by Anna Scott
The older man sputtered a few times as I guided him through the lobby of the hospital, but my fierce glare shut him up before he got more than a few words out. He’d said more than enough.
“Where’s your car?” I barked out. The coward didn’t answer, just pointed toward an older model Toyota Avalon. Directing him that way, I waited until we got close before I took my hand away from him and began to speak.
“You are a moron. You took the most beautiful, the strongest, the most amazing woman in the world and tried to break her to your will. Your narrow minded views, you fucked up old man, you will never see her again. Don’t call her, don’t see her, don’t even think her fucking name or you will be dealing with me. Nod if you understand.”
The stupid man’s gaze was hard, hate filled his eyes. I knew that it wasn’t a hate solely for me, but a hate that filled his soul. In that moment, I saw what I could have become had Hope not come into my life. I could have been an old bitter, worthless man, but instead, thanks to Hope, thanks to Nolan’s letter waking me up, I had a future that I no longer dreaded.
“Don’t be stupid here. She just told you exactly what she thinks of you. I would love nothing more than to put my hands on you in a way that you definitely wouldn’t like, but I don’t have time to deal with you and your bullshit. I need to get back to my girl, I’d much rather be with her than with you.” His glare got harder, more hateful if that could be believed.
“In case you have any question, I love that girl and I will be there for her from now on, so she doesn’t need you, some cowardly dick coming around and trying to fuck with her head. I don’t ever want to hear about you being around or contacting her again. Nod.”
Finally, the douche nodded, opened his car and I stood watching as he pulled out of the parking lot. I raced back inside, taking the stairs two at a time, so I didn’t have to wait for the elevator, I made it back to Hope’s side, just where I belonged. Walking through the door, my heart melted when she saw me and her entire face, bruised and battered, lit up.
…
Hope had been home with me now for two days. The doctor had released her, after confirming that her head looked good and the pregnancy didn’t appear affected by the trauma to her abdomen.
I’d paid attention this time when the ultrasound had been done. Watching the little white blob blink and move, hearing the sound of our baby’s heartbeat fill the room had been the single sweetest moment of my life.
She’d taken leave from work, the doctor suggested she take two weeks, but Hope had decided to take longer. She didn’t want to go back looking as she did. With the clients she had, it could be traumatic for some of them to see her that way.
A knock sounded at the door, so I rose from the couch where I’d been sitting with Hope.
“Hey Dan, what brings you by?” I wasn’t really surprised to see him, but standing behind him was Christine. It wasn’t a shock to see her either, but I felt strange having her here. I was still pissed at her for telling Hope that I was bad for her, for spewing that bullshit about our past.
Deciding that I’d put it out of my mind, I greeted her professionally, which was kind of a dick move, but she was here in my house, with my girl, and I assumed that it wasn’t a personal call, so professional she would get.
“Is Hope up and around?” Dan asked as he scanned the room, then spotted her on the couch. She started to rise, but I moved back to her and encouraged her to sit back down. The doctor wanted her to rest for at least the next week, and I was determined that she’d do just that.
“Come on in, I assume you have news?” I asked, motioning for the armchairs across from the couch.
“Yes, I’ve got a lot of news actually. It seems that when Mr. Stone has Vicodin, he sings like the proverbial canary.” Dan’s grin was almost evil, even gleeful.
“Anyway,” he continued after opening up the file and pulling out some pictures. “Mr. James Stone, aka, Timothy Johnson, aka, Jim Johnstone is the man. Your ex-boyfriend,” he looked directly at Hope as he spoke; “went by the name of Tim Johnson in Mississippi. A protection order and police report had already been filed for James Stone at that time, so he decided to use an alias, got a fake ID and Social Security card.”
Hope nodded, encouraging Dan to go on, as I noticed Christine shift uncomfortably in her seat.
“Well, after you reported him in Mississippi, he disappeared, Timothy Johnson ceased to exist. He moved here, to Plano actually, and waited. He knew that you were from this area and that you’d return here. He planned to find you and to convince you to return to him. He stalked you for a while, but stopped when he met Vanessa. He and Vanessa married, though the legality of that union is in question since he married her with a fake name.”
He paused, and Hope asked, “Have you spoken with Vanessa yet?”
“Yes, we’ve just come from Freedom House. We wanted to let her know that Mr. Stone was in custody and that she was safe to return to their home if she wished, and to resume her normal life. Barring any surprises, Mr. Stone should be in custody for some time. He’s wanted in three states for all sorts of crimes, battery, theft and possession are just a few.”
“Oh, I’m so glad for her.” Hope breathed out, relief for the other woman obvious.
“So, Mr. Stone saw the news about Nolan’s death.” Dan glanced at me and back to Hope. Her body tightened at the mention of Nolan, but she stayed calm.
“He’d recently lost his job, which apparently, according to Vanessa, was the catalyst for his increased abuse. She fled, and James, Tim, whomever; focused his attention back on you. He knew where Nolan lived, but not where you lived, not yet. He watched Nolan’s house, saw Aurora going there, saw her talking to Sam, the owner of the yard service and noted the name of the company from the truck. He got a job with them, then after a couple of weeks, went back to Nolan’s house, broke in and set the fire in the kitchen, thinking that you would come and he could nab you in the chaos. When that didn’t work, he followed Aurora to her house, watched it and when you showed up followed you. That’s how he found out where you lived.”
“All this sounds crazy.” Hope stated, she was right. This guy was seriously whacked.
“He admitted all this? Even high on pain meds, I can’t believe he gave you all of this.” I asked Dan, looking for confirmation, for something that would convince me that all this was over, that Hope was safe, that our baby would be safe from the monster.
“Yeah, it was like he was proud, he wanted to brag about how smart he’d been. So, he knew where you lived, Hope, knew where you worked, but once you moved in with Jake he couldn’t find you. You were really smart to alter your path each time and keep an eye out, I think that saved you.” Dan’s smile was genuine and Hope returned it.
“After he left your house Saturday, he got in his truck and fled the scene, he was speeding and probably driving erratically and crashed that old truck into a tree headed back to Plano.”
“So, that’s why he was talking about his wife, he kept going on and on about her, I didn’t know what he was talking about, but now I understand. Vanessa said every time she left the shelter, she thought she’d seen him, I was worried about her, that she was suffering from hallucinations or something.” I could hear the regret in her voice as she mentioned Vanessa, I pulled her in tighter to my side and held her, giving her the only thing I had to offer.
“I told you that when I’d met him with the yard service, that he gave me the creeps. I noticed that on the security footage he’d keep his back to the cameras at all times. He worked really hard at that, it was obvious that he was hiding.” I reminded Dan, pretty sure I’d told him all that in the hospital, but it was such a blur, I couldn’t be sure.
Dan nodded in remembrance, made a couple more notes and looked toward Christine. Hope’s body stiffened, apparently remembering that the other woman was still in the room.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, so only she could hear. She shook her head and smiled up at me.
“Do you have any questions or have any more information for us?” I asked, ready for them to go, I wanted to be alone with Hope, so she could rest and heal.
“That’s all, we’ll need testimony later of course and we’ll need to have you talk to the attorneys when it gets to that point, but I’ll let you know if we have any more questions.” Dan smiled and stood from his chair. Looking over to Christine, she rose too, and they headed to the front door. I kissed Hope’s cheek and followed them out.
“I’m really sorry for what I said, I shouldn’t have interfered, I know that Jake is a good guy and that he’d never hurt you.” Christine said as she passed by Hope.
“It’s okay, Christine, I don’t think you were trying to hurt me, I got the sense you only wanted to protect me.” Hope answered, her ability to forgive and move on astounding me.
I gave a sharp look to Christine, non-verbally encouraging her to get the fuck out of my house. She did, thank god.
…
Much later, that night, I held Hope in my arms in our bed. Neither of us could sleep, but it was nice to hold her here like this. Thinking back to that note, mentioning her dad, thinking about what she’s told me about Tim and what happened that night when she left him, or more importantly, what she hasn’t told me, I decide that it’s time. I need to know.
“Tell me, sweetheart, tell me what happened that night you finally left your ex.” I couldn’t say the fucker’s name out loud.
She hesitated for a long time, but she wasn’t ignoring me, I felt as her body tensed, she was thinking, pulling her thoughts together. She was so careful with her words, wanting to make sure she said the right thing, so I just laid there, holding her and waited.
“Tim was really sweet to me in the beginning. I hadn’t really dated much. My parents were really strict, Nolan and I dated for a couple of months during my freshman year, but my father found out and put a stop to it.” She took in a deep breath and I could tell she was preparing herself to continue.
“Anyway, he was really sweet, giving me a lot of attention. We met at one of the coffee shops near campus. After that day I seemed to run into him everywhere. I finally agreed to go on a date with him. He was so different from my father, I needed that. It was about a year or so into our relationship when he started to change, looking back, I can see it, but then I couldn’t. If I changed plans with him or he saw me talking to a guy, he’d get really angry, wouldn’t talk to me for days. He was possessive, but not in a normal way.” She rushed to explain as my body went tense. I thought about how possessive I was of her, and hoped that she didn’t see me that way.
She flexed her arm, tightening it over my chest. “He punished me, ignored me at first so I learned to not do that anymore. I wouldn’t ever engage men in conversation, even the ones I knew from school. He wanted all of my free time, I had stopped spending time with friends so those relationships crumbled over time. He isolated me from everyone until I just went to school, to work and then was with him almost all the rest of the time. Even if I was studying, he wanted me to do it at his apartment or in my dorm, and he would be there.” I knew where this was going, I really don’t want to hear it, I couldn’t stand the thought of what happened to her, but I had to know, for us to move on, I had to.
“Another year or so had gone by, it was just the two of us. Beginning the first semester of my senior year, one of my study partners was a good-looking guy, there wasn’t anything between us, not at all, but it drove him crazy. Every time I had study group or we would meet up for the class, Tim would get so angry. He went along a couple of times, just to see that I wasn’t doing anything. The thing was, he wasn’t worried about my safety, he called me a dirty whore and he didn’t want me spreading my legs.” I know that she’d seen the difference between my protectiveness and his obsession with her, but I appreciated how she explained it, like she was reassuring me that she didn’t see me in the same light.
Hope hesitated for a little while, I turned my head, leaned down and kissed the top of her head that was cradled on my naked chest and whispered, “Go on.”
“Well, one night I had study group, Austin, my study partner, walked me to my car because it was really late. He was a nice guy. He was actually engaged, his fiancée was really sweet, I’d met her a couple of times. He was just being a good guy; you know? But Tim was hiding somewhere, watching. Austin didn’t even touch me, but when I got back to my dorm, Tim pulled into the parking lot behind me. He screamed at me forever, said horrible stuff. When I tried to defend myself, he slapped me. I was so shocked, I should have kicked him in the nuts, should have run, something, but as soon as he did it, he broke down, apologized, he even cried telling me he was so sorry, that he was just so upset about me seeing other men and promised he’d never do it again. It didn’t happen again for a long time, a few months I think, but eventually, he would slap me any time I disagreed with him.”
Taking in a ragged breath, she kept going, though I knew it cost her to tell me this much.
“It was the day before Christmas Eve, I was leaving to come home for the holidays, which he wasn’t happy about. He’d met my parents a couple of times, and knew that I had to do what my father told me. Anyway, when I told him I wasn’t coming back to school until New Year’s Day, he got pissed. Nolan was scheduled to be home and I hadn’t seen him in so long. Tim knew that Nolan and I were just friends; that nothing had really ever happened between us, but that’s when he lost his mind. I’ve never been so afraid in my life.”
“You’re doing great baby.” I encouraged her, her trembling body worried me, I wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to continue, but not only did I need her to, I knew that she needed to get this out. I needed her to trust me enough to give me all of her burdens so I could share that load with her.”
“Well, he slapped me a couple of times, which wasn’t new, but instead of stopping there, he punched me in the side of my head.” Pointing to the spot, to show me what she meant. Inside I was vibrating with rage and for the first time in my life actually contemplated murder. It was a good thing he was locked up.
“He punched me over and over, in the head, the face, shoulders, I collapsed to the ground, I curled into a ball trying to protect myself, but I didn’t scream. I lived in the dorms, hadn’t ever gotten my own place, there were always people around, but I didn’t make a sound. I just crouched on the floor and cried quietly. He didn’t let up for so long, he had sneakers on, thankfully he didn’t have on his work boots. He kicked me so many times, my side, my back, my legs, everywhere he could reach. At one point, he grabbed my hair and pulled me into my little room, picked me up and threw me on the bed. It was cold, so I was wearing jeans. I was wrapped up so tight, he couldn’t get me to let go so he could get my pants down. He told me that he was going to fuck me up so Nolan wouldn’t want me, a lot of stuff like that. He tried, he really tried to get my pants off, but after a while, someone must have heard something because my roommate came rushing in the door to our suite. I didn’t look, but he apparently pulled up his pants and ran. I didn’t see him again.”
“Jesus Christ, baby, you are so brave. I can’t believe he did all that to you, look at you now, so fucking amazing.” I said, running my fingers through her beautiful hair. I felt her smile against my chest and we laid there a long time, just taking it all in. I knew the gist of what happened later, but I had to know what exactly that dick had done. I didn’t ever want to trigger her fear because of that. That would kill me.
We lay in silence for a long time, her silent tears dripping onto my chest. I hated when she cried, but these were necessary, I knew she needed this from me now.
“Tell me something about yourself.” She requested long after her tears had stopped falling. I took a few minutes to think about it, then decided to start at the beginning. I told her about my dad, how he left us when I was four, how my mom worked her ass off to raise us on her own. I told her about moving to a cheaper house and meeting Dylan. How we were rivals for the top-dog spot
until he protected my sister.
Hope understood why I’d chosen to join the Marine Corps, leaving just days after high school graduation. I even told her about the day Dylan died and about Nolan’s letter.
I didn’t expect my heart to feel lighter after I gave her all that, but it did. Just like I shared her burdens now, she shared mine. We each carried more from the other, but sharing our own made it all more bearable somehow.
Epilogue
Jake
“Honey, come check this one out, it’s huge!” Hope’s voice rang from somewhere in the house. I wasn’t sure where she’d gotten to, she was amazingly fast considering how large she’d gotten.
“Where the fuck are you?” I shouted at her, earning a raised brow from the realtor. Like I gave a fuck what this woman thought of me.
“Master,” she shouted back. I headed that way and found her standing inside an enormous closet. It had been tricked out with shelves and cabinets and all kinds of fancy hooks and shit. I guess from a woman’s perspective; it was pretty cool.
Walking up behind her, I wrapped my arms around her, and positioned my hands so they splayed over her largely rounded stomach. I loved holding her like this.
“You want this one baby?” I whispered in her ear, pressing my semi-hard cock suggestively into her back. I guess it was a good thing the realtor hadn’t followed me back here.
“Mmmhm” she moaned, letting her head fall back onto my shoulder.
I leaned in, kissed the side of her neck and heard the clicking heels of the realtor nearing us. I turned, made eye contact with the woman and said, “We’ll take it.”
We’d been shopping for a house for almost five months. Once Hope had recovered from her injuries and looked back to normal, she’d moved in with me officially. Part of that was me not wanting her to be away from me and part was her not wanting to live in her house anymore. We’d agreed that we’d find something larger to buy, since my place wouldn’t accommodate us comfortably for long.
