Page 56 of Wrecked By You

I pushed away my nerves, and I told myself that if I was going to live in this town, I had to get used to it. “It’s okay.”

We got into the pizza place and sat out on the balcony that overlooked the beautiful lake. There was light music from an open mic at the restaurant, and people were casually taking strolls along the shore.

Ella turned to me. “Okay, you have to give us the scoop, because Damon tells us close to nothing.”

“What do you want to know?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

Nora put her hand on mine. “Anything you want to tell us.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, because I wasn’t intimidated by these women. I had known most of them most of my life.

Ella took a sip of water. “Why don’t you tell us how things are going at the police station?”

That was an easy topic. “It’s like I’ve been doing it my whole life. I love taking the calls. I love problem-solving and figuringout who needs to go out on the call. I love talking to the people, and I guess it makes me feel good that I can use my experience to help others. There was a call the other day where the woman was facing some PTSD, and I could talk her through that.”

Kayla looked concerned. “Do you have PTSD from Kyle?” She glanced at her mother, who was giving her a scolding look. “I mean, you don’t have to share.”

I knew I was blushing. “I do. And I know I have some from growing up the way I did. Especially from my father. I’ll have dreams about when he beat me up.”

We went silent for a minute. Then Kayla put her hand over mine, too.

My eyes misted up from their concern. “I’m fine, really.”

Kayla got up from the table and went around it so she could hug me. “I’m so sorry for all of the things you’ve gone through.”

I was taken by surprise at her gesture, but I hugged her back. “Thank you. It’s fine. I’ve talked a lot to God, and He’s helped me.” I smiled at all of them. “He led me back here.”

Ella hugged me next. “We are so glad you came back here, and we are here for you if you ever need it.”

Nora squeezed my hand. “We are.”

I was overwhelmed with support. “Thank you.”

The pizza and our salads came, and we ate. Ella talked about what it was like to be married to Noah, about the new house, and about working at the hospital. Kayla talked about real estate. Nora talked about working in the shelter, and I admitted how grateful I was for the shelter.

Nora took a drink of water. “We all have much to be grateful for.”

My mind spun, and I thought about how nice it was to have these women in my life. I decided to open up to them. “I have a confession for all of you. My father has a parole hearing in a couple of days.”

Kayla covered her mouth and gasped. “A hearing? They are honestly going to let that scumbag out?”

It made me so happy that she was on my side.

Nora shook her head. “No way.”

Ella said, “Damon didn’t say anything about it.”

I shrugged. “I must admit to you ladies that I’m scared. I could go testify against him. I could probably make a difference on whether he gets out or not. But I’m scared. I don’t want to face him.”

Nora nodded. “That’s understandable.”

Kayla grunted. “I want to talk to him. I want to testify for you. I remember it. I remember the way you looked. I remember how long you were in the hospital. I remember going to visit you.”

“Everyone hated it for you,” Ella agreed. “I remember too. I’m so sorry you ever had to go through all of that.”

Nora patted my hand. “I remember the way Damon looked after visiting you in the hospital. He was so angry. That night, he told me he wanted justice for people. I honestly think that that might have been a key reason he went into law enforcement. Because he wanted truth and justice foryou, and he wanted it for everyone.”

I hadn’t considered that all of them would have their own memories of my pain. I really hadn’t thought about how the whole situation had affected Damon. “Wow.”

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