Page 58 of Wrecked By You

Isla looked up, not giving away any emotions, but her face was white. I stared at her hands; they were trembling in her lap.

“Peter, you don’t have anything to be sorry for,” her mother said. “Don’t placate that child.”

Once again, I wanted to get up and leave. I wanted to take Isla away from all this ugliness.

“I can talk to her if I want, woman,” her father said to her mother.

The man conducting the hearing said, “Please don’t speak out of turn, either of you.”

Finally, Isla stood.

No one spoke for several seconds.

“Do you want to say something?” the man conducting asked.

Isla turned to her father. “Yes, I do.”

“Please state who you are,” the man said.

She still stared at her father. “I’m his daughter. I’m the reason this man has been incarcerated the past eight years. He beat me up. He beat the crap out of me, and I seriously thought I might die. I was only sixteen.”

Her mother shot to her feet. “You liar. You fell down the stairs. She was always a liar!”

“Guards, please escort Mrs. Harper out.”

Her mother charged at Isla, but I was up on my feet to block her path. I didn’t have to worry, because the officer grabbed her. Another helped him.

Her mother tried to evade them and cursed at them. “She’s lying! She’s always been a liar.”

Her father shook his head.

The man conducting the hearing turned back to Isla. “Do you wish to continue?”

She nodded and looked back at her father. “I want you to know I have prayed and prayed that I could forgive you. I haven’t forgiven you yet, but I’m trying.”

Her father stared at the floor.

She blinked rapidly and turned to the parole board. “I do not think he should get out of prison. He beat my mother and me up our whole lives. I think he’ll do it again.”

Her father stood and started cursing at her. “You were never a good daughter. You are lying. I don’t know why you even showed up here. You couldn’t even face me in all these years.”

Isla turned to me. “Let’s go.”

We started walking out of the room.

Her father kept yelling at her. “You were never worth anything!”

The man in charge said, “I can see this hearing is over.”

The door closed behind us, cutting them off.

Isla walked quickly, so I matched her pace and took her hand. We exited the prison and made our way to my SUV. I opened the door for her.

Tears came down her cheeks.

I pulled her into a hug. “You did good. You did good.”

Her body shook, and I held her against me.