Chapter 2 - Baby Steps

 

Beth didn't like the question that she was just asked, because questions require an answer and she's the only one in that room that can answer that question.

 

She shifted in her spot, still maintaining physical contact with Jon.  She leans forward and rests her head in her hands.  "This morning I flew home from New York.  When I landed, I went to the grocery store and then I went home."

 

"Did you stop at your usual grocery store?" the Captain asks.

 

"Yes, Whole Food in Santa Monica on the way from LAX."

 

"And then what?"

 

She rubs her forehead and then her hand through her hair.  She can feel her heartbeat in her belly because she's about ready to talk about what happened. 

 

"I put all my things away, made dinner, ate, did some laundry and then walked the beach."

 

"Alone?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Okay, then what."

 

She feels Jon's hand on her back and that startles her.  Without thinking, she quickly looks back at him with a not so pretty look on her face.  He holds up his hand and says, "Sorry babe, I didn't mean to scare you." 

 

She leans back on him and tucks her feet under her.  He knees are laying on Jon and then she begins to tell the Captain, "I came in the house, after I watered my patio plants.  I decided that I wanted a shower, so I took one."  She's talking and watching the Captain take notes.  He nods his head, indicating that he's listening.

 

Her anxiety is growing and so is the sick feeling in her stomach.  What comes next is something no one should ever have to go through.

 

Jon squeezes her tighter, kissing the back of her head.  "Let's back up a minute.  How do you know the man that attacked you?"

 

"We dated for a while."

 

"How long?  Were you exclusive?" he asks her, just putting all the pieces in place.

 

Beth takes a deep breath and tells him, "We dated for almost a year and we were exclusive."

 

"When did the relationship end and why?"  he looks at Jon, unaffected by his fame.  He's lived next to Richie for years, so he knows all about Jon Bon Jovi.

 

Beth, a little embarrassed tells him, "We broke up a few weeks ago.  He was supposed to meet me in Greece for a vacation and when he did, Jon was in my room when he arrived."

 

"And that was a problem?"

 

Jon takes this opportunity to get this whole conversation right to the point.  "Beth and I were engaged a little over a year ago.  She dated Dalton after we went our separate ways.  Beth and I met up in Greece and the rest is history."

 

"Was Dalton upset when he seen the two of you in the same room?"

 

Getting frustrated, Jon says, "Yeah, considering we both were naked."

 

The Captain looks at Beth and asks her, "How upset was he?  Did he assault either of you or do anything that might indicate that he was upset?"

 

Beth was quite for a minute and then starts with, "I knew he was upset because I know him.  He didn't say much, he just didn't believe that Jon and I being together was coincidence.  He left and that was it, until we went to Jon's room and seen flowers that he had delivered to Jon, with a note saying that he wouldn't let me go without a fight."

 

"Do you still have the card?"

 

"NO, why would I save that?"

 

"Just wondering.  So, what happened after you seen the flowers in Jon's room?"

 

Beth looks at Jon, and explains, "I went on the road with Jon, the note with the flowers was a little creepy."

 

Jon adds, "She came with me to give him time to cool off.  I guess it wasn't long enough."  Jon's heart sinks when he thinks about it.  If I had kept her a few more days.......

 

The Captain keeps taking notes.  When he reaches a place to pause, he looks at Jon and then at Beth. "So there was no contact with Mr. Patterson after that?"

 

Beth shakes her head no and so does Jon.

 

"So the next contact was with Miss Adams at her house, today?"

 

Beth softly says, "Yes."

 

The Captain sits back a little bit in his chair, trying not to seem over powering or intimidating because they are about ready to touch on the sensitive stuff.  He wants Beth to feel comfortable enough to open up to him and tell him exactly what happened.

 

Beth can feel the tension mounting, and it has to be in more than her shoulder because she knows that Jon is now going to hear what happened to her.  They haven't talked details and she really doesn't want him to hear them, but he's here.  And not only that, if he's going to help her get through it all, he needs to know it all.  She thinks that this is the ultimate test of love.

 

"Whenever you're ready, tell me in your words what happened.  And take you're time."

 

Beth focuses on a statue that's behind the Captain, not wanting to make eye contact and starts to tell him, "I took a shower when I got out I put on my robe and wrapped my hair in a towel.  I grabbed a washcloth off the counter and wiped the steam off the mirror.  As I wiped the steam away, I heard 'It's about time you got home, bitch' .  I turned around to see who it was, and I was hit in the face, so hard I fell on my bathroom counter."  She's starting to cry.   Jon tightens his hold on her to let her know that he was there and she was doing good.

 

Beth looking down and picking at her cuticles, continues with "When I was dazed on the counter, he came at me and covered my mouth and said if you scream, I'll cut your throat.  And then he showed me his knife.  I tried to fight him off, I tried to kick him away but he was too big.  He over powered me."  She took another deep breathe and went on, "He picked me up off of the counter and took me in my bedroom, telling me again that if I made a sound, he'd kill me.  When he dropped me on my bed, he yelled at me you cheat on me with that asshole, referring to Jon."  She wipes her tears on her sleeve.  Jon looks around and sees a box of tissues, so he gets up to get it.  Beth stays in the zone and keeps telling her story.  "Once I was on the bed I was on my back and I tried to get away, by crawling backwards.  He grabbed my ankles and pulled me to him, yelling at me again."  Jon sits back down next to Beth, putting his hand on her leg.

 

"What did he say?" The Captain asks her.

 

"He was mad that I would fly to Greece and have sex with Jon, because we never had sex."

 

The Captain looks up, surprised by what he just heard.  He needed to clarify that, "You and Mr, Patterson didn't have sex in the year that you dated?"

 

"No." was all she would say about that.

 

"What happened next?  Again, take your time."

 

"I begged him to stop, I begged him to leave, I even apologized.  He told me to shut the fuck up.  He hit me a couple more times and then pinned me on the bed.  My hands were above my head, I tried to get away again, I tried kicking, I tried begging again and then he tried to kiss me.  I kept trying to get away from his lips but he grabbed my hair and held my head in place.  Then he opened my robe and looked at me, naked and made the comment that he's never seen me naked and that I always paraded around in front of him in my bathing suit and shorts."

 

Jon puts his arm around her.  His heart is breaking listening to what she's saying, so he can only imagine how she feels.  He hopes she knows that he loves her no matter what.

 

"He was mad that he never got to feel, touch or taste me.  He was still pissed that I had sex with Jon in Greece and he asked what was wrong with him, like why didn't I have sex with him.  I tried to tell him nothing, but couldn't because he had his hand over my mouth; pressing hard.  I kept thinking God please don't let this happen.  And then he asked me if I was ready for him?"  She wipes her eyes and nose and her crying is almost out of control, but she reminds herself to breath and she maintains it for a while. 

 

"He reached down and unzipped and unbuttons his pants, while fumbling with a condom, he says that he waited forever to have me, I wasn't taking his opportunity from him."

 

"What did he mean by that?"

 

"He waited almost a year to have sex with me, he was having sex with me whether we were together or not.  At that point, I could feel myself fading and I went to a place where no one could hurt me.  He kept asking me if he was doing it the way that Jon did it, he asked me if I like it when Jon fucks me hard.  I managed to get one hand free and hit him a couple of times in the head, but that pissed him off even more.  And when it was done, when he was done, he made me take a scalding hot shower and wash him off of me.  When he was leaving he told me that I better not tell anyone and that if I did, he could make me disappear without at trace."

 

Beth looks over at Jon, hoping to see anything other than what she did.  The tear that rolled down his cheek was a small dagger to the heart.  She knows that he's hurting, but she doesn't want to see him hurt as much as she is - even though she knows she has no control over it.  She wants him and needs him to be her strength.  They look at each other and he can't stop from reaching out to her, grabbing her and holding her tight.  Jon may play a badass, but when his Beth is hurting, he is too. 

 

The two of them stay locked in an embrace for what felt like a lifetime to the Captain, but they didn't care. 

 

"And then he left?" The Captain asks, trying to get as many details as he can while it's still pretty fresh in Beth's mind.

 

"At some point he did.  I stayed in the bathroom until I thought it was safe to come out.  When I did, I made sure he had left, locked everything and armed the alarm."

 

"What did you do after that?"

 

"I sat on the edge of the bed in the guest bedroom until I got up the courage to call Jon.  I called Jon and the rest you should know."