CHAPTER FOUR

Jake and Chloe both visited with Derek. Nothing had changed with him since they had seen him the day before, which they were both taking as good news for now. The doctor did give them a little bit of hope by telling them there was some indication that the pressure on his brain was decreasing quickly. They left there and headed straight to Rhode Island next.

The ride to Rhode Island was long, so the two of them passed the time by trying to get to know each other. The conversation was slightly awkward because Chloe didn’t particularly want to talk about her horrific childhood or her time with Jesse. She also didn’t want to talk about working in a strip club. That didn’t leave a lot of her life open for conversation. She did tell him about taking classes towards becoming a teacher and her plan to go back as soon as things got back to “normal” in her life.

“A teacher, huh? Kids scare me.”

Chloe laughed. “Why?”

He shrugged. “I guess because I haven’t been around many of them since I was a kid myself. I would have no idea what to do with one.”

She smiled and said, “I think they teach you what to do with them in the program at school.”

“Doesn’t make them any less scary,” he said. She laughed again.

When they got to the condo, Lexi and Brock were there having lunch. Brock looked extra huge sitting at their tiny little table in their tiny little kitchen. Lexi jumped up when she saw Chloe and practically ran to her. She hugged her tightly and said, “Oh honey, I’m so sorry about Derek. How is he doing?” She gave Jake a strange look, probably noticing the resemblance. It was hard not to, he and Derek looked so much alike.

“Thank you,” Chloe told her. “This is Jake, Derek’s brother.”

“Oh! I wondered because you look so much like him!”

Jake laughed. “Actually he looks like me, but I’m the better looking one.”

Chloe laughed too and said, “Jake this is Brock. He’s been helping out keeping an eye on the condo and Lexi,” she said with a wink. Her friend actually blushed, it must be serious.

“Brock and I know each other,” Jake said. “How’s it going?”

“Things are good here. I’m so sorry about Derek.”

“Thanks. He’s a strong guy. I have no doubts that he can pull through this.”

“Yes, he’s holding his own,” Chloe told them. “The doctor told us today that the pressure in his brain is going down quickly so hopefully they’ll be able to wake him up soon.”

“That’s awesome,” Brock said.

Jake stayed to talk with Brock while Lexi went to help Chloe pack her things. When they were alone, Lexi asked her, “I’m glad it sounds like Derek is on the way to recovery. Are you really doing okay?”

Chloe smiled weakly and said, “I’m doing my best. It’s so hard seeing him like this. He’s so strong and capable all the time and to see him lying in that bed, completely dependent— it breaks my heart. I keep praying that he’s not in any pain. They tell me they’re keeping him so well medicated that there is no way that he’s feeling any pain. I hope they’re right.”

Lexi took her hand and squeezed it. “I hope they are too. Everyone at the club sends their love.”

“Tell them thank you for me. You haven’t had any problems around here, have you? No reason to believe that Jesse has been around at all?”

Lexi looked slightly alarmed, but she said, “No, everything has been okay. But, Brock has been staying with me. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not. I feel better about it. Jesse’s not going to get anywhere near you as long as Brock is around.” Trying to lighten the conversation as they packed Chloe said, “You and Brock seem to be doing really well. He looks at you with adoration in his eyes.”

Lexi gushed, “I don’t want to jinx it, but he is so amazing. He looks like a tank, but he’s so kind and generous. He treats me like a princess. I’m not used to it, but it’s really nice.”

“I’m happy for you. You deserve to be treated like a princess. You give so much of yourself. It’s high time someone gave back to you. If one good thing comes of all of this, maybe it will be you finding your soulmate.”

“And you finding yours,” Lexi said. “He’s going to be okay, honey, I can feel it.”

“I know,” Chloe said with more confidence than she actually felt. People told her that, “He’s going to be okay,” but they didn’t really know. The people who she would love to hear that from, the doctors and nurses were the very ones not telling her that. She was trying so hard to hang on to the image of him as the strong, healthy man that he is as opposed to the poor battered man lying in ICU fighting for his life. She finished packing and reached underneath her bed and grabbed her journal. She hugged Lexi again, “I’ll be back as soon as Derek is doing better so don’t go renting out my room.”

“Never,” Lexi told her. “I miss you like crazy. Call if you need anything and I mean anything at all.”

“Absolutely, I will. Thank you. I love you.”

Lexi hugged her tight. “I love you too.”

**

After Jake helped Chloe put her things in the car, she said, “Would you mind taking me to the studio where I have my self-defense classes? I would like to talk to Max and let him see me in person, so he’s not worried that I’m MIA for the next couple of weeks or so.”

“Sure.” Jake raised an eyebrow over the self-defense classes, but he didn’t say anything. Chloe gave him directions and when they got there, they found Max just ending a class. Chloe introduced him to Jake and Max said, “I’m really glad you came by. When you missed our appointment yesterday, I was afraid it was because our simulation may have been too much for you.”

“No, not at all,” she said. “I mean it was intense, but that’s what I needed.” She told him what happened to Derek without mentioning Jesse. Max listened and when she finished talking he said, “Do you think your ex had something to do with it?” She hadn’t had to say anything; Max already figured it out.

“Yes, I do,” Chloe told him. “I believe he had everything to do with it. I don’t believe we can prove it though, unfortunately.”

“Then make sure that you’re extra careful. Remember everything that we’ve gone over here and don’t let your guard down.”

“What exactly do you do here?” Jake asked. “I know Chloe said it was self-defense, but what did you mean by “simulation?”

“Part of what we do here is help the woman who has been through a traumatic episode, be able to channel all of that terror that stays with her into strength; to fight back. We do mock-attacks or recreate an attack that still gives her nightmares.”

Jake looked at Chloe and then back at Max and said, “She’s a foot shorter and maybe seventy or eighty pounds lighter than Jesse. I haven’t seen him in a few years, but he had a lot of lean muscle on him the last time I did. I’m sorry, but do you really believe that teaching her to fight him is wise? No matter how good she is, he’ll always have the size advantage. Shouldn’t she be taking gun courses or learning how to run instead? I don’t mean any offense; it just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me…it doesn’t seem safe to put in her head that she can fight this guy off.”

Max looked Jake up and down and said, “You’re about a foot taller than her and seventy pounds heavier. Would you care to suit up and let Chloe show you what she can do?”

Jake raised an eyebrow and looked at Chloe.

She smiled and said, “I could use a work-out to get rid of all of this aggression I’ve been feeling since Derek’s “accident.”

“Okay, let’s do it,” Jake told Max.

Max took Jake back and got him set to suit up. When he came back to find Chloe, he said, “I hope you don’t mind. I should have asked you first. I’m just like a proud papa…I want to show you off.”

Chloe smiled. “I don’t mind at all. Like I said, I have a lot of angst inside of me right now. I can’t stop thinking about Jesse doing this to Derek and it makes me even angrier than anything he’s ever done to me.”

“If the time does come that you have to defend yourself against him, Chloe, stay focused on the task at hand and channel that anger into strength. Also, most importantly remember that once you start fighting him, you can’t stop.”

Chloe nodded. “I don’t plan to stop,” she said. “This has to end.”

She looked up and saw Jake coming from out of the back completely suited up except for his helmet which he was carrying under his arm. When he got close, he said,

“I feel like Robo Cop. I think this may be just a bit of over kill.”

“Hold that thought until we’re done,” Max said. He looked at Chloe and said, “Ready?”

She nodded.

Max looked at Jake and said, “Put on the helmet and fight dirty…like Jesse would.” Then he looked at Chloe and said, “Remember, once you start fighting, don’t stop until he’s dead.”

Chloe saw the look on Jake’s face at Max’s words. It’s a hard concept to understand unless you’ve ever been viciously attacked. Chloe understood it well. She stood with her back to Jake and Max said, “Go.”

She suddenly felt his arm go around her neck. She had to will herself not to panic. That was one of Jesse’s specialty’s choking her from behind. He would choke her until she blacked out and then he would…do things to her. Chloe slipped her arms up between Jake’s arm and her neck and she spun and then ducked. She didn’t miss the shocked look on Jake’s face when he realized that she had slipped out of his grasp. Chloe knew he was going to blame it on not holding onto her tight enough. He came towards her and she threw a carefully aimed punch that landed on the pad that covered his right jaw. His head snapped slightly over to the side, but he shook it off and grabbed her again. Chloe retreated, but Jake was quick. He had ahold of her around the arms and chest and he was dragging her backwards. Chloe went limp in his arms and made him drag dead weight. As soon as he lightened his grip on her, she started fighting again. She remembered what Max told her about not letting the fight go to the ground. She was trying to fend Jake off long enough to get back up to her feet. He dodged a few of her punches and then grabbed hold of her thin wrists with one hand.

Chloe was still calm as she felt Jake’s weight shift and begin to lower down on her. When the padded suit across his chest made contact with hers, she screamed, “No!” and exploded. She braced herself with her arms against the floor, slightly bent her knees and used all of the strength in her body to buck up her hips and launch the big man back off of her. Jake landed about two feet from her and looked more stunned than anything else as he pushed himself up off the floor. Chloe crab walked as she scrambled to her feet before he could pull himself back up to his own. As soon as he did, she was ready, landing a shot right to his groin. Jake was forced back again, but this time he didn’t fall to the mat. Chloe rectified that by throwing a high kick out and connecting with the side of his padded head. Then, while he was stunned and trying to shake that off, Chloe started throwing punches…right cross, left jab, retreat. Jake grabbed her, but she was moving too fast. She continued to attack, as he backed away from her and bobbed and weaved. At the point when he was expecting another cross was when she put everything she had into her legs and spun around in a roundhouse kick, knocking him to the mat on his stomach. Chloe didn’t hesitate; she started kicking him in the sides repeatedly until at last Max blew his whistle and said, “Okay Chloe, I think we proved our point.”

Chloe stopped and stood looking down at Jake as she recovered her breath. Jake rolled over onto his back and looked up at her with crystal blue eyes eerily like Derek’s. For a second she panicked. He wasn’t saying anything and she had no idea how to interpret the look he had on his face. Then suddenly his face broke into a grin and he held his arm up to her. She took it and Max took the other one and they helped him to his feet in the heavy suit. Once he was up Max asked him, “So, what do you think?”

Jake was still smiling as he said, “I think Jesse Donovan doesn’t have a chance.”

Chloe smiled. Her confidence was on the rise again.

She thanked Max while Jake changed out of his suit. Max smiled at her and said, “Do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“When you get where you’re going, stand in front of the mirror and tell yourself, “I can stand with my head held high, I’m confident and I know that I am worth defending. I can do it myself. I am nobody’s victim.”

Chloe hugged him. “I’m nobody’s victim,” she said. Jake stepped out of the back as she repeated those words. His eyes locked on hers and he smiled.