Page 14 of Vetting the Biker

“She’s so sweet.” I love the smile Jenna has on her face.

“Let’s go to dinner, the three of us, before Wesley gets home. Then in a few days, we’ll bring Wesley and we can all go out to eat.” I want Jenna to know Wesley will be as important to me as Mallory.

“I would love that.”

Jenna

Robert’s words hit hard tonight. I’ve never been so terrified in my life of never seeing my son. Do I need to call Wesley? I need to reassure him this is not his fault. There is nothing he could do to make his father and me get along.

I’m biting my lip as Chase and Mallory talk on the way to the restaurant. I watch the cars behind us to see if I recognize anyone. Is this my life now? Watching for spies of Robert’s? I can’t live life like this, so I shake my head to clear my thoughts and get back into the conversation. Mallory is talking about going back to school soon and how she needs school supplies.

“I’m taking Wesley shopping for supplies next weekend if you want to come with us.”

“That’d be outstanding.” Mallory smiles at me.

Chase pulls into a parking lot, and we head into a local Italian restaurant and eat our weight in pasta. After dinner, Chase drops me off at home. He walks me to the door. “I had a great time tonight, Jenna.” Before I can respond, he drops his head down and places his lips on mine. Knowing Mallory is in the car, I don’t want to give her a terrible impression of me. “Now, babe, go inside and lock the door. I need you safe.” I nod my head and walk inside, making sure I lock the door. About an hour later, he calls me, and we spend about two hours on the phone. I’m falling for this man.

Sitting at my kitchen table the next morning, I keep thinking of Chase and also Mallory. I hope Wesley likes him, and Mallory and he get along. These are my thoughts as I drink my coffee, staring out to the backyard, watching the dogs play. Wesley will be home in five hours. I spend most of those five hours cleaning, watching a movie, playing with the dogs, and keeping an on my clock.

I hear two car doors slam outside and I jump to the front door. Opening it so fast, I put a hole in the wall, but I didn’t care. Wesley is grabbing his bag from the back seat. Allison is talking to him, trying to get him to smile, but he seems to focus on his surroundings and then he sees me. A genuine smile is on his face.

“Mom!” He runs toward me. I meet him halfway down the sidewalk. “I missed you, and I’m so sorry about Dad.”

Grabbing his face so he looks right into my eyes, I say, “The problems your dad and I have nothing to do with you, so don’t you worry about it. Our lawyers will fix it.”

“He was really mad though.” Wesley has a tremble in his voice, and I’m trying to fight back the tears. I hug him tighter, afraid to let him go.

“It’s out of our hands now. You can tell me what you did on vacation and show me pictures.” Wesley and I walk into the house. My sister leaves with an, “I’ll talk to you later.” Wesley gets into the house and spots Matilda. He plays with her while totally ignoring me. I laugh at him playing hide the ball from all the dogs. It’s quite entertaining.

“Hey, Wes? Why don’t you go put your stuff away and I’ll take you to the diner for some food? There’s something I need to talk to you about. It’s nothing bad, I promise.” I rush out the last five words since he’s already a bundle of nerves. Wesley shrugs in his typical, preteen manner. He grabs his bags and heads upstairs. The dogs stay outside, running around chasing each other wearing themselves out. It’s entertaining to watch.

Heading back into the living room, I see Wesley’s baseball bag. “This kid and his allergy to putting this bag in the closet.” I wonder if this is a trait all teens have. I pick it up and remember my mother lecturing me about my volleyball bag being in the way. I open the door to the hallway closet and drop the bag as soon as I see the eyes full of hate. “Robert, what the fuck are you doing!”

Wesley

Sitting on my bed, I think about telling Mom I no longer want to see my father. My future stepmom is getting ready to leave him, and I know this because I overheard her talking to her friend on the phone. Dad has just been so… I don’t know the word to use except just plain crazy. I know Mom would always make sure I see Granny and PawPaw, but I don’t want to be around my dad. I go grab my wallet and hear a thump. I open my door and shout down the stairs.

“Mom, you okay?” Nothing. As I turn to go back into the bedroom to make sure I fed my fish, but I swear I hear her call for help. I walk down the stairs and round the corner, but before I can call for Mom, what I see has me rooted where I stand. My dad is on my mom, trying to choke her. I need to move, but the images of my dad killing my mom run through my head.

“You’re nothing but a whore and you’ll never see Wesley again.” My dad growls as his face turns red. The muscles in his arms flex as he tightens his hands around her neck. She whimpers something I can’t understand as her voice is hoarse from my dad strangling her. He releases his hold as he slaps her across the face.

“Hey, get off my mom!” Breaking the trance, I rush at my dad, not sure what I’m going to do. But I know I need to protect my mom. My arms are shaking with a mixture of fear and adrenaline as I reach out to hit him. My dad stops hitting my mom and pushes me so hard I hit the floor, landing on my tailbone. “Ow!” It’s all I can get out when my mom screams to me.

“Run, Wesley! Get out now!” My dad is so mad his face is red. “Remember, Wesley—no matter what, I love you.” Am I witnessing the end of my mom’s life? Is my dad really going to kill my mom in front of me? I can’t lose my mom. She’s my best friend and the only one who loves me in this entire world. It hasn’t registered to my dad that I’m here, I don’t think. My dad continues his punishment of my mom punching and choking her. My body frozen in time. What should I do? I need to protect my mom. Then I see it. My baseball picture is on the wall. My bat! I gather all of my strength to get up and avoid the pain shooting through my body to run out of the room and head to the hall closet to grab my baseball bat.

Walking back into the family room, I shout. “Hey, Dad! You know all those baseball games you’ve been missing? There’s something you should know. I’ve been known to hit a home run or two.” He pops his head up away from my mom and stares at me without really seeing me. I make sure before he can get one word out, I swing as hard as I can.Whack! When the bat connects with his head, it makes my arms shake, and he hits the floor. Dropping the bat with a loud crash, I run over to my mom. “Mom, are you okay?” I don’t think I killed him, but I don’t care. Mom is who I’m focused on. She’s lying there on the floor with blood on her face and in her hair. Her hands are touching her neck as she winces to sit up. I try to remember my CPR training in health class, but it’s all a blank. She’s trying to sit up. “Mom, don’t you think you should stay there until we can get help?” She motions she wants to get up. “Here, let me help you.” I hold my hand out and help Mom sit up.

“My hero!” Her voice is scratchy and barely a whisper as she rubs her throat. “Baby, go grab my phone and bring it here, please.” Mom points to the kitchen. I nod, then run to grab her phone. Running back, I drop beside her to hand her the phone. “Baby, I need you to look up Chase in the contacts and call him for me.” I stare at her because I’ve never heard that name before. “I was going to tell you at dinner, but I’m seeing someone.” Wow, my mind is blown, but now I understand why Dad is so psychotic. Is it weird knowing my mom is dating someone, maybe, but as long as she is happy and he’s nothing like my father, we’ll be great. I open the contacts and find Chase’s number; as I hit the call button, I wonder what Chase is like.

“Hey baby, missing me already?” Gross, but I’m on a mission. I hear the deepest voice I think I have ever heard.

“Um hi, Chase, this is Wesley. Jenna’s my mom.” Great, my voice cracked. I probably sounded like a dork.

“Yeah, I’ve heard a few things about you, but does your mom know you’re calling me?” The confusion in his voice has me remembering why I’m calling him.

“My dad was waiting in the house and choked my mom pretty bad. I took my baseball bat and hit him. I don’t think he’s dead, but he is passed out.” I get this update to him as fast as I can. The tears flow down my face like a tropical storm and now I wait for him to tell me what to do. If he’s dead, will they send me to jail?

“Is your mom awake?”

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