Beautifully Unfinished (11 page)

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was going to happen now, whether she liked it or not.

Lucy turned around slowly and came face to face with a battered looking Riley. His eye was swollen and black, and there was a cut just below it on his cheek bone.

Before she could say a word, Tucker stepped in front of her, and Riley stepped back and quickly shot Lucy a pleading look.

“What part of stay away don’t you get?” Tucker asked angrily.

“I just wanted to make sure she was okay,” Riley replied as Lucy became aware they were gaining an audience.

“Of course, she is not okay,” Tucker snapped angrily. “How could she be?”

“Tucker it’s okay,” Lucy said, knowing she needed to quickly defuse the situation. “Why don’t you go into my dad? I will be right in.”

Tucker turned quickly to Lucy and gave her a questioning look, but she gave him a reassuring smile.

“I’ll be okay,” she said, as she pressed her hand to his chest.

“Okay,” Tucker replied, but she knew he was far from happy. He gave Riley one last look before he turned and walked into Tom’s room.

“There is a room down the hall where we can talk privately,” Riley said, and Lucy knew he wasn’t sure how she would take that suggestion. She just nodded and let him lead the way.

“So,” he said once they were alone in the small office. He held his hand out to a chair, offering it to Lucy, but she chose to remain standing. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she replied flatly, and Riley gave her the same old look he used to give all those years before whenever he was in her bad books. She knew he was using it to try to win her over, just like he used to in the past, but this time, it wasn’t going to work. She turned around and reached for the handle of the door. “If that’s all you wanted, I should be going back to my dad.”

“Lucy, I am sorry for what happened last night,” Riley said in a sudden rush of words, stopping her in her tracks. “I swear, I had no idea Trent would be there.”

“I don’t want your apology,” Lucy said as she turned to face the boy she once loved with all her heart. “I wanted you to stand up for me. Like you used to, all those years ago. Like I thought you would after that night, but you didn’t. You just disappeared.”

“Don’t you think I regret how I behaved back then?” He said, as he gave her a pleading look. “I wanted to be there for you.”

“Then why weren’t you?” Lucy asked. “Do you have any idea what I went through? What I still do? That night he held me down and forced himself into me, but that wasn’t enough for him. He bit me, over and over, leaving me with scars that serve as daily reminders of what he did to me. For years it was like he was raping me over and over again, every time I looked into a mirror. And as if that wasn’t enough, I had to get tested to see if he got me pregnant. I was also tested to make sure he hadn’t given me some kind of disease. Do you know how humiliating it was to sit in a clinic for STDs and have people judge you, thinking you are some pathetic girl that sleeps around.”

She stopped and looked at him. She waited for him to say something, but all he did was stare at her with a look of guilt written all over his face.

“For Christ sake, Riley, I can’t even bare to be touched by anyone,” she said as she fought back the tears. “So I can’t even have a proper relationship. Do you know how lonely I am?”

“Then let me help you,” he said, taking a step towards her, but he stopped as she backed away from him.

“I can’t,” she said, as the tears she was holding back, finally broke free. “I can’t trust you.”

“You can,” he replied quickly.

“I CAN’T!” She shouted angrily. “You are still friends with him, after everything he did to me, you still talk to him, like nothing happened. You sat there and watched as he…he touched me again.”

“I’m sorry, Lucy,” Riley pleaded.

“Well I don’t forgive you,” she cried. “You were meant to love me, but you picked your team and a rapist over me. So no Riley, I don’t forgive you.”

Before Riley could reply, the door opened, and Tucker came storming in. Riley instantly backed away from Lucy as she quickly stepped in front of Tucker, stopping him in his tracks before he hit Riley again.

“Lucy, are you okay?” Tucker asked, as he looked at her with concern. She looked up at him and gave him a smile as she wiped the tears.

“Yes,” she replied, as she reached for his hand, and took it in hers. “I am now. I just want to go see my dad.”

He stared at her for a moment, before he gave her a smile and headed for the door. As Lucy walked out behind him, she glanced back at Riley, and she realised at that moment that she was finally letting go.

When they reached Tom’s room, her dad watched Lucy closely, and she knew he was suspicious.

“Hey, Dad,” she said, as she kissed his cheek before she took a seat next to him.

“What’s happened?” He asked without missing a beat.

“Nothing,” Lucy lied. She hated lying to him.

“Then why have you been crying?” He said, looking from her to Tucker.

“Everything is okay,” Lucy assured him, but he didn’t buy it. He reached for the call button and pressed it. Lucy looked at him in confusion. “Dad, what’s the matter? Why are you calling the nurse?”

“I am getting out of here!” He said as he tried to pull himself up further in the bed.

“You’re what?” Lucy asked in disbelief. “Why?”

“Because something is going on,” Tom replied as he pressed the call button again. “And I am not lying in this bed any longer while you need me.”

“Dad, don’t be ridiculous,” Lucy said, as the nurse appeared in the doorway. “You can’t even sit up on your own, how would you cope at home? There is nothing wrong, I promise. Please just calm down.”

“Lucy, I am not stupid,” Tom snapped. “Now either you tell me what’s happened, or I am going to demand that this nurse go and get me whatever the hell papers I need to sign myself out of this place.”

“Is everything okay?” The nurse asked looking confused, as she appeared in the doorway, as she looked from Tom to Lucy.

“Fine,” Lucy sighed, looking at her father before she turned to the nurse and smiled. “I’m sorry, everything is okay. I promise.”

She nodded and smiled before she turned and left them alone again. Lucy gave Tucker a nervous look before she began to speak.

“It’s nothing, it’s just…” she hesitated. “I ran into Riley, and we had words.”

“I KNEW IT!” Tom exclaimed, as he quickly reached for the call button again, but Lucy got to it first. “Lucy, I am getting out of here. That’s the end of it.”

“Dad, calm down,” Lucy pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears. He pushed back the bedclothes and reached for the IV line in his arm, but Lucy quickly grabbed his hand.

“I knew you coming back here was a mistake,” Tom said. He tried to yank his arm free from Lucy’s grasp as he continued to rant, “I knew the minute you set foot into this damn hospital, that asshole would be back, sniffing around. I told the nurse to tell you I was fine…”

“FINE!” Lucy snapped. She had heard enough.

Tom and Tucker both looked at her in unison.

“If that’s how you really feel,” Lucy said, as she stood up and picked up her handbag. “I will go back to New York. I came here to help, I came because you needed me, but I won’t stay where I am not wanted. So you can stay here because I am done.”

She walked to the door but stopped before she opened it and turned back to look at her dad.

“You know I was beyond terrified to come back here,” Lucy said honestly. “I always knew when I did, I would have to face what happened to me that night, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to deal with it. But if I am honest, part of the reason I didn’t come back is I knew you wouldn’t be able to deal with it either. You were shot, they said you might never walk properly again, but all you’re worried about is getting out of here, so I don’t have to be here anymore, and you don’t have to worry.”

“Lucy, that’s not true…” Tom began to argue, but Lucy cut him off.

“It is Dad!” Lucy said quickly. “You told the nurse to tell me not to come.”

“Lucy,” Tucker said, but stopped when she gave him a look that told him not to get involved.

“I did it was because I was worried about you.” Tom tried to explain.

“You were worried about me?” Lucy said as she tried to keep the hurt from her voice. “Or worried how it will make the Chief of Police look if he can’t even keep his own daughter safe.”

“Lucy…” Tom began but stopped, and Lucy knew that he knew what she was talking about. He looked like he was going to be sick.

Lucy didn’t wait for him to reply, she just turned and walked out the door and headed straight for the elevator, each step she took, her heart broke a little bit more.

She stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor. As the doors closed, she looked up and saw Tucker hurrying along the corridor towards her, but she didn’t stop the doors from closing. She needed a few moments alone before she could face anyone, including Tucker.

When she stepped out into the mid-morning sun, she could feel her whole body shake. She couldn’t believe what had just happened with her dad. All these years, she had held this inside, but finally, it was out there, and she couldn’t take it back.

She walked over to a bench outside the hospital entrance and sat down, trying to calm herself. She closed her eyes as the memories of the morning she arrived in her Aunt Jenny’s place filled her mind.

“This is your room,” Jenny, who was her mom’s twin sister, said, giving her a sad smile. Lucy was happy that her dad agreed to let her come to Nebraska to stay with Jenny. She missed her mom so much, especially now, and Jenny was like the next best thing.

“It’s lovely,” Lucy said, as she took in her surroundings.

“We can decorate it if you want,” Jenny added, and Lucy knew she would have agreed to anything to try make her happy.

“I think it’s perfect as it is,” Lucy replied, as she turned back to her aunt and smiled. “Besides, I will only be here a couple of months anyways.”

“I know,” Jenny said. “But I want you to feel at home.”

“Thanks, Jenny,” Lucy replied, before she looked at her Dad.

“Are you sure this is what you want, Peanut?” Tom asked, but his face was completely unreadable.

“Yeah, I’m sure, Dad,” Lucy said, and tried her hardest to look like her heart wasn’t breaking.

“Maybe we should leave you to settle in a little,” Jenny said, sensing Lucy needed a little space. “We will be right downstairs if you need anything. Dinner won’t be long. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

“Thanks, Jenny,” Lucy replied and smiled, before her dad and her aunt walked out of the room, leaving her alone. Once she was alone, she sat on the bed and stared out the window, trying to understand how her life had come to this.

When she had unpacked one of her bags, she realised she had left some of her belongings in the car. She headed down the stairs to ask her dad to help her bring them up. As she got closer to the kitchen, she could hear her dad and Jenny talking, and his words stopped her in her tracks.

“I know it’s terrible of me to say, but I was relieved when she asked to come here,” Tom said with a sigh. “These last couple of weeks have been a complete nightmare.”

“I can only imagine,” Jenny said, and Lucy could hear the sadness in her voice.

“I know she never asked for this, Jen,” Tom continued. “But do you know how hard it is to be the chief of police and have people think I can’t even keep my own daughter safe. It makes me look weak like I shouldn’t even be in the job. That’s why she is better off here. It’s better for everyone.”

Lucy had heard enough, she turned and made her way back to her room and the little piece of her heart she had left, shattered into a million pieces.

“Lucy,” Tucked said suddenly. She turned and was surprised to see him sitting there next to her.

He didn’t need to say a word. Instead, he just wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. As she gave in to the tears once more.

“Lucy,” Tucker finally said after what seemed like forever. “I don’t know what you think your dad has done, but…”

“It’s not what he has done, Tucker,” Lucy said as she sat up straight and looked Tucker in the eye. “It’s what he said, what I heard with my own two ears.”

“I am sure whatever he said, he didn’t mean for it to hurt you,” Tucker tried to reason with her. “Lucy, he loves you more than anything else in this world, you have to believe that.”

“Maybe it would be best if I just went home,” Lucy shrugged. “Maybe coming here was a huge mistake.”

“I know you don’t believe that,” Tucker said as he took hold of her hand. “I know I am happy you came back.”

“Really?” Lucy asked, surprised by his response.

“Come on, Lucy,” Tucker replied. “You have to know how I feel about you. You and I have always been unfinished business. Since the first time I kissed you, before that even.”

“Before that?” Lucy asked, giving him a confused look.

“Why do you think I was even at the party that night?” Tucker asked, as he gave her a shy smile. “I knew you would be there that night, and I knew you were with Riley, but I wanted the chance to at least talk to you.”

“You came there to see me?” Lucy replied, surprised by this.

“There was no other reason for me to be there,” Tucker shrugged. “I couldn’t stand my cousin or any of those jock assholes, but I knew you would be there with Riley, and I knew like the rest of the other jock assholes, he would be too wrapped up in his stupid game to even notice you were with him.”

“I never saw it like that,” Lucy replied, as she thought back to how things had been with Riley before the night of the party.

“You know, the first time I saw you,” Tucker said as he reached for her hand. “You were at a lunch table in the quad at school, and he was sitting next to you. There was a bunch of his friends with you both, and he was so wrapped up in what they were talking about, he didn’t even notice you never said one word the entire time you were sitting there.”

“I…I didn’t realise it was like that,” Lucy replied, as she remembered the endless number of times she had wished that it could have been just her and Riley. “I guess I was just grateful that he found me, that I didn’t see the rest of it.”

“I watched you that day,” Tucker continued. “For that whole lunch break, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. You were breath-taking. I tried to talk to you so many times, but I always chickened out. I knew that night, however, would be my chance. I just wish it had ended a lot differently.”

“Me too,” Lucy replied with a sad smile. “But Tucker, none of this changes things with my dad. I don’t think he really wants me here, even if you do.”

“He does…” Tucker began to protest, but Lucy quickly stopped him.

“Tucker, he is ashamed of me,” Lucy said matter of factly. “Or at least of what has happened to me. He doesn’t want me here, and I can’t go back in there. Not today.”

She stood up and looked down at Tucker, then gave him a warm smile.

“I am going to go home,” she told him. “I am going to walk. I need to clear my head. You go back into him, and I will see you later.”

“I don’t want you to go,” Tucker said, as he too stood up and took hold of her hand. “I can’t let you walk away feeling like this.”

“I will be okay,” she assured him as she leaned up on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek. “I will see you later. I promise.”

“Okay,” Tucker said as he reluctantly let go of her hand. “But we are still having dinner later, right?”

“Of course,” Lucy replied with a broad smile. “I will be waiting for you at my dad’s.”

“Good,” he said, and Lucy could hear the relief in his voice. He slipped his arms around her and drew her to him. “Tonight will be perfect, I promise.”

Tucker slowly pressed his lips to Lucy’s then slowly let her go again. He stood there and watched as Lucy turned and slowly walked away. She smiled to herself as she walked down the pathway. She knew he was watching her, and she liked it.

When she reached the end of the path, she turned back to Tucker and waved. Lucy’s smile just widened when he blew her a kiss in return.

As she walked home, she thought about what her next move should be. She felt torn. If she was honest, she longed to go back to New York and put this town far behind her. She loved her dad, but coming back here had just exposed the cracks in their relationship that they had been hiding all these years. Coming back now revealed how hurt and angry they both were with each other.

Lucy just wanted things to go back to how they were. They weren’t perfect, but it was so much easier to pretend.

Then she thought of leaving Tucker, and that thought made her sad. Despite their rocky start, she had grown very fond of him. When she was with him, she didn’t feel the need to pretend or hide who she really was, and even if she tried, he had a way of seeing straight through her.

She thought about what he had said about when they were still in school, and she realised he had even seen through her back then.

She used to love being with Riley; he was her everything back then, but the more she thought about it, maybe she wasn’t his. Maybe that was why he walked away so easily after the night of the party.

By the time Lucy reached her father’s house, she felt tired. She decided she was going to have a long soak in the bath before she tried to get some rest.

She had only slipped off her jacket and made it about six steps up the stairs when then front doorbell rang.

Lucy froze in fear for a moment. She knew it couldn’t be Tucker; he was going back into her dad. Riley was in work too. Trent came into her mind briefly, but she didn’t believe that even he would have the balls to just turn up on her father’s doorstep.

She took a deep breath before she slowly walked back down the stairs and to the front door. She paused for a moment before she opened it and was surprised to see April standing there.

“Hi,” Lucy said, as she opened the door fully and stepped back, gesturing for April to come inside.

“I hope you don’t mind me dropping by,” April said, as she nervously walked into the house. “I was going to call, but I was passing, and I wanted to make sure you were okay, you know, after last night.”

“I am doing better,” Lucy answered honestly as she led April into her father’s living room. She sat on one of the tan, leather sofas and gestured to April to sit down too. April sat on the sofa facing Lucy. “I am so grateful for everything you did last night…”

“It was nothing,” April quickly replied with a nervous smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Lucy could sense she was upset about something, but she had no idea what it could be. “I am just glad you’re okay.”

“Can I get you a coffee?” Lucy asked, as she went to stand back up but April quickly shook her head and dropped her eyes to the floor. “April, is everything okay?”

“Not really,” April replied, as she glanced up at Lucy, but then she quickly turned away again.

“Has something happened?” Lucy asked, feeling a little on edge. “It’s okay to talk to me, April.”

“I am so sorry,” April said, as she looked up at Lucy once more, but this time her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I am so ashamed of myself for what I have done, or rather, what I have not done.”

“April, you’re making no sense,” Lucy said, as she shifted uneasily in her seat. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

“Lucy, when I heard what had happened, that night,” April began nervously, and Lucy could see the sadness in her eyes. “What happened at the football party, my heart almost broke for you.”

“Okay,” Lucy replied cautiously.

“I went to the hospital to see you the day after the party,” she continued. “Tucker was there. I didn’t know who he was, but I recognised him from school, so I left. When I went back the next day, he was there again and once more I left. When I returned the third day, he noticed me. He followed me out of the hospital and asked me why did I not stay, that maybe you needed a friend. I told him I couldn’t, and left before he could press me further.”

“Why were you afraid of Tucker?” Lucy asked.

“I wasn’t afraid of him,” April replied, “I was just afraid it would get back to school that I was there. That it would get back to Trent.”

“Okay,” Lucy said but a tiny knot formed in her stomach just at the mention of his name.

“When I heard that they were not going to charge Trent for what he had done to you, I felt sick,” she continued. “Everyone was talking about it in school, and I knew I could help, but I was afraid.”

“How could you help?” Lucy asked, confused.

“I always regretted what I did back then,” April said, and the tears finally trickled down her face. “I hated myself for being so weak. That day I saw you in the drug store, I almost hid, afraid to face you, but then you looked so sad, and I thought that maybe I could help you.”

“April, please don’t cry,” Lucy said, as she stood up and walked to the other sofa. She reached out to take Aprils hand, as her heart hammered with complete terror. “It was so long ago…”

“But it’s not!” April exclaimed. “Not for you. When I saw how upset you were last night, how terrified you were because of him, I knew it was my fault.”

“I’m confused,” Lucy asked. “How was it your fault?”

“Because I could have proven you were telling the truth,” April sobbed harder as she released Lucy’s hand and buried her face in her hands.

Lucy stared at this girl in front of her for a moment and tried to understand what she was trying to tell her. What had upset her so much?

Then it hit Lucy like a ton of bricks.

“He raped you too, didn’t he?” Lucy said in a bare whisper.

“I am so sorry, Lucy, April cried as she looked up at Lucy once again. “If I had have come forward, told them what he did to me, maybe they would have believed you. Maybe he would have been locked away, and he would have never been able to get to you last night.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Lucy said quickly. “He did this to the both of us. You were just a kid back then too, and you were scared, I get that.”

“I wish I could have been braver,” April continued. “When Tucker came to my house and begged me to come forward…”

“Tucker knew?” Lucy asked, feeling completely stunned.

“He figured it out,” April nodded. “When he heard they weren’t going to charge Trent, he came to my house and pleaded with me to come forward, but I was so scared. It was different for me; I was on a date with him, and he just wouldn’t take no for an answer. At first, I pleaded with him to stop, but then I just stopped fighting. I told Tucker I couldn’t tell anyone what he did. That’s when Tucker beat the crap out of Trent.”

“HE WHAT?” Lucy asked in disbelief.

“He came to my house the night you left town,” April explained. “He begged me to reconsider and to go to the police with him, but I was afraid, and I was embarrassed. He was so upset and angry. When he climbed into his car, I knew he was not going to let it go. So I grabbed my mom’s keys and followed him in her car. Tucker went to the diner because he knew that’s where Trent would be. He waited for him to come out of the diner and he just beat the crap out of him.”

“Holy shit!” Lucy replied, completely stunned.

“Then Trent said something to him, and Tucker punched him once more, then took off out of there like a bat outta hell. The police arrived, so I went home. They next day at school, everyone was talking about how Tucker was arrested after he beat the crap out of Riley too.”

“Riley?” Lucy repeated utterly blown away. “Why Riley?”

“I have no idea,” April replied.

“Wow!” Was all Lucy could say.

“Lucy, I am so sorry for not coming forward,” April continued, and finally, her tears stopped. “I can never make it up to you for not doing the right thing back then, but I can be your friend now if you will let me.”

“You have nothing to make up for, April,” Lucy said as she hugged her, pushing all her fears down inside. “And I am happy to call you my friend.”