Battered Ch. 06

Hey guys. Promised it would be up. There's one more after this one, which I'm working my ass off to finish. This one is a little short, but the next one will make up for it. Forgive me. I want to thank my editor Mococoa20022000 very VERY much. She's wonderful!!! Thanks!

**lilmami07**

*

Hallee's adrenaline pumped as she sped down the highway. She really hadn't approached the situation with much reason, but she was done with him. She had other lives to think about aside from her own. Hallee wiped at her tears as she stared out Jeremy's windshield. She knew she had to be careful. This was the first time she had ever left him. Most women didn't get away that easily.

She never had the courage before. She had never been in this position. What would he do to her? Would he come after her? Try to take her son from her? Or would he change like he promised?

Probably not.

She checked her face in the rearview mirror. It was reddened and bruised, as usual, but for the last time. Hallee stepped on the gas and didn't stop until her mother's house came into view.

***************

She'd left him. This was the first time Hallee had stood up to him like that. Ever. He knew it would happen one day. He knew his attitude and anger would push her and their son away. He loved Santana, but he didn't know how to be a good father. His dad wasn't the best role model or example to live by. That was no excuse though. He loved her but just didn't know how to show it. Instead of treating her with the respect she deserved, he treated her like shit and had pushed her into the arms of another man.

Lucas was on his way to the house as soon as he heard Jeremy's voice over the phone. When he got there, the door was open. His blood boiled at the sight of the room. Things were broken and strung out. He saw small spots of blood on the floor. He saw Jeremy sitting in the middle of the floor. He called out for Hallee, and Jeremy slowly looked up at him. So this was the guy that caused Hallee so much grief, pain and heartache. Anger boiled up inside of him. He walked in and shut the door behind him.

If Jeremy hurt Hal, he would kill him. He glared at the man who sat in the floor. His shirt was ripped and exposed bloody claw marks across his chest and face. Was this the man who'd been mistreating his Hal for all these years? Lucas was so angry, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. They just stared at each other with deadly gazes.

"Where is she?" Lucas finally said. Jeremy laughed dryly.

"Elle."

"Where the fuck is she? Where's Santana?"

Lucas knew what Jeremy was capable of. He'd seen all of Hallee's scars.

"They're not here. She left me. She left me, man." Realization hit him and Jeremy broke down and began crying. They weren't coming back. "God, what now? I have nothing without her. She was everything to me."

Lucas didn't care that he was crying. As many times as he had made Hallee cry and hurt, he didn't care if Jeremy caught on fire in the middle of the floor.

"You know, I could kill you right now. Torture you in ways unimaginable. She's a fucking female. You don't beat females," he said stepping closer to Jeremy. "Hal's like a precious gem, but you treat her like she's nothing to you. She gave you the greatest gift a woman can give to a man, a child. You don't deserve Santana. You don't even deserve to be breathing right now. You're lucky I respect her. She told me this was her fight. Told me she would handle it. I'm glad to see she finally did."

Lucas backed away from the snot-nosed man sitting in the floor like a child. He turned for the door and opened it.

"Oh yeah... don't let me see you again. I'll finish what she started."

***************

"You did what?" Hallee's mother exclaimed.

"I had to Mama. I had to leave him one way or another."

"I understand that Hallee, but you should have went another way of doing it. You could've gotten hurt. Killed! Had it ever occurred to you to go to the police? Or better yet come to me?"

Hallee's mother was furious. She paced back and forth until she had calmed down.

"How long has this been going on?"

Hallee looked down in shame. "Since high school."

"Yep. I knew it. Lord, I knew it. I knew something won't right about him. I should've listened to my gut. I'm sorry baby. God knows I'm so sorry. I should have protected you from this. If I had..."

"Mama, it's not your fault. I should have told you. I was just scared. I loved him, and I didn't want you to make me break up with him. I was stupid, Mama. This isn't your fault."

"Mommy?" Santana whined from the back room.

"I'll go get him..."

"No baby, you go in the bathroom and clean up your face. I'll get him back settled and I'll be in there in a little bit."

"Yes ma'am.

***************

"I don't know Luke. I just wanna be by myself right now," Hallee said into the receiver.

"What? That doesn't make any sense."

"It's for the best right now."

"No. You can't do this to me. We can make this work. We have a kid together."

"We don't know that for sure."

"So what, Hallee? You gonna raise two kids by yourself? You gonna go back to him?"

"I can't ask you to help me raise another man's children."

"You don't have to ask me anything. I love you, whether this baby is mine or not. You know that. I swear. I, Lucas James Joyner, swear that I'll be there for you, no matter what."

"I don't know."

"You know that," he repeated.

"I need time, Lucas."

"Time for what?"

"I need time to process all of this, okay? I just got out of a relationship that I thought would last forever. He was my first everything, and for things to turn out like this.... It's just really hard for me."

"Hallee, I love you okay? Process that. I can help you get through this."

"No you can't. You can't help me do anything."

"I'll be there for you. I'll do whatever you need me to do for you. You won't have to worry about anything. You'll never have to lift a finger. I can take care of you Hallee. You know I can."

Hallee had heard those words before. Jeremy had made those same exact promises to her when she was younger. Gullible. Naïve. No. She was over that. No man would make empty promises to her, or have to take care of her again. She'd take care of herself.

"I've heard that before. Never again. Never again will I rely on a man to take care of me."

"Hal that's not what I..."

"Goodbye Lucas."

********************

Hallee bent over to pick up the Transformer toy Santana had tossed into the floor. She got halfway down, and thought again. Everything was so much harder. She had forgotten how hard it was being pregnant. Not only was she seven months pregnant now, but she had stress piled on top of more stress. The past months had been hectic for her. She was out on her own for once in her life. Her mom, much to her disapproval, had helped Hallee find a nice-sized apartment in a good neighborhood. She wanted Hallee to stay with her at least until the baby was born, but Hallee was dead-set against it. She enrolled in a community college.

Hallee was determined to get back on her feet. She sat in the office of an advisor at the community college.

"I have to start somewhere. I intended on going to college right after high school, but it was hard to do with a child."

"I understand, dear. Better late than never."

"I was wondering if it was possible for me to enroll in strictly online classes right now."

"Oh yes. We have a wide range of classes available online to choose from."

"That's great."

"Okay Hallee. You're all registered for the fall semester. Now all you have to do is take our placement test."

"Placement test? Is that like the SAT or something?"

"Almost. Our placement test is to determine what classes you can take. If you score a certain number on it, it exempts you from taking developmental courses."

"Okay."

"When would you like to schedule it?"

"As soon as possible."

Hallee wasn't worried. She made great grades in high school. This would be a piece of cake.

"Well you can take it now if you're ready."

"Yes, please."

***************

Everything was turning up for Hallee. She loved the apartment. But Santana, not so much. He complained that his bedroom was much smaller than his old one, and there was no room for his outdoor swing set.

"Sweetheart, I'm sure we can find another way for you to have fun. There are lots of children in this neighborhood, and there's a park down the street. There's even a playground at the school I'm going to. I can take you by there sometime."

He agreed. Santana wanted to make friends, but he still wanted his swing set. He would just have to make due. He helped her out a lot, though. He was very excited about having a little sister to take care of. He had even given his input on baby names.

"Can we name her Octopus Prime, Mommy?"

"I don't know, baby. That's a big name for a little girl."

Santana sat and pondered.

"I know Mommy! We can name her Rex. I always wanted a dog named Rex."

Everyone was helpful. Her mom always came by to take her and Santana shopping. Sabrina would take Santana out so Hallee could have time alone. They'd go shopping and out to eat.

Eventually Lucas started coming around. It took him awhile to visit her. She hurt him. She compared him to Jeremy. He felt the two were in different leagues, and Hallee should know that. He would never treat her like Jeremy did. If she didn't know that then she must not have known him at all.

But he also understood where she was coming from. She was a battered woman. She needed time, and he gave it to her. He helped her out a lot though. He stopped by and they would talk for hours on end. He took up time with Santana, too. He cooked for them. He went to doctor visits with her. She would call him on random nights and during the wee hours of the morning to ask him to come over, because she didn't want to be alone. He would spoon her until she dozed off and watch her sleep. He talked to the baby and sang to her. He was there for her when she awoke in the mornings, and then he was off. He didn't want to overstay his welcome.

Hallee hadn't talked to Jeremy much. Sabrina wouldn't let her at first. He called and harassed a few times in the beginning, but never got the courage to come by. Sabrina told him that he had something waiting for him when he got there. Something shiny, made of steel and loaded. He stayed away.

She heard that Jeremy stayed true to his word. Surprise. He enrolled in some classes and was seeing a therapist. Actually, he'd been through a few of them.

***************

Hallee was becoming the queen of multitasking. She was doing the dishes, watching Santana and studying for a computer test all at the same time. She stole glances at her study guide as she washed dishes.

"Konrad Zuse invented the Z1 Computer, first freely programmable computer. Howard Aiken and Grace Hopper invented the Harvard Mark I Computer," she said aloud.

Santana turned around from the television screen and looked at her funny.

"No Mommy. Will Gates invented computers."

"You're right, baby. How could I not know that?"

Santana whipped back around and was engrossed in the television program.

A knock at the door interrupted her from finishing the dishes. She dropped the plate back into the soapy water and dried her hands on her pants before walking toward the door. She opened it and was taken back.

"I want to see my son."