He turned to Wanda, took her hand, and lowered his voice.
"Don't listen to her nonsense, babe. You're pregnant. Don't let yourself get upset."
Wanda pressed a hand to her stomach and stepped back. Her face was white.
Oswald turned back to me. Something finally surfaced in his eyes.
It was anger.
He walked over, crouched in front of me until we were eye level.
Then he kicked my knee.
The chair flipped backward. I went with it, tumbling off the step. My forehead cracked against the edge of a concrete planter, and something warm and wet ran down past my brow.
"Filing a false report. Fabricating evidence. Harassing a pregnant woman."
He stood over me, looking down.
"How much did you think you could squeeze out of me?"
The officer rushed over and pulled him back. Oswald let himself be moved, straightened his cuffs, put his arm around Wanda, and walked out.
Blood seeped into my eyes. The world blurred red.
Every sound was pulling further away.
The last image that floated up was from four years ago.
A rain-drenched hillside. Oswald using every ounce of strength to shove me clear of the mud. His mouth moving, telling me to run, don't look back.
His face covered in mud and blood. But he was smiling at me.