Chapter 22

The next day Bonnie went to her bank during lunch, and since she couldn't close the account without David's signature she withdrew all of the money and put it in a new account along with her direct deposit.

Unfortunately, it seemed that all of the tellers knew David very well, and she was certain that at least one of them was going to call him and let him know what she was doing.

"It just seems that I can't get away from his influence!" she lamented, talking to Jerome.

"I don't think they will," he replied reassuringly. "They could get themselves into some serious trouble if they did, but if it does happen, then let me know right away."

Bonnie promised him that she would.

Jerome gave her a quick hug, and told her again not to worry. "You just keep doing the things that you are doing, and everything will turn out just fine."

Naturally, both Liz and Shelly gave her all of their support, and Bonnie talked to Jen almost every day after work. "He's digging himself into a hole that he'll never be able to climb out of," the waitress told her. "You don't have to do anything except let him. That's what my husband did, too, and now look at me. I have my own place and I have my kids, too."

Bonnie did look at her, and she saw how hard the woman worked at the diner just to make ends meet, and she wondered what her own life was going to be like after it was all over.

Bonnie didn't know if Sandy ever called Andy back or not. Neither she nor her babysitter ever mentioned it again. The only thing that Bonnie knew was that Sandy was always there when she came home form work, and the woman never sported anymore bruises. The important thing was Andy never called again or came back to the house. She figured that whatever Greg said to him that day must have scared him pretty badly.

David called though. In fact, he called several times a week. Each time he called, he ended up yelling at Bonnie and threatening her with everything from her never seeing the kids again to having her arrested. Each time she ended up hanging up on him, and after each time she hung up, she waited for him to come storming through the door after her. He never did though, and each time he didn't, she closed her eyes and thanked God that she didn't have to call the police ... or Greg's friend, Robert.

Jerome assured her there were no grounds for David to do any of the things he told her. "Don't worry. His threats are empty, and all he's doing is making it easier for us in court."

Bonnie smiled at him, but could only hope her young attorney was right.

David refused to sign the separation agreement, and Jerome told her to change the locks on the door. "I'll file the divorce papers as soon as I have a chance to draw them up," he told her.

David was so furious over the separation papers that she was actually afraid of what he might do when he got the divorce papers.

Greg was overdue coming back, also. Every time her phone rang, she hoped it was him, but each time it turned out to be Jerome, one of her friends--or David.

Another week went by, and Bonnie was beginning to wonder if Greg was ever going to come back!

Things with David seemed to be spiraling out of control, and she needed his calming influence more than ever. If that wasn't enough, on Wednesday Jerome was forced to give Bonnie the worst news yet.

"Well, he's done it," began the young attorney. His tone was so serious that Bonnie instantly knew that all was not well. "David has filed a counter suit charging you with adultery and being an unfit mother."

The news made her heart race, and her mouth suddenly went dry. All she could think of to say was, "But I thought everything was going all right!"

"Yes, but I also told you that things were going to get rough remember? Now don't worry. Unless there are things that you haven't told me about, there won't be any proof, and the charges will eventually have to be dropped." Jerome paused a moment for her to think about it before saying, "If there's anything else that's been going on with you, now is the time to tell me."

Bonnie thought about Greg, and then she thought about the night in the parking lot when she went out with Shelly. She hated to tell anything like that to Jerome. 'What will he think of me if I told him about that?' she thought.

Jerome saw her hesitation, and guessing what she was thinking, said, "You need to be more afraid of these charges than what I might think about you. Besides, you know that I can't breathe a word of what you tell me."

Bonnie told him about Greg and that David thought she was having an affair with him. "But we're just friends. We never got involved in that way. Why, we never even kissed! And..." She couldn't bring herself to tell him about the night in the parking lot, and her voice trailed off.

Jerome reached across the table and touching her hands as a gesture of support, he asked, "And?" before adding, "You know you can trust me, Bonnie."

Bonnie slowly nodded her head, and swallowing hard, she told him of her night out with Shelly, but her voice trailed off again before she could tell him that James had gone down on her.

Jerome could judge by how hard Bonnie was blushing that this was a one and only time incident, and in an attempt to save her from further embarrassment, he simply asked, "Did you actually have sex with this man?"

"No ... I mean ... I mean, not really."

He could pretty much guess what had happened from the way she answered, and asked, "Did anyone else see you?"

"No."

"Does anyone else know about it?"

Bonnie thought about James, and how embarrassed he was that night. She was confident that he sure wouldn't be telling anyone what had happened! Then she thought about Shelly and said, "My friend Shelly does, but she wouldn't tell a soul.

"Then I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Jerome said it with confidence, and it went a long way to calm her down, but she would have felt a lot better if David wasn't being such an asshole about things--and Greg was back.

"Where is he?" she thought, for what must have been the hundredth time.

Her nerves were already badly rattled from the news she'd gotten. But when she turned the corner to her cul-de-sac, she saw David's car in the driveway and her heart began beating so hard she could feel it in her chest! She was so shook up that she had to tighten her grip on the steering wheel to keep her hands from shaking!

Sandy's car was gone, too, and Bonnie thought about calling the police. But then she thought about Tommy and Corey and decided not to call them--at least, not just yet. She also had a fleeting thought about calling Robert and fumbled in her purse until she'd located the number. 'Just in case, ' she thought.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, as soon as she went inside.

Hi, Bonnie!" returned David, in a cheerful voice, and when he saw the confusion in her face his fake smile suddenly turned into a snarl. "I just wanted to show you that even though you changed the locks, I can get in here any time I want to! You didn't think you could keep me out of my own house and away from my own kids did you?

"And I'll tell you something else, too. You're going to lose trying to fight me, you know. And when I get through with you, there won't be anyplace left for you to go but the gutter! You're nothing but a God damned bitch and a slut, too! And when this is over, no one will want a God damned thing to do with you!"

Bonnie didn't know what to say. She was scared, angry and hurt all at the same time, and not being able to handle the stress of it all, she began to cry.

"Yeah, that's right!" yelled David. "Go ahead and cry because that's all you can do!" and with that, he laughed at her, and shouldering her aside, he left.

Bonnie slumped to the floor and cried until she could get herself together.

"Mom?" asked Tommy suddenly. She had just gotten back to her feet when Tommy walked into the living room. "I'm sorry I let Dad in. He told me to, and I didn't know what to do."