A Hope and a Chance(69)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“Officers, my daughter is not eighteen. Don’t I have the right to prevent her from perjuring herself?” My father asked.

“Stop it. You can’t take him away. He was protecting me,” I reiterated.

They all seemed to be arguing with me, but as if time froze and left me and Chance alone in the room I caught his stare and everything stopped. I didn’t hear the arguing. I didn’t hear anything. All I saw was the man I loved.

“Miss, if you would like to follow us down to the station to file charges against Mr. Thomas, feel free to do so.” They said as they started taking Chance out of the house.

Buffy stopped me before I could run after them, but the tears became worse.

Before the car pulled away, my father had a lawyer on the phone. We all packed into the SUV and headed to the station.

At first, my father was quiet, but after a few minutes he shocked us both. “Hope, I need to know if you’ve ever been intimate with Trevor. He has a reputation at the club and I want to know the truth.”

I was afraid, but I wanted my dad to hate Trevor. “Yes. He was my first. He practically forced me then too. He’d said I didn’t love him if I didn’t go through with it. He cheated on me and lied to me, and if Chance hadn’t been there over the summer, he would have raped me, while his brother stood there watching,” I confessed.

It was difficult to admit it out loud. In some ways I knew I was breaking his heart, more than any other thing in life possibly could. Through our struggling relationship I finally saw my father; the one that helped raise me when I was little.

He got all choked up and then began hitting the steering wheel. “How could I have been so stupid? Damn it! I brought him into our home. I did this,” he yelled.

Buffy reached over to grab his shoulder, and I leaned forward doing the same. “You didn’t know, dad. Nobody knew. Chance was the only one.”

“I sent him away; away from the only family he has, for a fucking business deal, and now he gets arrested for keeping you safe?” His remorseful words touched my heart. He was finally opening his eyes. “Honey, I’m so sorry.” He looked to Buffy. “And I’m sorry the most to you, Hope. God, I can’t believe I put a business deal before my own daughter’s safety.”

“Dad, let’s just worry about Chance. He’s the important one tonight. We can deal with everything else once he’s home safe.”

For the rest of the ride to the jail we all remained quiet. Once we got inside we were told that Chance was in intake. My father left Buffy and I to find out what bail would be set for. After we waited another forty minutes he came back out and said that Chance couldn’t face the judge for a bail hearing until morning and there was nothing that we could do.

I thought about going straight to an officer and filing a report about Trevor, but I had thought of another plan while I waited.

During the drive home my father and Buffy talked about going to court in the morning, and how they were going to deal with things. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and searched for a number I never thought I would be using again.

39

This was my last resort. I buried my pride and built up the strength to do it; and then I texted the number.

Rylee we need to talk. ~ Hope

We were almost home before she responded.

We really don’t have anything to say. ~ R

No, there is A LOT to talk about. U owe me. ~ Hope

Look, I’m sorry. ~ R

I’m pressing charges against Trevor for sexual assault. ~ Hope

Please don’t!!! ~ R

This is what is going to happen. You are going to bring Trevor to talk to me right now. If you don’t show, I’m going straight to the police. ~ Hope

What if he doesn’t want to come? ~ R

Then I guess he can call a lawyer. You may want to tell him I have pictures of everything he did to me and witnesses. ~ Hope

Where? ~ R

The park in one hour. ~ Hope

Rylee didn’t write back, but I knew she was going to do her damndest to get Trevor there. The last thing she wanted was for her meal ticket out of this town to be incarcerated or have a criminal record.

Once Buffy and my dad went inside I ran up to my room and changed my clothes. I decided on black capris and a black shirt. I wanted to be invisible when they showed up, in case they weren’t alone. Before heading out I ran to the pool house and found a bat that Chance kept in his closet. There was no way I was going there without something to defend myself.

On the way, my heart was pounding through my chest. I heard my phone ringing over and over, but knew it was my dad. If I told them what I had planned they never would have let me go through with it.

When I pulled up I realized I was alone. The park was empty and dark with only the sounds of insects harping in the distance. I exited my vehicle and sat down on a bench located directly in front of where I parked my car. The headlights illuminated where I sat, causing it to be difficult for me to see the approaching vehicle. I could hear the tires on the gravel road and decided to stand up to see how close the car was getting. When it pulled up beside mine, I tried to remain calm by holding my head up high and focusing on what I had come there for.

Trevor stepped out of the car first. He looked angry but I refused to fear him anymore. If he wanted to hurt me, it wasn’t going to happen. After what he did to Chance today, and the things that he’d said to me, I wouldn’t care if I killed him myself. When he got about five feet away from me I yelled at him. “Stop! Don’t come any further,” I warned.

“What do you want, Hope? Why have you drug me out here in the middle of nowhere? What do you think you’re going to accomplish?” Trevor questioned.

“I have a proposition for you,” I replied.

Even though I knew I was in quite a predicament, it felt good to be calling the shots.

“Okay, let’s hear it.”

“I want you to drop the charges against Chance.”

“Hell no! Why would you think I would do such a thing? Do you think I owe you some kind of favor? Everything I did to you was because you wanted it, Hope. Stop acting like you didn’t like it. Everyone likes what I have to offer.” Trevor was an egotistical bastard. He was the scum of the earth.

I snickered. “It’s so funny that you ask that.” I held the bat tightly in one hand, but began circling around Trevor. For some reason I felt like I had someone standing behind me, ready to attack Trevor if he made any moves. “I never enjoyed it, Trevor. In fact, being with you was like giving myself thousands of paper cuts. You disgust me.”