Page 54 of Feeding Hope
“I never want to leave you, Jesse. I love you.”
“You’ll never have to leave me, sweetness, and I’m not leaving you because I love you more. I’m sorry you have to deal with this on your own. I want nothing more than to be there right now, curl up with you in my arms, and make it all disappear for you.”
A sniffle traveled through the line. “Okay,” she finally agreed. “I’ll call Ava. She always said I was welcome to come and visit. I’ll take the first bus there.”
Relief passed through me. Lyrical found it difficult to make friends, but she’d eventually bonded with a Marine wife across the hall from the apartment. My father would never think to look for her there. Plus, if something went wrong, she’d be close to the base, and they would help her.
“Call her as soon as we get off the phone. Buy an airplane ticket.” She protested. “Don’t argue, sweetness. We can afford the flight. Make sure you take enough money with you to stay for two weeks. If you can’t stay with her that long, get a hotel.”
“I love you, Jesse. Please be safe.”
“You too, sweetness. Text me when you get to Joelle’s. I’ll call as soon as I can.”
After I hung up, I sat on the edge of my bunk, the phone clutched loosely in my hand between my knees. All her life, she fought for everything. As smart as she was, as wonderful as she was, the unfairness of even more shit being piled on top of her ate at me. My girl was a fighter though. No matter what, she refused to quit.
My memory drifted back to the first challenge we faced. Our first date. The Snow Ball. She looked beautiful in the pale blue dress I bought her, like a princess. Jamie’s date, an exchange student whom he’d been chasing for a few weeks, helped her do her hair and makeup.
She was incredibly nervous, but after a lot of coaxing from me and gentle flirting from Jamie, she relaxed. We had a great time.
But the following Monday at school, the whisper campaign began. Everywhere she went, people stared. Conversations stopped when she walked into a room. A few times, people made comments aloud for her to hear. Everyone was talking about how she “gave it up” to me the night of the dance and what a total slut she was.
Of course, it wasn’t true. I was pretty sure Natasha started it all, pissed off I turned her down and took Lyrical instead. Calling her out publicly had been my plan, but Lyrical begged me not to. Said it would make things worse, but there was no way I was going to let it go unchecked. Instead, I made sure everyone at school saw us together everywhere. I sat with her at lunch, walked her to all her classes, held her hand, and kissed her hello and goodbye every time we met and parted ways.
Jamie staunchly defended her to everyone, but that backfired big time. Suddenly, the new rumor was that Lyrical was “doing both the Forbes boys.” The rumors got worse and worse, so much so that she was called into the principal’s office and suspended for three days for “causing a distraction” amongstthe students. We were livid when we heard about it, but our attempts to argue with the administration got nowhere.
Then our parents heard about it. I tried to explain to them it was all lies, but because Jamie had such a wild side, they thought he influenced me. Leading me astray or some shit like that. I swore none of it was true, and so did he, but they weren’t having it. My parents forbade me from even speaking to her.
Yeah, that wasn’t happening. However, I kept our time together on the down low from my parents, and figured when I went away to school, they’d assume I was too busy to talk to her anymore, especially since I was across the country from her at Stanford. What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.
But this? This went beyond the pale. It ended now.
Shoving off from my bunk, I strode out of the tent and to my captain’s makeshift office. Upon arrival, I knocked on the trailer door and waited.
“Enter!” came the muffled response.
I crossed to his desk, stood before the desk he sat behind. He frowned. He saw that something was wrong. “What is it, Forbes?”
My stomach clenched. I knew I couldn’t go home. Yes, my wife was in distress, but my father visiting her would not qualify as an emergency.
“I have a situation at home, sir.”
“With Lyrical?” he asked. He sat up straight. “Is she ill?”
“No. But she’s being harassed. By my father. It’s a long story, but both my brother and I went no contact with our families after our freshman year of college. Lyrical was part of the reason. Since then, my family has tried many times to break us apart.”
“I’m not exactly the best person for relationship advice—”
“It’s not that,” I assured him. “Lyrical and I are fine. I sent her to Parris Island to visit a friend for a couple of weeks. Hopefully that gets my father off her for the time being. But I don’t knowhow I can help her legally. Is there someone on the base she can go to?”
“Any Judge Advocate can help her. You know that.”
“Yes, but… I need someone good. I need someone who will not let money or power sway them. My father has both, and he’s proven in the past he’s not above trying to use them. He actually tried to buy my way out of the Marines.”
“So you need a recommendation. Someone who would stand up to your father because he’ll try to turn it around to get what he wants.”
“Yes.”
The captain sat for a moment, his fingers drumming on his desk. “He’s not a JAG. Not anymore. He’s in private practice these days, and he doesn’t come cheap. But I’ll call him. He might help you. More likely, he’ll help Lyrical.”
