Rollie Tyler stood up carefully and took off the red blanket that had
been wrapped around him. He picked up his wet sweater and looked at
it. It was soaked through, too wet to wear. He threw it in the back of
the ambulance. He looked at his ruined leather coat, the one she had
bought him so long ago. An EMT walked by. ³You can keep the blanket if
your clothes are still wet.² Rollie nodded his thanks as he wrapped
himself up in it again.
He moved to stand next to Detective Sanchez. ³Anything?² ³Not yet.
They¹ll keep looking.² Captain Vanduran turned to look at him. ³You
look exhausted Tyler. Go home. Sanchez will contact you tomorrow with
any updates.²
³Yes, sir,² Rollie replied hunching the blanket up closer around his
neck. He took one last look at the murky depths of the lake. He had a
bad feeling. He walked slowly towards the van, his mind on Angela
Ramirez. She had said to him that nothing had changed. She never was
good at dealing with her emotions. Always tried so hard to hide her
feelings from him. He knew it would be a tough path to cross getting
through whatever it was they were about to go through.
When he got to the van he saw her sitting in the back, staring at the
computer. He walked over and put his hand on her head. She looked up
at him, tears in her eyes. He bent down and kissed her on the top of
her head.
He moved quietly to the front of the van and started driving. They
arrived at the warehouse within minutes. He pulled the big black van
into the carport. He looked back at Angela. She had not moved. He took
her hand in his, and put his arm around her shoulders and guided her
out of the van. She stepped away from him and walked to the spot where
Victor Loubar had hit her. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she put
her head in her hands.
Rollie contemplated taking her to her apartment, but he knew she would
kick him out and he wasn¹t about to leave her. Besides, it would be
good for her to face her demons right away. If he let her alone, she
would bury it and never get over it.
He guided her gently into the lounge and sat her down. He made some
herbal tea. As she sat in the lounge sipping the hot drink, he moved
quietly upstairs to get a sweater. He stopped and looked at the unmade
bed, and her clothes laying strewn about the floor. A tear escaped his
eye as he turned away. ³If they don't get him...²
He returned downstairs with sheets, blankets and pillows. He laid them
out on the floor. She just watched with a cold look in her eye. He
removed her coat and her boots.
³I should go.²
³I know the floor isn¹t all that comfortable, but I didn¹t think you¹d
want to stay upstairs.²
Her lip quivered when he said that. He pulled her onto the floor and
covered her with the blanket.
³I should go.²
He wrapped his arms around her. ³No. I want... I want you to stay
here.²
³Why? So you can baby-sit me? I¹m a big girl. I can take care of
myself.² she said starting to get up.
³Angie, I know you can take care of yourself. But I want to take care
of you. Things HAVE changed. They have.² The last sentence was a
whisper.
³Bu‹²
³Shhh. We can talk about it in the morning. OK?²
³I¹m so sorry. ³
³There¹s nothing to be sorry about. Close your eyes.²
Rollie held Angela as tight as he could as she drifted off to sleep.
He lay holding her staring at the ceiling. ³What now?² Mira had said.
³What now?² He looked down at the sleeping woman. He thought about all
the times she had acted jealous. He smiled. He thought about the
e-mail he always read behind her back. He had told himself it was for
fun, a game, but he had to admit to himself now that it wasn¹t just
for fun. He wanted to know if there were men in her life. And if there
were he wanted them gone. He didn¹t want to lose her. He really
didn¹t. He had always told himself that his feelings were paternal.
Protecting the kid sister Manny kind of left him with. But he realized
after this afternoon‹no he didn¹t realize, he finally accepted the
fact that he loved her. As more than a friend or a partner or a
sister.
He drifted off to sleep wondering how to say it. Wondering if he
should. Maybe he should wait after... everything. ³ What next?² He
couldn¹t seem to get it out of his head.
