Embrace You: Book (Loneliness) Read online

  The next morning, mum shows up early and rings me when she's about a block away.

  Marcus slips his jacket on and goes out to the back yard, where he enters the code for the gate. Mum drives in and stops so Marcus can jump into the front seat.

  In the house, I have made flapjacks with potatoes. Mum sniffs appreciatively as she removes her coat, scarf and gloves.

  "Gamma!" Lizzie holds her arms up to my mum, who lifts her out of her high chair.

  After a few minutes, mum tells Lizzie she'll help her finish her breakfast.

  "Brekky, gamma! Brekky!" Lizzie screams.

  After Marcus and I try to eat, I give up. My stomach feels as though a tight metal band is encircling it.

  "Let's go, luv. Mum, Lizzie, we'll be back as soon as everything's over," Marcus says.

  In the car, I sip tentatively at my travel mug of coffee. I can only force down small sips.

  "Luv, I know you're nervous. I am, too. All we can do is try to relax and wait for what he's going to say.

  I nod, taking deep breaths to contain my nerves.

  In the court room, we take our seats. The press and public crane their necks to get a look at us. I grip Marcus' hand firmly in mine and feel my heart trying to jump out of my throat and mouth.

  I turn as I see Tim, Laslow and Linny join us. Five minutes later, Nigel shows up. He gives us a smile that tries to reassure us and he winks at me.

  My mind flits back to the beginning of this ordeal - my first sight of Cara and Melanie at our concert, nearly one year ago. Seeing the police talking to an angry Cara. Taking the rubbish outside to toss it and seeing Cara with a vacant look on her face as she stands across the street. Spotting her as Lizzie and I leave the shop after finishing our grocery shopping. Fleeing our old flat and hiding out in one of Marcus' dad's houses. Seeing Lizzie kidnapped.

  Cara Wells is brought in first. She is wearing ankle shackles and handcuffs. Large, muscular guards stand behind her.

  The magistrate comes in and we all stand respectfully.

  "Miss Wells, please stand."

  Cara and her barrister both stand.

  "Miss Wells, you were arrested for stalking Marcus Hadley, after you had been warned more than once that what you were doing constitutes stalking behavior. You followed the Hadley family all round Saint Albans. You attempted to kidnap an innocent infant. When you were questioned, you professed not to be sorry for your actions. You attempted to rationalize them. When I ordered a psychological evaluation, the psychologist identified, not one, but three diagnoses based on your testing, one of which is a true mental illness.

  "I have here a pre-sentencing report that reveals that, if you have any other opportunity to inflict harm on any of the Hadley family, you will do so. Because of all of this, I have decided you are much too dangerous to be allowed to walk free -"

  "NO! YOU CAN'T LOCK ME UP FOR ACTING ON MY LOVE! LOCK THAT LITTLE BITCH UP! SHE STOLE 'IM FROM ME!"

  The guards jump on Cara and force her to stand, walking her out of the court room forcefully. We can still hear her screams from another room.

  "Take her to a cell right now!" the magistrate orders. "You -" here, he points to the defense barrister. "You will inform Miss Wells of the sentence I am imposing on her..."

  "Yes, sir," the defense barrister nods.

  "As I was saying, Miss Wells cannot be allowed to walk free..."

  THUMP! The wall reverberates as something big hits it from the other side.

  "Gerroff me!"

  Cara's wails become quieter and fainter.

  "Cannot be allowed to walk free. She will go after Mrs. Hadley and her child. When she doesn't get Mr. Hadley, she'll attempt to harm him. I am sentencing her to life behind bars. She will not have the opportunity to get out early. She will die behind bars. Period."

  "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," says the defense barrister. He swallows, as if the sentence is being imposed on him.

  I look at Marcus and the boys.

  "She's in prison for life! Thank God!" I gasp and wipe tears from my cheeks. I see the press writing feverishly.

  Outside the courtroom, we are escorted to a small room and offered hot tea.

  I feel better now, so I accept the offer. As we wait, I sip the hot, sweet brew. We talk.

  "Well, that's one down, one to go," Marcus says. "Let's see what happens with Melanie, then we'll know if we have to flee to the U.S."

  One hour later, we file back into the courtroom. I grip Marcus's and Laslow's hands nervously.

  Melanie is escorted in. She, too, is restrained by handcuffs and ankle shackles. She sits down. Her hair is no longer styled in an outrageous Mohawk. Her hair is now shoulder-length and a mousy brown.

  The magistrate returns to his bench and we stand once again.

  Miss Stabb, will you and your barrister please stand?"

  Melanie and her barrister both rise.

  "Miss Stabb you helped a friend inflict harm on an innocent child and her parents. You know that Miss Wells has long been fixated on Mr. Hadley. You decided to help her in whatever way you could, regardless of what she asked you to do - and regardless of the effects of your actions on an innocent baby, her mother and father.

  "During your questioning after your arrest, you professed no sorrow for what you did. No remorse, Miss Stabb."

  "But..."

  "Quiet, Miss Stabb. It is my turn to speak," warns the magistrate.

  The guards move closer to Melanie, prepared for her outburst.

  Melanie sighs gustily, but she doesn't say anything more.

  "You showed no remorse. Instead, you promised that, if you had the opportunity, you would help your friend to get to Mr. Hadley in any way you could. You have a mental health condition that makes you crave crisis and drama. These are like drugs to you - when they are not present, you crave them. When they are present, you overdose on them - and you want more. No medication exists for your condition. All that does exist is face-to-face therapy and learning how to develop empathy for others.

  "I am, therefore, forced to sentence you to a prison term of life behind bars, with no chance to get out early..."

  "NOOOOOO! YOU CAN'T! I...I..." Melanie dissolves into helpless sobs.

  I watch her when she turns to glare at me. There are no tears running down her cheeks. She's faking. I squeeze Marcus's and Laslow's hands to signal them.

  "FUCKIN' BITCH! I'LL GET OUT AND..."

  "Take her out and into a cell," the magistrate sighs.

  The guards lift Melanie and remove her. She continues to scream as the guards force her down the hallway.

  "Your client will not be getting out. She was ready to threaten Mrs. Hadley, so it is clear that she does not care to understand the impact of her actions on her, Mr. Hadley or their child. Mr. and Mrs. Hadley, I am very sorry for what you have been made to go through. You will be safe now - safe to go on with your lives."

  With that the entire stalking episode is over. Both Cara and Melanie are headed to prison, where they will live out their lives.

  As this realization slowly sinks into my nearly frozen brain, I relax and begin to cry.

  "Marcus, we can stay in the U.K.! We don't have to be forced to move!" I say through sobs.

  Marcus pulls me into an embrace, pillowing my head against his chest.

  "Yes, luv, I know. We don't have to leave the U.K. unless it's the best move for the band. We can focus on the tour and raising Lizzie," he says.

  I hear a slight hitch in his voice. Looking up, I see tears sliding down his cheeks.

  "Let's go before the slavering hordes descend on us," Tim says.

  We slip out as a group and go to the studio. Nigel is waiting for us.

  "Well?" he asks.

  "Both got life terms with no parole," Tim says.

  "Let me call my mum," I tell the others. Calling her, I wait.

  "Mum? We're staying in Britain! They got life terms, both of them! No parole!" I squeal.

  "Oh, thank the Lord! I'll see my gr
andbaby grow up! That means you can unpack the extra suitcases in your garage," mum says.

  "Yes, thank God. That and the instruments and equipment," I say, wiping tears from my face.

  We invite everyone over for an impromptu party at our house. Tim, Linny and Laslow all bring their families and partners. Lizzie shyly watches as other small children troop into the house. Soon, she is sharing her toys and playing with them.

  We discuss how it feels not to fear what's going to happen that day. We talk about the "slavering hordes" Tim referred to in the courtroom.

  "Well, you'll have to deal with them, regardless. Now that Cara can't stalk me, they'll lose interest in that. Instead, they'll focus on your music and fake broken marriage reports and unintended pregnancies," Marcus predicts.

  "All we can do is live our lives in a way that we would be proud to see recounted in the headlines. No drugs, drinking to excess, violence, stunts. None of that," says Nigel. "Speaking of which..." he looks at the bottles of whiskey and ale arrayed on our kitchen counter.

  "Oh, no! We aren't drinking all that tonight," I say. "I don't want to be trying to board a flight with a hangover!"

  After everyone leaves, Marcus and I relax in the living room. Lizzie is upstairs, sleeping. The day was a long one for her, being cared for by her beloved gram. On top of that, she met other kids and wore herself to a nubbin.

  Upstairs, Marcus and I talk quietly as we unpack the "extra" clothes we had packed in preparation for a quick getaway.

  "Luv, I am so grateful you stuck with me through all this. What would you say to having another baby, when we get back from Europe?"

  "Oh, Marcus, I love that idea! Yes!"

  CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING THE THIRD AND FINAL PART OF THE LONELINESS SERIES

  After Cara Wells, a crazed stalker, is put behind bars, Johanna and Marcus Hadley are ready to move on with their lives and careers. When they receive word that Marcus€™ sister, Millie Smythe, will be arriving back in the UK from a minister school in the US., Johanna, eager to meet her new sister-in-law, prepares for her arrival.

  Unfortunately, Johanna and Marcus discover that Millie isn€™t the caring sister she used to be when she denounces their marriage and claims their children to be illegitimate. Soon, all hell breaks loose when the bigoted and narrow-minded Millie puts a plot to destroy Johanna€™s band and the Hadleys€™ marriage into motion.

  Together, the Hadleys must entrust in their family and friends to help them overcome a menace that clings on the fringes of their hearts.

  Will Marcus be able to cope with shunning a sister he once loved? Will Johanna be able to keep her growing family intact while maintaining a positive character with the band?

  Or will their tight-knit family fall to shreds from within?

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