Chapter 6
The restaurant wasn’t busy at all for the next several days.She had a total of three customers on Monday and fewer than that on Tuesday.She was glad that she was leaving the place on Saturday because business wasn’t going to be there, so there would be no tips.And the tips were what she paid for groceries with.
Living in the big house with Brenin and Davy was fun.She loved that they could spread out in the large rooms, and sitting in front of the fireplace was one of her all-time favorite things to do.It was warm and pretty, and when she was alone in the house, she would take a nap like she was some kind of diva.
Grading papers in the dining room at the table, she would finish them up sooner than before.She thought it was because she had so much room to spread out there, too, but didn’t know.As soon as she was finished with one stack of papers, she started on the next one.It paid better than the waitressing job, and she didn’t have to go to work to get it done.Not to mention, she didn’t have to deal with Shanda or Janice when they showed up.
The knock at the front door startled her out of her rhythm.She supposed she could have gotten up and answered it, but he had staff for that, and she wouldn’t know what to do with someone coming by for him anyway.Turns out it was for her.It was the other women in the family.They’d come by to take her to lunch.Since she didn’t have any excuses not to go, they bullied her into going with them.Davy wanted to stay home as he’d had no school this morning either, and there were plenty of people around the house to make sure that he didn’t get into anything.She was out the door by twelve-thirty.
They were headed to the place she worked, and she thought that was a good thing.The place could use the business, and she thought it might be fun to be on the receiving end of being waited on.As soon as they were all seated around the largest table they had, the staff didn’t seem to recognize her at all.Just as well.She’d never come into the place in anything but a uniform, so that was more than likely why they didn’t know her.
Lunch was enjoyable.She got the lunch special of salad and tuna.The others got burgers and fries with milkshakes.It was a rare treat for her to be in the place when there were a lot of patrons, and she was happy for Mr.Weaver and the fact that she was helping in a way to keep him open.There had been talk about him closing down in the summer.She hoped that wasn’t true.She loved the old place.
After lunch, they pulled out pads of paper and began working on projects.They all seemed to understand that she wasn’t a part of that, so they’d pull her in for conversation whenever they could.Handed a pad of paper and a pen, she was making notes on things that she might be interested in helping with.Like the fall round-up at the school they had yearly.She also learned about the local pack and how they were taking students to study with them coming in spring.Skye turned to look at her with a smile on her face.
“I have a son, too.His name is Trevor.He’s not really my son but a good friend that needed my help when we were hiding out from some very bad people.”She told her how he’d come to be orphaned one day when he’d been just an infant, when the Connors—an older couple who had killed his parents for him—had taken him away and raised them as their own.He’d escaped, and the two of them had kept on the run together.“Kings and I adopted him just a few months ago.He’s Trevor Savage now.”
“That’s what Brenin wants to do with Davy.I’m all right with that.It’ll be one more hurdle for Janice to have to go through in her making it so she can get him.”It was Kaida who asked why she wanted him.“I honestly don’t know.She wants us to live with her so that she has more access to Davy.He doesn’t care for her overly much.She’s mad at him because he’s not willing to spend the night withher anymore.And as crazy as she’s been acting of late, I don’t want him there either.”
“The men will make sure that he’s safe.When they tell you that, believe them.They have the resources, too, to make sure that you’re both safe, too.”She said that she was having a hard time realizing that everything that Brenin said to her was the truth.“Yes, they can’t lie to you either.That’s the best thing ever.They’ll be there for you forever.And not just as a husband, but they become your best friend in everything you do, too.Did he tell you that you could shift?I’ve been doing it for over a week now, and it feels just like Kings said it does.Like you’ve got a whole new life.”They both laughed.
“I just want to get this over with concerning Janice and Shanda.Shanda is just a pawn for Janice, but she’s been so annoying.I’m finished working here as of tomorrow, but I’m going to help them out when they need it.I loved working here.”Raven told her how she was going to school full-time to become an attorney.“That’s wonderful.I had thought about going back to school to finish up my degree, but with Davy around needing me all the time, I’ve not been able to settle into one thing yet.”
They talked around the table.She liked Raven best of all.She told her how she’d come to be with Cassian, Brenin’s brother.
“It was my last day to work at a fast food place, and the manager wanted me to stay over and cover for him while he took a two-hour lunch.I’d already clocked out and didn’t want to do it in the first place.He beat me up and broke bones.It was a month before I could get around on my own.Of course, Cassian could have healed me, but since the police were involved, he didn’t.He did take away the pain, but not the wounds.I love him so much for doing what he did for me.My manager is in prison right now.He tried to tell the judge that I needed to be made to go with him to work so that he could knock me around.That was so that he’d not hit anyone else.And I was supposed to be all right with that.”She said he sounded like a loon.“You have no idea.He really thought that since I was too poor being married to Cassian, I should be willing to do whatever was needed of me to make the world safe from his tempers.I’m glad he’s gone.I’ve not had any more nightmares since then.”
They each had similar stories about having someone in their lives who wanted more than they had to give.It was always the men who saved them, too.She wondered what Brenin would do to Janice if given the chance.She’d bet that he’d kill her and be done with her.She thought that they’d have that for plan ‘B’ and not kill her right away.The woman was off, but not to the point where she killed her yet.But if she hurt her son, then all bets were off, and she’d do the job herself.There was no way she was going to allow her to hurt her only child.
When they were finished for the day, she made her way back to the house by walking.It had turned into a warmer day than it had been recently, so she was happy to be able to enjoy the warmth.Davy would have school tomorrow, she’d bet, and was looking forward to him having a good day at school.It wore him out, going to school, and since he’d been off for the last two days, he wasn’t burning off as much energy, so he was restless.
“I’ve been thinking about my friend Toby.”She asked him what he’d been thinking about.“I want to go and see him.If his mommy doesn’t care.We are best friends, and I miss him a great deal.”
“We’ll have to see what his mom says.He might not be much better and won’t feel like company.”He assured her that he’d want to have him there.“We’ll just wait and see.I’ll call her after supper and see what she has to say.All right?”
“All right.But he’ll want to see me.I’m his bestest friend in the whole wide world, and we have to be together.”He didn’t go back to his room right away, and she waited.He would have what he wanted to say all worked out in his head before he spoke to her again.“Mommy, what happened to the boy who hurt him?He used to hurt me too, but I’ve not seen him at school for a long time.Do you think they put him in jail?”
“I’ll ask her when I talk to her.I know nothing about the other boy other than his name is Tommy.Perhaps I can do some research on him to see what he’s been up to.”He seemed satisfied with that, and she hugged him.“There might not be much to find out since I don’t have his last name.Did you ever remember it?”
“No.Everyone just called him Tommy.”He started away but came back.“I’m afraid of him, justso you know.He used to beat on me too, but I never cried.He liked it when we cried when he hurt us.”
After they ate together, she called Toby’s mom.She said that Toby was awake now and sitting up, but he wasn’t any better with the scars that were on his face and arms.She also told her that Tommy’s parents were going to have to pay the hospital bill as she’d gotten an attorney.
“I can’t afford this on my own.So I found an attorney to work with me, and he said that he’d make him pay the bills.I’ve lost my job because I’ve not been able to go to work.”She said she was sorry.“Not as sorry as the family will be when my attorney gets through with them.He said that when it’s all done and over, I shouldn’t have to worry about anything.Toby is going to need extra surgeries to put his little face back together.As it is right now, he has over a hundred stitches in just his scalp.”When she cried, Lisa told her how sorry she was.She also worried that Davy coming to see her son might not be such a good idea.“He looks so bad.And he cries a great deal from the pain that he’s in.I would worry that Davy would have nightmares about how badly he looks.”
“I’ll tell him that we have to wait for another time to go and see him.Do you need anything?I can come by and sit with you if you’d like that.I’m not working as hard right now and would love to come by and sit down with you.”She said that was nice, but she didn’t want her to have nightmares either.It worried her that she’d said that several times now, and she worried about what the little boy looked like.And whether or not she was having her own nightmares.Lisa thought that she would.
Talking to Davy, he seemed to understand.He promised her that he’d not have any nightmares about the other little boy, then asked her what that meant.After explaining why he might not want to see him, he seemed to be upset that he was hurting so badly, but knew that he would abide by his mom’s rules.
While Davy was reading his book that night, he told her that he was going to be a doctor when he grew up.She thought that was the perfect thing to be, but he had a long time to decide.He told her that he wanted to be a doctor so that other little boys didn’t have to suffer like his friend was.And having him as a doctor would solve all that.She hugged him tightly that night before putting him to bed, and it seemed as if they both needed it.She found Brenin in his office with his computer gone blank.He had his head back and was napping, so she didn’t bother him.
Instead, she went up to bed to read more in her book and try to get an early start on the morning.She knew that she had to work the breakfast crowd in the morning and was both looking forward to it and not.It would be busy, but the tips would be terrible.It was her last day anyway, so she was hoping for a good day.
When her alarm went off, she didn’t know where she was for a few minutes, so she laid in the bed looking around.When she figured out she was at Brenin’s house and that Davy needed to be getting up for school, she hopped out of bed and got her shower.Getting Davy up was difficult; he wasn’t a morning person, and getting him going was difficult.Since she had to be to work by six-thirty, she let Brenin deal with him and take him to the bus stop.It was nice to have someone help out when things were like this, and she was glad that Brenin seemed to enjoy it so much.
~*~
Brenin was going to be in the courtroom this morning for the hearing about Janice and Shanda.Shanda was already bitching about having to miss work and losing her job.Janice seemed to be in a good mood, but he knew that could just be a façade that she was carrying to fool the judge.He was careful around her table but sat up close enough that he could hear what was being said by all parties.When her name was called, he just knew she was going to be trouble.
