Pru and Lily Part V

MONDAY 7:23 A.M. LILY
When I saw Pru, I started to cry. I was the third person to her besides her parents. The weight of the world was off my shoulders.

Pru was bottle feeding a kitten and as I hugged her I flinched. I looked at her back and saw it was bruised.

“What did they do to you?” I asked.

“I’m okay,” Pru said.

She told us she had been given the puppy and kitten.

“We heard you were married?” Anabelle asked laughing. We all laughed, until we realized that Pru wasn’t laughing.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” Pru said watching the stretcher come out with Cole on it.

She walked away from us and went over to the stretcher. Pru grabbed his hand, “I’m going to stay with you.”

Cole smiled under his oxygen mask.

“Pru? We’re going to send you to the hospital in the back of a squad car.” Agent Murray said.

“I want to ride with Cole,” Pru said switching Hope to her hurt arm and grabbing Leiny out of Agent Murray’s hands.

Aunt June went to get into the ambulance, but wasn’t allowed. She didn’t fight.

“We’ll take the van.” Agent Murray said.

In the back of the ambulance Hope had fallen asleep on Pru’s lap, and she picked up Cole’s hand. He opened his eyes and smiled.

In the van we were all confused.

“What did they do to her?” aunt June asked.

“She became a victim by two out of three men. The one she’s with tried to help her. That’s why his face is beaten. She’s attached to him.” Agent Murray explained.

“What did the other son do? The one who married her?”

“We’re not sure, she’s not telling us much now,” he said.

Once at the hospital a wheel chair was brought out for Pru. She took Leiny and Hope in on her lap. She wouldn’t let us take them. Aunt June, Anabelle, LeAnn, and I went into the room with her. While she changed into her hospital gown I held her puppy and her mother held the kitten.

When she had changed, soon as she was dressed she took the puppy from me and held it to her chest.
The doctor questioned her about her back, and she explained she had been thrown against the back of the van when the brakes were slammed. The doctor asked her to get on the table, and looked at her shoulder.

“It’ll be okay, you just need a few stitches,” the doctor said. “Pru, can you tell me if you were raped?”

Pru didn’t say anything, she just shut her eyes and nodded.

“Okay Pru, I need you to lay back now and relax,” the doctor said.

Pru did and kept the puppy close to her chest. I held Pru’s shoulder as the doctor did the rape kit.

“Mrs. Spencer, can I talk to you in the hallway?”

“I can handle hearing anything you say to me,” Pru said.

“Well Pru, you’ve had a lot of vaginal tearing, it will heal, but you’ll need to stay in the hospital a while to make sure there isn’t any scarring which could constrict the vagina. You will be able to bear children later in life, but I wouldn’t try it right away.”

“Okay, could you please find out how Cole is doing?” Pru asked.

“Sure,” the doctor left.

“So Pru, you were married?” aunt June asked.

“Forced.”

“To that Cole guy?” Anabelle questioned.

“No, to his despicable brother Brad.”

“Do you like Cole?” aunt June asked.

“Mom, don’t look at me like that. Cole was sweet to me. He was going to help me. But every chance he did he was beaten. he’s not like his father and his brother.”

The doctor came back in, her head lowered. “Pru, Cole is fine, but the FBI needs to talk to you.”

“Okay.”

Agent Murray entered the room, “Okay, I know this sounds harsh, especially after what you’ve been through, but I can only have one of you in here while I question Pru. Pru, you can choose.”

“Lily,” Pru said without hesitation.

I was honored, but at the same time I felt bad that Pru hadn’t chosen her mother or her sisters.

Aunt June, Anabelle, and LeAnn all left the room, but not before aunt June handed me the kitten.

“Pru, I want you to tell me what happened?”

“I stopped at the rest stop and John offered to help me. He did, but when I went to geet back into my car he hit me and knocked me out. I awoke in the back of a van. I stood up and banged on the small window, that’s when he slammed on the brakes and I hit the back door with my back.

“We came to a stop and I was taken out and put in a cellar type place. I fell asleep and when I woke the man came down and I asked him why he was doing this. He told me I would find out later. Then he made me read the ransom note.

“I sat up at the top of the stairs for a while, and when I heard someone walking and I pounded on the door. No one came down right away, but later Cole came down I told him I was trapped, and he said he would go tell his father. He headed up the stairs but John soon shoved him down the stairs. Cole and John fought and John hit him. That’s how Cole got beat up. He also told me then that I would be Brad’s wife.

“Soon John came to the hatch with Hope here and told me to take care of her. I fed her bottles every 2 hours. John sent Cole down to give me lunch, and we chatted a bit. Brad came to me and tried to force himself on me, but I reminded him of his faith.

“I fell asleep, but was awoken later in darkness. I asked if it was Cole, he said it as, but it wasn’t. it was Brad. He again tried to force me, but I stopped him and he left. Then I fell asleep. When I awoke John was standing there, he said that I had behaved so I could come up and do chores.

“When I went upstairs Cole was frustrated and told me to groom and saddle a beautiful horse. When it was ready we went and moved cattle from down the road. When we got back from that I was told to feed nad water three of the four horses. I fed them, but Cole had to water them.

“After that I was allowed in the house to bathe, and then I ate with the family. I spent that night in the cellar again, and John explained everything. In the morning I got ready for my ‘wedding’. I wore one of the boys’ mother’s dresses.”

“Let me stop you there for a minute, where is the mom?”

“Killed last year in a car crash. Anyway Cole helped me get ready and the ceremony was nice and short. Brad and I rode off and he took me to the river. That’s where he raped me the first time. We came back to the house and I sprained my ankle jumping off the horses.

“I took another bath, then it was time for supper. After supper it was time for presents. John gave me a saddle, saddle blanket, and bridle, along with the horse. Cole gave me the wooden box and Leiny here.” Pru kissed the top of her head.

“After dinner Brad got mad and went to bed. I tried to stall, but eventually John forced me to go to bed. That night Brad raped me again and I hit my head on the head board, splitting open my cheek.

“I left the room shortly thereafter, saying I needed to take care of Hope. I sat with these guys for a while and Cole brought me a blanket. I fell asleep, only to wake up later to let Leiny out. That’s when she ran into the barn and I found my cell phone. John and Brad came out right after I had turned it on.

“I went back inside and Brad made me sleep in his bed…when I awoke you had arrived.” Pru said.

“Okay, so that gives us charges on John and Brad, but nothing on Cole.”

“I won’t testify against him, he’s done nothing wrong.” She then turned to me, “Lily, will you please go ask the doctor if there’s anyway I could share a room with Cole?” she smiled at me.

“Okay, I’m done with you.” Agent Murray said.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

“Lily, wait, can we talk. How have you guys been?”

“A mess,” I answered honestly. “Everyone’s been a mess, but I did meet a really cute cop named Ryan.”

“Have you kissed him yet?” Pru asked.

“No, have you kissed Cole?”

Pru blushed.

“You little—“ I joked.

The door opened and Pru’s family came in. uncle Stan came up to her.

“Dad,” she grabbed his hand, “I love you so much, and I did miss you so much.”

He hugged her and everyone started to cry.

“And George, I heard something about you writing something for me, I appreciate that a lot. Maybe I can read it sometime.” She hugged him.

“I’ll be right back,” I said leaving the room to
go talk to the doctor.

Pru was happy to be back with her family, but at the same time missed being at the farm.

I came back into Pru’s room and nodded, a large smile came across her face.

“Well Pru, we’re going to leave you alone now, because you need your rest. But we’ll be back in the morning,” aunt June said.

“Okay guys, I need you to take care of Leiny, and Hope. Hope needs a bottle every two hours, Leiny needs soft food. Bring them back tomorrow.” Pru handed Leiny to George and Hope to LeAnn.

“We’ll see you in the morning,” uncle Stan said.
The doctor came in to move Pru to a different room, so we all left.

With her family gone, Pru was wheeled into a room with Cole. She even convinced the nurse to push their beds closer together so they were touching. Pru fell asleep faster when she was holding Cole’s hand.

In the morning Pru awoke to find Cole staring at her.

“What?” she smiled.

“Did you dream last night?” he asked.

“Maybe, did you?” Pru questioned.

“I dreamt you and I lived on the ranch and got married.”

“I dreamt that you and I were in a hospital bed and were happy.”

Cole smiled, “I am happy.”

“yes, then my dream came true, didn’t it?”

“How is your family?” Cole asked.

“they’re trying to absorb things. They’re dealing with what happened, and the fact that I have a kitten, a puppy, and a really hot guy. Are you sad about your dad and Brad?”

“They had it coming, and anyways they always treated me like shit. I can run the farm better without them.”

“then it was a good thing,” Pru smiled, then rolled and kissed him.

“Are you going to divorce Brad?” Cole asked.

“Are you kidding? Of course I am, Brad was a horrible husband, and anyway I’m sure I’ll find someone better to love me.” Pru smiled, “How do you feel?”

“Like I was shot,” Cole winked.

We came in holding Leiny and Hope. I was feeding Hope her bottle. Uncle Stan and aunt June were the first one’s that went over to Pru. After all the hugs, Pru took Hope and propped her bed up, but continued to hold Cole’s hand.

“Cole, I would like you to meet my mom June, my father Stan, my older sister Anabelle, my younger sister LeAnn, my younger brother George, and of course my cousin and best friend Lily.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Cole smiled.

Aunt June walked over to his side, “I heard about everything you’ve done for my daughter. I’m sorry about your family, but thank you for taking care of Pru,” she hugged him.

We stood around for a while, aunt June and uncle Stan asked questions that Pru didn’t want to answer. At about noon aunt June and uncle Stan and George went downstairs to the cafeteria for some food.

“Pru, you’re going to have to tell them sometime,” I said.

“I’ll tell them when I’m ready,” Pru said petting Hope.

Anabelle chimed in, “So Cole, what do you plan on doing when you get out of here?”

“I have a farm to run,” he said smiling at Pru.

“What kind of farm?” LeAnn asked.

“We raise and sell cattle, but we also have four horses that we sometimes breed and stud.”

“Are you going to be able to do that alone?” Anabelle asked, I figured it was on purpose.

Cole looked over at Pru.

“He won’t be alone,” she smiled.

I couldn’t help but smile, I could tell that Pru was happy.

A knock came at the door, I looked to see Ryan holding some flowers.

“Hi Ryan, what are you doing here?”

“I had to come see the girl that I’ve been trying to find;” he said coming over to the side of the bed.

“Hi,” Pru said jutting out her hand. “You must be
Ryan,” she smiled my way.

“Yeah…Officer Ryan Sanford, nice to finally meet you.”

They shook hands.
“I brought you some flowers,” he said taking half of the flowers and handing them to Pru. “And these are for you,” he handed flowers to me.

“Thank you,” Pru said.

I blushed, “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I did if I wanted to get you to go out with me tomorrow.”

“Sure,” I smiled, “I’ll call you later.”

“Okay,” Ryan said. “It was good to meet you.”

“Good to meet you too,” Pru said, and Ryan left.

Another knock came at the door not too long after, it was a nurse holding a bouquet of flowers. “Someone sent these over.”

“Okay, thank you.” Pru said.

The nurse set the flowers down and brought Pru over the card.

“To show you how happy we are to hear you came home safely. Love the people at KHMP 11.” Pru read outloud.

“There are more,” the nurse said. “A lot more.”

“Could you bring them in please?” Pru asked smiling.

So the nurse brought them in one by one, each card welcomed Pru back, some even said they had prayed for her safe return. Soon the room was filled with flowers for Pru.

“Cole, here’s one for you,” the nurse said handing him a card.

He read it to himself, and a tear rolled down his cheek.

“What does it say?” Pru asked.

“You answered George’s prayer to god, you kept our daughter as safe as you could. And for that we are eternally in your debt. Thank you doesn’t begin to describe what we really want to say. Love the Spencer family.”

“That’s so sweet,” LeAnn said.

“Where are your parents?” Cole asked Pru.
Everyone looked up to see aunt June, uncle Stan and George in the doorway.

“Thank you,” Cole said.

“No, we owe you a great thanks,” uncle Stan came over and hugged Cole.

Three days passed and Pru was released from the hospital. She spent her nights at home with Hope and Leiny, and her days with Hope, Leiny and Cole.

After the week, Cole was allowed to go home, so Pru picked up Cole in her new car, which she loved. They went to his farm and she helped him settle in.

Pru went out to the barn, Leiny at her heels, and she took Teddy out of his stall. She hooked him up on a lead and walked him out. she tied him up and got the saddle that she had received from John.

“What are you doing?” Cole asked coming out of the house.

“You should be in bed,” Pru said.

“Hope needed a new bottle,” Cole said holding up
the filled body.

“Okay, but you should be back in bed now.”

“You haven’t answered my question, what are you doing?” Cole asked.

“I’m going to go check on the cattle, I’m also going to take your horse, put her out to pasture for a while.”

“Okay, but be careful on Gem, if you ride her, she can be testy.”

“I was only going to lead her out, not ride her.”

“Did the doctor say this was okay?”

Pru smiled, “The doctor said I can do whatever I want, as long as I’m comfortable.” She went up to him and hugged him. “I’ll be careful, I have my phone. You have your new phone. I’ll be okay.” She said and kissed him.

Pru put Teddy’s bridle on, and then walked him back to the barn. Pru got Gem out of her stall and put her long lead on.

Pru climbed onto Teddy and she tied Gem’s lead to Teddy’s saddle. Pru rode up to the gate, and hopped off Teddy to open it. She walked the horses through and shut the gate.

Pru walked around, sitting on Teddy’s back looking at the cattle, and after an hour she determined them all to be healthy and caught Gem again.

Pru shifted the three other horses so they were all in new stalls. She figured that was why they had 8 stalls for four horses. She left Teddy out, and brushed him for a long time. He loved the attention, and finally she put him away.

Leiny came out of Teddy’s old stall yawning and stretching. Pru found a shovel and tried to pick up some of the dung, but after a short while her back started to hurt.

Pru carried Leiny into the house and found her some food. Pru then went back to Cole’s room, he was sleeping on the bed. Pru quietly slipped into the bed and laid her head on his chest.

“You smell like a horse,” Cole whispered.

“Thanks,” Pru smiled.

Cole kissed her forehead, and then they slept.

I couldn’t believe myself, I had only gone out with Ryan 7 times, but I already knew everything about him. Ryan was taking me somewhere special tonight, but he sure as hell wasn’t telling me where. He picked me up in his Mercury Cougar, and he was all smiles.

“What?” I asked.

“I want this to be a surprise, so I want you to
wear this,” he said handing me an eye mask.

“You’re lucky you’re so cute or I wouldn’t do
this.” I smiled and put the mask on. The drive seemed to take forever.

“Where are you taking me? Disneyland?”

“Why? Do you not wanna go there? Because I can turn around?”

Pru woke up and Cole was not in the bed,

“Cole?” she said.

She climbed out of the bed and headed down the hallway. A sensational smell was lingering from the kitchen.

“Mr. Cole, what are you doing?” Pru asked.

“I’m making you dinner. Go take a bath, it’ll be ready when you’re done.”

Pru smiled and walked back into the bathroom. She took a quick bath, then went into Brad’s room and got dressed into jeans and her favorite low cut blue shirt. As she walked toward the kitchen she saw Cole and a man at the stove, and a back to her at the table.

Pru recognized Lily’s hair cut. “Lily, what are you doing here?”

I turned to see Pru walking towards me, “The men planned this apparently.”

Pru smiled and hugged me. “Is he treated you well?” Pru whispered.

I pulled away and nodded, we sat back down as the men cooked. They fed us spaghetti and homemade meat sauce, the best I’d ever had.

“So boys, why are we eating spaghetti here?”

“I invited you guys,” Cole said.

“How did you get Ryan’s number?” I asked.

“Easy, you call the police department where he works and ask for his extension.”

“So why did you invite us here?” I touched Ryan’s hand.

“I have a very important question to ask,” he took a deep breath, “Is my secret sauce any good?” he looked around the table.

I breath a sigh of relief, “Oh my god, it’s fabulous.”

Hope started to cry in her box, so Pru got up and made her a bottle, and then carried her back to the table, Pru went on eating.

“Pru, you are going to be a great mom someday,” Ryan smiled.

Pru blushed, “Thank you.”

“Leiny, do you want some noodle?” Cole said cheer fully getting off his chair with a noodle in his hand.

“Cole, I don’t think she should eat that, it’ll probably make her constipated.” Pru said.

Cole turned around, “Will not,” and he fed Leiny the noodle.

I smiled, because I knew that Pru had found herself a man.

“So Pru, what did you do today?” Ryan asked.

“I got Cole situated and then I went horseback riding.”

“Should you go horseback riding?” I asked worried.

Pru laughed, “My doctor said it would be okay as long as I didn’t go too fast”

“That’s probably a good thing, because we all know how you love to ride so much.” I smiled.

Soon Ryan and I left, on the ride home, he sneakily reached over and grabbed my hand.

Pru laid in bed, Cole’s arms wrapped around her.

He was softly kissing the back of her neck. Cole moved his hands around her ever expanding stomach.

“3 months,” she whispered.

“I know,” Cole rubbed her stomach.

Pru intertwined her fingers with his, and admired the wedding ring he had given her, just the way she wanted. She couldn’t believe it had been just over a year since they had met. They had only known each other three months before they had been married.

I wasn’t too shocked when Pru and I became pregnant around the same time. I was shocked though that I married before her. My ceremony had been complex compared to Pru’s.

She had gotten married in the front yard of Cole’s house, and as she had always wanted, they rode off into the sunset together.

My wedding was held in a park, just a small one, but it was still sweet. Both Pru and I had three bridesmaids. Both our dresses were homemade by aunt June. Pru had designed hers, and she helped me design mine.

Ryan and I were happy, and a baby made three.

Pru and I sit in a park. We’re out with our babies. My girl Marie Ann is just about three months. Pru’s son Campbell Scott is about 2 and a half months(he was late).
Pru has never been happier, Brad is in jail, for at least 20 years, and John’s in jail pretty much until he dies.

Their farm is great, they’re making money off the cattle and the foals.

Ryan and I are happy, he is trying to become a detective and I’m planning on going to go back to school. I’m going to become a nurse.

Though it may seem cliché, this story of Pru and I, but it truly was a happy ending.