Background
Anna is a young mother striving to find a way out of an abusive marriage. She meets a stranger, Troy. Troy fights his own demons. Can they help each other find love, or are their struggles too much?
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In the bedroom, splattered blood covered the walls and the bedding. A torn nightgown dangled from the dresser as if it had been thrown.
Anna scanned the room. "All I want are my clothes and shoes." I need to get out of this room. She glanced across the hall toward the bathroom. "I'll get my personal items."
"What about the bed and the dresser?" asked Paul.
"Most of the time I slept on the floor by Michael's crib. I can do it again." Anna chewed on her lower lip. "I don't want the bed."
Paul glanced at Eric, then back at Anna.
"She wouldn't even sleep with her husband." Mrs. Rodgers continued, "You caused this. You're a selfish bitch."
"I don't like sleeping with a drunk and a rapist."
"Hello, is anybody here?" interrupted a male's voice from the front door.
The two attorneys and the women went to see who called out.
"Can we help you with something?" Paul asked the man, who was in his mid-twenties.
"Yes, I bought that car in the driveway a few days ago. The owner hasn't been home to give me the keys. I was wondering if you could help."
Anna stepped through the door and pointed. "You mean the silver Malibu?"
"That's the car."
She glanced at Paul. "I'm sorry, but that's my car. My father gave it to me and it's not for sale. You must be mistaken."
The young man reached in his back pocket, pulled out the title, and handed it to Anna. "It's mine."
Paul leaned over Anna's shoulder. She pointed to the line with her signature on it. "I didn't sign this. This isn't my signature."
"It appears to be forged. Where did you get this?" Paul's eyes met his.
"Bobby Rodgers sold it to me. He said his wife wouldn't need the car where she's going."
Anna held up the title. "Bobby must have signed it."
Mr. Young stepped closer to the young man. "How much did you pay for it?"
"Five thousand dollars in cash. I'm not leaving without the car or the money."
Paul and Mr. Young walked away and began talking.
Mrs. Rodgers followed the attorneys. "My son wouldn't forge a signature. That bitch is lying.
"Anna has been hiding from your son, so there's no way she could have signed the title." Paul glared at her, then at Eric. "I didn't know Mrs. Rodgers was your co-counselor. If she doesn't butt out, I'll file auto theft and forgery charges first thing Monday morning."
Mr. Rodgers took his wife's arm and led her away from the men.
A few moments later, both attorneys rejoined the group and Mr. Young said, "Since my client has obviously forged his wife's signature, I'll see he returns the money."
"My son didn't forge anything!" yelled Mrs. Rodgers.
Sam stepped beside her. "Did you forget what he did when he was fifteen and got a hold of your checkbook? I know this lawyer, you don't want to mess with him or Bobby will spend years in prison."
Mrs. Rodgers scowled at her husband and shot arrows of hatred toward Paul. She reached in her purse, grabbed the checkbook, and wrote the check. She ignored the two attorneys and her husband as she handed it to the young man.
When he had it in his hand, he hurried away.
The tall packer carried out a large wardrobe box. "This is the last box. Would you make a final trip through the house and make sure we didn't miss anything?"
They walked through the house, before Mr. Young locked the front door.
Paul and Anna talked privately with the packers and set a ten o'clock delivery time the following day at her new apartment.
Paul backed out the driveway. Anna watched and listened to her short heavyset mother-in-law yell at Mr. Young for allowing her to take all Bobby's belongings. Soon, I won't have to deal with her ever again. She followed Paul to his house.
*****
At the Sorenson house, Paul went straight to his den, booted up the computer, and opened a file. Anna watched from the doorway. "Have I done something wrong?"
Paul glanced at her. "No. Mrs. Rodgers is a piece of work. I'm afraid she's going to cause problems and I want to make sure I'm ready."
Margaret stood beside Anna. "Why don't we go home? You look worn out and you'll have a busy day tomorrow."
Anna glanced toward Paul. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Not really. See you in the morning."
*****
When Anna and Margaret arrived the following morning, Troy and Paul were loading a mattress onto a twenty-four foot moving truck. Anna handed Michael to Margaret and walked over to the truck. "What are you doing?" Her hands were on her hips. "Did you rent this?"
Troy grinned and winked. "I see those flower petals are getting redder all the time."
Paul jumped down. "Good morning." He glanced back at the mattress. "Yes, I rented this for the day. Betty has wanted to redecorate the spare bedroom for years. If we give you the bed and dresser, she gets her wish. We bought a new living room set a few weeks ago. The old davenport, recliner and two end tables were stored in the basement until we decided what to do with it." He grinned. "The only thing we didn't have was a dining table but Troy found a couple. We'll stop at the store on the way to your apartment and let you choose."
Before Anna could respond, Paul answered his cell. "Yes, this is Paul Sorenson." He listened, then hung up. He looked at Anna. "It was Eric Young. He called to let me know Mrs. Rodgers is investigating how you can afford an expensive attorney."
Troy jumped from the truck. "Why didn't you tell him it's pro bono? It would've ended the problem."
"I think the less she knows about our situation the better. You asked me to visit Anna in the hospital remember?"
"I understand," interrupted Troy.
"Is there anyway to stop her?" Anna brushed a stand of hair from her cheek.
"Legally she can't do a thing about it. Maybe I should attach my fee to the final judgment." He winked at Troy. "According to Mr. Rodgers, I have a reputation I need to protect."
Author Notes
Thank you for reading and reviewing. Summer vacation must come to an end. I start back to work tomorrow. My little first graders will start on the 22nd. During the school year, I usually post on the weekends. I don't see this year being any different. Again, thank you for your support.
SAFE (stop abuse for everyone)
www.safe4all.org
National Domestic Violence Hotline (800)799-7233
The National Domestic Violence Hotline has received more than 700,000 calls for assistance since February 1996.
Nearly one-third of American women (31 percent) report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives.
About 75% of the calls to law enforcement for intervention and assistance in domestic violence occur after separation from batterers. One study revealed that half of the homicides of female spouses and partners were committed by men after separation from batterers.
From 1983 to 1991, the number of domestic violence reports received increased by almost 117%. Source: New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, 1983 and 1991.
Violence is the reason stated for divorce in 22% of middle-class marriages.
Women who leave their batterers are at 75% greater risk of severe injury or death than those who stay.
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