Pierced by Love

by Laura L. Walker

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  They stood beside her and laid their hands on her head. “Noelle Grace Jensen . . .”

  FIVE

  NOELLE FELT MODERATELY better after receiving the blessing given by her dad. She took comfort in the reassurance that Heavenly Father loved her and was aware of her situation. Noelle was given the counsel to read and ponder her patriarchal blessing, which was intended to be used as her own personal Liahona, just as President Monson had explained in a talk he’d given to the youth of the Church several years earlier. The Lord had a plan for her and He would reveal the next phase of that plan when the time was right, but she needed to do all she could to remain faithful and worthy to receive the necessary promptings from the Spirit.

  She was also counseled not to harbor resentment toward her sister but to be kind and forgiving. In due time, Noelle would be shown the Lord’s wisdom in all things. She needed to trust in Him.

  On one hand, she thought, the blessing provided a measure of comfort in the blessings I was promised. On the other hand, the message was very obscure.

  At Samuel’s suggestion, he, his wife, and Noelle picked Melody up from the girls’ apartment and took a scenic drive to Sedona, the land of red rock. The blessing had subdued Noelle enough so that no biting remarks were made along the way. However, a tense silence permeated the backseat of the car on the way down.

  The group stopped at a scenic view and got out of the car. “It’s breathtaking,” Brenda said, taking in the deep reds in various shades that were prevalent in the monoliths beyond. “Your father and I have always enjoyed visiting this place. We came here often when you children were little. Do you remember?”

  Noelle and Melody mumbled affirmative answers.

  “But then life became too busy. I wish we could stay this time.”

  “We’ll come back another time,” Samuel replied. Turning to their daughters, he continued, “But right now, your mother and I need to figure some things out.” Noelle smothered a groan, dreading the lecture that was to come. “Melody, Noelle, I can’t really say that I’m happy about the circumstances that brought us here today. Though you girls are very different from each other, you’ve always been close. But now, Melody, your dishonesty toward Noelle is threatening to tear our family apart.”

  Melody swallowed hard, toeing the ground with her foot while crossing her arms over her middle. A defensive stance if ever Noelle had seen one. “We didn’t mean to hurt Noelle,” she said plaintively. “We discovered an instantaneous friendship and mutual feelings of attraction soon followed. By the time we realized that this was more than just an infatuation, we knew that we had waited too long and that any way we chose to tell her would cause her great pain.”

  “And the thought of causing your sister more pain caused you to keep putting it off,” Samuel surmised.

  Melody nodded silently.

  “Lies can be vicious cycles,” their father said. “I know we’ve already talked about this, but I have to admit that I still have my reservations about you marrying Chase. Are you absolutely sure that this is what you want to do? Do you feel confident of your love for him and his love for you?”

  Melody looked up, meeting his gaze straight on. “Yes, Dad. Chase has always been a gentleman. I do love him and know that he loves me.”

  In only six weeks? Noelle thought peevishly.

  Samuel seemed to take her words at face value. “I’d like to know what your plans are for helping Noelle to come to terms with this.”

  Melody dragged her eyes over to Noelle’s. A new pang hit her and Noelle averted her eyes to hide the pain. “I don’t know what I can do,” she stated honestly. “What’s done is done. I don’t mean to sound so harsh, but Chase and I have to move on with our lives too. We’re planning on transferring out of state as soon as we are married so that Noelle can have some time to figure things out. What else can we do?”

  Stay and face the consequences of your choice, perhaps? Noelle wondered bitterly. To her ears, Melody’s plan sounded awfully like running away from the problem. Not only that, but she didn’t appreciate Melody making her the scapegoat in this mess.

  “You’re not willing to put your engagement off for a little while to help Noelle adjust to this new situation?” Samuel asked.

  A long, drawn-out pause ensued. Finally, Noelle lifted her eyes to behold Melody’s stricken face. She looked like she was going to cry. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, she would have felt sorry for her. “I want to marry Chase,” she stated firmly.

  “I wanted to marry him too,” Noelle muttered under her breath.

  “I’m ready to take this step in my life.” She then addressed Noelle directly. “I’m sorry, Noelle. But surely you can see that this is what we need to do. I hope that someday you’ll understand.” Her tone bordered on patronizing.

  “Thanks,” she said acidly.

  “Girls,” Brenda interrupted sternly. “You live with one another. You’re both going to have to make the best of your situation. And you’ll both need to compromise. I hope by the end of this school year that your relationship won’t be as strained as it is now. In fact, Noelle, you need to resolve your hard feelings toward Melody before she marries Chase. And, Melody, you need to be patient, understanding, and sympathetic toward Noelle. It isn’t going to be easy for her.”

  Samuel cut in. “And, Melody, you need to be sure of Chase’s commitment to you before the two of you make sacred covenants with the Lord in the temple. Your mother and I love both of you and we want you to be happy. Please don’t think we’re taking sides. We’re not trying to. We want you girls to do everything in your power to keep our family intact.”

  Noelle and Melody looked solemnly at one another before nodding their assent. “Mom, Dad,” Melody blurted, “why don’t you come to our apartment and I’ll fix you some dinner before you have to be on your way?”

  “I’d be glad to help you, Melody,” their mother offered. The group climbed back into the car and drove back to the apartment, where they saw Chase standing outside with his arms crossed, leaning against a post. Noelle’s heart tripped as she exited the vehicle. Dreading the encounter, she entertained thoughts of barreling past him with her head down while he and Melody talked—or kissed? Yep. Escape was her only option.

  Chase surprised her, however, by waylaying her parents. “Brother and Sister Jensen, would you mind if I speak privately with Noelle for a few minutes?” His eyes found Melody’s, who gave him an encouraging smile. Then he turned to Noelle. “We need to clear up this misunderstanding, which is something I should have done long before now.” Noelle could only nod in despair.

  “Will five minutes be long enough?” Samuel’s eyes bore into Chase’s.

  Chase swallowed loudly. “Yes, sir.”

  “Very well. And I’ll expect Noelle to be treated kindly.” He waited for Chase to nod before he turned to Noelle. “We’ll be waiting inside for you.”

  Apprehension made its way into Noelle’s being. When her family left her behind, she felt a new kind of tension that came from being alone with Chase, one she didn’t like.

  “What is it?” she asked shortly.

  “I just wanted to tell you that I’m really sorry for misleading you during the last few weeks. I wasn’t sure what to do about my growing feelings for Melody and I felt caught between the two of you. You are so different from her. There are things I love about each of you. But Melody is more of the type of woman I’ve been looking for. Not only is she beautiful and kind but she is very—”

  “Elegant,” Noelle put in.

  Chase gave a long-suffering sigh. “I was going to say refined. And serene. There are a few things you need to do better on, one of them being that you constantly interrupt people, as if everything is about you. Then, of course, your knowledge of the finer points of the gospel is lacking, which was starting to get on my nerves. I’m grateful that Melody came along just in time.”

  “You really think it’s okay to talk to
me this way?” Noelle sputtered.

  Chase clenched his jaw. “Noelle, you’re making this harder than it needs to be. I’m sorry that you didn’t get your ring, but I just couldn’t see myself married to you. Our kids would have driven me crazy with their restless energy had they inherited it from you.”

  She wanted to cry at his words. She bit her lips to steady them. Chase continued in a more conciliatory tone, “I hope that someday you can find it in your heart to forgive me and allow Melody and me to enjoy the happiness we’ve found. And I hope that someday you’ll find that same happiness with a guy that can keep up with you.”

  Heaven help him, whoever he is. She heard the words that he’d left unspoken in her mind. “Thank you,” she croaked.

  He looked concerned. “You’re not going to cry, are you?”

  She joked, “I’ve cried a thousand times since Wednesday. What’s one more time?”

  He looked like he wanted to say something more, but instead he closed his mouth.

  She choked on her tears. “Is it true that you’re changing your major and transferring to another school?”

  “Yes. We’re looking into attending BYU in the fall.”

  She gave him a half-smile. “Good luck with that. I wish you well too. I’ll always remember the fun times we had together.”

  If she’d expected him to reciprocate, then she would have been disappointed. Chase said nothing, probably because the memories they’d made together were already fading amid the newness and flurry of his latest love. Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, Noelle ended the conversation. “Take good care of Melody, Chase. I want her to be happy.”

  “I will,” he answered firmly. “Thanks for understanding.”

  She nodded. What choice did she have but to accept it? Understanding it, now that was harder.

  SIX

  THE NEXT WEEK was brutal for Noelle. It seemed that she was constantly running from one class to the other, so she stayed at the campus library in between classes working on her laptop to complete her homework assignments. When Hannah commented that she was hardly ever home anymore, Noelle just shrugged and let it go, ignoring Melody’s forlorn look from the other side of the room. Okay, so there’d been a few times when she could have run home to grab a sandwich or kick back for a few minutes, but under the circumstances, she felt it was best to keep her distance.

  Saturday night came around and Noelle stood by as her roommates prepped themselves for the institute dance. When they asked her to come with them, she shook her head, standing firm when they needled her. Instead, she stayed home and watched sappy romantic comedies on the television, letting her heart bleed so that eventually it could heal. By the time Sunday came around, she felt physically exhausted.

  Her spirit wasn’t faring much better. Even though she continued to read her scriptures and seek the Lord in prayer, she felt as confused as ever and couldn’t really say that she felt His guiding hand in her life. Getting ready for church seemed to be an ordeal. Noelle didn’t seem to have the energy to do it. Giving up on fixing her hair, she pulled it back into a ponytail and wore a pair of high-heeled boots with a blue sweater and denim skirt. She sat in the chapel by a group of students whom she knew by name only, feeling lonely and forgotten. By whom, exactly, she couldn’t say. Melody, who apparently was making it a Sunday ritual to attend Chase’s ward? Pierce, who had offered a seat next to him last week but whom she had seen no sign of since? The bishop? Or the Lord?

  The sacrament hymn, “God Loved Us, So He Sent His Son” soothed her soul. Noelle partook of the bread and water with a greater desire to discover the Lord’s will for her at this time. With this being fast Sunday, Noelle listened to the testimonies intently. A few were really spiritual with messages of inspiration.

  Wendy Lystrum, a recent convert, stood to bear her testimony. Noelle’s heart was touched as she listened to Wendy’s declaration of her commitment to share the gospel with her family. She hoped that they could someday be an eternal family. The words brought tears to her eyes as she thought of herself being born under the covenant. She and Melody, along with their brothers, Ryan and Blake, were bound by eternal ties.

  At that moment, words from her patriarchal blessing came to Noelle, reminding her that each member of her family was different but they shared a special unity. It further said that Noelle should stay close to her family because their eternal relationships were worth striving for. Noelle felt that this was one of those times when the adversary was trying to weaken those bonds. Silently, Noelle resolved to not allow bitter feelings to creep into her heart. But she knew it wouldn’t be easy.

  My personal Liahona, she recalled suddenly, remembering the words of the blessing her dad had given her. The blessing was being fulfilled after all.

  As she sat pondering this, she felt prompted to attend the temple. Noelle cringed as she remembered Melody’s words about her temple attendance. It hadn’t been good as of late, sporadic at best. She had attended the temple just before Christmas with her entire family after Melody came home from her mission. She loved the sweet spirit that she felt when she went inside. Maybe Noelle could arrange her work schedule to accommodate a temple trip soon.

  Pierce tried hard to keep his focus on the speakers during sacrament meeting, but his mind kept wandering to Noelle. He’d looked for her before the meeting started but hadn’t seen her. Then when Kurt asked him who he was looking for, he replied, “No one,” and left it at that. But he couldn’t seem to stop looking around again, ignoring Kurt’s inquisitive glances.

  Noelle hadn’t come to the institute dance. He knew because he’d seen Jessie and Hannah enter without her and make their way onto the dance floor. They never stayed on the sidelines for long. He’d known there was little chance of Noelle actually attending after she’d told him she wasn’t, but it would have been nice if she had. For her sake, she would need to move past this setback in her life, especially when she felt self-conscious about her new “single” status.

  But then again, Pierce, if anyone, should know how difficult it was to actually do that after something had devastated a family. He wished that he could put his own family back together again, but his mom had been dating someone else for a few months. His older brother, Craig, kept him informed and said that Eric seemed to be a good match for their down-to-earth mom, Sarah. His younger brother, Gage, hadn’t said much about the situation, except to express his concern over their mom potentially getting trapped in another difficult marriage, dealing with stepchildren or other baggage. Pierce hadn’t met the man, so he wasn’t about to form an opinion based on his brothers’ observations. He’d wait to see how it all turned out.

  After church, Pierce ran home to grab a bag of chips and salsa for the monthly Break the Fast gathering. He wasn’t much of a cook and, besides, everyone knew that the sisters in the ward brought the best stuff anyway. He drove to the home of Brother Ingleson, who was the first counselor in the bishopric. He and Sister Ingleson had a large home with enough room to accommodate a small army, which was what Sister Ingleson often said they were. She greeted Pierce with a warm welcome and showed him inside to the kitchen, where he deposited his offerings and left to meet up with the others.

  He looked around the room, recognizing quite a few people. Brianna McCray and Kiersten Jones were conversing with Alec Trevor while it appeared that Ethan Kearney was regaling a small group of students with stories from his mission. Most of his audience was female. Pierce shook his head in annoyance. Why was it that some guys thought they needed to retell everything that happened on their missions to impress people? Chase Dunlop was another one of those guys like Ethan, who seemed to think that his mission outshined everyone else’s. His attempts to always be the center of attention at the two apartments’ get-togethers grated on his nerves.

  Just then, Sister Ingleson rounded the corner and announced that dinner was ready. The room hushed and Brother Ingleson called on someone to offer a blessing on the food. The noise level immediately reverted t
o its former din when the blessing ended and they formed a line leading into the dining area.

  “Hey, Pierce, how are you?” Brianna McCray asked him as she came behind him.

  Pierce turned and met her smile with one of his own. “All right. How about you?”

  Brianna was a friendly girl with curly blonde hair and a heart-shaped face. With her natural good looks and outgoing personality, she never lacked for dates. “I’m doing great. I haven’t seen you around much this semester.”

  “It’s been a tough one for me,” he admitted. “I’m trying to cram the rest of my requirements in to graduate in May. By the time it ends, my brains will be fried,” he said lightly.

  “It will be worth it, though, to finish. I hope it goes well for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  The line moved forward as they chatted about other topics; then Pierce happened to glance up and see Noelle over Brianna’s head quite a ways back in the line. She didn’t appear to be with anyone. Her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail, showing a pair of dangling earrings on her creamy complexion. She definitely looked better than she had last week, though her lips were still downturned and she kept fiddling nervously with the strap on her handbag.

  Brianna snagged Pierce’s attention for the first half of his meal until another guy came up to her and engaged her in conversation. Pierce gulped down the rest of his food and edged away from them. He wandered into the adjoining room where he saw Noelle sitting next to Ethan Kearney, who appeared to be conducting a one-sided conversation as they ate. Noelle’s one-syllable replies, along with the long-suffering look she shot at Pierce when she saw him, convinced him to poach on the other guy’s territory.

  He strode up to them and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Hey, Noelle. I’m glad you’re here. Would you mind coming with me? I need to ask you something.” Inwardly, Pierce winced. Okay, so it wasn’t a great opening, but it was all he could think of at the moment.