Page 137 of Under the Table

“Oh, Hope.” Mary’s voice, the pity, it was almost too much for her.

Hope could feel the sting, the overwhelming pain that seemed to rush to her chest every time she actually thought about it. But naming those words out loud felt relieving at the same time too. She was so broken. She wanted to be mad and raging and screaming, but she was only shattered, barely holding the pieces of herself together.

“Did he move out?” Mary asked.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“You guess?”

Hope clenched her jaw and rolled her eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay. “I came home from the wrap party, and all his things were packed up and he was gone. He took Eva.”

“He took Eva,” Mary repeated, as if she couldn’t believe the words coming out of Hope’s mouth.

“Yeah. And I don’t know where they went.”

“You don’t know where they went? As in, he hasn’t communicated with you at all where your daughter is?” The shock was clear.

Hope winced. “He won’t answer my calls.”

“Hope Lawrence.” Mary was firm now, that motherly voice, the one that told Hope she’d done something wrong. “What the hell have you been doing for the last week?”

Moping.

Crying.

Barely functioning.

All those answers and more were correct. But she didn’t have the heart to say them. Instead, she closed her eyes and prepared for the yelling that she no doubt deserved.

“You need to call the police!”

“Wh-what?” Hope stuttered.

“It’s custodial kidnapping for him to just take Eva without telling you where he went and not communicate with you, and you can use that in the divorce if you want, but you have a right to know where Eva is.” There was an edge in Mary’s voice now, one that lingered on panic briefly enough for Hope to hear it.

“He’s Rex. He’s not hurting her.”

“He’s hurting her by keeping her from you. Hope…” Mary sighed. “You need to act. Now. And you need to get this under control. I’ll do what I can to keep the press out of it and make sure you have the time to deal with this, but you need to get off your ass and get mad. This isn’t you.”

Hope paused, her fingers tightening around the coffee mug still in her hand. Mary was right. This wasn’t her. She wasn’t someone who just sat down and took hits like this without fighting back, so why was she doing it now?

“You’re right,” Hope agreed. “This isn’t me.” She straightened her shoulders and sat up a little higher. “I just… I never expected this.”

“Sometimes you don’t. But that doesn’t mean you can sit back and let him take you for everything. And Hope… it’s Eva. Get your head out of your ass and fight for what’s right for your daughter.”

Hope found herself nodding and then frowning. “Do you um… do you know any lawyers? I don’t… the one he’s using is the one my sister used, so I can’t go there. I…” Hope stopped, her heart pounding hard.

Her sister.

Fuck him.

“I need the name of a lawyer if you know one.”

“I do. His name is Kevin Brock. He used to be based in Seattle but was able to practice in Washington and California. He’s moved down here recently with his partner, so he’s taking more clients in California. He’s really good. I’ll email you his information.”

“Thanks.”

“But he’s going to tell you exactly what I just did, Hope. You need to call the police. Now.”