A Hope and a Chance(70)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“You expect me to do you a favor after you claim I disgust you? Are you fucking insane?” Trevor asked.

I pointed the bat at his head. “No, I’m not crazy, but I can be if I need to. Now, here’s my deal. You are going to drop the charges against Chance, or I will notify the police of how many times you sexually assaulted me. Included in that confession would be the documented photographs to prove what happened.”

“Anyone could have given you those bruises, you little bitch. Are you really trying to blackmail me right now? Nobody is going to believe that story coming from you, Hope. Everyone knows how poor your mother is. They will just assume it is some ploy to get money from my family.”

I hadn’t considered that Trevor would be smart enough to turn things around on me. The truth was that everyone in town knew my mother; it was a small town. The fact that he brought her into this made me angrier. “We have video surveillance at the house, Trevor. How do you plan on getting your way out of that one? Not to mention that your brother was involved. If I go after you, he goes down too,” I lied.

One minute Trevor was standing five feet away, but in a matter of only a second he had jumped on top of me, causing the bat to fly out of my hand, choking me. “You stupid little cunt! I’m going to kill you.” He roared, as his hand squeezed harder, constricting my airflow.

I tried to claw at him, kicking with my legs, and even punching him, but I couldn’t free his adrenaline-fueled hold. Just as I was about to lose consciousness, I felt his hands release me.

Rylee stood over me with the bat in her hand. Next to me, rolling around in pain, was Trevor. He was holding his side, screaming in agony. Rylee extended a hand to me as she kept a close eye on Trevor. “Are you okay, Hope?”

My throat was in immediate pain, but I managed to get out a “yeah”.

Rylee hiked over to where Trevor was still curled up. “Get up, you son of a bitch!” She ordered with tear-filled eyes.

I had gotten myself up and leaned against the car. My throat felt like it was scratched from the inside, and just out of natural reaction I held the outside of my neck.

Rylee pushed Trevor with the tip of the bat. “Sit down on your ass, Trevor. I can’t believe you were going to actually hurt her, maybe even kill her. I thought that you had changed. I thought you finally wanted a life with me, but your anger ruins everything.”

Trevor scrunched up his face and spit at her feet. “You were never anything but a common whore, Rylee. You knew damn well that all I wanted from you was some easy ass. My father would never let me get serious with someone like you.”

I couldn’t see Rylee’s face because her back was to me, but I knew what Trevor said was like a kick in the stomach for her. The park was silent for at least a whole minute. Rylee never backed away.

Finally, she moved closer to him, poking him with the bat. “This is how things are going to go.” She pushed the bat into his side, causing him to squeal in pain. “You’re going to get up and get into my car in the backseat. I’ll climb in beside you, to prevent you from moving an inch. Then we’re going to drive to the police station, where you will be dropping all of the charges against Chance Avery. If Hope’s evidence isn’t enough to convict you, I am sure that an eyewitness testimony will,” she threatened.

Trevor didn’t say a word. Instead, he held his head down and finally got up and started walking toward the car. Rylee had the bat pushed into his back the entire time. When I got into the driver’s side, I handed her my keys with my pepper spray attached. I didn’t have to tell her the reason; she nodded and pointed the bottle at his face.

While I began our drive back to the station I heard Rylee saying, “I’m so sorry, Hope,” from the backseat.

Maybe I could forgive her someday, but for right now all I wanted to do was to see Chance, nothing else mattered to me.

Trevor reluctantly made his way into the station and immediately began pleading his case. He told the officers that Chance had reacted in self-defense and that he didn’t wish to press charges after all. A detective came and did a thorough interview with him, in which I have no idea what was said. Once I saw his father come into the station I knew the shit had just gotten serious. As they walked back toward Rylee and me, she held my hand. I think she was afraid of what they’d say to her.

“If I never see either of you again, it will be too soon.” He said as he sauntered out of the police station doors beside his father.

I started to get up and go after him to give him and his father another piece of my mind, but Rylee pulled me back when she saw Chance emerging from a closed door. Our eyes met and I couldn’t help but run toward him. We embraced and I immediately started to cry. “I’m so sorry.”

“How did you get me out, Hope? What did you do?” He asked.

No part of me wanted to be mad at him for assuming I had to do something shady, but wasn’t that what I had done? “It doesn’t matter. Trevor will never bother us again,” I promised.

Rylee gave Trevor the finger and we all staggered out to her car. On the way back to get my vehicle she drove while Chance and I stayed locked in each other’s arms in the backseat. When we finally reached the park I leaned inside the window and thanked Rylee, before getting into my own car and driving us home.

It was no surprise that Buffy and my father were frantically waiting for my return.

40

Seeing Hope at the police station felt like a dream. I still didn’t know how she changed Trevor’s mind, and part of me was afraid to ask, but I trusted her. When she came into my arms for the first time I knew I wasn’t dreaming. She felt so warm, just like being home.

I didn’t say anything to her in either of the cars on the ride home; instead, I just held her hand and gazed at her beautiful face. She seemed happy, almost satisfied, in a way that I hadn’t seen in a long time. Of course, when we pulled up at the house we were faced with two very distraught family members.

Before they approached us, I had to know what had happened. “Hope, care to fill me in?”

She looked over at me and then back to her father and Buffy. “I told you already that Trevor will never be a problem for us again.”

“Should I be worried about you?” I asked.

“Nope. I’ll be fine. I just finally stood my ground and threatened to turn him in for everything he ever did to me, and I also kind of said that we had video surveillance of the outside of the house.”