“Well I don’t want to talk to you,” Lena answered, turning to storm out the door.
R.J. blocked her path, putting his back to the door and blocking her way.
“Lena, we’re sorry. We looked at the evidence and didn’t dig any deeper,” Hal said, starting to explain. “We’ve spent the last month going through things and talking to people to clear you. We had to get to the bottom of what was going on and make sure the people who had caused this were punished.”
“Well, I’m glad you did that. I’ve been cleared of everything then?” Lena asked, her voice full of relief. She had been worried about going to jail and endangering Jenna, Kyle, and their family. She was glad that part of it was over. “If that’s what you needed to tell me, you didn’t have to come here to do it. You could have gotten a message to me through Kyle. I need to go back to my job now.” Lena tried to push R.J. out of the way and go out the door.
“Honey, we were fools. We shouldn’t have gone off on you like we did. You were right. We knew better and just let our emotions take over. We should have known better,” Mel said, walking up behind her and slipping his arms around her.
Lena twisted out of his arms and stepped away from him. “I’m glad you realized your mistake, but I really need to go now. Jarrod and Melissa might need my help.” She really wanted to get away from them and think. Part of her was still hurt from the way they had acted. She really wanted to give in and just let them hold her, but it wasn’t going to be that easy.
“Please let me go,” she said, turning to look at Hal, silently pleading for his help.
“Lena, please just listen to us. We really are sorry and we want you to come back,” R.J. said, laying both of his hands on each of her shoulders and turning her toward him.
“Guys, I need time to think. I won’t lie to you, I was really hurt by the way you acted. Then you didn’t contact me for almost a month and show up here tonight expecting me to forgive you. Really?” They really didn’t expect her to give in just like that, did they?
“Please let me get back to work. I owe Kyle and Jenna for letting me stay with them for so long. I’ll talk to you later,” Lena said when R.J. finally moved and opened the door for her.
Lena practically ran back to the bar. She really wanted to just give in and let her men hold and comfort her but couldn’t let go of the way they had behaved. How did she know that they wouldn’t act like that again if something else came up? They hadn’t trusted her. Now they expected her to forgive everything and go back to the way things were. She wasn’t sure she could.
Melissa and Jarrod could tell something was up, but the next demo was due to start soon and traffic was picking up at the bar. They were getting busy again. Lena didn’t have time to stop for a breath, let alone think, which was a good thing. When things calmed down and she could take another break, the table her men had been at was empty. She did a quick walk around the bar but didn’t see any signs of them. She was glad they had listened to her and were giving her some space in one way, but disappointed, too, that they had apparently given up so easy.
Things were starting to quiet down, so Jarrod told her that he and Melissa could handle the rest of the evening and clean up. Lena really didn’t want to go back to Jenna’s and face Jenna’s questions so she roamed around watching some of the scenes for a while before making her way back to the bar. “Not ready to go yet?” Melissa asked, setting a bottle of water in front of her.
“I’m not sure what I want to do,” Lena answered her, taking the bottle of water and rolling it around in her hands. “I want to go back but I’m not sure they won’t hurt me again.” She had talked with Melissa one night and told her everything that had happened. She needed a neutral ear and Jenna wasn’t it.
“Honey, what you need to ask yourself is, do you love them? If the answer is yes, you will know what to do. We all make mistakes and we try to learn from them. Don’t let this mistake ruin your life. If you don’t give them a chance you will regret it for the rest of your life.” Melissa sounded like she knew what she was talking about. Lena could tell that Melissa had made a decision with what she had said. After she finished talking to Lena, Melissa walked over to Jarrod and put her arms around him, whispering something in his ear. Maybe Melissa was taking her own advice.
Lena finished her bottle of water and then grabbed her coat. Kyle and Jenna had loaned her a car to get back and forth from the club, so she didn’t need to wait for a ride.
When she walked out to the parking lot, there were Mel, Hal, and R.J. all standing beside her car. “How long were you going to wait?” she asked, walking up to the car and hitting the remote to open the doors.
“As long as it took,” R.J. answered, opening the driver’s door for her.
“We’ll follow you back to Kyle’s to make sure you’re safe,” Mel said, leaning in the passenger door and making sure she was belted in and safe.
“You don’t need to follow…” Lena started to say but could tell it was useless. They would follow her regardless.
When they got to Kyle and Jenna’s the lights were on and Lena could tell Jenna had waited up for her. She waited for the men to pull up behind her before getting out. Hal was there to help her out of the SUV and all three men walked her to the door.
“Thank you for following me and walking me to the door. Um…well…good night, I guess.” Lena didn’t really want to let them leave, but knowing Jenna was waiting up she didn’t want to invite them in.
“Can we call you?” R.J. asked, looking nervous.
“Yeah, I never got a cell phone. You will have to call on Kyle and Jenna’s phone,” Lena answered.
“We will call you tomorrow, beautiful. Get a good night’s sleep,” Mel said, pulling her into his arms and brushing her mouth with his in a gentle “I’m sorry” kiss.
Mel handed her to Hal, who threaded his hand through her hair before taking his own kiss. “Good night, baby, I love you,” he said as he turned her over to R.J.
R.J. took her in his arms and backed her up against the door, kissing her so thoroughly that her toes curled. “I love you, too, Lena, come back to us,” he said, letting her go and walking away.
Lena let hers
elf in the house and closed the door, locking it behind her and setting the alarm. Leaning against the door, she stood for a minute, thinking about the three men and their behavior. Maybe she should give them a second chance.
“Hey, how are you doing?” Jenna said quietly, walking up and putting her hand on Lena’s shoulder.