Chapter 22: Jenny

I told Prent where I’d be in the next thirty minutes. Luckily, I had enough money to book and stay in a motel. One thing I needed from the start was to make sure I had some cash on me. I don't know why I was doing it at the time. I felt paranoid as both Mom and Dad were acting as if I was their lost child. The one that they accidentally lost in the store, and now that I was back with them, they were so happy. But that wasn't the case. They’d left me in the country club and didn't worry about my whereabouts for months. Dad was too busy trying to get out of jail, and Mom, well, she was just being Mom—worried about the press and her image.

Nothing had changed. I should have known better than to think they cared about me. The only ones that had, well, I'd turned my back on them.

I held my phone in my hand, and I stood on the curb like the stray dog that I was, wondering if Prent really was still driving or if he'd spoken to his brothers and had a change of heart. As he pulled up in a black SUV, I saw he'd spent the last few hours driving. He had shadows under his eyes, but he still smiled as he pulled up. He was tired, most likely exhausted, but he couldn't leave his car here.

"There's a street down the block. You can park there," I said as he rolled down the window. I didn't want him to get a ticket in the midst of it all.

He nodded his head, rolled up the window, and as fast as he was in my view, he was out again.

I walked slowly, holding back the tears. I didn't think I could cry anymore. I'd spent the whole night crying thinking about what to do next. The same thing I'd done four months ago when they left me at the country club. It was as if history had repeated itself.

As I reached the car, I stopped, waiting for him to get out. He walked to the side of the curb, holding my arms with a look of concern.

"You okay? You didn't sleep on the street, did you?"

I hugged him, uncaring if we had a fake relationship or not. Seeing someone who actually had real concern about me was something I needed right now.

His tall frame enveloped me, and I couldn't help but cry in his arms.

"It's okay. I'm here now. There was an accident on the highway. It took a lot longer to get here than I’d originally calculated. I’m going to take you home."

"Home?" I asked as I pulled back from him.

"Yeah, Mom, Brent and Trent are all worried about you. I even spoke to Tracey. She said you could stay with her if you like, if you don't want to come back with me."

I shook my head. Ashamed at my actions considering everyone who I'd left behind, those I couldn't even face to say goodbye too, were more concerned about me than my own parents.

I led him to the motel, the one I was staying in, and we walked in silence until I got to the room. Each time he looked at me, he stroked my hair or gave me a warm smile, even if he did have bags under his eyes and was tired from driving for hours. As soon as we go to the room, I shut and locked the door then turned to face him. Then, I knew he would want answers, and I was ready to give them to him.

"What happened?"

I sighed. "Mom was annoying at first. Then after a few days, Dad showed up. He told me everything was going to be alright, they would drop all the charges, and that they needed the code. They didn't have enough money for Russell and whoever else they needed to pay. We had dinner. A nice Christmas, and New Year. I mean, as nice as it could be. I went shopping with Mom, and she seemed calm. I’d let my guard down to a certain degree. Yesterday, I went to sleep. I was tired and full. I woke up, and they were gone. Like, I went to their room… nothing. All their things were gone, and then I called them. I had their numbers. Both numbers disconnected."

"And Russell?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't have his number, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. They used me. Got what they wanted and disappeared. It was the least of my worries.”

“How come?”

“We were staying in the Waldorf. When I realized what they’d done, I just had to get out of there. Pretend I was just going out, then left most of the things I’d bought over the last couple of weeks with Mom there and came here.”

He took a deep breath, wrapped his arms around me one more time and said, "It's all in the past. I'm going to get some shut-eye, and then we'll be on the road again."

We both flopped on to the bed while he was still holding me. It was a single bed, but I knew we could both fit.

I agreed. "You need to sleep. Then we can take it from there."

He kissed me on the forehead and I squeezed him even tighter. I didn't care if we stayed in this position forever. I needed the comfort from him, for being such a fool and thinking things would be better this time.

They couldn't be. My parents only wanted what they could get out of me. Once they had it, they were gone like the wind. I had to think of my future, and know that no matter what, I wouldn't make the same mistake again.

Never.

Ever.

I think I slept for a while. I wasn’t sure, but I woke up when he carried me to the bathroom to take me into the shower. I snuggled into his chest and placidly let him clean me.

I looked up into his eyes, so beautiful and clear, and wanted to speak, but he didn’t let me.

“Later, baby. Later we’ll talk about what the future holds, what this might mean, where we might all go together. Okay?” He looked at me to check that I was on the same page.

I nodded my head to agree.

“Okay, good.” He smiled, and we got out of the shower to dry off.

I had no idea how this would end, and I didn’t care right then. They might never want to see me again after this, after I’d given them all of me, but I hoped that wouldn’t be the case.

The Valentine’s Dance was around the corner, and I couldn’t help but think about if the three of them would be taking me, but I knew if they did, we would have the time of our lives. I needed to put this nightmare behind me. One way or another. Maybe I would go to college in the future. Right now it wasn’t an option. I had no great GPA scores or even college applications to consider without money. The dance would be the only thing to put a smile on my face, because at the moment my future was really bleak. Once again.