will leave me out of questioning from now on. I can watch from the sidelines like anyone else. Well... almost anyone else. I am still a world famous wrestler, married to a just as famous actor.
{{ Tuesday, August 9
Hollywood
E! Studios}}
Today Dom and I are in a familiar place, the E! studios. Dom is scheduled for an interview on a new entertainment show called Hollywood Backstage. They advertise interviews with celebrities where they are asked about the behind the scenes happenings. The producers contacted Dom's agent Lisa about getting him to appear, to talk about the Deep Cover 2 'scandal,' as the show referred to it as. It struck both me and Dom as some kind of trashy 'newz' show, like a tabloid TV show. But, Lisa thought it was a good idea. She suggested he use the platform to distance himself from Elias Stone and then steer the conversation to what he may be doing next. Not that he had any projects lined up, but he can tease, right?
I'm in the green room with Dom and Heath. As much as Nora is a huge help with him at home, and when we went to Rise to Greatness, I've really been enjoying having him with me all the time during this little trip. I am not appearing, I currently I have my little Nugget in a Moby wrap carrier, as recommended to me by Nora. It really takes the strain off your back and is probably the best $60 I've spent on this child so far. It helps that he really likes it. He's awake and looking around. I'm watching as Dom adjusts the casual sports jacket he's wearing for the show. It's dark tan, over a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. He turns and gives me a smile, his arms spread out a little.
“How do I look?”
“Edible.”
“Not quite what I was going for, but I'll take it.” I giggle and he comes over and kissed my cheek, then the top of Heath's head. He then sighs and folds his arms across his chest. “Is it weird if I'm still questioning if doing this show is a good idea?”
“No. I was wondering that, too. It seems counterproductive to try to distance yourself from the movie and Elias, by talking about it.”
“That's what I said. But Lisa says that by saying something on the record once, I won't get bothered about it anymore, and I can move forward. I just have a bad feeling about this one. Have you seen this show?”
“No. You know I barely watch any TV other than wrestling and anything you're on.”
“Well, I skimmed through a few episodes. They're... let's say a little sensationalistic.”
I make a face. “Well, it's a little too late to back out now. Just don't let them bait you.”
“That's the plan.”
A light knock raps on the green room door, and a producer wearing a headset pokes her head in.
“Mr. Teller? Two minutes.”
“Thanks.” The woman leaves. “You coming watch?”
“Of course. As long as he stays quiet.” I jiggle Heath a little. He's typically quiet unless he's hungry or tired. Right now he's neither so it should be fine.
I follow Dom out of the green room and to the stage. There is a line marked on the floor that I need to stay behind to watch. I find a spot as much out of the way of the crew as I can be, and lean against a wall. This is a taped show, not live, so if Heath does randomly squeal or something, they can just reshoot the segment. I'm hoping that doesn't happen though. A producer near the main cam counts down from 5 on his fingers. At 2 the pretty blonde female host puts on a smile that rivals my fake one. A second later, the show's theme music plays I cringe, cause it's terrible. It sounds like a parody of nightly news music. Luckily it's only about fifteen seconds. I have a bad feeling about this as the host begins.
“Hello! And welcome to another edition of Hollywood Backstage! I'm your host Madison Michaels, and tonight, we have all the news you've been asking us for about the Deep Cover Two Scandal! Not only do we have news, but our guests are from the ill-fated film. First up... he's been om TV, in movies, and even made a few professional wrestling appearances with his wife. Please welcome our first guest, the star of the Deep Cover movies, Dominic Teller!”
The janky music plays again, and Dom takes his cue to walk out onto the stage. Madison stands and they shake hands. They both sit, her in a fluffy armchair, Dom on a couch. They're both cream colored.
“Thanks, Madison.”
“Thank you for being here. First of all, I gotta ask or I might be fired... how's the wife and baby?”
“Bree and Heath are just fine, thanks. They're actually here backstage right now.”
“I know! I met them both earlier and I have to say you three make a very attractive family.”
I roll my eyes. By 'met' she means that she walked past me and stopped for approximately four seconds to say hi and barely glance at the back of Heath's head. This woman is such a stereotypical Hollywood fraud. I think I hate her.
“Thank you. I'm clearly bringing up the rear.” Dom smirks.
“Oh, clearly.” They both laugh.
I shake my head, looking down at my son. “Promise me you'll never be as vapid as that woman, Nugget.” He just looks up at me and grins. Little bub has no idea what I'm saying. I smile at him and turn my attention back to the show.
“Now, let's turn to business, yeah? Deep Cover. The first, I mean. Very successful, made you and your co-star Kennedy Street household names.”
“To be fair, Kennedy already was pretty well known from wrestling.”
“True, true. But in this movie she showed she can do more than just kick ass. And you? Well, most critics agreed you proved you can do more than look good shirtless.”
Finally the woman made a point. A lot of Rope Break criticism was that it was just a vehicle to show off bodies, namely Dom's. I don't see how that's a bad thing, but I am considerably biased.
“Anyone who thought that's all I'm good for clearly missed my previous TV cop drama, where I believe I was filmed shirtless a grand total of once, and that's only because my character was shot and it had to come off to treat it.”
“I remember that! I'm guessing film critics don't watch much TV.” Madison waves her hand dismissively.
“Likely not.”
“So. Deep Cover Two. What can you tell us about it, now that it's been confirmed to be shelved?”
Dom sits back and sighs. “Well... Kennedy and I's characters are married. Her brother who, was imprisoned in the first film, is still running his operation from behind bars. She and I are charged with finding out how. There has to be an inside man in the prison, right?”
“Right...”
“So Maggie – Kennedy – pretends to have turned back to her brother's operation. She's really working with us, but there comes a point where it looks like she's even double crossing us, even me.”
“Still can't tell us the end, can you?” Madison leans in, like they're talking secrets.
“Nope. That part of the contract sticks. Just because the film is shelved now doesn't mean it won't be seen somehow in the future. Circumstances could change.” I saw a tiny cringe on Dom's face, I don't think anyone but me would have caught it. He just gave her an opening to the accusations. She would have brought it up anyway, but he made it easier.
“Circumstances that are really what you're here to discuss, right?”
“Well-”
“Those circumstances being the reason Deep Cover Two was shelved. The sexual assault accusations against one of your co-stars, Elias Stone.”
“That is the reason, yes.”
Madison nods, and makes her face look more serious. “Can you tell us about his role in the film?”
“Sure. Stone portrayed the prison guard who is Troy's inside man. We, the police, turn him to our side, to put down the operation for good.”
“So it's safe to say he's in a good portion of the movie's scenes?”
Dom nods, I knew he expected this type of question. “Most of them, actually. His character plays both sides.”
“And that's why the movie was canned rather than reshot, right?”
“Exactly. There was no budget for that.”
Madison shakes her head. “Shame really. The plot sounds really juicy.” Dom sits up a bit, starting to glare. Madison puts a hand up. “But... completely understand the decision, and personally I feel it was the right one. Considering the accusations.”
“Most people agree.” Dom grabs the glass of water set out for him and has a drink. He seems perfectly calm and collected, but that's because he's an actor. I know he's agitated.
“Now. I have some questions for you that might be uncomfortable, but I hope you'll be as honest as you can.” Dom just stares at her. “The accusations against Elias Stone. Sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape. Did you see anything while working with him that make you believe any of this is true?”
“No. On set and while filming Elias was as professional as anyone else. Off set... he came across a little standoffish at times, but that's all.”
“So no offhand comments, odd actions, that might point to-”
“Not that I saw.” Dom leans forward, becoming more stone-faced. “But let me say this. No actor knows what any other actor does off set. I have my dressing room, Kennedy has hers, Elias has his. I can't speak to what the man did or did not do when I wasn't around him.”
“So you're saying it's possible?”
“Anything is possible, Madison. Why don't you just ask me what you want to ask me?”
Madison nods, swallowing. She got called out on her leading questions and doesn't like it. I smirk.
“Alright. The line I was going down is that out of most people involved in the movie and the scandal, you have a unique perspective on this issue, given the incident with your wife last year. She-”
“That's not up for discussion.” God I love that man.
“Fair. But the public know what happened. It would seem that if anyone involved with the movie would know what a guilty man looks like, it would be you. Dominic... do you think Elias Stone is guilty?”
Dom starts to answer, then stops. I know what he thinks, we discussed it last night after hearing about the new video evidence. But Lisa instructed him not to say it.
“What I think doesn't matter. I'm not the police, and I'm not a jury.”
“Alright. Let me ask you this, then. Would you be comfortable with him being alone with your wife today?”
My jaw drops and I glare. Dom doesn't hesitate there.
“No.” Madison's eyes go wide, like he just admitted something. “But. That's because my wife isn't comfortable being alone with any man other than myself and her brother. If she's uncomfortable, I'm uncomfortable.”
Madison sits back, she seems annoyed that Dom didn't fall for her 'gotcha' bait. “That's fair. I appreciate your candidness.” Dom simply nods, but the look on his face makes it clear he's done with this topic. “Moving on then.”
“Please.”
“What's next for Dominic Teller? Is there anything next?”
“Right now, no. I'm not working on anything. Just been at home, enjoying the dad stuff. Bree has been getting ready to go back to work, so we're just focusing on that, and doing everything we can with our son.”
Madison brings back the smile and easy-going attitude. “Being a first time parent is magical, isn't it? When I had my daughter, I felt like I was walking in the clouds. Every day she did something new and it was just amazing.”
“It's definitely much different than I thought it would be, in a good way. I think my favorite part though, is seeing the way Bree has grown into being a mother. I always knew she would be a great one, she's always loved and been great with kids. But with our own child... it's another level. A whole new part of her opened up and it's just beautiful to watch.”
I see Dom glance in my direction, just past the main cam. I smile, almost in tears. Why doesn't he tell me these things in private? Madison puts her hand over her chest somewhat dramatically.
“Oh my gosh. That's such a beautiful thing to say. Maybe you should move to doing rom-coms.”
Dom laughs. “I don't think that's my wheelhouse, but thanks.”
“You never know. Plenty of actors jump genre's and become even bigger stars.”
“I'll run it by my agent.” He laughs again. I know he'd never go for that type of movie, he hates watching them, he'd never act in one.
“You said you have nothing in the works now, but what would you like to do, once you do get the urge to get on-screen again?”
“You know... I think maybe I'd like to go back to TV.”
“Seeing you on a weekly basis instead of once or twice a year? I can dig that.” Madison smiles big again. “Why?”
“It might sound unlikely, but it's a much more relaxed and steady schedule. You film mostly in one place. There are episode deadlines, but in most cases it's not as fast paced or time-crunched as film deadlines.”
“I have heard that. Well, I hope everything works out well for you, either in movies or TV. And let's hope that somehow Deep Cover Two does get seen.”
“That would be great.” The unspoken meaning there being that if the movie is released, it would likely mean that Stone was cleared. “Thanks for inviting me on.”
“You can come back anytime. Hopefully next time with a new project announcement.”
“We'll see.”
The theme music plays again and they both stand and shake hands. As soon as the music ends (thank all existing gods) the recording light goes off. Madison immediately drops the smile and Dom's hand and walks away. It's like she's a totally different person.
Dom shakes his head at her, then comes over to me.
“What'd you think?”
“She tried to catch you, but you dodged it pretty well.”
“That's what I thought.”
“Why don't you say things like that about me, to me?”
Dom smiles, a little confused. “You mean I don't? I thought I did.”
“Not like that. That was-”
The terrible theme music plays again behind us. I make a face. “Ugh. Could that music be any more gaudy?”
“It is pretty bad, isn't it?”
In the quiet between our conversation we hear Madison speaking. “-our next guest, Elias Stone!”
I spin around so fast, Heath's weight on my front nearly makes me keep turning. “What?!”
“You've got to be fucking kidding me...” Dom glares at the set. Just then a producer appears and grabs both of us gently by our arms, nudging us away from the set area. Once we're in the hallway, Dom pulls his arm away from the guy and he takes the cue and lets me go, too.
“What the fuck is going on here, Mike? No one told me Stone was gonna be here, too!”
“Well, it's the theme of the episode. The whole movie scandal. Pretty sure that was in your info packet.”
“Yeah. For me. There was no mention of him.”
“You don't have to speak to him, or even see him. We have you on opposite sides of the building. There-”
“Where is your boss?”
“Excuse me?”
“The executive producer. James Sutton. Where is he? I want to speak with him.”
“Oh. Right. I'll uh... just go see if I can find him.”
“You do that.” The producer walks off in a hurry. Dom turns to me, angry. “Can you believe this shit?”
“I knew something was off about all of this. Do you think Lisa knew?”
“Of course not! She would have never sent me to do this if she knew they were booking it this way. They had to have misrepresented the whole thing. I'm gonna call her while I go look for this producer. I don't trust that guy Mike as far as I can spit.”
Heath starts wiggling, like he normally does when he's about to get noisy. It's close to lunch time. “Okay. I'll go back to the green room, this one seems about to get irritated.”
“Alright. See you soon.” Dom goes in one direction down the hall, pulling his phone out.
I go the other direction back to the green room we were in earlier. I unwrap Heath out of the carrier and set him in the stroller we brought him in with. There's a prepared bottle in the bag so I dig it out and hand it to him. He puts his hands on it but he can't hold it up steady yet, so I keep my fingertips on the end for him. I talk random nonsense to him while he eats. He seems to eat better when I do that. Five or ten minutes go by, and when about half the bottle is gone, Heath pushes it out of his mouth. I hold it up, seeing what's left.
“Good boy, over half this time! We'll save the rest for later.” I put the cap on the bottle, shove it into my bag, and get up to put the bag back on the little shelf under the stroller. As I'm squatting trying to make it fit, I hear the door open. I assume it's Dom so I don't look up as I speak.
“Sort things out?” Now I look up... and stop. It's not Dom. It's Elias Stone. I stand slowly, the stroller behind me.
“Oh, Bree. Hey... I was uh, looking for Dom?”
“Sure. He went looking for the producer here. Down the hall that way.” I point to the left.
“Great, thanks.” He starts to turn away, but then stops, and steps into the room. I don't like this at all, but he's blocking the only exit. “Actually, I can talk to you, too. Good to see you by the way, its been what... since the wrap party?”
“I think so.”
“You look great.” He peeks around me at Heath in the stroller, It's not directly facing the door, but Heath can be seen from the angle. “Cute kid. Boy, right?”
“That's right.”
“Congrats. Sons are great, aren't they? I got one, with the ex. He's three.” Ex, huh? I'd like to speak with her if I could. I bet the cops have...
“That's nice.” I force a smile.
“Anyway, so yeah, as long as you're here, let me talk to you a minute.” Elias steps into the room a few steps more. He's a rather imposing guy. Not as tall as Dom, but larger built. More stocky than chubby, if that makes sense. He looks like if he ran into a wall, the wall would crack, basically. I can't back up because Heath's stroller is behind me. I curse myself for not standing behind it in the first place, and then immediately curse myself again for thinking for one second about putting my son between me and a dangerous person.
“Uh, sure. What about?”
“I'm sure you can guess.” I feel myself nod, even though I didn't want to. “I heard what Dom said out there in his segment. I know he can't say what he really thinks, agents and studios want him to stay neutral, I get that. No hard feelings there. That's what I wanted to tell him. But you...” He points at me. I don't like it. I cross my arms to try to feel less exposed. It doesn't really help. “If you came out and said something in support of me... the media would have to run with that, right?”
“I don't think I should get involved. I-”
“No, no, its the opposite. You're exactly the person who should get involved! You're an assault survivor. Everyone knows that. If you tell them I'm not that kind of guy, that you know I didn't, I couldn't do what they said, that would be a big point in my corner.”
“I'm sorry. I'm really not comfortable with that. I'd rather just stay out of it, I even asked the cops to leave me-”
“Wait, the cops talked to you?” Shit. I nod. “Goddamn, they got everyone, huh? Listen, I'm sorry if my request brings up bad memories or whatever, but I got almost no one on my side here. This whole movement the last few years gives us actual innocent men almost zero chance to prove it!” He steps closer to me again, close enough to reach and touch me if he wants. I look back at Heath in the stroller and think about pushing it out of the way, or circling around it.
“With all due respect Elias, none of that is my problem. I can't help you.”
He glares at me. I decide going around the stroller is the best option. I step sideways and around it, but he sidesteps too and blocks me, right in front of me. I gasp as I nearly run into him.
“Come on, Bree. I'm asking you... no, I'm begging you to give me a hand here. I didn't do what they said! You know that, right? You know me!”
“No, I actually don't know you at all. And I would be a lot more comfortable if you took about three steps backwards.”
Elias looks at the space between us, not very much, and puts his hands up. “Shit, you're right. I'm sorry. Here.” He makes a show of taking exactly three steps backwards. Small ones, so it didn't really create that much extra space, but it's still better than before. “Good? Sorry for spooking you, I really am. I just really need some help here. Anything. The media is dragging me, that's why I did this show! It's trash TV but it's something for me to state my case. But I need someone, someone like you, to defend my name!”
“I already said no. Not accepting that doesn't really make you look any better.”
The glare returns. “Goddammit Bree! This is serious here. My career, my life!” He grabs me by the shoulders. I yelp. “You have to-”
“HEY! GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY WIFE!”
Elias lets me go so fast that he actually pushes me backwards slightly. I hug myself, backing away as far as I can til I bump into the stroller again. while Elias spins around and gapes at Dom. The last time I was so relieved to see Dom was when he showed up at that office right after I was assaulted. Heath starts crying, the yelling had to have scared him.
“Listen man, I'm sorry, okay? I came in here looking for you. I need your help. Both of you, but mostly hers. I know you can't say what you really think about all this, but she can. I'm just asking her to-”
“I said no. I said no.” I shake my head, and make myself shut up, so I don't just keep repeating myself. I can feel a panic attack coming, this is reminding me way too much of that day, even though all Elias did was grab my arms, not even that hard.
“You heard her. She said no. Or do you really not know what that means?”
“Okay. Okay. I get it. It's too much. I'm sorry. I'm just desperate-”
“I don't give half a fuck how desperate you are. Let me make this very clear to you, okay? You're going to leave this room. And if I ever see you come within arms reach of my wife or my son again? You'll be shitting your own teeth for a week. Got that?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I got it.” Elias turns to me, hands up still. “I'm sorry, okay?” I just nod, I don't trust myself to speak. He turns back towards Dom, and Dom grabs his arm and pushed him roughly out of the door.
“Don't forget what I said. In a month, in a year, in a decade. Ever.”
Elias just nods again and storms off. Dom spins around to me and I run up and he hugs me tight.
“Are you okay? Did he do anything?”
“No... just what you saw. I'm fine... I think...” It just then registers to me that Heath is still screaming. I pull myself away from Dom and pick up my son. I cradle him to my shoulder, and bounce him gently. “Shhh, it's okay Nugget, it's over. Shhh, Daddy was just mad a moment but he's okay now. It's okay Heath, shhhh” He calms down some, but as soon as he does, my own crying starts. Dom notices immediately and hugs me again, both of us really.
“You're not okay.” I shake my head no. “We should call Morrison.” I nod yes. “I am going to sue every single person in charge of setting this shit up today. They put you directly in harms way of a...” Dom exhales hard, he can't say the word, and I'm glad he doesn't. “Every. Single. One.” He holds me tighter, for a few minutes until I calm myself down and collect myself.
What happened to me is never going to not be a part of my life, and I hate it.