No Wasted Tears (35 page)

“I can get rid of him for you.” Dropping his arm from around her shoulders, he approached Stanley. She panicked, not wanting anyone to get hurt. Her mind immediately thought about her dream. Not here and not now. They didn’t need yelling, screaming, and loud, angry words. She didn’t want Adam to be any part of her ugly
past.

Rushing, she grabbed his arm before he met Stanley on the street. “N-no. Adam I don’t want any trouble lets just go
inside.”

“I’m not worried about trouble Destiny. If this guy is here to harm you in any way, I’ll protect you. Do you understand?” He looked into her eyes making sure she understood. “He can get back in his car and go back to wherever he came
from.”

She couldn’t believe her eyes as Stanley powered toward the both of them with anger written all of his face causing her heart to race even the more. Stanley was mean and he would fight even if he weren’t
pushed.

“No, let me talk to him first.” There was urgency in her
voice.

“Are you crazy? I don’t think so.” He pulled away from her just as Stanley was walking up the drive. She took a shaky breath and gathered her courage; she couldn’t let
Adam get hurt because of her. She watched as Stanley looked from Adam to her. His eyes were black as coal and piercing. “Who is this, Destiny? I see it didn’t take you long to find someone new, but sluts always do, don’t they?” His hands were balled into
fist.

It happened so quickly all she could see was Adam’s fist connect with Stanley’s chin. It surprised him because he tripped and ended up on the ground. He was cussing as he scrambled
to his
feet.

Her stomach was in a big knot as she held on to Adam slightly standing behind him. “Please, stop this!” He meant well, she knew he did, but Stanley was
crazy.

“Go in the house and call the police, Destiny.” Adam looked at her to reinforce what he had just said. “Now! Destiny.” She came out of her trance, running toward the house and fumbled in her purse for the keys. Once inside she pulled out her cell
phone to call the police. But then she became distracted when she heard
yelling.

Opening the door and moving onto the porch, she heard Stanley yelling, “If you want to help, then go home.” He walked right up on Adam so close she was sure he could see his tonsils. He came to a stop, his shoulders braced. “I’m dying, I need her to be with
me.”

From the porch Destiny saw Adam glance at her with the comment that was made by Stanley. Getting nervous she ran down the steps to hear him repeat himself. “Yeah, I said I’m dying!” He had his finger in Adam’s face. Destiny saw his nose flaring from heavy
breathing.

“Dying? Stanley, please! You’re such a liar!” She couldn’t believe what he was
saying.

Then she saw him breathing rapidly and holding his chest, “Come on Destiny, why else would I come all this way? You know me; we lived together or didn’t you tell the pastor about
us?”

Time seemed to be moving slowly. All she could do was stare. Adam looked angry. His mouth was poised to say something but his lips didn’t move. His eyes conveyed hurt. It was tough seeing his hurt. He only meant to help her and in the process he was hearing things about her that she hadn’t had enough courage to share with
him.

Turning to leave Stanley made one last quip, “I’m not feeling so good especially after being hit by your pastor, and I’m a sick.” He held his side. “I needed his prayers not his anger.” His hand went into his pocket pulling out a piece of paper. He handed it to Destiny. “This is where I’m staying and the number. I really need to discuss my illness with
you.”

He seemed almost defeated as he walked slowly back to his car. When he reached the driver’s side, he leaned against the door in a resting position before finally opening it to get in. Destiny wasn’t sure but it looked as if Stanley had smirked and winked at her before finally closing the car
door.

Touching his arm, she looked at Adam as Stanley’s car pulled off. “Thank you, Adam.” He shifted causing her hand to drop to her side. He nodded once, saying nothing more and walked stiffly away from her, his gait tense as he opened his trunk to take out her suit case. He walked up the steps, placing her suitcase just inside the door of the house. She hadn’t meant to wait this long. She’d made up her mind to tell him everything after their trip but now everything was messed up.
She steeled her spine and gathered up all the courage she had. She wasn’t good with uncomfortable situations. But right now she had to be. “Please, let me handle this situation with Stanley.” She was almost begging him to understand. “We can meet later and I’ll tell you
everything.”

Destiny looked sadly at Adam. He didn’t even respond. He turned and silently walked out of the house. When she heard his car’s engine, she knew he was gone. Stanley had done it again—without even throwing a punch he had beaten her once
again.

Chapter 33

Adam knew his brother was watching him. So he wasn’t surprised when he asked, “What’s got you pacing around my living room this afternoon? Didn’t you just get home from your trip with
Destiny?”

He hadn’t been ready to go home so he found himself driving to Marvin’s house. To say that he was rattled by the events of earlier was an under statement. There hadn’t been much conversation between the two of them since he had gotten
there.

Adam winced at his brother’s question. He knew Marvin was trying to get a conversation started. He just couldn’t understand all that had transpired at Destiny’s earlier. It was just like the enemy to show up after their wonderful trip. He moved over to sit in an armchair across from his
brother.

“I met an old friend of Destiny’s when I dropped her off. Guess who it was? The man she lived with before coming to
Seattle.”

“I gather neither of you were expecting him, and by the expression on your face it must not have gone well. You didn’t know about him did
you?”

Adam laid his head back on the chair, closing his eyes before saying, “
No I didn’t and to make matters worst, he says he’s dying.” He watched as his brother digested this
information.

“That must have been a
surprise.”

“I can’t believe she didn’t tell me about him. I hit the guy for God’s sake! I looked like a jerk in this whole situation.” He rubbed his forehead, a small headache
forming.

“You hit him? Why on earth did you do that?” Adam watched Marvin stand up to give him a concerned
look.

“He called her a slut, and I punched him before I could think. I’m not proud of that, but I couldn’t let him talk about her like that in my presence.” He shook his head in
disgust.

“That must have felt good. He must be a real jerk. She seems too nice to be with someone like
that.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Adam got up out of the chair again, walking over to look out the
window.

“I was just doing what any man who cares about a woman would do. I didn’t know anything about the guy but I didn’t like the way he looked and the way he spoke to her.” Turning around, he looked back at his
brother.

“Can you believe she wants to talk to the guy? She said she wanted to handle it alone.” He shook his head. “I just wanted to protect her is all, was I wrong for that? Maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe his is
dying.”

Marvin joined him at the window. “Destiny has to be a smart and special lady. If she wasn’t, you wouldn’t have fallen for
her.”

“Marvin you should have seen her. She was standing straight and tall, her feet braced, her arms crossed in front of her like a shield. Almost like she was afraid. She didn’t seem happy. As a matter of fact she called him a
liar.”

“Well, that seems like she knows a little about his character.” Marvin’s voice sounded as if he was relieved as he walked back to his chair and began to flip through the on-screen channel
guide.

“It’s going to be fine, man, she’ll call you and you both will talk. Everything will be fine. Trust me, on
this.”

The one thing that stayed with Adam was that Destiny hadn’t wanted him to help her. Everything in him wanted her to need him, wanted to stay there and make sure she was all right. He was torn between doing what he wanted and what she asked him to
do.

He dropped back down in his seat, propping his feet on the ottoman in front of him, and stared at the program Marvin was watching without seeing a
thing.

The last thing Destiny wanted was to have a confrontation with Stanley in front of Adam. Her hands were trembling as she tried to unpack from their trip. It had been more than she could have ever imagined. Their friendship had grown into more. But now that Stanley was in town, she had no idea what would happen. Needing to relax, she went into the kitchen to make a pot of tea. Still nervous about the encounter, her hands were shaking uncontrollably. She couldn’t even hold the teacup steady. She hadn’t been as frightened as she thought she’d be to be in his presence again. He was there to get her back even if it meant lying to do it. His behavior had always been erratic even more so during the last six months of their relationship. His mood swings were always up and
down.

If it was one thing she knew from her counseling sessions at Greater Community, it was time to stop turning to others to save her from her own demons. After her rape in college and not knowing her father, she’d relied on Tina and Sara far too much. Then she’d allowed Stanley to become her rock—her savior—and it almost cost her life. His total domination of her life had destroyed something deep inside of her. She had no strength of her own. It was time she broke the cycle and it started today when she asked Adam to let her handle
Stanley.

A smile tugged on her mouth, because she knew that from now on if there was a battle to be fought, she, along with the help of the Lord, would be fighting them. She felt free in her spirit—pure liberation flooded her soul. Yes, she would meet with Stanley because it was time to slay her
Goliath.

The sound of a car engine caught her attention, but she resisted the urge to walk over to the window. It was
probably Sara or Cynthia and the twins coming home. Stanley had left almost an hour ago with Adam leaving shortly after him. He hadn’t come over to say goodbye. She really didn’t blame him for that, either. His face held a look of being shocked by the whole situation so she wasn’t surprised when he got in the car and just left. She’d lied to him from the moment they’d met, because she never really told him the truth about
herself.

Destiny wasn’t happy with herself at the moment, but it was hard to be sad about the relationship she’d developed with Adam, even if he hated her for what she’d done. He was an incredible man and he believed in her. It was easy for her to laugh when she was around him. Why couldn’t she have met him three years ago? She poured her cup of tea and walked into the living room. Hearing the doorbell, she put her cup down and opened the front door without checking the peephole. Stanley was standing in the doorway. Shock registered on her face at the same time he offered an ugly
smirk.

“Baby, guess who’s coming to
dinner?”

Chapter 34

Adam stopped reading his Bible. After closing it, he stood. Stretching his arms above his head, he yawned. He had been working nonstop since he left his brother’s house. It had been a tremendously blessed couple of days in Tacoma. But everything changed with the arrival of Stanley. He hadn’t talked to her since they
got back earlier but she wanted to handle things with him her way. He hoped to complete this week’s sermon, or at least most of it, but his thoughts were all over the
place.

Adam returned to his desk and shut down his laptop. Glancing around the room, he found himself daydreaming about Destiny rather than getting his sermon
finished.

At the sound of a knock at the door, he forgot those thoughts.
Running his hands down his face, he moved to the door and opened
it.