Hopeless (23 page)

I know you’re going to be disappointed I
left, but I hope you won’t waste your time trying to find me. I’m doing this
for you as much as I am for myself. You’re the kind of man who tries to save
those you care about from harm, and the reality is, you can’t save me. No one
can. So please, just let me go. And trust that no matter where I am, I’m
thinking of you. Always.

Love,

Victoria 

Jay crumpled the resignation letter up and
tossed it in the metal wastebasket beside his desk. He muttered a curse and
covered his face with his hands. What the hell was he supposed to do now?
Before he had a chance to consider his options, someone knocked on the door.

“Not now!” he shouted. He had an open door
policy at all of his studios. Any of the students were welcome to approach him
at any time, but he couldn’t deal with anyone else’s problems today, not when
his own life was spiraling out of control.

A young woman with long black hair opened
the door and peeked inside. “Excuse me, sir. I’m sorry to bother you, but your
assistant said I could have a word with you.”

He frowned when he saw her protruding
stomach. Karate wasn’t precluded during pregnancy, but it wasn’t recommended
for a beginner either. “Karen can give you information about the program
options, but you may want to wait until after you deliver and the doctor gives
you—”

She licked her lips. “Um, I’m not here
about your programs. I’m here about Victoria.”

“You know Victoria?” He leaned forward and
raised his hand to beckon her inside. “Come in, please.” He stood to offer his
hand. “You probably already know I’m Jay Cooper, but you are…?”

“Lena.” She accepted his hand, but her grip
was weak. “I’m from the shelter.”

Jay covered her hand with both of his,
trying to put her at ease. “Of course, you’re Victoria’s friend.”

She offered a small smile at Jay’s
description. Obviously, she was proud to count herself among Victoria’s friends.

“Please, have a seat,” Jay said, pointing
to one of two guest chairs on the opposite side of his desk. “Tell me what I
can do for you, Lena.”

She sat down and set her oversized purse in
her lap, in front of her stomach. “Um, I was just wondering if you’d heard from
Victoria. I was released from the hospital this morning, and I went by the
shelter, hoping to talk to Victoria, but Lindsay said she wasn’t there. She
said you might know where to find her.”

“I wish I did, sweetheart. Unfortunately,
this is all I have to go on,” he said, holding up the letter. “And it’s not
much.”

The girl’s face crumpled before she began
to cry, silent, body wracking sobs. “This is all my fault. She left because of
me. I shouldn’t have asked her—”

“Hey now,” Jay said, getting up. He
crouched in front of her chair. “Listen to me; you’re not to blame.” If anyone
was to blame for her sudden departure, it was him. “We had an argument. It was
my fault she left.”

She set her trembling hands in her lap.
“No, I was the one who scared her away. Nothing you said could have shocked her
more than I did.”

Jay sensed this girl was desperate for
someone to confide in, and if she could give him some insight into why Victoria
left, he couldn’t leave questions unanswered. He pulled a chair up in front of
her and sat down. “Why don’t you start at the beginning? Tell me the whole
story, how you came to know Victoria, what kind of relationship you two had,
what you asked her to do for you…” He reached for a box of tissue on his
credenza before offering it to her.

“Thanks,” she said. She took a moment to dry
her tears and blow her nose before she took a deep breath. “I was eleven when I
met Victoria. She was a volunteer crisis counselor at the shelter. The police
picked me up and brought me in ‘cause I ran away from my foster home three
times in one month.” She shrugged. “They didn’t know what else to do with me. I
told them if they tried to take me back there, I’d just run again.”

Jay could only imagine what horrible things
had driven her away from that house. “That’s when you met Victoria?”

She smiled for the first time since she’d walked
into the room. “Yeah, she was on duty at the shelter. She convinced me to fill
out some paperwork, and we talked.” Lena reached for another tissue before
throwing the used one in the wastebasket. “Victoria was the only person I’d
ever met who really got me, ya know?”

Jay nodded. Even though he and Victoria had
traveled different paths in life, he felt like she already understood him
better than anyone. She knew martial arts was his foundation because it was
hers too. She understood he wanted to grow his business because he wanted to
share his love of karate with the world. Most importantly, she understood
nothing mattered to him more than family.

“She held my hand and said I had a right to
cry.” Lena sniffled. “No one had ever said that to me before. My foster parents
used to tell me I was a whiny little brat. They said it was no wonder no one
wanted me.”

Jay felt the impact of her words like a
physical blow. He loved kids and hated knowing so many were living Lena’s life
right now. “I’m sorry.”

Lena tipped her head and looked at him a
long time before she asked, “Are you Victoria’s boyfriend?”

He was taken aback by the question, but he
managed to laugh, hoping to ease her discomfort. “Uh no, I’m just a friend.”
Though he would give anything to be so much more.

“Too bad,” Lena said, twisting the unused
tissue in her hands. “She needs someone like you, someone to take care of her.”

Lena, with the innocence of a girl, had no
idea her words were breaking Jay’s already battered heart. “Why do you say
that?”

She shrugged. “She’s always working so
hard, taking care of everybody else, but she’s got no one to take care of her.”

“How about you, Lena?” Jay asked, gently.
“Do you have anyone to take care of you?”

Her dark eyes hardened and she folded her
arms across her stomach. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I can take
care of myself, and my baby, if I have to.”

Jay knew the girl was strong; she’d already
endured so much. But he had little doubt she was deluding herself if she
thought it would be easy to raise a baby at her age, without a decent education
or job. “Do you mind if I ask how old you are?”

She raised her chin, looking angry and
defiant. “Fifteen, but it don’t make a difference. I been takin’ care of myself
since I was four.”

Jay took a deep breath. He knew challenging
the girl wasn’t going to convince her to open up to him, so he decided to
change tactics. “When you came in, you said you thought it was your fault
Victoria left town. You mind tellin’ me what you mean?”

Lena hesitated a long time before
responding. “I asked her to adopt my baby.” Her head shot up when she heard
Jay’s sharp intake of breath. “It’s not that I don’t love my baby, I do.”

“I know,” he said quietly. He could only
imagine how painful it must have been for the young girl to admit to Victoria
and herself that she couldn’t cope with the responsibility of being an unwed
teen mother without any family to support her. “Askin’ for help is nothin’ to
be ashamed of, honey. We all need a little help sometimes, right?”

She offered a small affirmative nod before
she said, “Victoria just seems so strong, so capable, ya know? I just thought
if my baby could have a female role model like that in her life, maybe she
could grow up to be a strong woman, too.” A tear slid down her cheek, followed
by another. “I just want her to have a chance at a good life, and I know I
can’t give her anything. I don’t want to give her away, but I don’t know what else
to do. I mean, how am I gonna support her?”

Jay felt like he was walking through a
minefield with no clue how to avoid the potential danger. “What did Victoria
say when you asked her to adopt your baby?”

“She freaked out.” Lena swiped the tissue
across her pale cheeks. “She said she was sorry, but she couldn’t do it. Then
she just took off.”

Jay could only imagine what must be going
through Victoria’s mind right now: guilt, shame… fear. He had no doubt she
would be an incredible mother if she gave herself a chance, but he knew her
financial resources were limited, and being a single parent was never easy,
emotionally, physically, or financially. Maybe she’d be willing to consider it
if she had support. He had more than enough money to support all three of them
more than comfortably, but he knew Victoria was too proud to accept his help.

“Lena, where are you stayin’ right now?”

She lowered her head, looking ashamed. “At
the shelter.”

“Listen, I have a friend with a daughter
who’s just about your age. He has a guest house. Why don’t I give him a call,
see if he’d mind if you stay there for a while, until you figure things out?”

She looked panicked. “No, I couldn’t. I
mean, I appreciate the offer, but…”

Jay could only imagine what this girl had
to endure living under a stranger’s roof. It was no wonder she preferred living
in a shelter, with people she could relate to. “Have you ever heard of Trey
Turner?”

“Sure, who hasn’t?”

He smiled. “Well, that’s the friend I’m
talkin’ about. He and his wife Sierra are amazing people, and I know they’d
love to help you.”

Her mouth fell open. “You’re not serious.
Why would rich, famous people like them want to help me? I’m nobody.”

It killed Jay to know she felt so
worthless, but he knew he couldn’t impact her self-image in a day. Maybe, in
time, she’d begin to see the future possibilities, but for today, Jay was more
concerned about her physical safety and sense of security. “Would you mind if I
gave Trey a call? See what he has to say about the possibility of havin’ a
houseguest for a while?”

Lena shrugged, as though she was bracing
for disappointment. “Whatever.”

Jay pulled his cell phone out of his pocket
and dialed Trey’s number. “Hey, man, it’s Jay. You got a minute?”

Trey chuckled. “For you? Anytime, you know
that.”

The fact his father was one of Trey’s best
friends meant the famous singer always made time for Jay and his brother, no
matter how busy he was. “I got a favor to ask.”

“Anything.”

Jay smiled. Trey was always willing to step
up and help a friend or stranger in need. “I have a friend who could use a
place to stay for a while.”

“Uh sure, the guest house is open. What’s
his name?”

“Actually, it’s a she.”

Trey chuckled. “I thought you had your eye
on the pretty little martial artist I met at your old man’s place?”

“Victoria. Yeah, I do. Actually, Lena’s a
friend of Vic’s, that’s how I know her.” Jay cleared his throat, wishing he
were alone so he could tell Trey the whole story, but with Lena sitting right
in front of him, he didn’t want to risk embarrassing her. “She’s just about
Alisa’s age.”

“Where the hell are her parents?”

Jay sighed. “Look, you mind if I stop by in
a bit?”

“No, of course not.”

Jay was getting ready to hang up when Trey
said, “Jay, whatever her story, tell your friend she’s got a place to stay, as
long as she needs it.”

“Thanks, man, I owe you one.”

“No worries. See ya in a bit. Hey, when you
come, bring the girl.”

“Will do.” Jay disconnected the call and
smiled at Lena. “I told you it wouldn’t be a problem.”

She looked stunned. “That was not Trey-freakin-Turner.
You’re lyin’.”

“No, darlin’, trust me, I wouldn’t lie to
you.”

“Why would he want to help me? It doesn’t
make any sense.”

Jay shrugged. “Maybe because he’s a good
guy, or maybe it’s because he’s a dad, or hell, maybe it’s because he’s like
family to me. I don’t know. What I do know is that he’s waitin’ on us, so come
on, let’s go get your stuff and head on over there.”

Lena stood up and extended a shaky hand to
Jay. “Thank you,” she whispered. “This is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done
for me.”

He grinned. “Can I get a hug?”

A huge grin split her face right before she
launched herself into his waiting arms.

It was inconceivable to Jay that a teenage
girl managed to shove all of her worldly possessions into a trash bag in a
matter of minutes, but Lena had.

The ride out to Trey’s house was quiet,
with only soft country music in the background to mask the silence. He knew
Lena was scared of being thrust into an unfamiliar world yet again, but Jay
knew being with Trey and Sierra, and more importantly, their daughter Alisa,
would be the best thing for Lena right now. It would help her to see life as it
could be, instead of accepting that her life was destined to be a dead-end on
the road to nowhere.

Jay turned into the winding drive and waved
to the security guard manning his post at the gatehouse.