WARNING: There are mentions of sexual child abuse and rape in this chapter.

Chapter 6

I slept until 10:30 am. I then got up, dressed, gathered my stuff and headed back to my apartment. Torrie sent me a text back saying she and Randy would be at the guys' apartment by 6:30.

When I got home, Amy was up. I freaked she would have slept in until noon. She wanted to know all about my evening with John. I told her all about it.

"I'm sorry for giving you crap about having sex with him already," Amy apologized. "You two have it when you are both ready. Getting to know each other is a little better than rushing thanks."

"Thanks, Aims. We're doing dinner with Torrie and Randy at Cenas' tonight. John suggested it."

"Good. You have fun with Randy and Torrie! You and I will have a double date eventually. Randy has been feeling guilty for having a girlfriend and his best bud doesn't. But now that is all over."

"Yeah, I really like John. He was very sweet last night."

"Yes, that was. I give him lots of points for it."

"Yeah, we just need to connect a little more before having sex.

"Good idea. Phil and I connected instantly like you and John."

I nodded my head. "Yeah, I can see that you are actually in love him and he is in love with you."

Amy smiled. "Yes, I am in love with him."

"Say it when you're ready, Amy. You also have to find the right moment."

"I will. I just hope he'll feel the same."

"I've seen the way he looks at you, honey! He loves you! The way Phil looks at you is the way my dad looks at my mom."

"Yeah, well, sometimes fathers do not always look at their children's mothers the same way they used to!" Amy snapped.

Amy's parents, like John's, were divorced. Her dad had had many affairs. Amy had not been pleased at it at all. She learned her mother had known about all his affairs, but she stayed with him. Her parents divorced when we were in high school.

I put my arms around her and hugged her. "Your mom is better without him. All he did was hurt her."

Amy hugged me tightly.

"Do you want to see if I can add you and Phil to going out to dinner tonight?"

"Please."

I nodded my head. I grabbed my cell phone and sent a text message to John. He responded rather quickly. I was very surprised. He said it was okay. He wasn't texting and driving. I found out later on he had been at his desk.

After John gave the okay, I told Amy to contact Phil. He didn't work Sunday evenings. He said he'd meet Amy and me at John and Randy's at 6:30.

At six o'clock, Amy and I were both heading out the door. We got to Randy and John's at 6:20. Torrie and Randy were already there, waiting for us.

"Hi," I said giving Randy a hug.

"Hey," Randy said. "Hey Amy."

"Hi," Amy said.

"I thought it was just us with you and John?" Torrie said looking at me from the sofa.

"Amy needed to come out tonight," I said. I walked over to Torrie. "She got upset about her parents."

Torrie nodded her head. She understood completely. Her parents were divorced as well. Randy, Phil, and I were the only ones whose parents were still together. I felt guilty, but Torrie and John had made their peace with it. Amy still had trouble with it. I think she was just pissed at her dad for being unfaithful to her mom for so long.

I sat on the sofa next to Torrie. Amy sat down with us. Torrie whispered to Amy. Amy smiled and gave her a hug. I smiled.

"How was last night with John?" Randy asked taking a seat on the other part of the sofa. It was one of those L-shaped shaped sofas.

"We didn't have sex! We're waiting and if you have a problem with that, then that's too bad!" I said.

"I was just asking. You two do whatever."

There was a knock on the door. Randy got up and got it. It was Phil.

"Hey everyone," Phil said.

"Hey," Torrie and I said.

Amy was up and out of her seat quickly. She went over to him and gave her boyfriend a big hug and a nice kiss.

"Well, hello to you too," Phil said with a smile. "You all right?"

"I am now!" Amy replied.

Phil's smile widened. He gave her a light kiss on the lips.

We all sat down on the sofa, waiting for John then. He was home by 6:40.

"John," Torrie said.

"Torrie," John said. "Hey everyone."

"Hey John," Phil said. Amy gave a wave with her hand.

I got up and went over to him.

"Hey beautiful," He said.

"Hi," I said. I gave him a light kiss and a hug.

"Just let me put my bag away and then I'll be ready to go."

John took my hand and led me to his bedroom. "Why did you want Amy and Phil to come?"

"Amy got upset about her parents earlier today," I explained. "It has to do with her dad and her parents divorcing."

"I gotcha."

John put his bag away in his room. Then the two of us headed back out to where our friends were. They were all standing. Amy handed me my purse and jacket. We all then headed out the door.

When we arrived at Cenas', the place was busy. It wasn't packed. It was just busy on a Sunday night. It wasn't quite football season yet. There was a week left before pre-season started.

"Torrie, you're going to have to sit across from Randy, because I want to sit next to John and Amy wants to sit next to Phil," I said.

"That's perfectly okay," Torrie said.

We all took a seat at the table we had sat at on Wednesday night. This time I got to sit next to John. I sat between him and Torrie. Randy sat across from Torrie on the other side of the table. Then Amy was across from me and between Randy and Phil. Phil was across from John. Instead of having Boog as our waiter, John's older brother, Steve waited on us tonight.

"You got stuck waiting tonight?" John asked.

"Yes, I thought I'd give Boog a break," Steve said. "He's cooking tonight."

"Oh, good, he can burn our food."

"No, he'll only burn yours and Randy," Phil said. "He likes me, Torrie, Amy, and Trish."

"Very true," Steve said. "You must be Trish?"

I looked at him. "Yes, I am. I'm Patricia Stratigias, but I go by Trish."

"Never formal. I like that."

I smiled.

"All right, I know Phil wants a Pepsi," Steve said. "What about the rest of you?"

"Diet Pepsi," Amy said.

"Mountain Dew Code Red," Randy said.

"Ooh, Diet Mountain Dew for me," Torrie said.

"I'll have the same as Torrie," I said.

"And for you, bro?" Steve asked.

"Make mine a Pepsi," John said.

"All right, I'll be right back with those."

"My boys aren't drinking tonight?" Phil asked John and Randy.

"Code Red sounded better," Randy said.

"Yeah, I thought I'd be a good boy tonight," John said.

"That's what I like to hear."

I chuckled. I looked across the table at Amy. Phil said something to her. She smiled and then looked at me. I winked at her. She kept on smiling.

"I'm in the mood for some buffalo wings," I said.

"Oh, those are great here," Torrie said. "They're boneless too, which makes it so much easier to eat."

"Awesome."

"Trish knows what she's getting to eat," John said.

"Me too," Torrie said.

"Me three," Phil said.

"Me four," Amy said.

"Me five," Randy said.

"Me six," John said.

We all laughed.

Steve came back with our drinks. He started with Torrie and then worked his way down to John. He then went back down to Randy and made his way up to Phil.

"Is it safe to assume everyone is ready to order?" He asked.

"Yes," John said. "Everyone is ready."

"All right, let's start with you, Phil."

"Regular cheese burger," Phil said.

"All right, and for you, Amy?"

"The club sandwich please."

"Randy?"

"The Cena burger."

"All right, good choice. Torrie?"

"Boneless Buffalo Wings, classic with ranch dressing and a side of fries please."

"All right and for you, Trish?"

"I'll have the same as Torrie, but I want bleu cheese dressing," I said.

"And John, you'll get the Cena Burger, right?"

"Hell yeah," John said.

"All right," Steve said. "I'll go put the order in. Everyone have fun."

Torrie and Randy ended up in their own little conversation. It was the same with Phil and Amy.

"So is Boog in college or anything?" I asked John.

"Yeah," John said. "He's a sophomore at Boston University. He wants to be a teacher in Social Studies. Steve is actually getting his master's in English education. He just helps my dad run the restaurant while he gets through school. Matt, Dan, and I have jobs."

"Gotcha," I said. "You and brothers picked good career goals."

"Yes, but my dream is to be a detective."

"And how will you go about getting that promotion?"

"I'm not quite there yet. Hopefully, I will be soon enough, though."

"Does Dan want to be a detective?"

"He has dreams about being the Commissioner."

"What about you?"

"I'd like to be a captain."

"What unit?"

"Vice or Homicide. I couldn't do SVU. I love kids and dealing with abused kids would kill me. Plus I couldn't deal with all those poor women. I'd want to castrate those rapists and abusers."

"You need to know something about me," I said.

"When?"

"When I was a child.

"Oh, my God, Trish!" John said.

"It happened in Canada. That was one reason why we moved to the US. My parents wanted to get me the hell away from there and they wanted to do it as far away as possible."

"Who was it?"

"A co-worker of my dad's."

"I'm so sorry!"

"That was one thing that made me and Amy wanting to be legal assistants. We're certified legal assistants. It is recommended that we go pro-bono work like attorneys do. I want to do pro-bono work with domestic violence victim and rape victims."

"So you were eleven years old when this happened?"

"Nine, actually. My parents had to go through the process of getting here legally. Of course, this was in the late 1990's so things were a little bit easier compared to now, because of 9-11."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, though. I really am! Did your parents press criminal charges against him?"

"Yes, they did. I had to testify against him. My God!" Tears came to my eyes.

John wrapped his arm around me and whispered into my ear. "It's okay."

"What didn't help was when Christie was raped in college and Melissa in high school."

"Oh, my God!"

"What is going on?" Amy said.

I looked at Amy. Tears streamed down my cheeks. "I'm telling John the real reason why my parents moved me and my sisters from Canada and what happened to Christie and Melissa." I wiped the tears from my eyes.

Amy nodded her head. She pushed her chair out and stood up. "Come on, sweetie," She said.

"What is it?" Phil asked.

I stood up. "Torrie, you come too, please," I said.

"Of course," Torrie replied, standing up. She and I both walked around the table and over to Amy. We then headed toward the bathroom.

Randy got up and moved to my seat. Phil leaned forward.

"What's wrong?" Randy asked.

"Trish just told me that when she was a child she was sexual abused," John said.

"No!" Phil and Randy chorused.

"Yeah, she also said both her sisters were raped, one in high school and the other in college."

"Holy shit!" Randy said. "What the hell got on that topic?"

"We were talking about me wanting to be a detective and which department I wanted to work in. I said I didn't want to work in Special Victim's. She then told me all this."

Phil shook his head. "I don't blame her for crying. I'm not blaming you for making her cry either. She needed to confess something."

"Yeah," Randy said.

John nodded his head.

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Amy and I told Torrie what had happened to me as a child and then to my two sisters. I also said how it was brought on with me telling John.

"I'm so sorry, Trish," Torrie said. "I'm glad you told him, though. He needed to know."

"I think you all needed to know," Trish said. "I'm sure John has told Phil and Randy about what I said. I don't care. It just brought back a lot of painful memories."

"Honey, what happened to you and your sisters is an awful thing," Amy said. "But you are blessed, okay? You have a great job. You have great friends, not just me."

I nodded my head. "Yes, Randy, Phil, and Torrie are all great."

"There is also a man out there that is your boyfriend!"

"Yeah, it has only been a few days, but John is crazy about you, Trish," Torrie said.

I nodded my head.

"There is good and then there is evil," Amy said. "What happened to you and your sisters is something evil. We have good and evil in the world, because it keeps everything in balance. Everyone is good at times and then everyone is evil. Take my dad for example. I'm no saint either and you know my past, as well as Phil. John is something good. Something bad might happen or come into your life again, but you will always have something good: friends, work, and family, plus a boyfriend, maybe."

I smiled. "Thank you, Aims," I said, hugging her. "You always know how to make me feel better."

"You do the same with me."

"You're great too, Torrie," I said, hugging her.

"Thanks," Torrie said. "Randy, Phil, and I are all here for you if something bad happens to you and your family. I know John will be there too. But you two are doing one day at a time."

"Sort of."

"I have one question, though."

"Shoot."

"Is having sex an issue for you?"

"Not really. I've been able to find trust in most of my partners. There have been a few boyfriends that did cheat on me."

"Good," Torrie said. "I was just curious with regards to John."

"I can trust in him. He proved that last night. He stopped anything from happening before it did. I wasn't so sure."

"Okay."

"Come on," Amy said. "I'm sure the guys are worried."

I nodded my head. The three of us headed out of the bathroom and back to our seats. Randy was in my seat. He got up and moved back to his when he saw we were coming.

"Are you okay, Trish?" Phil asked as soon as I sat down.

"Yes, I'm fine," I said. "My BFF made it all better."

Amy smiled.

"Yeah, she can make me feel a hell of a lot better about certain things too," Phil said.

I nodded my head. I looked at John.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked.

"Yes. Everything happens for a reason, even the bad."

"Well, you do the pro-bono work you talked about."

"I will."

"Dinner's served," Steve said coming up to the table.

After we were done with dinner, Torrie and Randy went wherever. John, me, Phil, and Amy all went back to Amy's and my apartment for a little while. It was about 8:45 when we got there. I took John into my room, because I wanted to be alone with him and in a comfort zone.

We were both on my bed. John lay flat on his back and his head propped up on the pillows. I lay next to him with my head on his chest and his arm wrapped around me.

"So when can I stay the night with you again?" John asked.

"Whenever," I said. "You could bring stuff here and get ready for work in the morning, or I could bring stuff to your place and get ready for work in the morning."

"That would work. We can do that tomorrow night if you like?"

"When's your next day off."

"It varies. Working day shifts is just good at that moment, because I get to see you in the evening."

"That might change. Amy and I might have to work late some nights real soon."

"I can deal with that when the time comes. We should make some lunch dates."

"It would be doable for me, but I don't know for you," I said.

"Well, as long as I don't get a dispatch telling me to go somewhere then a lunch date is doable for me," John said.

"I prefer dinner dates for awhile."

"Fine by me. What do you want to do tomorrow night?"

"Gym again?"

"Sure. How about we say eight o'clock?"

"Yeah, that's good," I said.

"All right," John said. He kissed me.

"I'm glad you know now. That is one less stressful thing to tell you."

"I'm glad you told me. I'm sorry it happened."

"I've made my peace with. It brings up some painful sometimes. But I'm here with you. You'll protect me."

"Yes, I will," John said. "Randy, Phil, my brothers, and Dad will do the same."

"Wow, my dad will be so happy that there are eight men around to protect me," I said.

"Yeah, Dan and I are trained to take someone down. Not to mention I also played football."

"You know that is a turn on."

"Me having played football?"

"Just being athletic, period," I said. "You know I enjoyed watching you lift weights exactly one week ago and then again last night."

"I'll keep that in mind for tomorrow's date," John said.

We both laughed.

At ten o'clock, John decided it was time for him to leave. We both needed to be up early for work in the morning. I didn't need to be up until 6. We said good-night with a passionate kiss.

"Have a good day tomorrow," John said.

"You too," I said. "Stay as safe as possible."

"I'll do my best. Bye."

"Bye."

I closed the door and locked it. Phil had gone home already. Amy had knocked on my door to stay good night to me and John at 9:45. I went and got ready for bed myself.

I hope I did not offend anymore by mentioning the things that happened to Trish and her sisters. It was a spur of the moment thing to mention it. But I also do not take child abuse or rape lightly. I was abused as a child. Plus both my sisters were victims of rape. We have had our struggles and evil in our lives. But we all have something good. For me it is my loving family and going to college. For one of my sisters it is our loving family. For my oldest sister it is working on her master's, her friends, our family, and her husband and his families.

Here is a link to RAINN: Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network: www. rainn. org (w/o spaces though)

Mick Foley is actually an advocate for them.

Please keep reading.

Thank you

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