Any Other Name

Chapter 23

The drive to Tesey's place was quiet for the most part. He mumbled under his breath for the first couple of turns, seeming to try to decide between going to the police, the ER, or his place. He glanced at Eliza and River in the passenger seat, Eliza looking incredibly absent and River looking up at her concerned. Tesey was covered in blood—most of it his own—but Eliza looked mostly unscathed. He decided to get her set up at his place, talk about what she needed and wanted, and then follow up with the police.

When the fifteen minutes drive ended Tesey faced Eliza—still Anne in his mind—to make sure she was still okay with everything. He wanted to run through the plan he'd come up with, make sure she was on board before she walked into an apartment she wasn't familiar with. But when he looked at her—when his vision cleared after a brief moment of fog and when he managed to make out her face beyond the curtain of hair—he realized she was crying.

He didn't say anything as he pulled her close awkwardly over the console. River, who Tesey had come to know as extremely territorial over Eliza, didn't try to stop him. Instead, she pawed at Eliza as if she were to say, "Let me comfort you, too."

Eliza settled on the couch quietly, her eyes wide and bouncing around the room as she tried to get her bearings. Tesey tried to keep his distance and give her some space; the cut on her throat had stopped bleeding in the car, and she didn't even look aware of it in the first place. He made his way to the bathroom and sat on the toilet while he tried to wipe the blood off his face.

He wondered what she thought of his place. It probably smelled like wet dog or oil. He should have done his laundry last night, or, at least, shut the door to his bedroom. He should have gone shopping and stocked up the fridge last Wednesday as he had planned instead of eating whatever scraps were in the pantry. He was out of just about everything and had been waiting for his next paycheck so he could save as much as his last.

Now...he had offered his place to Anne without thinking of the finances. He was trying to save up for a better apartment, a better lifestyle, but having to pay for someone else would put a huge damper on that. Eliza didn't work and probably hadn't since she moved in with that ass. She'd need therapy, new clothes, food. She'd need basic necessities like tampons or whatever else his mother used to hide under the bathroom sink. Things for River. What if she was on medication? What about the cost of the doctor visit he would have to convince her to do?

Okay, he was getting ahead of himself. Eliza was sitting in his mess of an appointment. At the very least, she'd sleep here tonight, so he'd have to make up the couch. He had some spare dog food in the cupboard as treats for the ones he takes care of. Beyond that, he would have to ask her what steps she wanted to take.

When he walked back into the living room, she was still sitting in the same spot he had left her in. She absently stroked River's head, but her eyes were vacant and unseeing until Tesey stepped on a creaky spot in the carpet. She snapped to attention, back suddenly straight and eyes trained carefully on his face and hands. He wasn't all that great at first aid, but he had the feeling she wasn't looking at his shoddy work.

He cleared his throat and looked anywhere but her. "I, uh... Are you okay?"

She was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Good, good. Can you, do you need anything? A doctor? Band-Aid?"

"I'm okay."

"Okay." Why was this so hard? He sighed, adjusted his weight from one foot to another, and tilted his head back and forth while he thought. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Okay. Want to go over the logistics?"

"Of?"