Love Drunk Sims 4 Style: Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen: Going Platinum!

***WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SENSITIVE SUBJECTS!***

Dexter couldn't take his eyes off of Lainie's bruised skin, some old and some new, her eyes were smudged with charcoal coloured tears from her eyeliner. "What did he do to you?" Dexter mumbled, on the verge of tears himself, but so very angry that the well was dry.

"Dexy..." She looked scared, she looked sad, but most importantly she looked broken. She was no longer the strong, peppy Lainie that he knew and loved.

"I mean it freckles, I'm gonna kill the bastard!"

"No!" Lainie blurted out in a panic, "No Dexy don't, it's just a misunderstanding that's all!"

"A mis...how could these bruises on your body possibly be a misunderstanding?" Yeah how freckles? Explain it! There was no valid reason why a man would leave a woman in this state, no reason at all and looking at her now, this was not the first time it had happened!

"Alex likes it...rough. He doesn't know his own strength sometimes..."

"What a load of fucking shit! Evelyn this is abuse!"

"No..."

"YES!" Dexter's raised voice made her flinch and he regretted it straight away, she was definitely a shadow of her former self.

She headed for the door, "Dexy please just let me go and have a shower..."

"No!" This time he was a little quieter but still utterly furious, "No Evelyn, you tell me what he did to you, he's not getting away with it!"

"I told you, anything you say or do he takes it out on me!" She whispered, and there it was, the most honest thing she'd said since he came into her room.

Dexter took hold of her waist gently as she trembled and began to sob, "Oh Dexy I don't mean to make him mad but...he's so jealous! He hates that we're friends!" We're not friends, he thought, we're soulmates baby! That's why he's jealous, because he can never have what I have with you!

"This..." Dexter looked her body up and down, "...is no fucking excuse for being jealous freckles! This is unac-fucking-ceptable!"

He pulled her closer to him and could feel her whole body shaking, no this was definitely unacceptable! "Evelyn baby you're shaking, is this really how a man should treat a woman? Huh? Would your father ever treat your mother like this? I know mine would certainly not and he raised Ash and me the same way!"

"Dexy I don't know what to do!"

"DUMP HIS FUCKING ASS!" Her body jumped in his arms, he really did do a number on her! "Baby I'm sorry I...I'm so fucking angry!"

"Dexy..."

"No Evelyn it's not right!" What she said next broke his heart,

"Dexy I'm sorry!"

He pulled her even closer and kissed her on the forehead, "What are you sorry for? You have nothing to be sorry for baby! Not ever!"

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this!"

"You didn't, I'm in this because I...care very deeply for you!" And your boyfriend tried to kill me.

"I told him we're friends, he wants me to stop being your friend. I don't think I can do that Dexy, even if it makes him mad..."

"Why should you? Do you dictate to him who he can and can't be friends with?" He had to tread lightly, he didn't want her to retreat and pull away from him, he had to get her to see sense.

"No, he doesn't really have many friends!" That didn't surprise Dexter in the slightest. Lainie wept for a moment, and he just held her. He had to do something, or Alex might try to kill her and succeed this time!

She wriggled out of his grip and looked him square in the eyes, "I thought I loved him..."

"This is not love Evelyn, this is control and you are worth so much more than this! You deserve someone who will worship you!" Like me!

"Alex is all I've ever known!" And now things were becoming clearer.

"What do you mean?" He knew exactly but he needed her to spell it out for him.

"Alex is the only man I've ever been in a serious relationship with, the only man..." Dexter pulled her close again, indicating that she didn't need to go on. Alex knew this, and he was using it as an excuse to abuse her, because she didn't know any different!

"Evelyn!" He placed his hand on her beautiful face, their lips so close, "This is not how a relationship works! Men do not behave like this!"

"I know..."

"Then dump his fucking ass, baby please!" Lainie closed her eyes and inched forward ever so slightly and pressed her lips softly to his. What was he doing? This was not the time or the place, he had to stop this, but he felt that she needed affection! Proper affection, to show her that men can be gentle, loving and tender! That what Alex was doing was wrong!

He should have stopped it but her sweet lips almost drove him over the edge, after a few seconds he composed himself and drew back. Just a brief peck on the lips that she obviously needed, she tasted of candy floss, even sweeter than Katie. "Evelyn, I would never hurt you, you do know that right?"

"Yes Dexy I do, I just need you to hold me, please? Oh God if only I hadn't invited him to that party and used him as a cover..." What? What did she mean?
"Freckles I don't understand..."

She pulled back and quickly talked over him, "I really need to shower, will you wait for me?"

"Of, of course!"

"Please don't leave me Dexy? I feel safe with you!"

"I won't, I promise!" Lainie was always so independent, this was just breaking his heart to see her like this.

Dexter stayed with Lainie all night, after dinner she took his hand and dragged him to her room. She curled up in his lap and wouldn't let him go. Not that he wanted to, this was bliss tinged with sadness and anger. He wanted to call the police but Lainie wouldn't have it. "This is assault freckles!" But it fell on deaf ears, she somehow believed that she provoked him. They spent the rest of the night talking nonsense.

He went along with it for her, he didn't want to totally blow it. He needed her to realise that Alex was dangerous and she needed to get as far away from him as possible. But getting her to understand that none of this was her fault proved to be difficult. "You smell so nice!" She mumbled, so did she!

"Miss Robertson are you trying to seduce me?" That got a little giggle and it was a relief to know that Alex hadn't completely broken her.

"I just...I wish I'd told you who I was!" Oh we're having this conversation!

"Me too!" Dexter replied softly.

"I blew everything! I ruin everything I touch!" She sighed.

"No freckles, you don't! I think that everyone makes mistakes and we're all culpable!"

"I meant it, every word!"

"What?" Please let it be the texts, please!

"Every word I ever sent you, I meant them!" Dexter smiled sadly and replied with a whisper,

"Me too!"

"Will you stay here with me tonight? Please?" How could he refuse her? Besides, this felt familiar, was he remembering the night he got drunk and slept here? He could only hope!

"I will, I'm here for you freckles, for as long as you need me!"

"I always need you Dexy, you're my cuddle bunny!" Her what? Oh God did he want to say it, he wanted so badly to tell her he loved her and scoop her up, run away...as far away as possible! Get her away from Alex fucking Wilder!

He kept his promise, he stayed even though he couldn't sleep. His mind was far too crowded to just sleep. He watched her though, at last she looked peaceful and her body had finally stopped trembling. "I love you Evelyn Robertson, and I won't let him hurt you ever again!" He wanted everyone in the house to know about that son of a bitch, but she wouldn't let him. They had this little secret all to themselves and he hated it! He wanted so badly to make Alex pay, but he had to respect Lainie's wishes, which sucked! He knew there was more to the bruises than she was telling him, he knew that Alex had done more than that...he just had to wait for her to tell him when she was ready to.

During the next few days, Dexter and the band were busy recording their debut album. They had released their first single a couple of weeks before, Blonde Angel, and it was doing very well. Lainie wasn't too far from his mind though and he was relieved that he'd not seen Alex sniffing around of late. Maybe she'd taken his advice and got rid?

He was so scared to rock the boat that he brought in reinforcements, his big brother. He didn't betray Lainie's confidence and asked Ash to have a long chat about how dangerous Alex was off of the back of trying to kill Dexter. If he told him that he had hurt Lainie physically he was scared that Ash would hurt Alex physically in return and he would be the one ending up in jail. Being bigger and a little stronger than Dex, he would do some serious damage to him.

Ash sat her down and got right to it, "So how are things with you and Alex?"
"We're...um I've asked him to give me a bit of space. I'm trying to work a lot of things out right now." Ash nodded and resisted the urge to tell her that her boyfriend was an attempted murderer, "Anyway you and Erin seem pretty happy, I'm so glad things worked out for you." Ash blushed at the mention of his gorgeous girlfriend's name.

"Yeah, but she's still making me pay!" He sighed, it was true that she was making him suffer for his mistakes. She wouldn't allow him to kiss her on the lips and he was only allowed to hug her goodnight at her bedroom door and not come in, at all! It was torture!
"She'll come around!" How did the subject get diverted? Lainie was a crafty little minx indeed.

"Look sweetie, I love you like a little sister and I'm concerned about Alex and his behaviour. Plus he's been pretty rotten to my brother and..."
"Ashton I'm fine!" She waved a dismissive hand at him.
"I worry about you honey! You're special to me and to Dex, we want you to be safe!" Careful, she might smell a rat.

Lainie stood up and headed for the hall, "Please don't worry, I'll be careful I promise. We're on a break right now and I'm thinking things through. We're ironing out our differences. Trust me, it's going to be okay!" But Ash still worried, he saw exactly what Dexter meant about her being in denial and dumbing down how dangerous Alex was. This whole conversation had only made him feel worse!

Alex had indeed respected her wishes and stayed away, but every day was a bombardment of texts and unanswered phone calls. He was sorry, always so sorry, blaming Dexter for making him angry and doing the things he did. He took no responsibility whatsoever. 

Lainie thought about the brief, sweet kiss she shared with Dexter that night and it made her happy and sad all at once. He'd been so busy lately, she'd bought the band's new single, the one he sang to her at the first ever gig she went to.

She thought about being in his arms, confessing that everything that happened as CookieGurl was how she truly felt. She had come to terms with the fact that he didn't feel the same or he'd have made a move by now. No, Dexter Maloney only wanted to be her friend, end of. She was free, single and dropping hints at every opportunity and he was brushing her off...and it hurt more than the bruises Alex gave her.

Dexter didn't realise that she was giving him signs that she wanted to be with him, he was just trying to give her time to recover and heal both physically and emotionally. In his eyes, she wasn't ready to be in another relationship. In his eyes she was still with Alex, until she told him "Alex and I are over Dexy!", he would carry on being her friend. Even though he wanted so much more.

When their single went platinum, the band were obviously thrilled. Lainie gave Dexter a hug, told him how proud she was of him and he almost confessed to loving her with every fibre of his being. But he kept on telling himself that she needed to heal, she needed to recover from Alex first. Then and only then would she be ready to give Dexter a chance.

Selena was constantly following him around and it drove him crazy, she just wouldn't take the hint. Standing outside his house just staring like a loony, he decided to confront her, "Hey lover!"

"For fuck's sake Selena will you leave me alone?"
"Why won't you set a date for our wedding? I have my dress and I can't wait to make babies in it on our honeymoon!" Was she for real? How did he get the psycho stalker groupie and Ash got Erin? It just wasn't fair!

"THERE WILL BE NO WEDDING, I AM NOT MARRYING A FREAK OF NATURE LIKE YOU!" Harsh Dex, real harsh! The look of hurt on her face was one of the few emotions he had ever seen her express. 

"I...I'm sorry Selena I..."
"You will be!" She muttered, turned heel and ran off. Shit! Shitshitshit! Crazy people making threats was not good, what had he done?

He stewed over it for a good few hours, wondering if he should tell someone and get their perspective on it. Was she just being crazy Selena? Or was there substance to her threat?

He needed coffee, he needed to clear his head...he needed this to go away! He became rather distracted seeing Matt looking uncharacteristically worried. He was always such a cool dude, never worried about anything. "Hey!" He greeted him, but he was miles away. "Everything okay Matt?"
"Oh, uh, hi! Yeah good!" Not convinced, Dex pushed a little further.

"You sure?" Matthew nodded faintly then shook his head.
"I'm waiting for word of a promotion, it's kinda nerve wracking and...well it's pretty important to me so..."
"Well, I hope you get it. I'm sure you will, and then we can go out and celebrate?" Matt smiled, unconvincingly and agreed.
"Yeah, double celebration. Congrats on the single by the way, Roxanne is cock-a-hoop!" Dex had almost forgotten about that.

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy!" He could hardly believe how popular the band was, after all the teething problems and Jeremy! Ha, Jeremy would be so jealous right now! That made Dexter a little happy. Then he thought about Katie, how her life was almost identical to Lainie...and that gave him an idea.

"Aw, Dexter it's so good to see you!" Katie hugged him tightly as if her life depended on it. Her little baby bump was adorable. He never thought he'd ever see her so soon, but if anyone knew what Lainie was going through, it was her!

"Katie I need your advice on something...I..." She could see how worried he looked, despite him plastering on a smile for her, and sat him down on the couch.

"So, what's the matter my sweet Dexter?" Sweet? Nah, coward maybe! He should have done something about Alex straight away, he was still holding onto that recording unsure of what he was going to do with it. "Dex?" Katie nudged him as his mind was eating him alive. He let out a long sigh and decided to tell her everything.

After he had finished, her mouth was slightly agape, "He tried to kill you and you're letting him walk around free to do it to someone else?"
"Katie, what he did to Lainie I..."
"I understand that Dex but he's dangerous! He makes Jeremy look like an impish choir boy!"
"Well I wouldn't put it like that..."
"Maybe not but he's worse than Jeremy and I never thought that could ever be possible!"

"How are you and bump?" Dexter nodded at her swollen abdomen.
"We're fine, don't change the subject!" She scolded him.
"I'm not, not really I...just felt bad that I didn't ask." Katie smiled,
"Always being sweet! I'm having a girl by the way!"
"Congrats, that's amazing!"

"I'm thinking I might call her Dexter, it's actually a girl's name. It's Latin for right-handed and skillful...just like you!" Dexter laughed and shook his head.
"Don't be cruel to that poor bambino! Give her a better name than that!"

"I have other options!" She nudged him playfully, "But seriously, from everything you've told me? That Alex guy raped your friend! You know that, right?" The word hit him like a sledgehammer to his heart, he had thought it but never said it. Now that Katie had, it made it very much more real!

"I know, that's what I was afraid of. I wanna fucking kill him but..."
"Oh my God, you love her!" Katie stared him down and it unnerved him that she was so insightful.
"Is it that obvious?" He arched his eyebrow at her.
"Yes, you're so in love with her! Why didn't I see it before? She's the special someone you told me about isn't she? Dex you have to tell her!"

"Oh no, not right now! She's been through hell and back! I won't take advantage of her, not now! I already kissed her..."
"Whoa, stop! You kissed her? When?" Dexter described the night in her room when he discovered her bruises. How he had pressed his lips to hers for a brief moment to give her the affection she deserved.

"Dexter you have to tell her how you feel! I lost you and it was the biggest regret of my life! She deserves to have you, from everything you've told me about this Lainie, you deserve each other! Why can't you just give yourself a little happiness?" Because if he'd gone to the police in the first place then this would never have happened to Lainie. Or maybe it would have, without the evidence he had now, Alex would have been released without charge and just done what he did to Lainie anyway!

"Thanks Katie, you've been a great help. Oh by the way, Jeremy thinks you're coming back!"
"Hell will freeze over! And you don't have to thank me, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here right now in my own place just a few steps away from my grandma! I wouldn't be enjoying impending motherhood, I'd be regretting getting rid of her...my little bean. But now she gets to be loved and adored by me and her godfather...will you?"
"Will I what?" Dexter was confused.

"Will you be my baby's godfather?" Holy shit, really? Dexter felt hot tears sting his eyes, wow!
"I would be honoured Katie! Of course I will!" Hugging her, he thought about Lainie and how he needed to eliminate Alex once and for all...he wouldn't let her suffer for 20 years like Katie, no way!

When he got home, Ashton was waiting for him. "I saw the bruise!" Shit! He looked Dex up and down in accusation.
"Not here!" Dexter hissed.

"What's going on? What did that bastard do to her?" Ash demanded as Dexter tried to think of a way to get out of this. It wasn't exactly betrayal, he had kept Lainie's secret, Ashton was just far too observant.
"I said not here Ashy! She swore me to secrecy!" Ash didn't look at all amused.
"I've been waiting for four days, four whole fucking days for you to tell me what the fuck happened! I'm really fucking angry with you Dex! Tell me right now!" Dexter shoved his brother into his bedroom to get them away from prying ears and eyes.

"How did you see?" He really didn't want to tell Ash, he had promised Lainie!
"Does it fucking matter? I've dropped hints every day and you blanked me! I ask the questions little brother, not you! You owe me that!" Seeing Dexter's determination to stay silent, Ash sighed and told him what he knew...and saw.

"A few days ago, you and Lainie came into the dining room and sat down together. She looked like a frightened little rabbit, or worse, a puppy that had been kicked around the room!" Dex winced at the eerily accurate analogy. "She wouldn't let go of your arm all through dinner, and you both got up and left together. I never saw you for the rest of the night! Then the next morning at breakfast, she reached out for the cup I handed her and her wrist was black and blue! So tell me, is it what I think it is? Did Alex beat her?"

Dexter looked his brother in the eyes and shook his head, "Worse!" That was all he was prepared to tell him, but Ash had a way of getting the truth out of him one way or another.
"Dex!" He growled and screwed his eyes shut, "What the fuck man?"
"I promised her Ashy, I promised it would be our secret."
"Are you fucking insane???"
"Ashy keep your voice down..." Ash waved a hand at him and scowled,
"Relax she's at work!"

"I won't tell her you told, but please, Dexter tell me what happened!" He pleaded with him so desperately that Dexter had to give up what he knew.
"I think he raped her Ashy! She didn't say that exact word but from what I saw and what she did tell me...it was fucking rape!" Ashton's face drained of colour as he stared at him, his mouth fell open but no words came out, just a gaping O and wide eyes.

Dexter cut into the silence, "You must never tell Ashy! She can't know that you already know! She'll tell us when she's ready. But for now, I have to respect her wishes, however misguided and ridiculous they are, they are hers and I won't take that away from her. She's had too much taken from her that she didn't consent to give! Promise me Ashy!" Ash took a long time to answer him, and even at that it was a brief nod of acceptance.

"You should have called the police!" He muttered irritably.
"And say what? Huh? What if she denied it all?"
"The bruise..."
"Bruises! Plural! All over her little body! And not all of them fresh!" Dexter felt tears run down his cheeks, he didn't even know he had been crying until then.
"Fuck! He's a wannabe killer, a woman beater and a rapist! He needs locked up yesterday!"
"Ashy, I agree but it wasn't my call. I even let her go and shower, washing away any evidence...you have no idea how bad I feel about this, I wanted so badly to drag her to the police station..."

Dexter wiped the tears from his face and sighed, "...but it wasn't my decision to make! I didn't tell anyone because again it wasn't my place to tell. This is Lainie's life, it's her trauma and her nightmare and it's up to her how she deals with it!"

"No matter how hard it is for us to understand or condone, we must respect her choices. Should I have gone to the police? Yes! Should I have given them the recording of Alex confessing to pushing me down the stairs? Yes! But I had to think of Lainie! I am thinking of her all the time and I need to do the right thing by her!"

Ashton nodded in agreement with a defeated look on his face, then suddenly eyeballed his little brother, "What recording?" Oh shit! Dex had forgotten he'd told no one about it, so now he had even more explaining to do.

Lainie had returned from work to another text from Alex, but this time rather than say how much he missed her he had asked her to come over. He was begging her! She knew it was a bad idea, she was scared of him if she was totally honest especially after the last time she saw him. He had been so much more attentive and apologetic when he drove her home, and she would have bought it if it hadn't been for Dexter telling her what Alex was doing was wrong.

The text seemed different to the others, she knew that she should ignore it but she swiftly changed and headed over there. She would stand outside and refuse to come in, she would be strong.

When she arrived there, she knocked firmly on the door, her heart pounding so fast it threatened to burst. No answer. She tried the door handle and it opened, he'd left his door unlocked, that was odd and alarming. This could be some kind of trap, was this revenge for ignoring him? Was he going to punish her again?

Taking a deep breath, she went inside, her body began to tremble like it had a few days before. "ALEX?" She called through the house, determined not to go any further inside, but the sound of moaning made her delve deeper into the lion's den. Alex could be hurt, he could have done something stupid...

...when she got to where the noise was coming from she realised he had done something stupid, like Dexter before him...

...on the floor, both completely naked were Alex and a blonde woman who Lainie vaguely recognised as Selena the stalker. She let out a tiny shocked gasp seeing them there as Alex turned around and saw her. "SHIT! Lainie???" 

Lainie took a few steps back and about turned, walking as fast as she could towards the front door, as Alex called out to her in desperation.

To Be Continued...

Is this enough for Lainie to finally break free of Alex? What will she do? Can Ash keep the secret for Dexter's sake? Will Matthew get the promotion? We shall see...