Beautifully Unfinished (24 page)

Tucker told him his plan, as Lucy sat and listened to them discuss it.

After a few minutes, she just switched off and got lost in her own thoughts.

All through the years she had been afraid of coming back here because she knew she would have to face her past. It had never occurred to her that her past would somehow become her present, but it had.

Whether she liked it or not, she knew that if she was ever going to have a future, she needed to face the past and put it to rest once and for all.

“Do you really think that you can do what you said?” Lucy asked, as she lay in Tucker’s arms in the darkness of her room.

All the information Tucker had given her that night was still running through her head, and she was finding it hard to fall asleep. There was just so much to take in.

When they got back from the hospital earlier that night, Tucker sat Alison and David down and told them exactly what his plan was, for dealing with Trent.

“I am going to bring him up on a number of charges,” Tucker explained to an anxious David and Alison. “First, there is the assault and attempted rape of Alison. We can also charge him with unlawful entry.”

“What about what he did to Lucy?” Alison asked as she glanced over to Lucy and gave her a smile. “He should pay for what he did to her.”

“I agree,” Tucker replied. “And he will.”

“Isn’t there a statute of limitations on rape?” David asked nervously, as glanced at Lucy. “I’m sorry Lucy, I just need it all clear in my head.

“There is,” Tucker replied. “And in the case of April, Trent’s other victim, the statute of limitations has expired.”

“Why hasn’t it for me?” Lucy asked, still confused by all the legal stuff.

“Because he didn’t just rape you,” Tucker replied. “He broke your jaw. He bit you, over and over, some leaving scars on your body. That’s first-degree rape, making it a class A Felony. There is no statute of limitations on that.”

“But no one believed me nine years ago,” Lucy said, still unsure of what was different now. “Why will they believe me now?”

“Because it’s no longer just your word against his,” Tucker replied. “You have Alison and April to back up your story.”

Lucy thought it all sounded so simple, but as she lay there in the darkness of her room, she felt a little less confident.

“I do,” Tucker replied, as he held her close. “I wouldn’t give you false hope. Trent is going away for a long time.”

“I can’t believe that after all this time,” Lucy said, as she lifted her head and looked at Tucker. “It’s nearly over.”

“It is,” Tucker replied with a smile, and Lucy returned it, but then her smile faded. “What’s wrong?”

“You still need to find him,” she said, as reality brought her back down to earth with a bang. “What if you can’t? He knows were Alison lives. Maybe he followed her to my apartment. Maybe he followed us. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. Maybe it wasn’t all in my mind.”

“We will catch him, Sweet Girl,” Tucker assured her as he pressed his lips to her forehead. “I promise you that.”

“I believe you,” Lucy replied, as she softly pressed her lips to his before she rested her head against his chest once again.

“You know,” Tucker said, and Lucy could hear the nervous edge in his voice. “With Trent locked away, maybe you might consider staying in River Springs.”

“Tucker,” Lucy sighed, as she pushed up in the bed. “I thought we talked about this.”

“We did, and I haven’t changed my mind,” Tucker said, as he too sat up. “I am just saying, now you have a choice, that’s all. I am just putting it out there.”

“No, Tucker,” Lucy snapped abruptly, as she climbed out of bed. “I don’t have a choice. Do you think the only reason I don’t want to be here, is because of him?”

“I just thought…” Tucker said, confused by her sudden anger.

“When I came to this town,” Lucy continued. “I was a quiet, shy girl. The girls in the school treated me like crap, the boys made fun of me. When I was raped, everyone rallied around Trent. The six foot four monster that held me down and raped me. Nobody but you and my dad cared about me. How could you think I could ever want to live here? Maybe someday raise a family here? I want to know that if I ever have a daughter, that she is just as important as some asshole jock. But in this town, she won’t be.”

“I’m sorry, Lucy,” Tucker said, as he moved to get out of bed. “I didn’t think.”

“Just…” she said, as she held up her hand and stopped him before he got to her. “Just give me some space.”

Lucy turned and walked out of the room, and down the stairs. When she reached the kitchen, she leaned on the edge of the sink and stared out of the window.

She regretted losing her temper with Tucker, but she just couldn’t imagine that there would ever be a time that she would want to live in River Springs.

Lucy wished she could give him the answers he wanted, but she just couldn’t. Now she was scared that Tucker was agreeing to come to New York with her because of some misguided duty, or the belief that someday she would agree to come back. When she didn’t, eventually he would resent her for it.

She closed her eyes and blew out a deep, frustrated breath.

“I’m sorry,” Tucker said suddenly from behind her as he slipped his arms around her waist and drew her to him.

“It’s me that should be sorry,” Lucy sighed, as she leaned back against him and closed her eyes once again. “You have always been there for me. Even when I treated you like you were invisible. I have no right to take my frustrations out on you.”

“You can yell at me,” Tucker said, as he rested his cheek against her hair. “Shout, scream, whatever you need to do, but I will never stop loving you. I will never give up on you.”

“How do you know you won’t hate living in New York?” Lucy asked, as she turned in his arms until she was looking up at him. “How do you know you won’t resent me for making you give up your life here?”

“Because that’s what we do for the one we love,” Tucker said with a smile, as he brushed the hair back from her face. “Love means we do what it takes to be with them. I don’t care where I live, Lucy, as long as I am living with you.”

Lucy smiled, as she leaned up on her tippy toes, and kissed him softly on the lips.

“Take me back to bed,” she breathed against his lips.

“You took the words out of my mouth,” Tucker growled against her lips.

He scooped her up into his arms and hurried towards the stairs as Lucy giggled and tried her best to be quiet, so as not to wake David and Alison.

“Are you girls ready for this?” Tucker asked, as he pulled his car into his parking space at the station. He looked over at Lucy, and she gave him a smile that she really wasn’t feeling inside.

Inside, she was beyond scared. She had been here before. She walked into the station, covered in cuts and bruises, knowing everyone was watching her. It had been the hardest day of her life.

But this time, she wasn’t doing it alone. She had Tucker and Alison, and she would have April too.

Tucker had called April the day before, and she had agreed that she would meet them at the station to give her statement. Lucy was surprised she had, but Tucker assured her that April has happy to help.

“Lucy,” Tucker said, and Lucy realised he was still waiting on her reply.

“I’m ready,” she said, and gave him a smile. She knew that she needed to do this. She needed to make Trent pay.

As the four of them walked into the station, Tucker instinctively took Lucy’s hand. She knew he was just as afraid as she was. He had made her a promise that Lucy knew he might not be able to keep, no matter how much he wanted to.

When they walked through the door, April was already waiting for them, and Lucy introduced her to Alison.

“I am sorry for what has happened to you,” April said as she hugged Alison.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Alison said, as April release her. “We are all in this together.”

Tucker took them to a conference room down the hallway.

“If you want to make yourself comfortable,” he said, as he remained by the door. “I will be right back.”

He returned ten minutes later, and Lucy noticed Tucker had changed into his uniform. She gave him a questioning look.

“We need to keep this professional,” Tucker explained. He also had Hugh Bowman was with him. The minute he saw Lucy, he blushed a little. Lucy knew that he regretted not pursuing things with Trent back then.

“Good to see you again, Lucy,” he said, as he took a seat across the table from her. “It’s been a long time.”

“It has,” Lucy replied, as she remembered the morning he came to her house and told her father they weren’t charging Trent.

“How have you been?” He asked, as he nervously shuffled through his paperwork.

“Oh, you know,” Lucy replied, not taking her eyes from his. “Okay considering.”

“I know,” he said, as he looked down at his paperwork again. “I know there is nothing I can say to make it right, but for what it’s worth, I am sorry.”

“If you’re really sorry,” Lucy replied. “You will make sure he pays this time.”

“I will,” he nodded and gave her a nervous smile. “Now, let’s get this done.”

Two hours later, the three girls left the police station, all feeling emotionally drained, but full of determination.

They walked back to the car park together and stopped at April’s car.

“Thank you so much for agreeing to do this,” Lucy said, as April hugged her tightly and for the first time in forever, Lucy didn’t think about the fact she was letting somebody other than her dad, Alison and now Tucker, touch her. Maybe she was finally getting better, or maybe she saw April as more than just someone else. “I know it has been so hard for you too.”

“All that matters now is that he pays,” April replied. “Doesn’t matter who it’s for, as long as he goes to prison.

“We are going to order some take out later at my dad’s,” Lucy said, as she took her hands. “And maybe have a couple of bottles of wine. I would love it if you could join us. Tonight is about being with friends.”

“I would love that,” April said with a warm, genuine smile. “Thank you, Lucy, for everything.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Lucy replied, as she hugged her once again. April said her goodbyes and climbed into her car.

“She is a sweet girl,” Alison said, as they watched her drive out of the car park. “It’s good to see you with more friends.”

“She was always my friend,” Lucy replied with a sad smile. “I just didn’t know it.”

“Come on,” Tucker said, as he took Lucy’s hand. “I promised the Chief I would go straight to the hospital when we were done here.”

“Okay,” Lucy said, as she followed Tucker to their car.

Twenty minutes later, they were stepping onto the elevator in the hospital. Lucy just wanted to see her dad, and she wanted all this over.

Tucker held her hand as they rode up in the elevator, and Lucy knew he was wishing that it was all over too.

As the doors opened, Lucy went to step off, but she stopped when she found herself face to face with Riley.

“Hi,” he said, as his eyes met hers.

“Hey,” she replied, and she could feel Tucker hold her hand a little tighter. She glanced at him and gave him a smile that told him; she was okay.

“How have you been?” Riley asked cautiously.

“Good,” Lucy replied. As she looked at Riley, she realised that the only thing she felt now when she looked at him was sadness for what they had lost. She was no longer hurt or angry. She had finally let it all go.

“I am glad that you’re happy,” he said, as he looked from Lucy to Tucker. “That you’re both happy.”

“Thank you,” Lucy replied, grateful for his words. “I should go see my dad.”