A Hope and a Chance(55)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“Good morning, ladies. Hope, these are for you,” he said as he leaned over and kissed my forehead.

Before he could stop me, I pulled him in for a hug. His arms wrapped around my back, and I felt completely safe. Having him comforting me only made my emotions go into overdrive. I began to sob against his chest, and when he didn’t let go, it only reminded me what could have happened if he hadn’t found me.

He rubbed my back, while I continued to cry. “It’s okay, baby. I won’t let them near you again. I promise.”

I appreciated what Buffy had been doing, but Chance always saved me, even from myself sometimes. I couldn’t get what Trevor did out of my head, but suddenly, with Chance’s arms tight around me, I felt protected again.

“I love you.” I whispered in his ear.

He leaned down and kissed my nose. “Me too.”

Chance got himself some coffee and sat next to me to eat his breakfast. Buffy said she wasn’t hungry, and I knew it was because she and my father were having problems over what happened to me. I appreciated that she took my side, but I felt bad for her being in the middle.

I wondered if she would’ve been on my side had Chance and I not been involved. Would she have just thought I was some spoiled brat kid, trying to get my daddy’s attention?

Just as we finished eating we heard the door shutting. My father marched into the kitchen. He never even acknowledged me, but instead asked Buffy to come into his office. I felt hurt, but as they left the room Chance put his hand on my leg. “You okay?” He whispered.

“As long as you’re here I’m fine.”

We sat there leering at each other, until we heard loud hollering coming from the office. Chance and I both got up and crept closer to the hallway so that we could hear what they were saying.

“I won’t let you do that, Mark. Do you have any idea what he has been through? You owe him an apology. I can’t believe it was so easy for you to jump to conclusions about him. Was it that much easier for you to accuse my brother than those little assholes?” Buffy slammed.

“This business deal could determine our future. I can’t let some misunderstanding affect that. Hope is going to be fine. She’s a strong girl and she never has to see those boys again. I don’t see why we can’t just let it go,” my father snapped back.

“Let it go? Are you fucking kidding me? Your daughter was sexually assaulted last night, and you want to let it go?” Buffy yelled.

“I would hardly say she was sexually assaulted, Buff…”

Buffy interrupted him. “If it weren’t for my brother she could have been raped. They exposed her and fondled her. What is your fucking idea of sexual assault, because obviously we have different views?”

“I refuse to argue about this shit with you, Buffy. I’ve got too much riding on this deal to have teenage drama get in the way. Go find your brother. I need to speak with him.” My father ordered.

We ran back into the kitchen until we saw Buffy emerging. She had tears in her eyes, and I could tell she was not a happy camper. “Chance, Mark wants to see you.”

I led her to sit down while I sat next to her.

The men’s meeting wasn’t loud like he and Buffy’s. After about twenty minutes Chance came walking into the kitchen. He didn’t say a word as he sauntered past us and headed outside.

Buffy got up and immediately went running after him. It killed me that I couldn’t be outside with them, but I didn’t want to get into trouble.

My father came into the kitchen and I turned to face him. “Hope, I’m very sorry about what happened. I wasn’t aware of what Chance did for you. I didn’t realize he would do something so noble. As far as what happened last night, I can only ask for you to try to let it go. I have too much at stake to ruin this deal, and I realize that’s hard for you to understand. It’s what has to be done.”

My eyes filled with tears. I hated him.

I got up and ran outside toward the pool house. He wasn’t going to keep me from checking on Chance. I didn’t care if I lived out of my car.

As I got closer to the pool house, I could hear them yelling.

“I don’t have a choice, Buffy.” Chance was losing his calm demeanor, more by the second.

“You could have said no. Do you have any idea what this is going to do to her?” Buffy asked.

“Of course I do, don’t you think this is killing me? I don’t know what else to do. I’m kind of stuck, and Mark knows that. Can you blame him? He knows if I stick around I’m going to the authorities. If it was up to me they’d be in jail instead of with their daddy at some club. This is bullshit, and he knows it. It’s not like it’s forever. It’s just until the deal is over. I’ll be back. I’ve got no other options,” he exclaimed.

My heart started beating faster. I knew something was wrong, so I rushed into the pool house and stood there waiting for an explanation.

“Maybe I should leave you two alone,” Buffy suggested.

I shook my head. “No, please stay.”

Chance pulled me over and sat me down on the chair. “Hope,” he said before getting choked up. “I have to leave.”

This couldn’t be happening.

That son of a bitch didn’t believe me last night, and then when he saw me protecting his daughter he couldn’t take it.

He sat me down and asked how I felt about the whole ordeal, as if he gave a damn. I assume my answer set his plan into motion, because I told him there was no way that I was keeping my mouth shut about what Trevor and his brother had done to Hope. He must have made some calls last night or early this morning, because I was on the next flight to South Carolina to work on the construction of a hotel. He didn’t give me an option. He said it was an opportunity I needed to take and that he had done a lot to get me the position.

I did not thank him. In fact, I wanted to hurt him. He was such a fucking coward. Now I’d have to abandon Hope when she needed me the most. It broke my heart, and it killed me more that I had to be the one to tell her. She was never going to understand.

“What do you mean you have to leave? Where are you going? When will you be home?” She asked.

My eyes filled with grief, and I didn’t want to feel like a pussy, but this was torture. “Your father got me a job working on a construction site in South Carolina. It will last for a few months, and then he said I can come back.”

“No! No way! This can’t be happening. Why would you agree to it? Please, Chance, you can’t just leave me here.” Hope was clinging to my arms, her words becoming hard to make out, because she was crying so badly. “You can’t leave. You can’t leave me here all alone.”