Page 17 of Timeless Pages
His chest swelled with pride as my phone rang. I checked the caller ID, and when I saw it was Daniel, my heart started to pound.
“Hello?”
“Isa! I have good news. I’m leaving the courthouse now, and the judge has approved our motions. Morris Wilcox will be served immediately, and a court date has been set for September.”
September? That was still two months away. A lot could happen in two months.
“Isa?”
“Sorry, I’m here,” I replied.
“Isa, I know September feels like a long time, but it was the earliest we could get. The important thing is that he can’t touch your Uncle’s estate, and he can’t prevent you from using it. And with the restraining order, he will be arrested if he comes within fifty feet of you. This is good news, Isa. I promise,” Daniel assured me.
“You’re right. This is good news. Great news, actually,” I replied. I covered the phone with my hand and looked at Dave, who was listening closely. “Go take that damn ‘for sale' sign out of the window,” I told him.
Dave grinned widely as he shuffled over to the window to do as I asked.
“Thank you, Daniel. You’ve already done far more than I had hoped for. Waiting until September makes me anxious, but at least now I know he can’t sell the store from under me. I won’t lose my home.”
“I’m going to contact your uncle’s attorney, who drew up the will, so we can accurately assess the estate and ensure that your father isn’t trying anything sneaky. He won’t win, Isa. I won’t let that happen.”
“Thank you so much, Daniel. I don’t know how to repay you right now, but when all of this is over, maybe I can pay you for real,” I said.
“I don’t want your money, Isa. You don’t owe me anything, though. If you’re set on giving me something, you can be happy. Live your life. Take chances. Fall in love. Find your happiness, Isa. You deserve it.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t even know where to start with finding my happiness, though I was beginning to wonder if I’d find it with three older men. Who am I kidding? They probably see me as a kid.
“We’ll talk soon, Isa,” Daniel said before ending the call.
I turned to Dave and squealed with joy, wrapping him in a hug. “He can’t sell the place, Dave! And he isn’t allowed within fifty feet of me!”
”That’s fantastic news, Belle! We should go out and celebrate!” he cheered.
“You’ll have to celebrate without me. I think I’ve done enough outside peopling for one day. I’m just going to close up early and curl up in front of the fire with a good book,” I replied.
Dave tutted at me but didn’t press the issue. I paid him for helping with the store this morning, and he shuffled out the door. He’d be back later to sleep. For now, I had the whole place to myself. I locked the door behind him and then went into my room. First, I would take a nice, long, relaxing bath.
I went into my bathroom and adjusted the water temperature before plugging the drain. As the bathtub filled, I stripped off my clothes and looked at myself in the full-length mirror. I hated my body and what my father had done to it. How could anyone find me desirable when I looked like I had gotten into a fight with a paper shredder and lost?
I moved away from the mirror and lit the candles around the bathroom. I browsed through my bath bomb collection before selecting a wild mango-scented one and adding it to the tub. Baths were my guilty pleasure. When Uncle Jay asked what I wanted in my little studio apartment, the first thing I said was a giant bathtub. I didn’t care that I could have used the space more practically; I wanted a great big tub to soak in, and I got it.
I padded out to the main living area naked to pour myself a glass of wine and made myself a fruit plate to pick on. On my way back to the bathroom, I grabbed the book I was reading. I set everything up on the table that spanned the width of my tub and climbed in. A moan left my lips as the hot water began to soothe my tense muscles. I turned the tap off and shut my eyes for a moment to just exist.
My eyes popped open at someone knocking on the store’s door. Judging by the lukewarm temperature of the water, I had been asleep for a good amount of time. Dave must have come back and needed me to let him in. I quickly got out of the tub and pulled on my robe.
“Coming, Dave!” I called out as he knocked louder. I tied my robe closed and, out of habit, unlocked the door instead of peeking through the blinds first to see who it was.
The door exploded open, the edge hitting me in the head. “You dumb fucking cunt. Did you really think a fucking piece of paper could keep me away?”
My head was spinning from the blow, but I desperately tried to crawl away as fast as I could and get my feet under me. I wasn’t fast enough, and I screamed as my father grabbed me by the hair and dragged me further into the store. Further from the exit. Further from the chance of anyone on the street hearing me.
“You think the courts can stop this?!” He yelled as he straddled my stomach, pinning me to the ground, and punched me in the face. White dots clouded my vision, and my face burned like it was on fire.
“You thought you could stop me from selling this shit hole?!” He punched me with his other fist even harder, and it felt like the side of my face exploded.
I had seen my father angry and in a rage more times than I can count, but I had never seen him this unhinged before. Through the pain, I found sudden clarity. He was going to kill me. The sick game Father played with me my entire life was over, and he was going to kill me right here in the bookstore.
As if on cue, he pulled the familiar knife from its sheath at his back, always tucked away for whenever he felt I needed to be punished. “Everything you own is mine. You came from me, and you belong to me. Your life is mine to take.”
