Waves

Part 22

Eve walked through the metal detectors at the Ohio State Penitentiary, pausing as the light turned from red to green. "You're good," the guard grunted, shoving her purse back at her after he dumped the contents of it onto the floor. "Glad to see the customer service here is still world class," Eve glared, clipping her visitor's badge onto her suit jacket and shuffling down the sterile hallway to the private visitor rooms.

Taylor Rooks was already waiting for her inside, two correctional officers flanking him. "There's my knight in shining armor," Rooks smiled. "I brought you some fresh reading material," Eve laughed, motioning for the officers to leave the room; sliding the two new books she bought for him across the metal table.

"Oh, this looks like a good one! We have no science fiction in here. I think I've re-read Dune at least four times this month. Thank you Ms. Wilson, I appreciate you always thinking of me." Rooks scanned the jacket of one of the books, already looking forward to reading something new.

"Taylor, I'm here to talk to you about some things that have developed with your case," Eve stated, going into the vague details of Connie's accident and the change to the defense strategy. When she finished, she sat back and clicked her pen; nervous energy causing her knee to bounce.

"So what you're telling me is that I'm staying in here," Rooks remarked. "No, not necessarily. The DNA evidence still doesn't clearly tie you to the murder, and that was never properly disclosed during the original trial. Neither was the gap in the security footage or the customer who changed their witness statement." Eve tried to keep her tone optimistic but Rooks was both too intelligent and too hip to the legal system to be easily swayed.

"You think this is going to go to the court of appeals instead of an exoneration," Rooks asserted. "Yes. Without Connie, I don't know that we have enough for a full vacancy," Eve sighed, "I'm so sorry Taylor."

Rooks held up his hands, shaking his head at Eve's apology. "You and your peers have poured more energy into helping me than anyone has in 20 years. There's not a damn thing you need to apologize for." They reviewed a few more notes before Eve buzzed the guards to take Rooks back to his cell. "Hang in there Taylor. There are people all across this country rooting for you," Eve urged him, making her way out of the prison to head back to Cincinnati.

As time marched on, the new normal Eve found herself in transitioned from fever dream to warped actuality. While there was nothing she liked about the situation, she sought small ways to protect her peace in the meantime; throwing herself into work, upping her therapy, and spending more time with her friends. The support system she had rallied around her in ways she could have never imagined, and it filled the void she felt from distancing herself from Joe.

The space she'd asked him for had done wonders in terms of her anxiety, but the time they did spend together was inevitably impacted by Lana. It left both of them longing for the tender normalcy of before; dinner spent laughing instead of discussing possible custody agreements; walks around the block without worrying about being followed, and of course, the physical intimacy that disappeared.

It was after one of Eve and Joe's joint therapy sessions that the status of their stalled sex life came up. The session itself had actually been the most positive they'd shared; a major breakthrough achieved when Joe was able to deduce how and why his apologies were falling flat with Eve.

"I was thinking about what you said a couple weeks ago about me apologizing and saying you had to forgive me. You are right; you don't have to forgive me and it's not fair for me to expect that of you. I've been looking for the easiest route to absolution, and I've been doing that without fully bearing witness to how this situation has impacted you," Joe said, "so I need to work on that. It's going to take a while for you to trust your heart with me, but I think with time, we can get to that point."

Their counselor Deborah raised her eyebrows slightly; obviously pleased with Joe's conclusion. "Eve, what do you think of that? Does Joe have an accurate read of how you're feeling?" Deborah questioned.

"Yes, he does," Eve offered, "and it means a lot to me that he came to that realization on his own. I think that putting our relationship in a safe harbor like you mentioned before will give me the space and time to move past this. At the end of the day, Joe's actions, while disappointingly sloppy, didn't occur when we were together. I can't crucify him or this baby for that."

The couple soon wrapped up with Deborah before heading for the hidden service elevator they used to exit the building discreetly. Eve took in the dark circles under Joe's eyes and gently reached for his hand. "Are you sleeping at all?" she asked softly. "Not really. I think it's the lack of Flossy's constant presence in my personal space," Joe joked weakly.

"I'm sorry," Eve grimaced, snaking her arms around his waist. "Don't be. It's my own doing...maybe sometime you could let me borrow him for the weekend," Joe smiled. "That can be arranged," Eve replied, placing a kiss on Joe's cheek before departing the elevator.

"Where did you park? I don't see your car," Eve frowned. "I had to get dropped off. Totally forgot to plug in my car last night," Joe shrugged, whipping out his phone to order an Uber. "I'll drive you home. We can stop for a snack on our way to your house," Eve suggested.

Making their way to one of Joe's favorite taco spots for a quick dinner, the mood was lighter than it had been in weeks by the time Eve parked in front of his house later that evening. "You don't have to walk me to the door Eve," Joe laughed as she held his hand up the porch steps. "I'm a gentleman Burrow. What kind of date would I be if I just dropped you off at the curb?" she snickered.

Leaning against the door, Joe pulled Eve in for a kiss; his hands instinctively migrating to the small of her back. She sighed into his lips, the familiar feeling of being in Joe's arms pushing out the turmoil that surrounded them as he tightened his embrace. Eve responded by slipping her tongue into his mouth for a few moments before he breathlessly pulled away.

"Do you want to come in?" Joe panted. Eve mashed her lips together, searching for the right words to let him down gently. "I—I don't think that's a good idea Joe," she whispered, closing her eyes. Joe tried to hide the disappointment in his face, digging around in his pocket for his keys.

"I'm just not there yet baby," Eve sniffed, "I'm sorry. I really wish I was." Joe nodded, rubbing his thumb over her hand. "Are you ever going to let me touch you again?" he questioned. "I just did Joe," Eve muttered. "That's not what I'm talking about," Joe chuckled, already dreading the impending answer.

"Look, I'm really trying here Joe. No one wants to have sex more than I do. But my brain isn't capable of just totally shutting itself off from the outside noise we're dealing with. It won't always be this way. I just need a little more time," Eve mumbled.

"It's okay Evie. You don't need to explain yourself. If you're not ready, you're not ready. I can be patient," Joe chirped, kissing the top of her head. "Give me another kiss before I go," Eve demanded, already kicking herself for ruining what was their first semi-pleasant evening they'd had in forever.

Joe smirked as he tangled his hands in Eve's hair and drew her in for one more deep kiss; pecking her repeatedly before giving her ass a light squeeze. "Text me when you get home please," Joe pleaded. "I will, promise. I love you Joey. Tonight was really nice...it felt normal." Eve beamed, grateful that Joe didn't seem too upset at her rebuffing his invitation to spend the night.

"Yeah, it did feel normal. We're gonna get to a point where we are back to that, all the time," Joe grinned. Blowing him one more kiss, Eve climbed back into her car and noticed that she had a few messages from Lara, each one indicating something had happened with the Rooks case.

"Sorry, I was at an appointment that ran late and my phone was off. What's going on?" Eve's eyes were wider than saucers as Lara said the words she could have never imagined hearing in her wildest dreams.

"A hospital in Erie just called CPD; they had a Jane Doe admitted three weeks ago that they have confirmed is Connie Banks—Eve, she's alive."