Page 17 of Betrayal & New Beginnings

“I didn’t hear from him for months.Duringthat time,JackandIhad emailed back and forth, and we decided thatGranwouldn’t want us to hold on to her house, especially with all the work that needed to be done.Sheknew it was a money pit and would rather we spend that money on my education.Iwas going to come down toGeorgiaand stay withJack, maybe try to find a school here.Iwas already registered to start school inTennesseein a few weeks, butIfiguredIcould try inGeorgia, ifIneeded to.

To my surprise,Randallcame by to visit me at the restaurantIworked at one night.Hewas back to his old charming self, and told me to sellGran’shouse, move in with him, and then go to the school inTennessee, likeIalways wanted.Iwasn’t going to, but becauseGran’shouse sold so quickly,IfiguredIwould just move in withRandallfor a few weeks and then transition to campus housing once classes began,”Iexplained, trying to justify it, even thoughIknew it sounded dumb asIsaid it out loud.

“I’m not judging, but did you not have any friends you could stay with?” he asked sympathetically.

“I thought about it.Ireally did,”Isighed. “MyfriendKatieworked at the restaurant with me and offered to help me move in with her, but she was living in her parents’ basement while she finished nursing school.Thefew other friendsIhad from high school were all away at colleges outside the state.”

He nodded and sat there patiently listening whileIcontinued.

“Two weeks afterImoved in, the oldRandallwas back,”Isaid quietly looking down at my hands in my lap.

“At first, he got mad at me and accused me of not appreciating his graciousness and refusing to get back together with him.Iexplained thatIwanted to just focus on school and not get into a relationship again.Shortlyafter,Istarted having car trouble, soRandalloffered to take me to and from work while my car was in the shop.”

Wade’s eyes hardened even further, as if he knew what was coming.

“IfKatiewas working, she took me to and from work since we often worked the same shift, but sometimes she had class, soRandallwould do it.Oneof those nights, he came in a little beforeIleft and sat at the bar.Ifinished up with one of my regular customers, who was a really nice guy.Wetalked about his newborn twins and lovely wife all the time.ButapparentlyRandallthought there was more there.Heaccused me of lying to him on the car ride home.Hesaid obviouslyIwas interested in having a relationship with another man, just not him.Itold him about the guy’s wife and kids and howIwas just being polite to a long-time customer.”

I realized that when he was upset, there was no rationalizing with him.

“When we got home, he wouldn’t drop it.Hestarted yelling and screaming about howIwas embarrassing him because he was letting me stay in his house, butIwas secretly seeing other men.Istarted to get really angry becauseIwas doing no such thing, and…”Ipaused, taking a shaky breath.Ilooked atWade, and he just nodded, giving me the silent courage to keep going.

“He snapped.Heslapped me across the face,”Isaid it so quietlyIwasn’t sure he heard me.Butthe look on his face showed me he’d heard everything.Hiseyes were swirling with anger, and his mouth pinched into a line.

“Shocked,Istood there for a minute right after it happened, but apparently that was the wrong reaction to have, because he yelled more and pushed me up against a wall,”Isaid slowly, noticingWade’sfists were squeezed so tight his skin was white.

“That’s why you had marks on your face and neck when you first arrived here.”Henoted.

BothWadeandTammyhad noticed the bruises.Ilooked down, embarrassed for not doing a better job of covering those up.ButIwas also embarrassed becauseIknew he wouldn’t like my response.

“Umm…no, not really,”Isaid quietly, looking down at my feet.Hisfingers gently pushed my chin up forcing me to look at him. “No, those were from the second time.”

“Thesecondtime?” he asked, the shock in his voice was noticeable.

I couldn’t answer him or look him in the eye, soIjust nodded.

“What happened,Ellie?” he asked gently.

“After he pushed me against the wall, he suddenly moved away, told me to clean myself up, and then he just left.Isat there for a few moments and then reached for my phone.IcalledKatieand had her come pick me up.Ididn’t know how long he would be gone, soIgathered a few things quickly, and stayed withKatiethe next few nights.Thenwe made a plan for me to go back to his house whenIknew he was at work and gather up the rest of my stuff.KatieandIwere just going to bunk together in her parents’ basement untilIwas ready to attend school in a few weeks.”

“That’s good,”Wadesaid, giving me that little encouragement he somehow knewIneeded.

“I went over the followingThursday, becauseIknew he usually worked late those days, so that gave me some extra cushion on the timing.Katiehad to run a quick errand but was going to meet me at the house so we could load up both our cars.Iwent in and started packing as quickly asIcould, andIheard the door open.Ithought it wasKatie…”Mybreath hitched.

Wade reached out and put his hand on top of mine which was currently digging into the top of my thigh.Therewas something about his touch that reassured me and made me feel stronger.

“It wasn’tKatie.ItwasRandall.Hesaw me packing and started yelling.Icould see the rage on his face andItried to calm him down.Hecornered me and slapped me hard across the face.Hewrapped his hands around my neck and choked me.Thenhe…punched me, and the next thingIremember was waking up withKatie’sface hovering over mine,”Isaid, breathing hard and a little shaky.

Wade cursed, and his eyes turned menacing as he squeezed my hand.Then, as if realizing he might be squeezing too hard, he let go.Iinstantly missed his hand on mine.

“That’s where the marks came from when you arrived here,” he said, not really asking a question, just more of a confirmation.

“Yeah,”Isaid, looking down again. “Afterthat,Istayed withKatiefor a few more days, butIrealizedIcouldn’t stay in that town any more.Heknew whereIworked, and even whereIwas planning to attend college.IemailedJackand told himIwas coming toGeorgia.OnceIfelt good enough to drive,Igot in my car and headed down here,”Isaid.

Chancing a look up atWadeIrealized he was back to the neutral face that gave away nothing.

“How much does your brother know?” he questioned.

“Just thatIbroke up withRandalland decided to move down here.Pleasedon’t tell him,”Irushed to say. “Idon’t want to worry him while he’s finishing up his last tour.”

---