Page 32 of Hold On Through The Pain

A sob escaped her lips. She cringed as fear and pain filled her.

She stared at the ground, shaking her head as depression took over. It was too hard to live likethis. Stability, that’s what she needed, but she had none.

Pain hit her square in the chest. Striker wasn’t around. She wanted to talk to him, tell him everything that had happened, but he was out of touch, overseas somewhere.

“Do you have somewhere else to go?” The cop was being kind, and she was wrapped up in her head, feeling sorry for herself and here he was trying to be nice. Granted, her father had just threatened to kill her. She guessed that was an okay excuse for losing her manners.

She shook her head. “No.”

“There are a few shelters,” the cop said.

“I have my equipment. I need it. I can’t leave it here.”

“Equipment?”

She nodded. “I’m graduating soon from cosmetology school. I’m so close to being finished. I take state board exams in a month.”

He pulled out his phone and started typing. “There’s an inexpensive hotel not too far from here. It’s about sixty a night. I might be able to get the owner to lower the price. He does that for me when I get situations like this.”

She reached out and touched the officer’s arm. “Wait, this happens often?”

His lips pinched together as he screwed them up on one side, and his face scrunched up beforehe shrugged. “Yeah, it does. At least twice a month just for me. Maybe more.”

“Jesus.” She blew out a breath as reality hit. This was more common than she thought. Why were people so mean? Then worry about Striker hit. Would he accept her being pregnant?

“It’s rough out there. Usually, it’s a husband or a wife.”

“That’s sad.”

The cop glanced around, giving her a minute to wipe away the tears. Maybe it was just her emotions from the pregnancy, but she didn’t think so. What her father had done was horrifying.

He cleared his throat and shot her a smile. “How about you go start packing your supplies. Me and my partner will take you to the hotel this evening. You’ll be safe there.”

Her hope faded as her mind filled with thoughts of her dad. How could he be so evil? She met the cop’s gaze and gave a quick nod. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, and we’ll help you. There are good people out there.”

She blew out a breath, the weight of what had happened pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe. Sitting here wouldn’t get her out of her father’s house. It was time to get organized. It took her almost two hours to pack up her life. The cops left and said they would return in a few hours. Sheworried they wouldn’t come back to get her. She obsessed about Striker for almost an hour as she packed. Everything seemed too much. How could she expect strangers to be nicer than her father?

Three hours after the cops had taken off, she received a text, stating the police officer and his partner would be around in about an hour. Her heartrate picked up, and she took one last look through the house. Since she’d been planning on leaving her father’s house anyway, half of her things had been packed. Now she moved the four small boxes and two suitcases to the front hall, waiting for the cops to come help her.

Her father had attacked her just because she was pregnant. He was pure evil. Maybe she’d messed up having sex with Striker. She was pregnant, but she knew he would help her once he knew. He wasn’t the type of guy to abandon a pregnant girlfriend. At least she hoped he wasn’t. Maybe everything had been an act, but Striker had seemed real.

No, doubt, Striker was the man for her. And even if she decided not to be with Striker, she still wanted the baby. There wasn’t anything wrong with keeping this baby. She would work hard to be a good mother, even if she didn’t have any help.

When the police officers arrived out front of her house, this time, the circumstances were different. They helped her load the boxes into the backof the car, then gave her a muffin they’d picked up on the way over. The gift, even if it was small, brought tears to her eyes.

“Thank you.”

“You’ve had a hard day,” the officer said.

She nodded, then slid into the back of the car. The hard plastic seat was too straight, making it impossible to get comfortable, but the drive to the hotel wasn’t long. She didn’t say much because there wasn’t much to say.

The bile in her stomach calmed as she nibbled on the muffin. She had a little bit of cash from tips her clients at school had given her, but it wasn’t much. At fifty dollars a night, which was the rate the cop got her for the room, it would only be two hundred and fifty dollars for the rest of the week. After she finished school, she could get a better job, but she’d need to find a cheaper place to stay. Maybe she could swing paying this much for another week after graduation, but money would be tight.

The cops helped her with her last box. She wanted to give them a hug, but she didn’t feel it would be appropriate, so she shook their hands.

“Thank you.” She felt like they deserved more than words. They’d saved her life and she was indebted to them.

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