Page 13 of Timeless Pages

Chapter thirteen

Isa

I f having lunch with Brandy had been a surprise, turning it into lunch with Nate, Dom, and Evan was a complete shock. To compound that shock, I had enjoyed myself once we got past the awkwardness. It helped that nobody brought up the bookstore or my father.

I learned they had been friends since grade school and had been starting small businesses together their entire lives.

Growing up, I had never had that closeness with anyone, so watching them now as adults was fascinating.

My favorite part of lunch was watching Evan eat his eggplant parm.

From the first bite, I could tell he didn’t like it, but he powered through because he had already told me it was his favorite.

It must have been a lie to have something in common with me.

A lie Evan wasn’t willing to admit to because he finished his entire plate and then boasted that he would eat another one if he weren’t so full.

I walked the short distance back to the bookstore. I didn’t own a car, and Uncle Jay had always used a car service. Maybe I will buy one when all this is settled with my father. I don’t need anything fancy, but it would be nice not to have to walk everywhere.

Dave was behind the counter when I walked through the door. “Has it been busy?” I asked.

“About normal for a Thursday,” Dave replied. “How did it go at the lawyers?”

“Good, I think,” I said. “Thanks for watching the shop.”

“You know I am always willing to help you, Belle.”

I smiled fondly at his nickname for me. While a variation of my name, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where it came from, given that I lived in a bookstore. Unfortunately, my story wasn’t a fairy tale; the Beast was the villain.

“And I appreciate it,” I told him sincerely. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Dave.”

His chest swelled with pride as my phone rang. I checked the caller ID, and when I saw it was Daniel, my heart started to pound.

“Hello?”

“Isa! I have good news. I’m leaving the courthouse now, and the judge has approved our motions. Morris Wilcox will be served immediately, and a court date has been set for September.”

September? That was still two months away. A lot could happen in two months.

“Isa?”

“Sorry, I’m here,” I replied.

“Isa, I know September feels like a long time, but it was the earliest we could get. The important thing is that he can’t touch your Uncle’s estate, and he can’t prevent you from using it.

And with the restraining order, he will be arrested if he comes within fifty feet of you.

This is good news, Isa. I promise,” Daniel assured me.

“You’re right. This is good news. Great news, actually,” I replied. I covered the phone with my hand and looked at Dave, who was listening closely. “Go take that damn ‘for sale' sign out of the window,” I told him.

Dave grinned widely as he shuffled over to the window to do as I asked.

“Thank you, Daniel. You’ve already done far more than I had hoped for. Waiting until September makes me anxious, but at least now I know he can’t sell the store from under me. I won’t lose my home.”

“I’m going to contact your uncle’s attorney, who drew up the will, so we can accurately assess the estate and ensure that your father isn’t trying anything sneaky. He won’t win, Isa. I won’t let that happen.”

“Thank you so much, Daniel. I don’t know how to repay you right now, but when all of this is over, maybe I can pay you for real,” I said.

“I don’t want your money, Isa. You don’t owe me anything, though. If you’re set on giving me something, you can be happy. Live your life. Take chances. Fall in love. Find your happiness, Isa. You deserve it.”

“Thank you.” I didn’t even know where to start with finding my happiness, though I was beginning to wonder if I’d find it with three older men. Who am I kidding? They probably see me as a kid.

“We’ll talk soon, Isa,” Daniel said before ending the call.

I turned to Dave and squealed with joy, wrapping him in a hug. “He can’t sell the place, Dave! And he isn’t allowed within fifty feet of me!”

”That’s fantastic news, Belle! We should go out and celebrate!” he cheered.

“You’ll have to celebrate without me. I think I’ve done enough outside peopling for one day. I’m just going to close up early and curl up in front of the fire with a good book,” I replied.

Dave tutted at me but didn’t press the issue.

I paid him for helping with the store this morning, and he shuffled out the door.

He’d be back later to sleep. For now, I had the whole place to myself.

I locked the door behind him and then went into my room.

First, I would take a nice, long, relaxing bath.

I went into my bathroom and adjusted the water temperature before plugging the drain.

As the bathtub filled, I stripped off my clothes and looked at myself in the full-length mirror.

I hated my body and what my father had done to it.

How could anyone find me desirable when I looked like I had gotten into a fight with a paper shredder and lost?

I moved away from the mirror and lit the candles around the bathroom.

I browsed through my bath bomb collection before selecting a wild mango-scented one and adding it to the tub.

Baths were my guilty pleasure. When Uncle Jay asked what I wanted in my little studio apartment, the first thing I said was a giant bathtub.

I didn’t care that I could have used the space more practically; I wanted a great big tub to soak in, and I got it.

I padded out to the main living area naked to pour myself a glass of wine and made myself a fruit plate to pick on.

On my way back to the bathroom, I grabbed the book I was reading.

I set everything up on the table that spanned the width of my tub and climbed in.

A moan left my lips as the hot water began to soothe my tense muscles.

I turned the tap off and shut my eyes for a moment to just exist.

My eyes popped open at someone knocking on the store’s door. Judging by the lukewarm temperature of the water, I had been asleep for a good amount of time. Dave must have come back and needed me to let him in. I quickly got out of the tub and pulled on my robe.

“Coming, Dave!” I called out as he knocked louder. I tied my robe closed and, out of habit, unlocked the door instead of peeking through the blinds first to see who it was.

The door exploded open, the edge hitting me in the head. “You dumb fucking cunt. Did you really think a fucking piece of paper could keep me away?”

My head was spinning from the blow, but I desperately tried to crawl away as fast as I could and get my feet under me.

I wasn’t fast enough, and I screamed as my father grabbed me by the hair and dragged me further into the store.

Further from the exit. Further from the chance of anyone on the street hearing me.

“You think the courts can stop this?!” He yelled as he straddled my stomach, pinning me to the ground, and punched me in the face. White dots clouded my vision, and my face burned like it was on fire.

“You thought you could stop me from selling this shit hole?!” He punched me with his other fist even harder, and it felt like the side of my face exploded.

I had seen my father angry and in a rage more times than I can count, but I had never seen him this unhinged before.

Through the pain, I found sudden clarity.

He was going to kill me. The sick game Father played with me my entire life was over, and he was going to kill me right here in the bookstore.

As if on cue, he pulled the familiar knife from its sheath at his back, always tucked away for whenever he felt I needed to be punished. “Everything you own is mine. You came from me, and you belong to me. Your life is mine to take.”

He yanked my head back by the hair to expose my neck. “Hold still, you little bitch. It’s time for one final cut, but you won’t be healing from this one.”

If I didn’t do something right at that moment, I would be dead. “No!” I protested as I struggled against him.

“I fucking said hold still!” Father shouted.

I continued to struggle desperately. Part of my brain registered the cuts I was getting as I tried to fight him off, but I didn’t feel the pain as I fought for my life.

I always thought I would welcome death. Welcome the chance to escape my horror for good.

But teetering on the precipice of death, I discovered one invaluable thing.

I didn’t want to die.

I wanted the pain and the fear to stop, and I had thought death was my only option, but I didn’t want to die. This realization gave me the strength to ignore the pain of my injuries and fight. I managed to get one of my hands free and clawed my nails down his face.

Father bellowed in pain and rage, and I felt a brief bubble of satisfaction break through my terror and determination to live. I wanted to hear his pain again. I heard the knife clatter to the floor beside my head before both of his hands wrapped around my neck.

I kept hitting and scratching him, but I quickly lost strength. Darkness clouded my vision as my lungs struggled for air. It would be so easy to let the darkness take me and just float away, but if I passed out, I would be dead. I had to keep fighting until I couldn’t anymore.

I wouldn’t give up.

I wouldn’t let him break me.

Not anymore.

“GET OFF HER!!!” A voice bellowed. My father’s grip loosened just enough for me to suck in some air moments before someone tackled him off of me.

I rolled over to my stomach, gasping for air and coughing. The person crouched beside me protectively and picked up the discarded knife.

“Are you ok, Belle?”

Dave! It was Dave!

“Get out of my way!” Father bellowed. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“I won’t let you hurt my Belle. Now, I done already called the cops, and they’ll be here any minute!”

I didn’t know how he could have called the cops since he didn’t have a cell phone, but I wasn’t about to say anything.

Surprisingly, the sound of sirens in the distance reached my ears.

“See! Here come the coppers! You best be off before they get here, or you’ll get locked up in the slammer.

I knows people in there. They won’t take too kindly to a father who beats up his daughter, I’ll tell you.

They’ll like it even less when they find out you’s been touchin’ her sexually. ”

“I’ve never laid a hand on that bitch in that way,” Father yelled. I could hear the indignation in his voice that someone would dare suggest he would be interested in me sexually. At least I had that going for me.

“That’s not the way I’ll be tellin’ it,” Dave replied.

“This isn’t fucking over. You hear me, Isabella? This isn’t over,” Father growled before running out the front door.

“Ok. He’s gone now, Miss Belle,” Dave said softly. “You stay right here a minute while I go call the police. It was mighty convenient we heard those sirens when we did, wasn’t it?”

I knew he couldn’t have called the cops.

I wanted to reply, but I didn’t have the energy.

I curled up in a ball on the floor instead.

My robe was ripped during the struggle, I was bleeding from somewhere, and I hurt everywhere.

My face and throat were burning, and every breath I took made my lungs burn.

But I was alive.

As much as I wanted to close my eyes and give in to the pull to sleep, I couldn’t.

I didn’t feel safe yet. As much as I loved and appreciated Dave, if Father hadn’t thought the cops were about to show up, he could have easily killed the old drunk.

If he were waiting nearby and saw the cops hadn’t come yet, he might come back.

I zoned out as I fought to stay conscious.

I could hear the cadence of Dave’s soothing voice assuring me of something.

I noticed when the flashing blue and red lights started to bounce off the walls, and men in uniform arrived.

That was when I began to relax. I still didn’t feel safe, but I felt safer than before.

Father wouldn’t come back now. Not tonight.

The police helped me move to a nearby chair while a paramedic looked me over.

I tried to answer their questions, but the banging in my head made it difficult for me to hear what they were asking.

A scuffle at the door gained my attention, and for a second, I worried Father had come back after all.

What if he convinced the police that he hadn’t hurt me? Would they believe him over Dave?

“You can’t come in here! It’s a crime scene!” a cop yelled.

“If you don’t let us through, I’ll—”

“Let me handle this. I’m Miss Wilcox’s attorney, and they are with me. Let us in. I demand to see my client.”

Daniel?

“Let them through,” an officer near me ordered. “If you piss them off too much, they might buy the bank that holds the loan on your house and call it in.”

Why would Daniel buy a bank?

Daniel rushed into the store, followed by the last three people I had ever expected to see. Nate, Evan, and Dom.

“Isa!” Nathan yelled, rushing toward me.

I used the last bit of strength in my reserves to stand as he reached me and wrapped my arms around his neck. Now, I felt safe. Now, I knew nobody could hurt me as long as I was with them. I was too exhausted to question why that was.

Nate’s arms wrapped around me, and my eyes closed as I gave in to exhaustion.

“I’ve got you, Little Bell. You’re safe,” he whispered.