FicWad

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Chapter 14 - Truth Is Like A Baseball Bat
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This chapter is dedicated to a faithful reviewer patricksgirl84 for many reasons, including her steady supply of visual inspiration on Buzznet, her great story and cheery reviews despite a difficult time. You're great Barbara.




Patrick opened the letter and pulled out the large book, it appeared to be a scrap book, he frowned as he unfolded the letter.

Thought you might find this, very, interesting...

That was all it said. He frowned more as he opened the book to be confronted with several newspaper cuttings, print outs of text and pictures.

Then the main one caught his eye.

'Crime of Passion' girl sentenced to prison'

He gasped as he saw a picture of a younger looking Petra underneath.

"What you got there?" Petra asked gently, pouring some orange juice into a glass.

"Not - Nothing!" he said quickly.

"OK?" Petra smiled, quizzed.

"I need to go - I have a ....I have a meeting." He said disjointedly.

"Ok." Petra said, approaching him.

"I'll see ya later." He said, without kissing her, he bundled out the door quickly.

---


His eyes couldn't take in the information quicker, and in style of the British papers, couldn't make out the exact truth of the story of Petra Fairfax and Ethan Riddley's case. In one article she was a cold blooded murderer, another she was the helpless victim, some where completely neutral.

"What the fuck is going on?" he growled angrily, slamming the book closed. But a few seconds later, he opened it and began re-reading the articles over and over.

He had to find out the truth and since one of the two involved was dead, that left only one to ask. He couldn't get home quick enough and he bundled in the door as quickly as he'd left a few hours before.

Petra walked through to hallway.

"There you are! Everyone's been calling, where have you been?" she asked, suddenly he tossed the book at her and Petra clumsily caught it in her hands.

"What's this?" she asked, staring at him.

"Read it!" he said angrily, Petra's heart started thumping. His anger was more then prevalent.

Petra opened the book, gasping straight away as she saw it and she dropped the book, stepping back.

"Yeah I found out!" he growled, Petra's breathing immediately laboured and that strong wheeze set in.

"I know everything!" he added angrily.

Petra shook her head, claiming he didn't but her words couldn't get past the breathing pattern that set in, whenever she was confronted with the strong events of those years ago.

On top of the stress of not having the strength to even breathe, she began crying, she was so overwhelmed with his reaction and it all coming out within a few seconds.

"How could you not tell me something so massively important about you!?" he asked, a hard frown on his face.

"I could-" she stopped and breathed.

"I couldn't!" she gasped.

"You murdered-"

"-I didn't murder him!!" She sobbed suddenly.

Patrick picked the book up off the floor and turned to one of the pages.


"In what was thought to be a domestic fight between Ethan Riddley and his long term girlfriend, Petra Fairfax, she used a steak knife to stab him in what was, a fatal artery, in the neck, paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene." Patrick recited.

"No." she whimpered, her chest was beginning to hurt now, she needed her bag.

Patrick turned to another page and another account of what had happened.

"Ethan Riddley's lawyers claim that the fight was based on Miss Fairfax's failure to draw Mr Riddley from a heroin addiction, whilst Miss Fairfax's lawyer, Sally McEwan defends that Mr Riddley was assaulting Miss Fairfax and as a last resort had used the knife to ward him off." He continued.

"Stop it!" she said, she clambered up and tried to take the book from him.

"What's the truth Petra?! Because I can't make head or tail of this - all I know is that you stabbed him, that much is clear!" he said,

"Patrick - stop!" she said weakly, grabbing at his hands for the book. Patrick pushed her slightly and she stumbled, falling to the floor. A few seconds passed and she sat on her knees.

Her wheezing continued and Patrick watched her on the floor.

"I can't breathe." She gasped, she clenched and unclenched her fist as her hands tingled, almost hurting her, the pains were sharp.

"Patrick!" she gasped, suddenly he moved and he rushed up the stairs to her old room, trying to find the brown bags. He hurried down them and opened the bag, helping her cover her mouth.

"Breathe!" he whispered, helping her sit up more. She heaved in and out the bag, it rustled as she did. As her breathing began to calm down, her tears set in.

5 minutes passed, slow, lingering minutes as her breathing reduced to a normal pace. Patrick took the bag from her mouth and wiped her face firmly.

"I didn't mean to kill him!" she croaked, looking at Patrick with her sorrowful eyes.

"I was just trying to get him off me - I didn't even think about what I was doing and the next thing, he was dying on the floor!" she blurted out.

"You should have told me." He said. He stood up and he walked away, she heard his bedroom door close firmly.

"I know." She croaked to herself.

---


Most women may have moved on from an attack on your womanhood like that, but not Petra. Petra was too strong to have man demoralise her the way Ethan did and that's why he was dead. He had no right to do what he did to her, especially to someone who you claimed to love.

That night shattered Petra's world and it ended Ethan's world altogether. How could she ever relate that with Patrick?
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"Patrick?" she said softly, she twisted the handle on the bedroom door but it was locked.

He heard her sniffle slightly at the door and she knocked lightly.

He turned back to his laptop and ignored it.

"Patrick?" he heard her say again.

He snapped his laptop shut and he unlocked the door, walking back to his bed and laying down on it.

The door slowly opened and he glanced at her, through the last few hours, he'd forgotten she was in fact carrying his child and should never have put in her that danger.

His eyes diverted back to straight ahead of him and she sat down next to him on the bed.

"How would I have ever began to tell you?" she asked him. He glanced at her, then back to straight ahead.

"I don't understand why you are playing the victim?" she frowned.

"I married a fucking criminal!" he said angrily. Petra stared at him, her mouth opened.

"I am not a criminal!" she whispered firmly.

"You killed a man!"

"I didn't mean to!"

"I don't understand!" He said angrily.

"It got out of control." She said gently, crying softly.

"You think? God..." Patrick said frustrated at her.


"He raped me." she said quietly, almost inaudibly. Patrick stared at her, his heart slowing down, nearly to a complete stop.

"But you don't read about that do you?" she asked, her voice wobbly with tears.

"He said he wanted me to know what pressure felt like! Because all I did was pressure him about getting off the heroin..." she said calmly but still her voice quivered.

"But there was no way I could let him do that to me! He was supposed to love me! He broke my heart Patrick!" she cried gently. Patrick sat up.

"So you stabbed him?" Patrick frowned.

"I didn't mean to kill him, I was desperate, I just grabbed the knife and before I knew it, I was using it to get him off me! I never meant for him to die. I loved him!" she cried.

Patrick was still staring at her, he'd gone a little pale.

"I hate myself! I hate that I am so boisterous because if I'd been different, I would've just let it happen but no....No I had to let him know that what he was doing wasn't right because I always have to fight-"

"-You should've fought! With every thing you had! No man has the right to do that to a woman! Ever." Patrick said, shaking his head.

"But now he's dead!" she cried softly.

"Well he shouldn't have done that to you, because if he hadn't, he'd still be alive....that is until the heroin would've taken him." Patrick said simply.

"It was so messed up...I had to watch him die because of something that I'd done. He bled to death right in front of me and I couldn't do anything, I couldn't move. "

"God..." Patrick said, shaking his head.

"I was arrested and when they took my statement, I couldn't bring myself to tell them what had happened. Only when they put me on trial for murder did my solicitor force me to tell the truth about what had happened but it was all wrong....they said it was weak evidence, that I hadn't given it in the statement. But I just couldn't disgrace him any further after he died. His family. Everyone. They would've known." She said weakly.

"Come here." He whispered, pulling her on to him, she laid across him, holding his shoulders tight.

---

Petra related more of her devastating account to him as they lay in bed that night. She told him about the court case, the prison, the aftermath, everything.

With her knees up, Patrick lay across her, his head against her tummy, his warm hand stroking up and down the side of her body.

"When we decided to get married, it was perfect. Not just because of the whole visa thing either but because I'd never have to worry about love again." She said.

"And yet...." She stopped and she looked at Patrick, his eyes finally met hers.

They both just smiled, no where near ready to say it to each other because neither knew if it was really true.

"Thank you for letting me talk to you about this." She said softly. Patrick pulled himself up and moved to lean over her, laying over her.

"You don't need to thank me." He said, kissing her nose gently and smiling.



Petra opened her eyes suddenly, she'd been jolted from her dream, Patrick slept heavily next to her. After calming herself and re-engaging her consciousness she sat up and turned on the lamp on the bed stand. She took the book and opened it, reading everything that Patrick had earlier that day.

No wonder he didn't know what to think, they'd got the facts so messed up and if you read it through, you would have no idea who was really to blame, who was at fault or who deserved the worst? Ethan to die or Petra to go to prison for it.

She closed the book and placed it on her lap, her eyes skimmed over the back and her breath hitched up in her mouth as she saw the name on the back of the book.

The Riddler

She ripped back the sheets and Patrick roused from sleep, frowning as he saw her flying out the door, she ran to each door, checking the locks on them.

"Pets?" he croaked sleepily, rubbing his stinging eyes. She saw him and quickly approached him, she hugged him tightly.

"What's going on?" he frowned, putting his arms around her.

"They know." She said softly.

"Know what? Who?" he frowned.

"The Riddley's, they know I'm here." She said weakly.

Patrck pushed her away gently and stared at her.

"The book, the scrap book ....it as his younger brother's name on the back, his nickname, we nicknamed him 'The Riddler' and it's on the back of the book." She said, her eyes searching Patrick's rapidly.

"I won't let them hurt you." he said firmly.

"How can you be sure?" she whispered.

"I won't let them hurt you Petra." He said, a warning tone to his voice.

"He'll know when you're gone, oh my god, they'll know everything." She whispered.

"We'll talk about this in the morning Petra, we need to sleep." He frowned, seeing dawn arising already.

"Come." He said, taking her shoulder and walking her back to their bedroom.


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He watched her until she fell asleep, she seemed content, her mouth moved a lot as she slept, Patrick found her wonderful and couldn't sleep as long as she was next to him distracting him like that.

"Patty.." she mumbled, squeezing her grip on his side where her hand was resting.

Patrick smiled.

There was nothing more reassuring than hearing his own name instead of Ethan's slip from her subconscious lips.

He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.

"I love you." he whispered.

"I love you." he said again, this time for himself.



If you're feeling the exuberant sexiness of Patrick Stump let me hear you say 'HUMP THE STUMP!' YEAH!