Marley

Chapter Eleven

Marley POV:

It had been a couple of weeks since the talk I'd had with Cheyenne. She was still iffy about going back to Virginia, but she knew deep down that she needed to go.

"You ready?" I asked her as she packed an over night bag. "Yeah." She responded, quietly.

"Come on, big guy." I told Jack as I slung his bag over my shoulder. "Are you sure we have to go?" He asked me.  "Yeah, buddy. I'm sorry but things will get better after this." I told him.

At least I hope they do.

I still had my doubts about going to the police somewhere I'd never been and didn't know. In all honesty, I was just as nervous as they were.

A couple of hours later, we reached the police station.

I had gotten the contact information for Samantha Dyre and she had agreed to meet us there.

"Cheyenne!" A brunette woman exclaimed happily and hugged her, tightly. "It's so damn good to see you, Samantha." Cheyenne replied.

"We're going to get you out of this, Cheyenne. I promise you." I heard Samantha faintly whisper. "Thank you." She responded.

Samantha then turned to me.

"You must be Marley." She said and shook my hand. "It's good to meet you, Samantha." I replied.

She looked down and her eyes lit up when she saw Jack.

"Hi, sweetheart. You remember me?" She asked.

Jack smiled softly at the woman.

"Yes." He said and hugged her waist.

Cheyenne POV:

"Cheyenne Clark?" I heard a man call out to me.

I saw a man in a black suit walk up to me.

"Yes, sir." I replied. "I'm detective Monroe. I've been assigned to your case. Thank you for your cooperation." He told me.

"With all due respect, detective, I don't trust this one bit." I told him. "I understand Ms. Clark. Going over the evidence of your brother's hospitalization, I wanted to hear your side of the story before we make any arrests, okay?" He asked me. "Okay." I said.

The detective took me to an interrogation room and sat across from me.

"I spoke with Ms. Dyre before you got here and she tells me that your father was abusive not only to her but to you and your brother as well." He told me. "Yes." I said, nervously. "Tell me about it." I replied.

"When I was a kid, he didn't physically abuse me. It was more verbal. He would always tell me that I couldn't do this or that. My mother always defended me when he would say those things to me but he would just scream and tell her to shut up." I said.

"Where is your mother now?" He asked. "She died giving birth to my brother, Jack. That's when dad got physical. He had anger issues but he loved my mother. When she died, he blamed Jack. He never wanted anything to do with him. He only kept Jack because he knew that's what my mother would have wanted. I took care of Jack from the moment he was brought home from the hospital." I said as tears began to fall.

"Take your time." He said, gently.

"I became a mother at nine years old. I had to steal money from my dad's wallet at night so I could get the things Jack needed. I kept the baby monitor in my bedroom and got up at ever sound he made. Somehow, my dad never really noticed when the money went missing."

"I fed Jack, bought all his clothes. He's my baby, detective. If he goes back to my father I can't even imagine what he would do to him. Please, don't take him from me." I said and began to quietly sob.

"I believe you, Cheyenne. I do. Samantha told me the same story. She told me how much she respects you for what you've done for your brother." The detective told me.

He believed me? I didn't expect that.

"Samantha made sure I was able to get Jack to his doctor appointments. Pretended to be a family member so we could go back to see the doctor. My dad abused her just as bad as he abused me." I told him.

"Why didn't she leave him?" Detective Monroe asked. "For Jack and I. She was a mother to us. She helped me the best she could with Jack when she came over."

My voice began to waver again.

"But she couldn't take it anymore and she left. I understood and encouraged her to get away."

"I think that's enough for now, Cheyenne. With your permission, I'd like to speak with Jack." He told me.

I was a little hesitant but finally nodded and walked back out to the waiting room.

I walked out, wiping my tears when Marley wrapped his arms around me.

"How'd it go?" He asked. "He believed me." I replied.

Marley let out a sigh of relief and kissed my forehead, softly.

"Jack, baby. The detective needs to speak with you, okay?" I asked softly. "Can you come with me?" Jack asked as he shook.

I looked back and saw the detective smiling down at my boy.

"Of course, buddy." He replied.

Here goes nothing.