Page 40 of Fractured Hope
Turning to Atticus, I smiled. “I’m going to talk to Kay for a minute, okay? We’ll grab a table.”
“Sure, take your time. I’ll fill this guy in.” Atticus grabbed Lyric around the neck and gave him a noogie. We walked to the table, snickering at Lyric’s outraged squeak.
I carefully sat and placed my crutches against the wall behind me, out of the way.
“What’s going on, Bodhi?” Anxiousness had crept into Kay’s voice. While I didn’t want to scare him, I believed I could tell him anything, so I decided to let him know at least some of what was happening.
Sighing, I wasn’t sure where to start. “First, I want to say thanks again for helping me through my panic attack yesterday.”
Kay patted my hand where it rested on the table. “It was no problem. I know what it’s like. Have you thought any more about talking to someone?”
“Well, sort of. It came up today, and that’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about. When you caught me yesterday, I’d just found some scary emails from my ex that I wasn’t prepared for. They obviously triggered me. I’m not sure what you’ve heard, but my ex was physically and emotionally abusive, and I ran away from him, which is how I ended up here. I thought this would be far enough away that he’d never find me. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. It looks like he might’ve found me and left a threat, kind of, at the workshop. Seb was the one to find the threat and that was probably why he was so stressed.”
“Oh, Bodhi. I had no idea.” He clasped my hand in his. “Have you told Max? What can we do to help?” His face shone with care. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of having a friend again.
“Yes, I went over everything with Max, Seb, and of course, Atticus. Max mentioned filing a protective order, but I’m not sure. I’m scared it could make things worse.”
“Max wouldn’t suggest something lightly. If he recommended it, then it’s probably a good idea.”
Atticus and Lyric approached our table. Lyric was pale and a little shaky as he lowered himself into his seat next to Kay, avoiding eye contact with anyone. His usual mischievous demeanor seemed to have disappeared.
“You told Max you would.” Atticus glanced at me, gaze assessing. “He sent through the paperwork, and we have an appointment at the courthouse Monday morning.” He took my hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “It’ll be okay. Max and I will be there with you. We’ll keep you safe.”
I knew he was right, but I was scared. Filing this protective order would mean Derek would know exactly where and when to find me, and it could affect Derek’s job. If he lost his job, then he really could go off the deep end. I feared what that messy scenario could lead him to do.
“We can come, too. For moral support,” Kay added as he nudged Lyric with his shoulder. “Right?”
“Um... . Yeah, of course,” Lyric said with a forced grin.
Heavy silence settled over the table as a pretty blond brought over iced tea and BLTs for everyone.
“You must be Bodhi. I’m Kathleen, this one’s slightly older twin sister.” She tussled Kay’s hair. “It’s great to finally put a face to the name.”
She was sunny and sweet with brown eyes and a lean, athletic build. You could tell they were siblings because they had the same oval face, high cheekbones, and honey-blond hair. They were also of a similar height. I had to wonder if their parents were tall, too.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Enjoy.” With a wave, she left us to our massive sandwiches.
“Thanks for lunch.” I leaned over and kissed Atticus on the cheek, not thinking anything of it as I dug into my food. Thankfully, Atticus had gotten us a sandwich to share, knowing how big they were and that we had to meet Doc soon.
No one else spoke as we ate. I was a little worried by how Lyric was acting. He’d barely looked at me and seemed to be zoned out. I could tell Kay was worried, too. He kept glancing at him from the corner of his eye.
20
ATTICUS
Our appointmentwith Doc was quick and no-nonsense. Bodhi’s foot, ankle, and wrist were all healing well. He’d been given the choice to have a removable splint on his wrist instead of having it recast even though it was a little early. He’d jumped at the option, stating how frustrated he was getting with the cast. He only had to wear it for two weeks, along with his walking boot, and he was so happy to not be weighed down by a bulky cast anymore.
We decided to skip Sunday lunch at Mama’s. She was disappointed, but with everything that had happened, she understood. She said she would come by the shop during the week to check on Bodhi herself. I loved my Mama, and while she was nosey, it just showed how much she cared. It warmed my heart to know she liked Bodhi.
Understandably, Bodhi didn’t feel like going out, so I decided to plan a little spontaneous date for us at home. I wanted to pamper him and let him know how much he was beginning to mean to me. I was determined to keep his mind off ourupcoming Monday appointment and keep him distracted for as much of the day as I could manage.
I didn’t feel comfortable leaving Bodhi alone with his ex being out there. So, I enlisted the help of my brothers, along with Kay. I had them get a bunch of stuff that I needed to set about surprising Bodhi with our little date.
After our usual breakfast, I suggested he take a relaxing bath and read.
“That sounds amazing!”
