Saving Hope

Chapter 3

Hope's sweet sweet revenge

"Hope Harris, Mr. Harvens will see you and Trisha lockwoods now. Please follow me"
The farther I walk down this hallway the harder my heart pounds and the harder Trish squeezes my hand, and as we turn the corner I see the door open and my teacher standing in the doorway with the principal. I look at Trish with confusion and she whispers in my ear, "When I 'went' to the bathroom I took a detour to our teacher's classroom and told her a snid bit about what was going on so she knew why you left so abruptly and why we never came back."
I couldn't believe what she did but I wasn't mad because the fact that the teacher was there and with the look on her face it showed she cared, which was a relief and some weight was lifted off my shoulder knowing someone other than Trish cared and believed me. When we stepped inside there were two police officers, a nurse, the principal, my teacher, and a social worker. I didn't know what I was supposed to do, or how nor where to start. The principal muttered out that I was to explain what has been going on at my home life, then to make a formal statement with the police officers, and after that the nurses will check to see if I show any physical wounds, but there was one thing that he said that came in like slow motion, "Trisha will have to leave during this process".
(in Hope's head)
I couldn't do this without Trish in here, I mean she is the whole reason I am in here in the first place.
(back in reality)
"Please don't take Trish away, I need her in here if it wasn't for her I would've never left that bathroom floor, or come into this office. And if I had left the bathroom floor it would've been after the class was over and into the next one which would've called for a call home. And I would have gotten twice as hard of a beating because of it and I would have been next to dead if not. So please don't take her away, don't make her leave."
They ended up letting her stay as I told them about everything that I had gone through since my dad passed away and my mom got remarried to the guy now known as my step dad Trevor. While I was telling them everything you could see the color leaving the principal and nurses face from terror and agony for me, but the cops looked at me with sympathy and empathy as though this was something they hear everyday. Which they probably do. Our teacher though she left before I even got to the second week after the honeymoon because she had to 'use' the restroom, but I knew and the officers knew she couldn't bear to hear another word. Trish was holding my hand silently crying because she felt horrible that she knew nothing of this. Even though she saw me almost every single day.
After making the formal statement I had to go into a separate room with the nurse so she could check to see the damage that Trevor had inflicted on me. Trish wasn't able to come into the room with me because I was taking off my shirt and pants to show the lady everything so she didn't miss one piece. We were all done with looking at the damage on my torso and lower half of my body and as I was putting on my shirt and pulling up my pants my beanie fell off and the giant bald spot started to show as my hair was falling down into my face. And she asked me "did he do that too?" I replied, "my missing hair? Yeah he did that because I kept squirming trying to escape his fist, so he grabbed a chunk of my hair and threw me against the wall into the inverted corner." She didn't say much after that other than, "we are done here, please follow me back out to the main office room." She handed the report to the officers and they stood there for a second and then said, "Come with me, we're gonna take a ride." So me and Trish grabbed our bags and jumped in the police car with Officer Graceland. I asked, "where are we going?"
"We are going to your house, we have an officer following us which is where your stepfather will ride and we have two more officers that are going to meet us there for back up just in case he decides to go down in a blaze of glory."
"Why are you taking me though, I don't wanna go there. He will try to hurt me, I was told I didn't have to go home ever again. Please, I don't want to go home."
"Trust me you will not have to leave this car unless you want to, do you hear me? You can stay in the car, but if you want to show that you are no longer afraid of him and that just because he hurt you all those times in the past doesn't mean you didn't just win by putting him away."
I was silent after he said that because I didn't know how to respond. I mean it sounds like an amazing way to tell him to shove it. Except I don't want to do that because I don't want to die. I know the officer said I would be safe, but I mean there is still that chance right?
"You should get out of the car. Hope, I'll be right there with you the whole time. I will not leave your side. It is your turn to tell him to stick it and to shove it where the sun doesn't shine."
Right as Trish said that we turned on to my street and just like the officer said there were two other police officers parked at a distance waiting for the signal to move forward. He went on the radio and said, "It's time to go in, guys." The other officers started rolling forward and they all parked in front of my house. The cop that was behind us got out of his car and walked up to my front door and knocked on it identifying himself. And as the door opened I could only pray that he please don't grab a gun. Please Trevor, please be empty handed.
The door flung open and there stands Trevor drunk as all hell looking for a face to smash into the ground. The officer starts telling him his Miranda Rights and telling him he is under arrest. But in the middle of it Trevor swings his head back and smashes the officer's head into the brick wall behind him. One of the other cops fires his gun just above Trevor's head as a warning to stand down as two officers approach, one going to my step dad and the other going to the officer who was down.
This whole time I was in the car fearing for not only my life, but everyone else's life that was out there dealing with Trevor. Me and Trish were pretty much holding each other to keep eachother safe. Our eyes now close tightly afraid of what might happen next.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
"Ahhhhh" Trish and I both scream. The officer who drove us opens the door, "whoa whoa whoa it is just me, come with me out of the car they are walking your step-dad to the back of the police car. Thought you might want to be the last thing he sees before he goes into the slammer, let him know by your presence that you won and he can't hurt you any more."
Me and Trish both climb out of the car and walk over to the house and see my step dad walking with his head down, as if he is ashamed of what he did to me. I know he enjoyed that shit! "Hey Trevor! Look at me, yeah it's me I won. I escaped you. You can't hurt me anymore. I get to sleep peacefully, instead of being afraid of being woken up by you and being thrown across the room!" "Goodbye Trevor! Hope your cellmate don't get to handsy for you"
The officer looked at me with this surprised face. But Trish was just laughing cause she knows I got that burst of random craziness from her, but as I watched the police car drive away with him I didn't know what to do. Was I supposed to walk into the empty house, and see all of his stuff everywhere? Or go over to Trish's house and wait for my mom to find out what just happened and come and flip her shit on me. Or am I supposed to go to the station and wait for the social worker to take me away.
"So the social worker is letting you stay with Trish and her family and have limited visiting time with your mother. You can come and get your stuff at any time, your mom was already informed on what was happening and she was relieved that you could get away. And she hopes you don't hate her"
(Hope spacing out and in her head)
She is relieved? Relieved? I thought she didn't care that he was beating the living shit out of me everyday for hours. And I do hate her or at least I think I do. I-I-I can't breath, I-I can't think. I hated her all these years, for why exactly because she never stood up to Trevor when I didn't. I mean how could you stand up to him, he was huge, and mean drunk who had no control over his rage. Am I a horrible daughter for despising her for all these years...
(back into reality)
"Hope?" Trish said, putting her hand on my shoulder concerned.
I looked at her with tears trailing down my face, and as I could barely mutter out three words I crumbled to the ground crying and shaking. Not too soon after an ambulance showed up and brought my lifeless body that they were trying to resuscitate to the hospital.
The three words that nearly ended my life for good were,
I'm Finally Free...