Chapter XVII: The Truth Shall Make You Free
Hello, again, everyone! Thanks to Invader101's very quick review, I elected to post another chapter today. I debated doing a sidebar section to explain a little more about Lisa, for those of you who haven't guessed who she was and who she might've been had she not been adopted into the Hammond family. So before we have the announcer introduce where we were and where we're about to be, I'm going to give you a little more information about Lisa.
Lisa Angela Hammond was born on February 22, 1988 in a town in Missouri and was adopted into the Hammond family six weeks later. She shares her birthday with some celebrities including a Seattle sports hero, the first President of the United States, George Washington and (to her shame, because she just doesn't like the guy) Senator Ted Kennedy. Her blood type is A+ (like her grade point average) and she has, to this point in the story, broken her left leg twice. She has no absolute favorite food, only dislikes for certain foods and she knows how to cook pretty well. Her favorite color is purple but she has a soft spot for blue. She isn't very athletic without her powers and is a bit reserved. In addition to her unusual powers, she has had strange dreams about a girl who looks a little like her, but that girl has white blonde hair that seems the palest of pale blue at times.
-Announcer's voice- Last time on "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Jedi League of Duelists…" The Jedi teens began their physical training and soul bearing… Romance blossomed… And a teen boy's life lays in the balance… Will he be found in time? Find Out… Yu-Gi-Oh is not owned by Peach Wookiee. -End announcer's voice…-
Author's notes, over five years later: I made minor changes to the section breaks and flashbacks.
It was 12:50 AM on Saturday when the Jedi kids all began waking up. On this night, Mai hadn't taken her sleeping pills, Joey's admittedly inexperienced kiss having acted as a natural counter to her nightmares. But now she woke up with a start… "JOEY!" she yelped. What's wrong? she sent, figuring he'd send back if he needed help. Instead… What? He's blocked me!
Mai wasn't the only one who could sense something was terribly wrong. All over Domino, the teenagers and child with Jedi sensitivity were waking up. Lisa woke up with a start, feeling the sudden jolt of pain and fear. The pain, she could tell, was both mental and physical and it was coming from Joey. The fear was coming from everyone else, because Joey had his mental shields up.
"Lisa? What's happening?" Mokuba whispered in the darkness. "It feels like Joey's in trouble."
"I know, sweetheart, and he's blocking us."
Lisa? The Jedi girl opened her mind.
Mai?
Did you feel that? It feels like Joey…
I know, Mai.
Leese?
Yeah, Seto?
You felt that, didn't you?
Yeah.
I'm going to send the limo to you…
Lisa? Four other voices joined the conversation.
Seto, give me five minutes. I need to get some medical supplies. I have a feeling Joey's going to need medical attention.
Got it.
Guys, Seto's bringing the limo around. Be ready. Everyone assented.
Mokuba looked up at Lisa and asked, "You're gonna go?"
"I'll get someone in here to be with you, okay, Moks?" He nodded, eyes wide with fear and worry. Lisa gave him a strong hug, and quickly headed out of the room. A nurse was walking by.
"Althea?" Lisa whispered to the 28-year-old Korean woman, "could you stay in here for a bit? I have an emergency."
"Yes, Doctor," the woman answered and stepped in. Lisa hadn't gone ten steps when she encountered Scout Rhodes.
"Lisa, what's going on?" she asked, keeping step with the teen.
"I've got an emergency. We've lost clear mental contact with Joey and it feels like he's in a lot of trouble. Could you be ready, just in case?"
Jean Louise Rhodes had learned to trust Lisa's sixth sense, and nodded at the girl's request. "Is Mokuba okay?"
"Yeah, I sent Althea in with him. She's good with scared kids." The young doctor and pediatric surgeon were at the lockers and Lisa opened hers to grab a black bag with some medical supplies. Scout had grabbed a few things to replenish Lisa's supplies and helped the girl place them in the bag.
"You ready?" Lisa nodded. "Good luck, honey. I hope your friend's all right." Lisa nodded and headed out to the front of the hospital where Seto was waiting in the limo with Mai, Duke, Tristan and Teá.
"Guys, anything?" They shook their heads. It was 1:23 AM, and Joey still had his shields up. "Yugi's not here?"
"No," Seto answered. "Do you have supplies, babe?"
Lisa nodded. "I just have this feeling something is really wrong." Tristan shifted uncomfortably.
"Tristan?" Lisa and Teá asked.
"I," Tristan began as the car moved, but didn't get to finish the sentence.
At that moment, a mental current of incredible emotional anguish shocked through the Jedi girl and her Jedi trainees. Joey! Oh, no!
"That was Yugi!" they all shouted. The driver was fortunately almost to the game shop. Lisa grabbed her bag and yanked on a pair of rubber gloves.
Seto? He nodded, ready to assist his love in whatever way he could. The car stopped and Lisa jumped out, followed by her boyfriend. They ran to the side of Muto Games to see Yugi next to Joey's inert form.
"Joey, c'mon, wake up," Yugi was saying over and over. Solomon Muto had just run to the door with a cordless phone in his hand.
"…No, he's unconscious… He looks like he's been beaten badly… Oh, thank God… A doctor is here…"
Lisa quickly knelt next to Joey. Yugi had managed to turn his injured friend face-up, and looked desperately at the young woman who'd helped strengthen the bond between him and all his friends. Ordinarily, Lisa would've liked nothing better than to hug Yugi and tell him it would be all right, but right now she couldn't do it.
"Joey… Joey, can you hear me?" He wasn't responding, not even a moan. Yugi had moved away and was hugging Teá for comfort. Seto knelt next to Lisa and handed her a pair of surgical scissors from her bag. Joey's left sleeve was bloody and she quickly cut off the sleeve, revealing a very deep cut to his upper arm. "Seto," she began, and he handed her disinfectant swabs, gauze pads and rolled gauze. "There's glass," she murmured, and Seto handed her a pair of tweezers to remove the biggest pieces. Then she placed a gauze pad to the wound. It soaked through quickly and Lisa added a few more pads, wrapped gauze around the area, then held her fingers to a pressure point. Seto moved his fingers to the same spot, allowing Lisa to assess other injured areas.
"Lisa," Seto asked verbally, the other teens asking with their eyes.
"He's hurt badly. I can only guess at his internal injuries, and I count at least two broken ribs. This arm is broken," she added, bandaging it up so it was held immobile. Her face was pale, and the teens all knew it was a combination of rage and horror that made her so. "Who could've done this?" Just then, the ambulance drove up. Two paramedics jumped out with a crash cart.
"Where's the doctor?" one shouted. Lisa, not moving from Joey's side, pulled out her Domino Children's ID.
"Here I am." The paramedics, even without the ID, recognized her and quickly took her assessment of the situation. She watched them load Joey into the ambulance and before she jumped in, said to her friends and love, "You're going to need your families. It's going to be a long night." The ambulance drove off with Lisa and Joey and the other teens were left alone with Yugi's grandfather.
"Should I—?" Solomon Muto asked.
Seto nodded, then asked Teá, "Can I use your cell phone for a minute?"
"Yeah, Kaiba," she answered, reverting to his adopted surname due to how shocked she was, "why?"
"I need to call everybody's parents. I think Yugi needs you right now." She nodded and moved back to the small teen, while Seto used Teá's contact list to make the calls. Then everyone piled into the limousine, Yugi hugging his grandfather for comfort. The ride to Domino Children's was a silent one, the silence only broken by parents getting into the car. Seto found it extremely odd that Joey's dad hadn't answered the phone, and no one seemed to know anything about Joey's dad… except Tristan.
Y
"We've got an adolescent male, age fifteen with broken bones, internal injuries, contusions and abrasions!" Lisa yelled as her fellow doctors and nurses raced with her down the hall into the ER at 1:40 AM. Scout Rhodes, Darla Truesdale and Miranda Bailey were on duty.
"Dr. Hammond, what happened?" Dr. Bailey asked quickly.
"Someone beat him up, Dr. Bailey and I have my suspicions, but they're only that at the moment. He walked from wherever it was to his best friend's door before he collapsed. He didn't respond when I probed the cut on his arm."
"All right, Doctor, I want you to call his family," Bailey said.
"Yes, Doctor."
"Furthermore, Doctors Rhodes, Truesdale and I will be working on this ourselves."
"Yes, ma'am."
Lisa headed down the hall to find Joey's file. He'd been at Domino Children's a few times before, she noted as she looked at his records. May 20th, three years ago. Patient was admitted for cut to right shoulder. Suspected abuse, but patient indicated he fell against a wire. Lisa read a few more accounts, going back nearly six years. His father signed off on this every time. Something is very wrong here, she thought. She dialed Joey's home phone number and got no response. She redialed. Again, no response. She was about to dial for a third time when her friends and boyfriend burst through the doors with families in tow.
"Lisa, what's happening?" Seto asked.
"I can't get his father on the phone. And the answering machine isn't working so I can't leave a message."
"You won't get him." Tristan had spoken. "He's probably passed out from too much beer or whatever it was he drank tonight."
"Tristan?" Amanda Taylor was looking at her youngest child, concerned. "Honey, what is going on?"
"Mom, I promised I wouldn't tell."
"Tristan." Yugi had pulled free from his grandfather and took Tristan's hand much as, Lisa reflected, Mokuba would take Seto's hand. "Not every secret should be kept. If you can help Joey, tell Lisa." The small teen's amethyst eyes, brimming with tears, implored the brown-haired, hazel-eyed teen.
Tristan took a deep breath and said, "I'll you what I know, but you have to call Joey's mom and sister."
"Okay, Tristan." The boy was shaking and his parents were getting him to sit down.
"If something happens, they're not going to make it in time." Lisa and Seto exchanged glances, then looked at Tristan. "His mom doesn't have a lot of money and it'll be hard for them to get plane tickets and the trains aren't running."
The teen CEO looked at his friends. "Leave this to me." He followed Lisa back to the phone area. "Lisa, when you talk to them, hand the phone to me… I have an idea."
"Are you pondering what I think you're pondering?"
Y
Elizabeth Alanis Wheeler had had a very rough day in North Haverbrook. She'd gone to work and had to deal with soothing irate customers, and then had to leave work early because Serenity had had a doctor's appointment after school. The boss had been tolerant to this point, but the single mother knew that her employer's patience was running out. She'd gone to bed at 11:45 after helping Serenity with her homework and cleaning up the shabby but cozy apartment.
And now, at ten minutes to two AM, the phone rang. Who could be calling at this hour? She glanced at the caller ID. Domino Children's Hospital… What in the world? She picked up. "Hello?"
"Is this Mrs. Wheeler?" asked a young female voice.
"Yes, it is. Who is this?"
"Ma'am, my name's Doctor Lisa Hammond and I'm afraid we have a problem. Your son, Joey, has just been raced into emergency surgery. We weren't able to get hold of his father, and Joey is in critical condition. I honestly don't know how this is going to go, so you need to get here quickly."
"Is it that bad?" asked Elizabeth desperately.
"Yes, it is. Listen, will you have trouble getting transportation?"
"Yes. The trains aren't running at this time of night and it'll be really difficult to get plane tickets. Oh, no." Elizabeth had started crying.
"I have a way to help you," Lisa said gently.
"You do?"
"Yes. I'm going to hand the phone over to someone who can help you." Elizabeth waited a moment, and then heard a male voice, young but confident and gravelly.
"Mrs. Wheeler, this is Seto Kaiba, and I can help you."
"Seto Kaiba? As in Kaiba Corporation?"
"Yes, ma'am. I'm one of Joey's friends and I owe him big. Is there a big field close to where you live?"
"Well, yes. There's a baseball field next to our apartment. Why?"
"I need a place to land… Could you please give me your address?" Elizabeth gave it to him. Then Seto said, "Can you be ready in half an hour?"
"Yes. We can be out…"
"I'll send a car for you immediately."
"Oh, bless you. Thank you."
"I'll see you shortly. Good-bye, Mrs. Wheeler." As soon as Elizabeth hung up the phone, she looked at her fourteen-year-old daughter.
"Mom, what's going on?" Serenity Jayne Wheeler asked. Elizabeth told her.
"You mean Joey might..?"
"Yes, sweetie. Quickly get some clothes on and pack a bag. We have to hurry. One of his friends is giving us a ride."
Meanwhile, back at Domino Children's, Seto hung up the phone. "I'm heading to the airfield, babe," he told Lisa, kissing her quickly. "I should probably go say goodbye to Mokuba." Just then, the elevator door opened, revealing a sheepish George O'Malley and a very frightened Mokuba Kaiba.
"He wouldn't go back to sleep, Lisa," the nurse apologized.
"Don't worry about it, George. Mokuba…" The nurse had carried Mokuba and handed him off to Lisa, who buried his face against her neck.
"Mokie," Seto said and the little boy looked up, tears in his eyes.
"Big brother…"
"Mokie, I'm going to get Joey's mom and sister, okay?"
"Okay. Seto, what happened?"
"I don't know. But I'll be back as soon as I can." He gave Mokuba a tight hug and left.
"Okay, Tristan," the teen doctor said, "what's going on?"
"His dad did this; he's been beating Joey ever since after his mom and sister left. Joey's dad finally did what he's been threatening to do all this time. He said someday he'd beat Joey so bad, Joey'd be senseless or dead. Lisa, we've been friends since we met at Kenobi Preschool and we've seen each other through a lot. He came to the wedding when Arianna got married, and we'd play together and with his little sister at the park.
"I remember the day his mom left, and he stayed at my house a couple of nights later. Then, I didn't see or hear from him for a week and when he came back to school, he said he'd been sick. And then, a couple of days after his eleventh birthday, he came to school and he finally told me what was going on…."
Y
Nearly five years previously, Tristan Taylor walked to where he normally met his best friend to head to Domino Elementary on this sunny Monday morning. To the brown-haired boy's surprise, Joey was waiting for him. "Hey, Tris."
"Oh, man, Joey, what happened?!" Joey's face was bruised.
"Nothin'," the blonde boy answered.
"It's not nothing, Joey, what happened?"
Joey took a breath, and said, "I'll tell you, but you gotta promise not to tell…"
"Okay."
"I mean it, Tristan! You can't even tell your mom and dad!" The other boy held up his hands in a gesture of pacification.
"Okay, okay… now what's going on?"
Y
Back in the present, Tristan's voice shook. "And Joey told me how his dad had come home totally smashed and started pounding him. Joey also told me that his dad had trouble holding jobs because of his temper. Drunk or not, Mr. Wheeler can get pretty mean. Joey knew all this, and yet he stayed because he worried what would happen to his dad. Joey… joined a gang for a little while, but was able to get out of it last year 'cause he stood up to the leader when the gang tried to hurt a little kid.
"Joey was going to face the gang alone, but I knew he was in trouble, so I helped him fight. So the gang leader told him he was out without the usual ceremony. Besides, he had Yugi, Teá and me… But Joey didn't want anybody but me knowing." The young man tried in vain to hold back his tears.
Yugi wasn't even trying. "I would've helped Joey; why didn't he tell me?" He hugged his grandfather, shoulders bobbing.
"Yuge, he didn't want anybody to know, not even you. He didn't want to chance that he might be taken away." At this, Tristan could no longer hold back his own tears and sought refuge in his parents' arms.
Mai, meanwhile, was sitting in a chair in utter shock, lost in her own thoughts. I can't lose him now! Joey, hang on!
Mokuba hung onto Lisa as if to a life preserver. "Lisa, Joey isn't going to..? He can't die, can he?" He asked with the anguish only a small child can ask with.
"Sweetie… Moks, I don't know."
"Can't you do anything with your powers? I mean, you're like Superman!"
Lisa took a deep breath. "We… we don't have that kind of power… Mokuba…" He was crying, and now she let a few tears fall. "We haven't been given healing powers yet."
"Lisa…" Mokuba pulled tightly against her.
"All we can do now is wait and pray."
While Tristan was telling the group what had been going on with Joey, Seto James Kaiba had taken off in his helicopter toward North Haverbrook. It would only be a fifteen-minute trip by helicopter, but it felt to the teen boy like an eternity…
Y
Lisa's feeling powerless even though she did what she was trained to do. I'm doing what I can, but I feel almost as powerless as when Yugi almost beat me at Duelist Kingdom. Joey's my friend now, and his fate is out of my hands. The most I can do is help his mother and sister… His mom may live far away, but she's still alive and loves him… I know he's probably mad at her for leaving, but maybe she didn't have a choice. And I know how I'd feel if I'd been forced to live without Mokuba for six years… I wouldn't have stayed sane if I'd had to go with Gozaburo alone.
Y
Seto sighed as he zeroed in on the landing site, a baseball field. He landed quickly and saw the limousine pulling up. He turned off the engine, let the blades stop moving, then jumped out of the copter. The limo driver moved to open the door for the two females inside of the car, and then went to open the trunk. Out of the limo stepped a young middle-aged woman with light red hair and a young girl with dark red hair. Seto gave quick instructions to the driver, then moved to the woman and girl.
"Mrs. Wheeler, I'm Seto Kaiba."
"Hello, there," the woman said, shaking his offered hand. "This is my daughter, Serenity."
"Hello, Serenity. I'm pleased to meet you. Joey's talked a lot about you."
"Mr. Kaiba, is my brother going to be all right?" Serenity burst out.
"My girlfriend doesn't know yet, and I'd like it if both of you called me Seto. You don't work for me, and this isn't the time for formality." They quickly climbed aboard the helicopter, and lifted off. "Lisa did say you needed to get to Domino as soon as you could. Whoever beat Joey up did their worst. I'm sorry we're meeting under such bad circumstances."
"You're such a nice boy," Elizabeth said softly.
"I wish I'd been nicer to Joey," he answered with a lot of regret in his voice. The rest of the fifteen-minute ride back to Domino was a silent one.
Y
Lisa shifted a little bit, Mokuba having fallen asleep on her lap. She didn't dare try moving him until Seto got back or until the little boy woke up. After Tristan had told the secret he'd held for over four years, the room had become silent. All these powers, and there's nothing we can do, Lisa thought miserably. The Jedi teens could feel each other's pain as well as that of their non-Jedi family members, but they also felt comfort in each other.
At 2:45 in the morning, Seto came through the waiting room door. "Leese," he said softly. He kissed her cheek swiftly and gently took his little brother into his own arms to give his love a few moments to stretch. She stood up and then a redheaded woman and her daughter entered the room.
"You must be Joey's mom," Lisa said, "I'm Lisa Hammond; we spoke on the phone."
"Elizabeth Wheeler," the older woman answered, "and this is my daughter, Serenity." Lisa shook both their hands. Elizabeth, of course, knew Sam and Amanda Taylor, but had to be introduced to the other parents and kids she hadn't met. Serenity remembered Tristan, but knew no one else. "How's my son?" the mother asked once the introductions were over.
"We haven't heard anything yet, but Joey was hurt badly when I looked at him. His left arm was broken and there was a very bad cut on his upper arm. I could count at least two broken ribs. His face was pretty banged up and I could only guess at his internal injuries. He's been in surgery for about an hour now. I have some forms for you to fill out."
Elizabeth took the clipboard Lisa handed her and asked, "How did this happen?" Lisa would've answered, but someone came to the room and did it for her.
"Doctor Hammond?" said a familiar voice. Lisa looked over and saw her contact on the City of Domino Police Department (CDPD), Officer Jessie Martin.
"Officer Martin, what's going on?"
"Is this the boy's mother?" the officer asked. Lisa nodded.
"Mrs. Wheeler, I'm Officer Jessie Martin and I've been investigating how your son ended up here. We followed the blood trail from Muto Games back to where your son resides and discovered a middle-aged man who was clearly intoxicated and had blood on his knuckles. The apartment looked as if there had been a fight, and... am I to understand you divorced this man?"
"Yes, we divorced six years ago."
"Your ex-husband admitted to 'disciplining' your son, and that the boy 'wasn't finished with his punishment.' He became rather violent and we had to use a TAZER to make him cooperate with us. It appears that your husband is the one who hurt your son."
Elizabeth Wheeler took the news calmly, all things considered. Her eyes overflowed with tears. "I should never have left him."
"Thank you, Officer Martin," Lisa said. "Do you need anything else?"
"Not now. We're waiting for the elder Mr. Wheeler to sober up and then we'll question him further. He said he understood his rights, but we want to be sure he does late in the morning. Dr. Hammond, we already have your report."
"Thank you, Officer." Martin left, and Lisa sat down again. Serenity hadn't said anything beyond "hello" when she was introduced to everyone and remained fairly quiet.
Finally she asked, "You'd tell us if my brother was going to die, wouldn't you, Dr. Hammond?" Her eyes, the same shade as Joey's, yet a bit dreamier, pleaded with Lisa.
The doctor moved close to the younger girl and said, "Yes, I would, Serenity. You deserve the truth. By the way, you can call me Lisa. I'm Joey's friend and he calls me that."
"Okay."
Elizabeth sighed softly, and then asked, "Is… is Joey still… does he still go to church?"
Lisa nodded. "He goes to Mass most Sundays, Elizabeth. You raised him right and he's had his difficulties, but he is a good boy and a really good friend." Lisa's eyes smarted.
"I was wondering," Elizabeth asked, "is Father Pat still at St. James?"
"He is and I got to meet him. Would you like me to call him?"
"Please, if anything happens," Elizabeth's voice shook, but she retained control, "I want to be sure Joey gets Last Rites."
"Okay, I'll do that, and with your permission, I'd also like to call my mother."
"Your mother?"
"If that's all right. She can get a prayer chain going in a matter of minutes, and I think Joey can use all the help he can get."
Elizabeth nodded and said, "You were raised in faith, too." Lisa nodded and headed to the phone. She dialed her mother's number first.
It was 3:05 AM when Gigi Hammond awoke to her phone ringing. "Hello?" she asked groggily.
"Mom? It's Lisa."
Gigi was instantly awake. "Honey, it's three in the morning, what's wrong?"
"Mama, you need to pray. One of my friends was taken into emergency surgery over an hour ago."
"What happened?"
Lisa told her quickly, and added, "I asked his mom if it was okay that I called you. Please, Mom, call other people."
"Okay, baby, I'll get calling."
Gigi hung up from her daughter, and her husband asked, "Gigi, what's going on?"
"I need to make some phone calls. One of Lisa's friends is in real trouble."
After Lisa hung up the phone, she made a quick call to St. James Parish. "Hello, St. James Parish, this is Father Patrick Philbin. May I help you?"
"Father, this is Lisa Hammond at Domino Children's Hospital."
"Yes, my dear. Is there something wrong?"
"Yes, Father. Joseph Wheeler is in emergency surgery. His father almost beat him to death and he is still in trouble. His mother has requested that you come, just in case you need to administer extreme unction."
"All right, I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Thank you, Father."
"Goodbye, Lisa."
The young doctor headed back to the waiting room, her friends and their families. "He's on his way, Elizabeth."
"Thank you, Lisa," she said. The teen doctor sat next to her boyfriend who still held his sleeping brother.
"When did he fall asleep?" the Kaiba Corp CEO asked.
"He felt asleep about ten minutes after you left for the airfield. Do you want to try to move him back to his room?"
"He's a pretty heavy sleeper, but I think he'd be happier staying here with us."
"Okay," Lisa said softly.
Elizabeth, who'd been sitting across from the young doctor and CEO, moved to an open seat next to them. She gently reached out and brushed Mokuba's ebony tresses lightly with her fingertips. "He's such a beautiful little boy, Seto, honey. And that hair; why is it so long?"
"He looks almost exactly like our mom," Seto quietly explained. "I saw a picture of Mom when she was the age Mokie is now, and he looks almost exactly like she looked. His eyes are a little bit different but he looks almost like her twin."
"I remember when Joey was this age. He…" Elizabeth visibly struggled for control, feeling immense guilt for leaving Joey to his fate.
"Elizabeth," Lisa said softly, "it wasn't your fault."
Serenity moved close to her mother, and the woman kept trying to pull herself together. "In a way, Lisa, it is my fault. Jake hadn't gone after Joey or Serenity, though I was always afraid he would. Every time he went after me, he managed to wriggle out of going to jail. So when I left with Serenity… I had to leave Joey…"
Y
Jake and I got married when we were eighteen, fresh out of high school. I got through Domino Community College and he got through Domino Technical College. I became a receptionist and he started at an auto body shop. When we were finally old enough, Jake began drinking. He'd had a temper before that and was controlling, but I didn't see it for what it was. And when he started drinking, he got worse. He'd start fights with me for reasons known only to him, but they didn't get physical until Joey was in preschool. I know I should've gotten out sooner, but I wanted the kids to have both parents. And as far as I knew, Jake hadn't cheated on me, but I found out otherwise one day.
Y
Elizabeth Wheeler paused for a minute. "I don't know how much I can tell you…" Lisa glanced at her boyfriend and their friends.
"Elizabeth, there's nothing you can tell us that we haven't heard. Seto's adoptive father abused him in different ways and he told us everything. If you want to talk, we're all here."
"So are we," Solomon Muto added, while the other parents nodded.
"Liz," Amanda Taylor said, "Lisa's right. And no one's going to blame you…" The redheaded mother took courage from all of this and continued…
Y
The week that I left was the week I really discovered Jake was being unfaithful. He'd come back from a business trip and I was glad that the kids had had a peaceful weekend where they hadn't been awakened by us fighting. Jake left his suitcase in the living room as he usually did and I took it into our bedroom to clean it out. I found his dirty clothes, and then I felt something in the suitcase pocket. I pulled out what was in there… It was condoms. When I confronted him, he accused me of being unfaithful, but he didn't deny it. He hit me a few times and I hoped Joey and Serenity hadn't heard, but when I went to check on them, Serenity had fallen with Joey in his room and I could tell they'd been crying.
I knew I had to leave, and I called someone the next morning. I had a rough day at work because I had bruises on my face again. My employer reminded me that my job depended on my appearance at the front desk, so I knew I didn't have much longer. When I got home, I started dinner, and then Jake got home. "Liz! Where's my beer?!" He hadn't asked me for one, but if I pointed that out, he'd get ugly really quick. So I got it, which turned out to be his third in an hour as he'd stopped off at a bar not too far from the house. He looked at me and demanded, "Why are you lookin' at me that way?" I didn't understand what he meant.
"Jake, honey, I was handing you your beer…"
"You...!" And he began calling me some horrible names. The kids were home, and I tried to calm Jake down.
"Jake, please, the kids!"
"Oh, the kids! The stupid kids! All you care about is the stupid blanking kids!" He hit me, and I just stood there. "Fight back, you..!" He hit me again, and then sat in his chair, muttering obscenities until he fell asleep.
I went back into the kitchen and got an ice pack. I was glad I'd called the lawyer because I could leave in less than a week. She was writing the divorce papers. I sat down for a minute and heard the kitchen door open. "Mom?" It was Joey, looking at me in concern. "Did Daddy hurt you again?"
I hugged him closed and said softly, "It'll be okay, sweetheart. I'm seeing somebody tomorrow, and hopefully Daddy won't be able to hurt me anymore…"
"You promise, Mom?" I nodded, not knowing what I'd have to do to keep Serenity and me safe…
Y
Elizabeth was really crying now. "I had to leave Joey behind because since there was no proof that Jake was physically abusing the kids, I wouldn't be able to get sole custody. Jake made it clear he didn't care what happened to Serenity, but he said if I took Joey, Jake would hunt us down and kill us, beginning with Serenity. He'd kill both the kids and then kill me last." Serenity hugged her mother when Elizabeth couldn't talk for a moment. Lisa could sense outright anger and sadness from everyone in the group. Seto, in particular, was so mad that it was probably a good thing that Jacob Robert Wheeler was in Domino County Jail.
When Elizabeth regained control, she continued, "About three days after I got the divorce papers, I took Serenity. Joey was at Tristan's and I got Serenity's and my things into our car. She realized exactly what was happening and I had to tell her we had to go without Joey. And then she started screaming for him and he was running behind the car. Serenity was pleading with me to stop and take him too, but I didn't have a choice. I had to leave my nine-year-old son behind, and I cried all that night after Serenity was asleep. What kind of a mother am I?" She almost whispered the last.
"A strong one," Lisa answered. "Elizabeth, you had no choice but to get out of there. If you'd stayed, you'd be the one in emergency surgery or you'd be in the morgue or in Domino Cemetery. Don't blame yourself, please… Joey's a fighter. He's not going to give up so easily."
"Elizabeth," Seto added quietly, "Lisa's right. It wasn't your fault, and Joey's not going to give up. Mai looked up at the clock which read 4:45.
"How long has it been?" she asked.
Lisa looked up, and answered, "It's been about three hours."
Father Pat had arrived, and prayed with the group. "May the Master Physician guide the surgeons' hands," he added when he finished.
"Amen," Lisa responded, knowing that all they could do was wait.
Yet another chapter that's emotionally draining. I've been lucky enough to have a loving family where abuse doesn't happen. What I know comes from what I've read and watched on TV. If I've used any incorrect religious terms, please tell me so I can correct them. Thanks to my faithful readers, and please leave a review!
Next time: Will Joey be all right? Stay tuned!