Just Jelly Beans and Jealousy
quick knock on the door, and he
calls out, “Who’s there?”
    “It’s Rachel,” says a muffled voice. My soul
cries out for her. I nod, and he opens the door. She rushes in and
stops short. Her face contorts, but she bites it back quickly when
she sees a tear roll down my face. “What happened?” she croons. She
wraps her arms around me and pulls me in tight. I sob into her
shoulder as she holds me. I look up at him through the curtain of
her hair and see that he’s blinking furiously. He sniffles and
straightens his spine when he sees me looking at him.
    “She needs to go to the hospital,” he says
quietly.
    “I’ll take her.” She looks around. “How can
we get her out of here without everyone seeing her?” she asks.
    He pulls his hoodie over his head and walks
over to me. He bunches it up like he wants to put it over my head,
but he asks for permission to do it with his eyes. I nod, and he
drops it over me, and his scent wraps around me. It’s like citrus
and woodsy outdoor smells combined. It wraps me up and holds me
close, still warm from his body. I tug it down around my hips.
Rachel wets a corner of the towel he gave me earlier and wipes
beneath my eyes. “You have scratches on your face,” she says. Then
she sees my neck. “Did he choke you?” she gasps. But she quickly
recovers. I cover my neck with my hand. That’s not the worst he
did.
    A growl starts low in Peter’s belly, but I
can hear it. He’s angry for me. “Thank you,” I whisper to him as
she leads me to the door, her hand holding tightly to mine.
    “Can I come with you?” he asks.
    Rachel looks at me for confirmation, but I
shake my head.
    “Can I at least check on you later?” he asks.
“How can I find you again?”
    “We need to go,” Rachel says.
    He follows us down the hallway and through
the noisy kitchen and the even noisier living room. He shields my
body with the width of his and opens the door for us so we can walk
in front of him. Rachel’s hand is in mine, but I feel the need to
reach for his, because he represents strength for me. “Thank you,
Peter Reed,” I whisper.
    “You’re welcome,” he whispers back. He opens
the car door for me, and I gingerly sit down. I’m sore so I hiss.
He stiffens. “Are you sure I can’t go?”
    I nod. I lay my head back and close my eyes.
And let Rachel drive me to the hospital.
    A shriek jerks me from my memories. I watch
as a blond man walks out of the front of the jail, and the girl who
was with the three men launches herself at Peter Reed. I know it’s
him. I haven’t seen him since that night, but I am completely sure
that my savior just walked out of the prison.
    A knock sounds on the passenger window, and I
jump. I look over at my dad, who makes a face at me through the
glass. I unlock the door, and he gets in. He looks at the scene in
front of us. “Are you happy now?” he asks.
    My dad’s an attorney, and he took over Pete’s
legal needs when I found out where he was. I went looking for him a
few weeks after the attack. I asked around campus until I finally
found someone who knew one of his brothers. Pete was in jail for a
foolish mistake. So, I asked my dad to help him. He’s been working
to have him freed ever since.
    My dad’s well known in this town for his work
with the youth detention program, and he does a lot of pro bono
work for people who can’t afford representation. Dad found out that
Pete had legal counsel that someone else set up for him, so he
asked to assist in the case. Pete still had to go to jail, but he
got a much lighter sentence because of Dad’s help. Pete doesn’t
deserve to be in jail. He deserves to be given a medal of
honor.
    I look at Dad and smile. “Yes, I’m happy now.
Did you get to ask him about coming to the farm?” I ask it very
shyly because my dad reads me like I’m a book.
    He nods.
    “And?” My insides are flipping around, and my
heart is racing.
    “He’s coming.”
    I lay a hand on my chest and force

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