No Wasted Tears (28 page)

In his kitchen later that evening, Adam stood, drinking a glass of water and reflecting on their day, only his thoughts were immediately interrupted by the ringing of his phone. After listening for a minute, he ended the call, grabbed his keys, and rushed out of the house. He could remember not wanting her to leave. Even after walking her to the car, he was sad when he went back inside the house, he should have convinced her to stay
longer.

Destiny had forgotten to change the porch light again. She and Adam had just discussed it. She made a mental note to change the bulb tonight as she pulled into her driveway. This bulb was just a reminder that she needed to contact the police about all of the phone calls she’d been getting. It was one more necessary thing to add to her list. And she’d better not forget to do it or she’d hear about it on Sunday from Adam. Her aunt had also stressed it was time to contact the
authorities.

She grabbed her purse from the passenger seat and opened the car door. The day had changed from the earlier rain and now it turned into a cool, dark night. Her day with Adam had been exciting. It could have been a whole lot better if she put on her big girl panties and told him everything about
Stanley.

“You’re going to have to tell him sooner or later,” she muttered as she fished keys out of her purse and jogged up the porch
steps.

A sound carried through the darkness. She could almost hear some kind of fabric rustling as someone drew near. Destiny stiffened, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. She glanced over her shoulder, her heart leaping as she saw a shadow moving across the lawn. Medium height. Face hidden in
darkness.

“Can I help you with something? Is anybody there?” She kept her gaze focused on the approaching figure as she shoved the key in the lock and tried to turn it. She wiggled the key, her palm sweaty and slipping on the metal door
handle.

“Come on!” The key turned, and she shoved the
door.

She screamed, her purse dropping as she turned to scream again and she froze not moving an
inch.

“Whatever you want, you can have it.” Another step and she’d be
inside.

“Everything okay over here?” A masculine voice broke through the darkness as her attacker disappeared around the
house.

This was her chance, so Destiny took it, jumping back and slamming the door, her fingers
shook
as she tried to turn the lock. She pressed her back against the door, her heart beating so hard she thought it might burst from her
chest.

One hour later Destiny found herself in the police office with Sara.

The phone calls, trailing cars, and now this attack was just too much. She didn’t know what all of this meant, but she wondered if it had anything to do with Stanley. She told the police about everything, even her leaving
Stanley.

“Ms. Harper, why do think it may be your ex-boyfriend?” the detective asked almost as if he didn’t believe anything she told him. “It really doesn’t make sense why would he be that interested in finding you unless you took something from him when you
left.”

Destiny didn’t like the way this conversation was going. Her aunt touched her hand in a matter that said, “I’ll answer this
one.”

“Listen here, Detective, my niece didn’t take nothing from Stanley but his pride when she left. That man beat my baby as if she was his piece of property. No man has a right to do that to any
woman.”

The detective turned to Destiny, “Is this true? Did he physically abuse
you?”

Destiny looked at her aunt sighing. She told him, “Yes, that’s why I came here to start a new
life.”

The detective seemed to ponder what she said for a few moments, tapping
the
pen he was using to take notes on his desk. “Well, it seems a little strange that you are
only now coming forth to tell your story. Why didn’t you go to the police in
Charleston?”

Destiny looked at the detective, “Stanley Womack is a very powerful man in South Carolina, they would have never charged him with
anything.”

“So you are telling me that he has somehow found you here and is now threatening your life?” The detective seemed to roll his eyes at his assessment, which was pretty much what Destiny believed to be
true.

“Yes.”

He stood. “Well, ma’am,” he looked at her aunt, “Ms. Harper, we’ll see what we can do. We will be in touch. In the meantime, if you remember anything else, give me a
call.”

“Sure.” They stood at the same time, thanked him, and
left.

Despite the detective’s obvious disdain, Destiny felt empowered. She was trying to take control of her life. For too long she felt like she was watching someone else’s life. She felt so disconnected from her own. She now resolved not to watch it but to be an active participant in it. And that meant finding out who was trying to terrorize her, and
why.

When they finally returned from the police department, Adam was sitting on the front porch. As he stood, Sara greeted him with a warm embraced then entered the house leaving them alone. The quiet stretched between the two of them until Destiny wanted to
scream.

“Adam, What are you doing here?” She sounded as surprised as he looked, and her hand shook as she tucked a strand of hair behind her
ear.

“I received a call tonight from one of the members of the church who works at the police department. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Especially since I was the last person you saw before coming home. Is everything all right? What
happened?”

“Someone tried to attack me. They ran off after my neighbor rushed over after hearing me scream. I called the police to check things out around the house and then went to the
station.”

“Did you get a chance to see who it was?” he
asked.

Her voice trembled as she scanned the area beyond the
porch.

“No, I was so nervous trying to get in the house, and they had their face covered
up.”

“What about your neighbor? He questioned with concern. “Did he get a license plate
number?”

“He told the police that if the intruder had one he didn’t see it. But he did leave his number with them just in case they wanted to ask him more
questions.”

“Why don’t you sit down, you look beat.” He gestured to the empty rocker beside
him.

Destiny’s eyes widened. She wasn’t expecting him to be here let alone stay with her for a while. “I think I am. Today started out great but now this.” She crouched slowly, and reaching for her purse she’d dropped on the
porch.

She watched Adam as he grabbed her hand, but he nearly released it again when she noticeably seemed to be agitated by his touch. All of the things that had been worrying her about Stanley simply shook her to the
core.

She didn’t want to hurt his feeling when she pulled her hand away from him, if he was he didn’t show it. “You’re right. I wasn’t thinking.” He seemed to be apologizing for his touching
her.

“The sooner the police start looking, the more likely it is they’ll catch the person.” He said as they sat beside each other. Despite her seeming calm, her hand still shook and her eyes were filled with fear. She was terrified, and there was no way he planned to leave her alone. Not like
this.

Destiny met his eyes, the wariness in her gaze unmistakable. She frowned again, turning her back on
him.

“Are you okay, Destiny?” He finally blurted out. She knew he was concerned by the way his eyes were watching her facial expression. He turned sober eyes on her. “Not yet, but I will be soon
enough.”

She nodded, recalling the days and weeks she’d stayed in her room, too afraid to come out because she didn’t want to face Stanley. The prayers she’d whispered over and over again, asking God to help her get away from him and now that he did, she had to take control of her life. Her joy about being in Seattle and Adam was still firmly twined with her agony. She just couldn’t hurt him; he’d been too sweet even coming here tonight. “Thank you,” she said, in a voice a little too
low.

“For what?” he
asked.

“For coming here tonight. You didn’t have to. I appreciate
it.”

He shrugged. “Who’s after you, Destiny?”

“I don’t know.” Which was the truth. She had an idea but wasn’t sure about
it.

He pulled out his phone. “I can call my friend at the department. He’s a detective. Maybe he can
help.”

Destiny began to shake her head no. “I’ll handle it myself, Adam.”

She watched the muscles worked along his jaw. “Someone tries to attack you and you think you can handle it yourself? I guess that shouldn’t be a surprise. But after everything we’ve talked about over the last two days, I feel like you still don’t trust
me.”

She hated the sadness in his tone, but it ignited a flicker of anger inside her. All she could think about was the fact that she always depended on some man or woman to help her. But not this time! This time she was going to fight her own battle and win with the help of the Lord. For when she was weak, He was
strong.

I’ve been co-depe
ndent for so long. G
od, don’t ever let m
e feel like that aga
in,
she’d prayed many times.
I won’t depend o
n anyone. Especially
since I want to depend on
you.

She wanted the life she longed for: an independent life, strong and in
control.

“Adam this has nothing to do with you. All I’m trying to do is get my life back,” she murmured more to herself than to
Adam.

“The police will help me, I’ll be fine.” She looked at him with a renewed sense of
determination.

“I understand, I guess… but if you need some assistance, let me know,” Adam said, eyes blazing. “But tell me this, Destiny, why can’t you tell me what’s going
on?”

She faced him, cheeks hot. “I’m not your responsibility, Adam. I don’t belong to you.” The glimmer of grief in his eyes made her breath
catch.

“I know that and I don’t want to own you,” he said, voice suddenly soft. “I just thought we were friends or even more than
friends.”

Her cell rang. After looking at the caller ID she allowed it to go straight to voice mail she’d call Tina after she went
inside.

“Thank you for being here when I needed you,” she said. “You’re a good friend, Adam, but this is something I have to do on my own,” she
whispered.

“I’m…I’m sorry. Maybe we have moved too quickly,” he mumbled, getting up from the chair he was occupying. His eyes were questioning
her.

She knew he was disappointed and she understood why, she caused him to believe she was ready for the next step in this relationship when in actuality she wasn’t,
she thought, because their date and the brunch told him a different story. Shaking away the conflicting thoughts, she smiled at Adam as he got up to leave. “Good
night.”