Becky fumbles around with the jewelry box on her dresser. The deep blue dress she wears falls to her knees. Her hand shakes from nerves as she finds the earrings she was looking for. She's excited for her date but nerves are getting the better of her. Her eyes look to her phone that has been vibrating for the past few minutes. A smile graces her face knowing Zola is just as excited as her. She sits down at her vanity then to put the finishing touches on her make up. Zola is supposed to be at the house in twenty minutes.
"Momma," Ella calls, bringing Becky's attention away from her makeup. She glances behind her in the mirror. The sight freezes her in place. Behind her Shawn stands in the doorway with a gun placed to Ella's temple. Becky's brain manages to make her body turn around slowly. Fear has her body running on autopilot. Becky begins to move her lips but Shawn stops her.
"Ah, ah, ah, Rebecca. You aren't going to do anymore talking. It's my turn," Shawn instructs as he pulls Ella with him to sit on the bed. Tears stream down the girls face but she doesn't dare to make a sound. "You see Rebecca, I'm sick of this. Ella is my daughter, too. So, I get to have her and you don't get to move states away. You're my wife no matter what anyone else says. I'm not going to let anyone stop that," Shawn states erratically. His arm swings around with gun in hand while he talks. Sweat dampens his hair and shirt. The stench of alcohol wafts off of him. Becky knows that no one is leaving the room alive if Shawn has his way.
"Shawn,..." Becky tries to reason with him but he cuts her off.
"What did I just say, Rebecca? Damnit, why don't you ever listen?" Shawn shouts. He rushes from the bed to hit Becky across the face. The force of the hit knocks her off the vanity bench. Shawn begins to pace the room, leaving Becky lying on the ground. "You were the problem the entire time. You're the reason our marriage ended, not me. I didn't do anything but marry a stupid bitch who doesn't know her place. Don't you dare move," Shawn orders as he turns on a dime. Out of the corner of his eye he had seen Ella shifting on the bed. She was going to try and either get to her mom or out of the room. Shawn points the gun directly at the girl. His attention is so focused that he misses a figure enter the doorway.
"Shawn," Zola states tentatively. He needs to get the other man's focus off of the two blondes in the room. When Becky had stopped replying to his texts he knew something was up. He jumped in his car and dialed the police on his way.
"Zola? Man, what are you doing here?" Shawn asks confused why his old college friend was in his wife's home. The surprise causes his hand holding the gun to shake.
"Shawn, you need to let Ella go. She doesn't need to see this," Zola suggests, trying to capitalize on the other man's surprise. He's actually shocked that Shawn doesn't know he and Becky are together, but he's thankful nonetheless. Zola's certain the situation would be a lot worse if he did.
"You're probably right. Ella, leave," Shawn commands in a booming voice. Ella jolts in fear but quickly recovers and scurries out of the room. "So, which one of you should I kill first. What?...did you really think I didn't know about the two of you? I bet you were sleeping with the slut while we were in college. Maybe you've been together our entire relationship," Shawn ponders after letting both Zola and Becky know he knows about them.
Zola's heart sinks when he realizes his earlier assumption was wrong. Shawn crosses his arms then to show that he's weighing his options. The movement gives Zola an opportunity. He rushes at the other man, tackling him to the ground. The gun clatters away from the scuffle. Zola ends up on top. His fists pound into Shawn's face over and over again. He doesn't realize that Shawn had gone unconcious at some point.
"Zola! Stop! Please, Zola!" Becky screams. Her voice pulls Zola out of his anger induced trance. He looks down and sees the damage he had just done. Nausea floods his system at the sight of the bloodied man below him. Zola stands and looks at Becky. Fear swims in the blonde's blue orbs making Zola want to kick himself. 'She's never going to feel safe with me', Zola thinks to himself. He doesn't realize that Becky fears Zola will hate her because she made him loose control.
There isn't time for discussion as the police rush into the room. An officer approaches Becky and escorts her away to give a statement. Paramedics strap Shawn into an ambulance, leaving Zola alone with a different officer. The questioning is simple enough. The fact that he made the call allows for him to be less of a suspect. During the questioning, Ella appears and plops down next to Zola on her mother's bed.
"Zo?" Ella whispers as she tucks herself into the man's side. She needs someone to hold her but her mom is being checked out by paramedics.
"What's up, El?" Zola replies gently. He fears that Ella will be afraid of him just like Shawn.
"Can I sit with you?" Ella asks uncertainly. Her eyes downcast. Zola doesn't say anything. He just picks the little girl up and places her in his lap. After wrapping his arms around the little girl, Zola continues the interview with the officer.
It takes hours for the scene to be assessed and statements made. The police quickly realize that the domestic dispute was caused by the man being taken to the hospital. Once the gun is processed for fingerprints, they'll know for sure that Shawns to blame. It's nearly 12 when everyone clears out of the house.
"Do you want me to take her up stairs?" Zola questions in reference to the crashed out 6 year old on the couch. Zola and Becky have yet to talk about what happened hours before hand.
"That'd be great, thanks," Becky replies. Relief floods into her; she didn't think Zola would ever talk to her again. Becky follows behind Zola and Ella up the stairs. He gently lays Ella down on her Harry Potter comforter then steps into the doorway. He watches the blonde mother go about her nightly routine. Becky turns on her daughter's nightlight and places a kiss on her forehead before closing the door behind them. She grabs Zola's arm before he has a chance to go back downstairs.
"Could you stay? I don't want to be here alone," Becky admits. Her voice sounds small and vulnerable. Zola's heart breaks hearing the normally confident woman sound like that.
"Of course. I'm actually going to sleep better knowing you and Ella are safe. I was going to secretly sleep on your couch tonight," Zola jokes. He truly means what he's saying, but he also doesn't want Becky to think he's only staying because she asked. He wants to be there.
Becky gives him a small smile and heads down the hall towards her room. Both have to shake the thoughts of what happened there out if their minds. Becky heads into the bathroom to change. Zola only wears sweatpants and a t-shirt so he chooses to forgo finding other clothes. He sits at the end of the bed and waits for Becky.
The sight of her leaving the bathroom makes his breath catch in his throat. He didn't think it was possible for her to look anymore beautiful than in that moment, her hair tied up loosely in a bun and face freshly washed. They both climb into her bed. Zola wraps an arm around Becky's waist and drapes the other one over her stomach. She lays her head on his chest. Sleep quickly consumes both of them. Ella finds them in the same position at some point in the night. She had been woken up by a nightmare and didn't want to sleep by herself. The little blonde crawls into bed beside her mom. She snuggles into the older woman's side and wraps her hand around Zola's arm. The three stay that way through the night.
