Hope's Chance(55)

I put my phone back down and nestled myself back under the covers.

“Did you tell him you were okay?” Buffy whispered.

“Yeah, he knows you are with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere Hope. I have been attacked by guys before. I know how scary it is.” She admitted.



The next morning Buffy waited for me to get myself cleaned up before she even went to brush her own teeth. My lips was still swollen but I wasn’t as bruised as I had first assumed. My face had a red mark over my eye, but that was it. I had one small bruise on my abdomen, and two giant bruises resembling hand marks on each of my arms.

Buffy insisted on taking pictures of each mark so that if my father came around we could give the documentation to the police. When I finally dressed into something comfortable, I waited downstairs for Buffy to get changed. Once she found me in the kitchen she started making me something to eat. I sat up at the breakfast bar leaning on my fist.

“So have you seen Dad?” I asked her while she was buttering my toast.

“Nope, looks like he left for work already.” She said as matter of fact.

I played with some sugar that had spilled onto the countertop, making funny shapes with my finger. “Thank you again Buff.”

“Hope, I love you. I want what is best for you. I will always be here for you no matter what happens with me and your father.” She explained.

I loved her too in a sisterly way. “I love you like you are my real sister.” I blurted out.

Buffy turned around with a big smile on her face. I noticed her glancing toward the door so I turned to see what she was looking at. Chance was walking into the kitchen with a bunch of flowers in his hand. They were carnations and they weren’t picked from someone’s garden.

“Good morning ladies. Hope, these are for you.” He said as he leaned over and kissed my forehead.

Before he could stop me, I pulled him in for a hug. His arms wrapped around me and I felt completely safe. I appreciated what Buffy was doing, but Chance always saved me, even from myself sometimes. I couldn’t get what Trevor did out of my head, but suddenly, with Chances arms tight around me, I felt protected.

“I love you.” I whispered in his ear.

He leaned down and kissed my nose. “Me too.”

Chance got himself some coffee and sat next to me to eat his breakfast. Buffy said she wasn’t hungry and I knew it was because her and my father were having problems because of me. I appreciated that she took my side, but I felt bad for her for being in the middle.

I wondered if she would have been on my side had Chance and I not been involved. Would she have just thought I was some spoiled brat kid, trying to get my daddy’s attention?

Just as we finished eating we heard the door shutting. My father walked into the kitchen. He never even acknowledged me, but instead asked Buffy to come into his office. I felt hurt, but as they left the room Chance put his hand on my leg. “You okay?” He whispered.

“As long as you are here I am fine.”

We sat there smiling at each other, until we heard the loud hollering coming from the office. Chance and I both got up and walked closer to the hallway so that we could hear what they were saying.

“I won’t let you do that Mark. Do you have any idea what he has been through? You owe him an apology. I can’t believe it was so easy for you to jump to conclusions about him. Was it so much easier for you to accuse my brother than those little *s?” Buffy slammed.

“This business deal could determine our future. I can’t let some misunderstanding affect that. Hope is going to be fine. She is a strong girl and she never has to see those boys again. I don’t see why we can’t just let it go.” My father announced.

“Let it go? Are you f*cking kidding me? Your daughter was sexually assaulted last night and you want to let it go?” Buffy yelled.

“I would hardly say she was sexually assaulted Buff…”

Buffy interrupted him. “If it weren’t for my brother she would have been raped. They exposed her and fondled her. What is your f*cking idea of sexual assault because obviously we have different views?”

“I refuse to argue about this shit with you Buffy. Go find your brother. I need to speak with him.” My father ordered.

We ran back into the kitchen until we saw Buffy emerging. She had tears in her eyes and I could tell she was not a happy camper. “Chance Mark wants to see you.”

I led her to sit down while I sat next to her.

The men’s meeting wasn’t loud like he and Buffy’s. After about twenty minutes Chance came walking into the kitchen. He didn’t say a word as he walked past us and headed outside.

Buffy got up and immediately went running after him. It killed me that I couldn’t be outside with them, but I didn’t want to get into trouble.

My father came walking into the kitchen and I turned to face him. “Hope, I am very sorry about last night. I wasn’t aware of what Chance did for you. I didn’t realize he would do something so noble. As far as what happened last night, I can only ask for you to try to let it go. I have too much at stake to ruin this deal and I realize that is hard for you to understand. It is what has to be done.”

My eyes filled with tears. I hated him.

I got up and ran outside toward the pool house. He wasn’t going to keep me from checking on Chance. I didn’t care if I lived out of my car.