Chapter 9
Elise
After a shower, I walked out, ready to face the day. Coffee was already waiting on the vanity counter in my favorite mug, a large white ceramic with my initials . A little cream, no sugar was how I took it.
I wrapped myself in the towel and took a few sips of my coffee before opening the door to walk into the adjoining room to get dressed.
I stopped when I heard voices, trying to determine who was over.
It was my Uncle Terry. He didn’t come to Rockwell very often, and if he did, he always called beforehand, so I knew something had to be wrong for him to visit. It was only twenty miles from the farm, but as it was known as a college town, Terry had little patience for this area.
I heard him talking to Ford.
“I hate to bring this here, but it was sent certified in the mail today, so I thought it was important.”
“It’s okay, sir. I am sure it is nothing … They send all kinds of things through certified now.”
“Terry?” I called, letting them know I heard them.
“Hey, sweet pea,” he hollered back.
“I’ll be out in just a sec.”
I closed the bedroom door and threw on my pajama bottoms and one of Ford’s t-shirts that I wear every night to bed.
As soon as I was face to face with my aging uncle, I hugged Terry and stood next to Ford, waiting to see what was so urgent.
Ford handed me the envelope, and I saw it was from Liberty but didn’t recognize the address.
“This came today?” I asked.
“Just a while ago. Carol insisted it could wait, but I didn’t want to just in case…”
I tore it open and unfolded the nicely folded papers shocked to see the letterhead on top of the first page. The documents were so crisp; they looked as if they had been ironed.
“Law Office of Liberty County.”
I froze, trying to understand what I was reading. My eyes were seeing a cluster of words, but nothing was computing.
I started to panic, wondering why I would be getting anything from Liberty, much less a letter from a lawyer’s office.
“Ms. Elise Riley,
Subsequent to Ms. Lisa Riley’s request, we are inviting you to a meeting to discuss the lawsuit being brought upon you per Ms. Lisa Riley. She is attempting to resolve this matter out of court but will have no reservations about taking it to the next step should you not agree. Subsequent to the lawsuit, you will also be responsible for all legal fees.
Regards,
Garrett Walker”
I read it, taking it in as I tried to figure out what she could be possibly be wanting to “settle.”
“What is it, Elise?” Ford asked with Terry by his side, trying to decipher my face as well.
“My mother seems to be suing me.”
I continued reading, trying to see what I was missing.
“Monies given to you by the unrightful owner, Thad Johnson, without permission from the said owner.”
I moved the paper away from my face in a state of shock. How could this woman be doing this to me? Thad had that money put away for me … and she wanted it. She wanted to take anything that Thad gave me away. How did she know about it anyway? It was never discussed.
I swallowed, trying to understand why she couldn’t just leave me alone. Both men stared at me, waiting for an answer by the look on their faces. They knew my past hadn’t been easy on me, and now, the she witch would try to ruin my future. She had wanted me out of the house for how long, and I have been … and she was chasing me, trying to wreak havoc on my life further. Hadn’t she done enough?
“Lisa wants the money that Thad left me …”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Ford responded, just as angry as I was.
“Why now? Why after these couple of years would she come after me for it?”
“She must have known you had gotten it when you ordered the new headstone for Thad,” Ford responded.
Terry looked just as mad as we did. I was glad that Carol wasn’t here because it would have upset her too. She hated my mother for what she had done to me.
“Lisa, Lord knows she is my sister, but she is the lowest snake that I’ve ever known. Our mother is probably turning over in her grave …” He furrowed his brow with a disappointment on his face that read like a father.
I took a seat on the brown leather couch that Ford had bought for our apartment when we first moved in together.
I put my head in my hands, knowing I would have to go back to Liberty and deal with this. I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle seeing her after this letter, the final attempt to strip me of something that my brother wanted me to have.
Ford came to sit beside me and did what he always did. He would find a solution to what just happened and do everything in his power to try to fix it. Just like Thad.
But I knew that the chances of that were slim to none. My mother was trying to strip the one thing Thad had given me to start my adult life. It wasn’t enough that she had alienated me all my life, but now, she wanted to twist the knife she had placed in my chest. Smiling as she did it and pleased with the blood she would see dripping.
*****
On Saturday, the new headstone I had ordered for Thad would be set correctly. I knew it would be an emotional day, but for my dear brother, it would be worth it.
And now I had to go to the law office in Liberty to deal with another thing I didn’t want to face. I hoped that my mother stayed away, and I didn’t have to see her.
Lisa had already done her fair share to destroy what I had going good for me here in Humble, and I doubted she even thought twice about it. From what Terry and Carol said, she had moved on with a man, but they didn’t know anything about him. He couldn’t have been too good of a character to be with her, though, we all agreed.
I was thankful again for leaving Liberty as it was the best thing that ever happened.
Every time I drove into my hometown, I had flashbacks of my childhood and then the person who ultimately was the reason for my relocation. Bryan. I would be happy to never see him again. Four years had passed, but it was still a fresh bleeding wound that had never scabbed over and healed.
Ford went with me to file a police report not long after I had finally faced what had happened. It was more for me and for closure than to punish Bryan. I knew he would get away with it as he had with the majority of things in his life, and I also was cognizant of the fact I would be doubted and called a liar. And I was okay with that. The people who believed me were the people who mattered. Screw everyone else.
Ford had sat beside me the entire time I was in the room with the detective and then as I wrote my statement of my account of the events that occurred. I didn’t expect a response from the Liberty Police Department, and that was a good thing because that was what I got. Detective Hale said that he was sorry for what I went through, but it was his word against mine with no evidence or proof of the actions. I had been raped, and I was shipped off by my mother dearest without so much as a maternal moment. She wasn’t concerned it would ruin my life—the way I would think of myself and always have the memory, the unwelcome touch of his hand on my skin in my most intimate spots, the person it could have potentially transformed me into—but rather how Bryan the star football player would be affected.
Although the lack of actions by the authorities didn’t sit well with Ford, he sat beside me and lent me strength for only one reason. Yes, I wanted it to be known what he did to me, but I needed the closure more. And signing my name to that report gave me that. I was shutting that door, and I’d be damned if I let it destroy me. I promised myself as I signed the last curve of my last name that I would never let what he did to me take another second of my soul. It had taken enough. Karma would happen to him, and I had hoped it was tenfold.
When Thad had left that pot of gold for me, I was able to start college with it and then put the rest in savings. I had wanted to do something special for Thad, and it finally dawned on me to give him a nicer place for his memorial.
“Beautiful, are you up already?” Ford’s voice was husky from just waking as he lightly lifted his head off the pillow, looking as gorgeous now as he did the moment I first laid eyes on him.
I nodded and started to get up to go start the coffee. Ford usually started it being as he was an early riser and would try to get a run in on most mornings before starting his day. Those days were long gone now as he struggled to get out of bed himself.
Since we read that letter, Ford had come back to me. I had become weak, and he was stepping up to the plate, sick or not.
He pulled me close, kissing me on the lips sweetly then moving to my right eye and then my left.
“Don’t worry about today, baby. It will be fine. We won’t run into anyone, and we will be in and out before you can blink. You know I can go for you, and you can …”
I didn’t answer, and he didn’t expect me to. He knew I would not let that happen.
This headstone was a gift I could give to Thad as the only piece I had with me still on earth.
I snuggled next to him, feeling him breathe and listening to his words. His words came off his tongue like silk, reassuring me that we had things under control. He was right, wasn’t he?
“I love you, Ford.” I laid my head on his chest and listened to his strong heart beat. His chest had gotten a little larger from the workouts he had to do playing college football but now was leaner. Bigger, smaller, I didn’t care as long as it was him.
“Elise, I love you.” He began stroking my natural blond hair lightly, letting it flow through his fingertips.
“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better before we get going?”
I giggled, thinking of what I wanted and needed.
“I want you to make love to me, Ford.”
He raised his eyebrows and smiled, showing his teeth that sparkled.
“Can’t I have my coffee first?” he teased while sitting up and then pulling me on top of him.
I shoved at him before moving my hips down on him. Bringing my lips to him, I smothered the words he was about to speak. No doubt, they would be playful.
I needed to feel my lover’s body and not just his words. I needed to be taken as far away as my mind and body would let me escape. I needed to pretend that this was the only problem we had to face and everything else had been resolved.
I wanted to pretend he could be my knight in shining armor, and I didn’t have to be his savior instead. Because he might be able to solve this problem, but I can’t solve his.
*****
Most people were excited when they arrived back in their hometown, but I felt anything but. I was anything but welcome, and I could thank my mother for that. She had always alienated me and saw to it that I was alone, except for when I had Thad.
I stared at the papers neatly typed and printed and folded to perfection from the lawyer’s office. I knew from dealing with my mother for all the years that I had that more than likely she would not give up, and by that, I mean she would go for my jugular.
Ford had stopped making conversation with me when he repeatedly got one-word responses. I knew he was only trying to help me, but he couldn’t possibly understand what I was going through at this moment. It was something nice I was trying to do for Thad, and in return, my mother used that to see that I had received money, and now she wanted it.
I was blind to the fact that my mother had received money from Thad’s dad throughout his childhood, and she always made sure she spent that on him. The only way I saw it was when Thad took care of me with his money she had given him.
He had planned to make sure I received the money to help me, knowing what I had been through and witnessing it firsthand, but Lisa would see to it that was taken from me too.
One thing I have learned—and trust me, my life was nothing but lesson after lesson or letdown after letdown—was that no amount of money was worth anything. People said that all the time, but I felt it, lived it even.
Ford had a wealthy family, and he agreed with how I felt about it. Although I knew his parents had helped pay for his apartment through college, he didn’t want anything from them. He saw it the same way as I did. Money was fluid and usually ended up complicating things more than solving anything.
But I would be lying if I didn’t say it was nice knowing I had a sort of nest egg to fall back on as I started my life with Ford. After all, it was a piece of Thad he had left for me; one last attempt to show how much he loved me. And there were no words for the amount of love I had for my brother.
After pulling up to the cemetery, Ford asked me the same question he always asked when we arrived at Thad’s resting place. “Do you want me to get out with you or ...?” he asked, not sure if I needed my own space. Yep, Ford always thought of me before himself, making sure I was okay.
“Could I just go by myself for a bit? I just want to be alone with him for a few minutes.”
“Okay, sweetheart, I will wait for you here. If you need me, just give me a look, and I’ll …”
“I know you will, Ford. Thank you. I love you.”
I didn’t wait for him to respond but jumped out of his truck and walked slowly and somberly to the new headstone I wanted to see yet hated to see.
I listened to the grass slightly crunch under my steps and watched where my feet landed, not wanting to disrespect any other residents of the cemetery.
When I came face to face with the beautiful granite headstone, I was speechless. I had been here many times since my loss, but seeing his name so beautifully carved in the stone made it even more real. More final.
I ran my hand over it gently as if it was possible for me to hurt it. I touched his name and then the carving “loving brother” and then his date of birth and date of death.
My heart stopped just as it did every time I visited here. And just how it paused when I lost him that day.
“Thad, I know you aren’t really here … and you are probably looking down at me first with pity and then with your sad smile. Your smile would change a bad day into a rainbow, and I wish … I just wish I could see again.”
I began to weep just as I always did and then moved to my knees to sit in front of him.
“I hate that you aren’t here with me … I wish that everything could have been different.”
I paused.
“I really need you here to give me advice, yet if you were here, I wouldn’t have this money anyway. Or maybe I would. You always took care of me.
“I hope you like the headstone I had made for you. It is in no way big enough to give you even half of what you did for me. I could never repay you for the love you gave me.” I paused. “I have a favor to ask … I really need your help on making sure that Ford beats this tumor he has. I am scared to death and trying to be strong for him and failing miserably.”
I heard someone walking up behind me but didn’t move because I figured it was just my husband checking on me. I knew he had come here even without me to talk to Thad or check on things. He never came out and told me, but Terry let it slip a time or two on accident.
I sat in silence, listening to the wind and staring at what I had left of my brother. The headstone and my favorite picture that I carried in my purse. It was an old photo of us making funny faces with his arm around my shoulder just as he always had in pictures. It was his way of saying I was a part of him. And I’d be damned if all the good that I was from him.
I heard a throat clear and turned around to see a face I had hoped I would never see again. I recognized his eyes immediately and backed up slightly to distance myself.
Bryan.
I stood on alert, looking toward the truck to verify that Ford could see me. He seemed to be looking down at something but finally did look up.
“Why are you wearing a …?”
“Man, I have pictured seeing your face when you first see me in my uniform for years.” He laughed, but it wasn’t out of anything but amusement.
I could see Ford walking toward me with a concerned look on his face but not in a panic yet. He had no idea why a police officer would be talking to me, and sure as hell didn’t know who that said police officer was.
Bryan had the same build as Ford; in fact, he was maybe bigger. I couldn’t look at him too long from the nervousness that was filling my body. I wasn’t scared per se, but I didn’t want to be anywhere near him. I knew nothing would happen with Ford here.
He started to walk a little closer as if he was paying his respects to Thad himself. Ha! That was a joke. He had never liked Thad, and Thad loathed him.
“So sad that your brother, your protector, died so young, isn’t it?” He snarled the words with a goal to poke at me.
And it worked.
Ford walked up beside me and put his arm around me ready to take care of whatever issue was occurring.
“Something I can help with, officer?” he asked stern and demanding.
Bryan had a look of disgust on his face, not the least bit intimidated. His eyes looked at Ford like he was getting ready to say something, and I prayed that it wasn’t something to get Ford worked up. Granted, I wanted Bryan to get his ass kicked, but there wasn’t any ass kicking that would help the pain he inflicted.
I looked at Bryan, waiting for his next move, and then back at Ford, trying to figure out what was going on.
“No, just patrolling the cemetery to make sure there isn’t any vandalism. You know how teens are?”
Ford shook his head but didn’t say anything. Maybe he sensed who it was or maybe he had no clue. I didn’t know and frankly didn’t care right now.
“Let’s get going, Ford. We need to get to town anyway.”
“Okay, sweetheart.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead and took my hand, leading me to the truck as Bryan openly watched us.
There was only one other time I felt so disgusted and nauseous. I clutched my shoulders and then leaned down to vomit.
Damn him.