Knight in Sneakers

Chapter 58 'Everything.'

Entry 49 continue -

Lucy William Cortez

'Xav! Laurel told me you were avoiding her. She wanted to know if there was a reason.'

'Yeah.'

'And?'

'She's a bitch.'

'Xav!' I let out a laugh despite Laurel being my good friend. 'That's mean.'

'Well it's true.'

'Yeah, I forgot you were a man of honesty.' He nodded silently in agreement and went back to reading his book.

'Honesty. The most inexpensive yet priceless gift you could ever bless somebody with. And trust. The best second thing. Works good as a return gift.' He added with a wink making me giggle at his words.

'Then tell me honestly, what is Penelope to you?' The smile which followed on his face after my question answered it all.

'Someone special.' He paused for few minutes before he continued telling me what was on his mind, 'I'll never come across another woman like her. And...'

'And?'

'I love her way too much I wish I never met her.' I knew then I had to make my decision. He wasn't safe in Ethan's hands and he was here to keep me safe. I wasn't going to let him throw away his love and life for me. I was going to do this for Xavier. I was going to do this for my brother.

"When Ethan finally decided to bless me with his presence again, I snapped and called things off. And that's when the abuse started. 1996." I had second thoughts about continuing my story after looking at my son's pained expression and anger on his face. But the second I saw Clarke reach out for his hand to comfort him, I knew I had to do this. Her holding my son's hand gave me the comfort too.

"He used to hit me and make me feel guilty about it. He used to hit me and come back to love me the next day. I could never file a complaint against him, I didn't want to do that because of his family name or his brother. Xavier had also moved out by then and no one was there to protect me. Protect me from my own lover. One day, things got so worse I finally called my sister and confided to her."

'Beth...' I sobbed uncontrollably on the call while I looked at my bleeding and bruised face in the mirror. It hurt to even cry but I couldn't help it. I had to cry.

'Oh baby, I'm so so sorry-' I broke into more tears as I could feel my heart hurt.

"She wanted me to leave but I couldn't. I was living in fear with a monster. Every time I tried to break it off, he'd turn into a fucking psycho. My college attendance dropped and the coffee shop became my new safe haven. I honestly couldn't face any of my friends with all the black eyes and bruises. I wasn't scared. I was ashamed. I was ashamed of my choice and weakness. I still didn't do anything about it."

"Mom..." Aaron jumped off his seat and sat next to me pulling me into a tight hug. I realised I was crying when I felt his shirt get wet.

"When I think about it, I just needed someone to give me strength. Sometimes, we can't do everything by ourselves and realise we need help. If we could do it all by ourselves, then why did God make all of us?"

"Ethan never left again?" Clarke asked me.

"Oh, I wished and prayed every night he did." I paused and looked at Aaron with teary eyes and soft smile, "And that's when your father came in. I bumped into William on one fine day. We sat together for a coffee, he asked me about my bruise, I could only lie for few minutes before I completely broke down on his shoulders. Ethan became busy again and his absence in my life was a blessing cause I started meeting William a lot. He helped me out of my depression and I didn't even know it. The friendship between William and I grew for two years and it grew into something more than friendship."