Page 32 of Trusting Trey
I felt Trey squeeze my shoulders and I was crying again, but this time for all the right reasons. “How come I haven’t heard about this?” I asked and she shrugged.
“We’re just getting to the point where we have enough guys signed up and vetted to make it work. We’re ready to launch after the holiday break. In the meantime, myself and a few of my friends have been walking with girls in groups as a show of solidarity, and to say we’re done being the victims. We will take our campus back now and make it a safe place for everyone. I hope in some way every girl we get home safely gives all of us a little bit of our confidence back in the human race. I also hope that every girl we get home safely gives you confidence to keep fighting for your dreams, even if your circumstances have changed.”
I nodded, Trey wiping away a tear from my cheek with a tissue. “Thank you,” I paused and laughed a little. “I don’t even know your name.”
She stuck her hand out and I shook it while she introduced herself. “I’m Briar. I’m studying special education.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Briar. You don’t know how much it means to me to have run into you today. I had a bit of a breakdown out there.” I tried to laugh at myself a little, even though I didn’t feel like it was a laughing matter.
“I can’t imagine what you’re going through, Allison. I’ll give you my number in case you ever need anything. In the meantime, how about a hot cup of coffee, a sandwich, and some cake to get you fueled up?”
“That would be nice, thank you, Briar,” Trey said, not letting go of me.
She stood and patted my shoulder. “It’s my pleasure. I hope you know that on campus, you’re a hero. You’re a champion of the girls who were never able to tell their story about what happened to them, and you opened the eyes of the administration about these traumatic, life-changing events that occur on their campus. Maybe on the hard days you can think about that and it will give you strength to go on.”
I nodded, my heart grateful for her words. “It will, thank you again, so much.”
She pointed toward the front. “I’ll be right back with your food.”
She walked away and I sat up a little bit straighter, keeping the blanket around me. “I didn’t see that coming,” I tried to joke, but he didn’t laugh.
“Neither did I, but I’m glad I brought you in here. I think you needed to hear that today, didn’t you?”
I nodded slowly, my chin trembling while I fought back tears, only this times they were tears of joy. “Makes the difficulties I deal with a little easier to swallow.”
“You’re strong and courageous, Allison, now you have proof of that. You’re making a difference in the world by being you. I’m proud to be the one who gets to go on that journey with you.”
“Even when I have mental breakdowns in the middle of the street?” I asked, trying to laugh.
“Even then,” he said, kissing my lips that were puffy from crying. “We’re all entitled to vent our frustrations, and yours are many. The first thing we need to do after the New Year is get you a new chair. You need one made to fit you. It needs to be lightweight and easy for you to do things from and support your back better. This old granny wheelchair isn’t going to cut it.”
I leaned my head back on his shoulder. “I can’t afford that, Trey, and my insurance won’t pay for one. Baba wants to buy me one, but at almost seven thousand dollars, he can’t right now. The hospital bills are bad enough, and he’s got the rest of his cash tied up in the new house until the old one sells. We agreed to keep fighting with the insurance for another month and then readdress it.”
He rubbed my arm and kissed my forehead. “We’ll work it out. Let’s enjoy the food Briar is bringing and then we can go get our tree.”
“Do you still want to do that? Maybe we should try to find one already cut.”
He shook his head determined. “You don’t need to worry, beautiful, I have this covered. I want to make some memories with you today that we can remember each Christmas we’re together. Okay?”
“Okay,” I agreed as Briar came toward us with the food and coffee.
She sat the tray on the small table in front of us and handed me a sticky note folded in half.
Trey pulled out his wallet and looked up at her. “What do I owe you?”
She shook her head once. “Nothing, Allison already paid the highest price. Lunch won’t even begin to repay that, but it’s a start. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas,” she said, winking at me. “Even when things seem overwhelming know that just up the hill there are a whole lot of people who would love to help you in any way we can. Don’t hesitate to call the number on that paper; it’s the number for Allison’s Way.”
I held the paper to my chest and nodded, another tear dripping down my face. She wished us Merry Christmas again and went back to her spot behind the coffee bar.
“She’s just wonderful,” Trey said and I nodded my agreement. “She’s right, too. Anyone on that campus would come to your aid, day or night.”
He kissed my cheek and lifted me from his lap, sliding me onto the couch next to him, so I could lean against the back of it and be comfortable. He handed me a coffee and I sipped it while he unwrapped the sandwiches. I stuck the to-go cup between my legs and opened the note she had given me.
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peaceto those on whom his favor rests.” I read aloud. He leaned back to look at the note as I finished reading it. “We are committed to doing the right thing in the face of overwhelming odds, because that’s Allison’s Way.”
I held the note to my chest again and shook my head a few times. “I had no idea I made that kind of impact.”
“Sometimes the best gifts are the unexpected ones,” he said. He winked at me and bit into a sandwich, happiness, and relief, written all over his face.
