Looks Like We Made It

Chapter 2

Hey again! New Chapter!!! Make sure you read the last chapter since I updated it yesterday. Enjoy! 

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It had been around six months since Lola and James's first date. Everything had seemed to go pretty smoothly. A few fights here and there, but they appeared to be falling in love. They went on dates frequently, they were always calling or texting each other throughout the day, and James had just recently put up a picture of Lola and him on his desk at work.

However, a few things concerned James about Lola. For instance, whenever he dropped Lola off at her house after a date, she never let him inside, and the one time she did her parents were out of town. While he was there he noticed numerous pictures of Lola's older sister on the wall, but very few of her. He just shook it off, knowing Lola was stubborn and figured she didn't want to be in any pictures as a kid. Another thing that concerned him was the fact that she rarely mentioned her parents, and when he brought it up, she seemed uneasy and changed the topic right away. James just brushed all these things off, figuring she wasn't close to her parents and thought she'd be willing to talk about it more once they got closer.

Today, they were going on a date to a drive-in movie. Officer James pulled up to her house and instead of texting her that he was here like he normally did, he decided to go up to her door and knock. After a few seconds of waiting, someone opened the door. He looked to be in his late fifties. The stench of alcohol on him and in his breath. The man said, "What do you want?"

Officer James didn't stutter, he was used to dealing with alcoholics. He said, "I'm here to pick up Lola, for our date, sir"

The man said, "So you're the boy who's been spending so much time with our daughter." He looked James up and down and said, "You seem to be different than the rest. We'll see if that's good. Stay here, Lola will be out in a minute."

James just nodded and waited as the door closed on his face. He realized why Lola didn't seem too keen on him meeting her parents now. After waiting a few minutes, he heard louding talking from inside the house and a quiet apology that sounded like Lola's voice. He's sure he has never heard her sound like before. It made him worry that something was going on. He was about to knock on the door again when Lola came out with a smile that didn't seem like her normal one. She closed the door quickly and said, "Sorry, I was long, are you ready to go?"

James nodded and took her hand. As they were walking to the car, he said, "Is everything alright?"

Lola hesitated for a second and said, "Yeah, I'm okay. He's just in a bad mood." She got in the car when James opened the door for her and sat down. She sighed when he closed the door and wasn't looking; she rubbed her wrists, there was sure to be a bruise there soon. She was glad she wore a jacket today. James opened his door and got in.

After a few minutes of driving, James said, "You know you can tell me anything, right?" At this point, he was slightly concerned for her safety. He looked over at her for a few seconds and saw that she was thinking for a second. He put his attention back on the road when she said, "I know, I'm okay."

He was sensing her vulnerable state and decided to drop it for now. He didn't want to make her mad before their date practically started.

After a while of driving, they made it to their destination. They got some concession food and ate while they watched the movie. All James could think of was how Lola was acting and about her father. He said, "You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but your dad mentioned that I seemed to be different from your past boyfriends. What were they like?"

Lola thought for a second and said, "I only have had three before you. They were all awful to me. My first one was when I was freshman, I got dared to try out for the cheerleading squad. Surprisingly, I got in. I absolutely hated it but my mom made me stay on until the rest of the year. The senior captain of the football team started to flirt with me. I didn't think anything of it. It was the first time I've gotten attention like that. We started dating. He treated me horribly and uh tried to rape me. I broke up with him. The next one was a random boy I met at a park. He was definitely older than me, but I never got his age. I was definitely stupid. He also tried to rape me. I made my sister break up with him for me. The third was the worst. I don't know why my dad mentioned that. Can we just drop it though?"

James nodded, it was a lot to take in. He kissed her forehead and held her. He never expected that out of her. They laid in silence for a few minutes before Lola said, "I'll be right back, I'm going to get a quick snack." While she got out of the car, James saw a bruise on her wrist when her sleeve went up. He frowned, he knew she could be clumsy, but it would be difficult to get a bruise like that by yourself.

Once Lola came back in with a snack, James wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her arm. He went to her wrist and rubbed it for a few seconds pretending to accidentally lift her sleeve. He rubbed the bruise and looked at it for a few seconds. It looked fresh. He spoke softly, "Where'd you get this from, love"

Lola stiffened for a second and looked at her wrist, she lied, "uhh I'm not sure. I didn't know it was there. You know I'm clumsy. I probably just hit my wrist on a door or something." James was about to say something when Lola said, "Can you drive me home? I'm tired." James said, "Alright, honey."

As they got closer to her house, James said, "Are you sure you're ready to go home. We can stop somewhere else." He wanted to keep her away from her house as long as possible to try and keep her away from her dad.

Lola said, "No, I want to go home. Maybe another night?"

James sighed internally and said, "Okay, baby." He pulled up to her house and ignoring her protests, he walked her to the door. Before he let her in, he held both her hands and said, "Let me know if you ever need anything, okay baby? You can call me whenever."

Lola nodded and said, "Alright, I will." James kissed her goodbye with a quick I love you and left. He hoped he wasn't making a mistake in letting her go back inside.