“You all right?”
The question again.
Mara swallowed.
“I'm fine.”
Rex's eyes remained on her.
“Jobs don't leave marks.”
Mara froze.
He had seen the bruise beneath her makeup.
He had seen what everyone else had trained themselves not to see.
In Case You Need
After that morning, Rex asked no more questions.
He didn't threaten Dennis.
He didn't make a scene.
He simply watched.
At the end of his visit, he left.
Mara found a piece of paper beneath the strap of her bag.
A phone number.
Four words.
In case you need.
No name.
No explanation.
No pressure.
She stared at it for a long time.
That evening, she called her sister Delia.
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“You don't sound safe.”
Mara looked at the number lying on her kitchen table.
“I'll be okay.”
Delia was quiet.
“Everybody needs help sometimes.”
After they hung up, Mara picked up her phone.
Put it down.
Picked it up again.
Finally, she dialed.
The phone rang twice.
“Yeah.”
Rex.
“It's Mara. From the diner.”
“I know.”
“I wasn't sure you'd remember.”
“Mara.”
Just her name.
She closed her eyes.
“I don't know why I called.”
“That's all right.”
She finally told him about Dennis.
Not everything.
Not yet.
But enough.
“He doesn't hit me,” she said quickly. “It's not like that.”
“Mara,” Rex replied. “That's still something.”
She looked at the kitchen wall.
“I can't just quit.”
“I know.”
“I need the money.”
“I know.”
Silence.
Then Rex asked:
“How did you end up in Maple Ridge?”
“I left somewhere I should have left sooner.”
She hesitated.
“Maple Ridge was far enough.”
Rex didn't ask for details.
Instead, he said something that changed everything.
“Frell knows you're alone.”
Mara's stomach tightened.
“How do you know his name?”
“I asked around.”
Then came the part she wasn't prepared for.
“He's done this before.”
Beth Sutter
Rex told Mara about Beth Sutter.
Beth had worked at Patty's Corner before Mara.
She had left suddenly.
There had been another woman before her.
Mara listened in silence.
“Who told you?”
“Hank told me some of it. I found the rest.”
“You talked to Hank?”
“Hank talks.”
Mara almost laughed.
Almost.
Then Rex became serious.
“What happens next is your call.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Whatever you want me to do.”
She stared at the wall.
Nobody had said those words to her in years.
Everyone else told her what she should do.
Leave.
Stay.
Work harder.
Be careful.
Don't make trouble.
Rex gave the decision back to her.
“But I'm going to be at that diner tomorrow morning,” he said.
“Why?”
“To have breakfast.”
She knew there was more.
He continued.
“And I'm going to be there.”
The next morning, Mara arrived at work feeling different.
Not fearless.