Talia replies quickly, latching onto the topic. “We heard. They had a meeting yesterday. I can’t believe this thing has been going on between Simon and Jaco, and we didn’t even know about it. Did you know about it? It must be horrible to be stuck in the middle of it all,” she asks.
Her question is so perfectly placed. It sounds innocent and filled with concern and curiosity.
Lindsey latches onto the attention, and her expression changes. A slight pout touches her lips, and her eyes grow wider with innocence.
“I have asked Jaco to let it all go, but he… he is. It’s not always easy to speak to him.”
She shifts uncomfortably in her seat and glances up and down the street again.Why does she look scared? Beneath thedoe-faced innocence, something else is hiding. It’s fear. Fear for what, though?
“What do you mean? You two are engaged. Aren’t you two happy together?” Talia pushes.
Lindsey laughs nervously. I think she meant for it to sound like a lighthearted giggle, but it comes out tight and awkward.
My heart clenches, and I reach out to touch her hand, instinctively picking up on her fear again.
“Lindsey, is something wrong? It’s okay, you can tell us,” I say, speaking gently.
She bites at her lower lip and drops her voice to a whisper as though the people walking past might be spies listening in. She leans closer over the table. “I… it’s not safe for me to talk about it,” she says.
Talia and I look at each other across the table, our eyes narrowed with concern.
“It’s safe with us,” Talia insists. “And if you need help, we’re here for you. Whatever it is. We can find a way to help you.”
Lindsey turns toward me with her brows knotted and an expression of guilt. “I’m so sorry for what I said to you the other night. It was so mean of me. I don’t know why I did it. I think I was just jealous. Simon is such an amazing man. He’s gentle and sweet and kind… he’s… he’s nothing like Jaco. Jaco is… he’s… dangerous.”
I clear my throat and bite my lower lip, trying to read behind her words.
After a moment, I say, “Lindsey, what makes you say that about your fiancé?”
She scoffs softly.
“If I could have run away months ago. I don’t want to be engaged to him.” She looks as though she might start crying as she begins to fidget with the massive engagement ring on her finger, as though it’s hurting her.
Talia lets out a heavy sigh.
“Is he… does he hurt you?” she asks, getting straight to the point. It’s what we are both thinking.
Lindsey bites at her lip and shrugs slowly. “It’s hard to explain. He’s never hit me. But he… he makes me feel worthless. He treats me like I’m nothing. He says things to me that hurt. I mean… they really hurt. If I have one hair out of place or if my nail varnish chips, he calls me disgusting. He says I’m an embarrassment. He’s already told me no one else would possibly love me… that I’m lucky he’s willing to marry me because no one else ever would…” Her voice is small and childlike as she tells us some of the horrible things he says to her.
The more we listen, the more we see the reality of her situation.
“Why don’t you leave?” I ask, worrying about her mental and emotional well-being.
She laughs softly as though I’ve made a joke. “He says he will kill me if I try to leave him.”
Talia’s mouth drops open in shock. She stares at me with fire in her eyes and a plan forming behind her angry expression.
Lindsey is trapped with a man who is mentally and emotionally abusing her. Now that her facade of confidence and bitchiness has broken away, we can both see it clearly.
She treats people like shit as a defense mechanism. Or maybe as an outlet or a cry for help against the hurt and fear she carries inside her.
I lift my chin in defiance and say, “You can’t go back to him, Lindsey.”
She shakes her head, smiling. “I have no choice, Blair. It’s not an easy situation. His family is powerful. Jaco is powerful. I don’t want to die. I’d rather wait. If I stay, he might get bored with me and one day let me go…” She says with a wistful tone.
“Or he might get bored with you and get rid of you some other way,” Talia says darkly. “You can’t go back.”
“Did you not hear what I just said. His family is powerful,” Lindsey whimpers, a single tear rolling down her cheek. She lifts her hand and quickly brushes it away, trying to adjust her expression to hide her emotions.
