AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s one thousand percent accurate,” Mel said with conviction. “But we were perfect for each other, and that’s what mattered. He was the man I needed to take care of me and my daughter at a time that was terrifying and filled with few answers. He didn’t flinch or back away just because things would be hard sometimes.”
“And Lance won’t either,” Ivy added.
“Logically, I know that’s all true. Emotionally, Lance has already had an incredibly difficult year. I’m supposed to be his friend and moral support right now. Not the other way round. He doesn’t need Brenda pulling dramatic overtures in his driveway on a Friday night.”
“What did Lance say last night when your mother arrived without warning?”
I fiddled with my fork rather than make eye contact when I answered. If they read in my eyes how much it meant to me that he stood up for me, they’d never let this go. “He told her she was trespassing and she needed to leave his property or he’d call the police to have her removed. This was after she said terrible things about the two of us being together. He wouldn’t stand for it, and escorted me past her to the door. When she kept yelling, he reminded her he was about to call the police. I think, anyway. I was so horrified by what I said, I think I blacked out what happened after that.”
“What you said? To Lance or Brenda?” Ivy asked.
“Brenda.” I finally lifted my head with a sigh. “It wasn’t nice. I remember calling Bruce a miserable man and that I hoped he’d rot in hell. It wasn’t my finest hour.”
The girls were all trying to hide their smiles, but it was Mel who spoke. “I wish I’d had the chance to tell my parents off that way.”
Heather nodded. “Me too. I walked away from them, but I never got to acknowledge to their faces how much they hurt me.”
"You know if you really haven't spoken to him in years, now might be your last chance to do exactly that,” Addie said, pointing at Heather.
I waved my hand in the air. "No point. Bruce isn't even conscious and even if he were, he hasn’t recognized anyone in years. Hell, he might be dead already. When Brenda came to the house last night, she said it was a matter of hours."
"It couldn't hurt to check," Heather said. "If he's still alive it might serve you well to lay all your burdens back on him. Let him die with them so you can be free."
“Lance suggested the same thing.” I thought about it for a moment but finally shook my head. “I don't think it’s worth the effort. He wouldn't even know I was there.”
“It doesn't matter what he comprehends,” Becca said. “What matters is that you're free. If you have a chance to tell your abuser that you no longer live in the shadow of his beliefs, then you have to take it. Trust me, I know it's hard, but it's important for your own well-being. When I was given the chance to write a victim impact statement, I took it. I wanted a chance to put all the bad vibes back on him for what he did to me. Granted, he wasn’t the only person responsible for me being the way I am, but once I spewed it out onto the paper, I felt so much better about that chapter of my life.”
“I agree with all of you,” I finally said, making eye contact with them. “I know it’s probably the smart choice here, but that doesn’t mean it’s the easy choice. I’d have to deal with Brenda, and after last night, I don’t know if that would be smart.”
Ivy squeezed my shoulder, and the motion was filled with the love of a mother I didn’t have. “When Lucille was dying, I didn’t want to go see her in the nursing home either after her stroke. Shep was the one to convince me that I needed to say goodbye. Granted, there were different circumstances surrounding our situations, but I was so glad I went and saw her. Listen, Indie, you have to do what's right for you. We aren't trying to tell you what to do. We're simply saying you shouldn’t let stubbornness keep you from looking at this from all angles, and making sure that deep down you don’t want that final chance to say something to him.”
They were just trying to be helpful, so I pasted on a fake smile before I spoke. “I know you're just looking out for me and I appreciate it. I'm going to go home and give it some thought.”
Ivy patiently rubbed my shoulder. “That sounds like an excellent plan. Just remember time is of the essence in this case.”
“I will. Thank you,” I whispered, fighting back tears. “For showing up here at an ungodly hour and having my back even when I’m being a drama queen.”
“You are not being a drama queen,” Ivy insisted as she stood and dragged me out of the booth to hug me. “Every single one of us here has been through a situation like this and we all understand exactly how you feel right now. Don’t even think that we’re judging you. We aren’t. Got it?”
All the other heads bobbed and one by one they hugged me until I felt like I had my feet under me again.
“I don’t know what the right thing to do is, but I do know you all understand that feeling too.”
Mel squeezed my hand and offered a smile. “We do understand. You know who else understands?” I shook my head as her smile grew. “That guy in there cleaning up breakfast. It’s okay to lean on each other right now. You don’t have to be the strong one all the time.”
“She’s right,” Ivy agreed. “Lance is different than most guys you’ve known. His mind doesn’t do the same things ours do sometimes.”
I wrapped my arms around my waist and nodded. “Yeah. He always defends his opinions about life by saying, ‘it might be the screwed-up pathways in my brain.’ I know he has a traumatic brain injury, but usually, when he says that, it doesn’t have anything to do with his brain and everything to do with his heart.”
“What do you mean?” Becca asked as she put on her coat. I forgot all of them had places to be this morning.
“Just that he’s more intuitive than he thinks, but he doesn’t want people to think he’s too sensitive, or whatever, so he uses his brain not working the same as ours as an excuse.” I waved my hand in the air. “Forget it. That sounded dumb. I’m dumb. Just ignore me.”
“Stop,” Ivy scolded using her full Mom voice on me. “We didn’t say you were dumb or that it sounded dumb. Personally, I completely understood what you said.”
“Me too,” said four other voices.
Addie and Heather had their coats on and hugged me again. “We have to open the salon. We love you. Let us know if we can do anything,” Heather said.
