Come Back for Me (Arrowood Brothers #1)(40)

“Do you mean they still might not believe me? They might think I’m lying about the abuse and not convict him? Even when there are witnesses and everything?”

Sydney puts her pen down and places her hand on mine. “Ellie, it doesn’t matter if the case doesn’t go as planned. We know what happened, and I believe you. You’re not alone. You didn’t do anything wrong, and no matter what, I’ll help you get out of this as quickly as possible.”

“I don’t want him to hurt us again.”

“I know, and I’m going to do everything I can to prevent it.”

I push out a deep breath and drop my chin to my chest, saying, “I should’ve done this years ago.”

“You’re strong to do it at all. I want to say I’m sorry.” She squeezes my hand. “You’ve lived here a long time, and none of us ever reached out. I always assumed you didn’t want to be a part of the community.”

I shake my head as the feelings of loneliness resurface with a vengeance. “I wasn’t allowed to really be a part of things.”

“I see that now.”

“Plus, it’s hard to have friends when you’re covering bruises.”

Sydney pulls her hand back, and her shoulders slump. “I hope you know that you don’t have to cover anything anymore, Ellie. I’d really like to be your friend, if you’d like to be mine.”

A friend. It’s such a simple word and yet it’s something I haven’t had in so long, I don’t even know what it means. Still, Sydney is kind and offering me an olive branch that I never would’ve taken before. “I’d really like that.”

She smiles. “Good. Now, let’s go over the details and get our information ready so we can file the second we’re allowed to, okay?”

“Okay.”

I’m going to do everything I can to put this behind me, and this is step one.





“Mommy?” Hadley asks as we walk through the field to get to our home to get some clothes and things we need. It’s been a week of making it work, but that isn’t really possible anymore. We need more clothes and supplies if we’re going to keep staying with Connor.

“Yes?”

“Why did Daddy hit you?”

My hand tightens just a bit as the question catches me off guard. I’m not sure how to answer her. Hadley may be only seven, but she’s smart and sees things. She isn’t young and gullible.

This is a chance for me to help guide her into not making the same mistakes that I did. I want her to know that it’s not okay. No one should ever lay their hands on her, especially not in anger. I stayed too long, made too many excuses, but not anymore.

I straighten up a bit and work to make my voice sound confident. “He hit me because he was angry and couldn’t control himself. It’s never okay to do that, you know that, right? It was wrong of him to do it.”

“Is he sorry?”

No, I doubt he was.

“I sure hope so.”

“Does he love us?”

Oh, my heart is breaking apart. “I think he loves you very much.”

Hadley is, of course, too smart to miss that I left myself out. “Does he love you, Mommy?”

“I believe he tries really hard, but . . .” Now I’m going to break her world. “But when you love someone, you never want to hurt them. What he did is never okay to do, and it is never the way you show someone you care about them. Do you understand?”

She looks up at me, and I pray she hears what I’m saying. “I think so.”

I squat down in the field of straw and pray that this little girl will never allow someone to hurt her. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a daddy, a husband, a friend, or someone you don’t know. No one should ever be allowed to hurt you. You should tell someone right away if it happens. Don’t ever be afraid that it’s your fault because it’s not ever your fault.”

Hadley bobs her head but her gaze never leaves mine. “I love you, Mommy.”

“I love you, sweet girl. I want you to know that what happened will never happen again. You and I won’t live with Daddy anymore.”

“Why not?”

Protecting her from the truth has been all I’ve ever done. I don’t want her to hate him, but I want her to see strength from me. She should always understand that the choice I’m making right now may not be easy, but that it’s the right one. I can’t be married to him. I won’t let him be around Hadley and let her think that it’s the way a marriage should be.

“Because I’m not going to stay married to him anymore. We’re going to move out of that house, and we’re going to be okay.”

A tear falls down her face, and I wish I could take it away from her. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, baby. You did nothing, and neither did I. I’m doing this because I have to protect us. I know it’s scary and a lot to worry about, but I want you to know that I love you very much and I’m going to do whatever I have to so that we’re safe.”

“But doesn’t he love me?”

“Who could resist loving you?” I ask her.

“If he loved me, he wouldn’t want us to leave.”

Telling her was what I feared. I never want Hadley to think this is her fault. “Do you like when Daddy yells at us?”