That Dark Place

by W. Franklin Lattimore

  Within a minute, he heard someone walk into the room.

  “Mr. Parks. Don’t try to move.” The man, whose voice was deep, walked to the foot of his bed. He was a tall black man donned in a white physician’s coat. “I’m Doctor Evans. Do you know where you are? Give me a thumbs up if you do.”

  Drew lifted his thumb.

  It dawned on Drew that he’d taken a massive blow to the face from the boy who’d come for Elizabeth. Then he woke up in the recovery room. Apparently, a lot had happened between then and now.

  “Good. You’re at Cleveland Clinic Akron General. About an hour and a half ago, you came out of surgery. You had suffered blunt-force trauma to your face that required maxillofacial restorative surgery. Your jaw has been broken. You also suffered broken and shattered bones in and around your sinus cavity. You’re not going to be able to talk for a while, as we’ve had to wire your jaw shut until it heals enough for you to be able to go through therapy to restore proper use. So, it’s going to be a while before you’re talking again. You’ve got a bit of an uphill battle ahead of you.

  “Now that you’re awake, and because you arrived here unconscious, we’re going to transfer you to intensive care. You’ll be spending a couple days there for close monitoring. I’ll look in on you periodically.”

  The man had a rather curt attitude toward him. Drew didn’t have to wonder why. It was likely that he’d killed Elizabeth, and the police were likely at the hospital wanting to charge him.

  He wanted to ask about her. Was she alive? If she was, was she all right?

  “I’ll have an orderly come in to move you shortly.” The doctor turned and walked out of view.

  A tear ran down the right side of his face.

  His life was over.

  SHE WANTED TO be happy about everyone returning to her room, but Elizabeth couldn’t be. She couldn’t look anyone in the eyes.

  “I know that you’ve seen my laptop,” she said softly, wishing she could apologize and just walk away.

  She didn’t see it, but Tara looked at Brent, confused.

  “I’ll tell you about all that a little later,” said the man she deeply hoped still wanted to be her dad.

  “Elizabeth, look at me.”

  She did. Please, don’t throw me away.

  “As far as I’m concerned, we are all guilty of trespasses, both against God and other people. We love you. Just remember that above all else. Okay?”

  She nodded, unable to speak.

  “Another thing. Jamie says that you accepted Jesus last night. Is that true?”

  There was a sudden leap in her spirit. She felt a small smile appear on her face.

  She supposed that the feeling that was bubbling up within her was that “joy” that was so often referred to at church.

  “I did. I couldn’t believe he wanted me.”

  She looked at Jamie. He had a grin on his face.

  Her own smile broadened as a result.

  “Ditto on that,” her dad said.

  “Tritto on that too,” Tara said clumsily. She giggled. “I guess I don’t have the talent for making up words on the spot like you do.”

  “I guess I can be pretty spon-create-taneous.” Elizabeth giggled too, then cringed with the pain. “Guess I shouldn’t laugh.” But she almost couldn’t help it; her family wasn’t condemning her.

  All four shook their heads and laughed.

  There was a quiet moment amongst them. Then Elizabeth said, “Dad?”

  “Yes? I do like hearing you call me that, by the way.”

  She blushed.

  “Joshua said that you and I would come to understand how we were connected throughout our lives. Mostly throughout your life, though.”

  “Joshua?” Brent looked stunned. “You … talked with Joshua.”

  “Yeah. Met him in his boardroom.”

  She chanced a glance at the other three in the room. They were all slack-jawed.

  She heard Jenna turn to her mom and whisper—rather loudly, “Joshua?”

  “You were in his boardroom? You’re not just playing around with information I shared from a long time ago?”

  “Nope. Not kidding. He really told me that.”

  Her dad was smiling. He crossed his arms, feigning a skeptical smile. “Okay, so describe the boardroom. I only gave you a vague idea of what it looked like.”

  “It smelled wonderful. Every time I brushed a flower with my foot, the fragrance was amazing. There were flowers everywhere and they went on forever. No matter where I turned there was no difference. Until I saw Joshua walking toward me.”

  “I’m sold! I’m sold! Your mom never believed me!”

  Her mom punched him in the arm. “I did too!”

  Brent smirked. “She did.” He paused, then said, “We’ll have a lot to talk about.”

  “Yeah,” said softly, her voice trailing off.

  We already have a lot to talk about. I know the embarrassing conversation is coming.

  “I’m sorry.…” came a voice from the entrance to the room. A petite nurse presented a smile that seemed to say I’m sorry for interrupting and I’m glad you’re all happy. “Visiting time is over. You’ll have to resume this tomorrow. This young lady needs her bandages changed and some rest.”

  They all acknowledged the nurse’s request that wasn’t really a request.

  Elizabeth’s family said their goodbyes and exited her room.

  She was thankful that they had chosen not to exit her life as well.

  Tying Things Up with a Bow

  Chapter 84

  D

  rew read the letter again.

  It was unexpected.

  It made no sense that it had been sent.

  It made him wonder.

  Dearest Drew,

  If time has dragged by for me, I’m sure it must be moving slower for you. I asked my dad if he thought it was OK for me to write to you. I told him what I wanted to say. He said that he thought it was, even though my attorney didn’t like the idea.

  These days, I make sure that my parents know what I’m doing and when I’m doing it. It’s safer that way. I also let my attorney read this before sending it. He made me change a few things.

  It’s been three weeks since your preliminary hearing. I appreciate how you told your attorney to let up on me while I was on the stand. Thank you.

  I wanted to let you know a couple of things.

  First, with you pleading guilty, you lifted a huge weight off of me. I’m very thankful for that. I think that the result of the plea bargaining was fair. Regardless of the outcome, you won’t be in prison for a very long time, if my attorney wins the case.

  Second, I want you to know that I forgive you. When I was lying in the bed at your mom’s house, I became a Christian. You might have heard that happen.

  I was an atheist all of my life. I was brought up by two atheists who still want nothing to do with God. My new family, they believe in Him with all of their hearts. It was hard to deal with at first, but now I’m so glad that they just kept loving me and letting me make up my own mind about Him. They just gently showed me more and more about Him. I’m glad for that.

  I know now that He is real. I know that He loves me, regardless of all the mess I got myself into, like with you and me online. I also know that He loves you. He told me that what you were doing to me back then was partially due to the Enemy (the devil and demons) who hate both you and me.

  If God wanted to forgive me—and He did want to forgive me—I can tell you that He wants to forgive you too. Please, let Him, Drew. Just say hello to the God you don’t believe in yet. Ask Him to prove to you that He is real. I really want you to go to Heaven someday. You’re also going to want the peace that He gives. It’s pretty amazing.

  Anyway, I just wanted to say all of that.

  I do care about what you’re going through, and I’m praying for you.

  Elizabeth

&nb
sp; Drew had a lot to consider. Because of what had happened in him and the forgiveness Elizabeth was showing to him, he’d been provided personal proof that his atheism was a sham.

  Do you really exist?

  JENNA WAS LIVING a new life! And now that the initial intimidation was gone, she was able to enjoy everything, from her classes to her roommate to life beyond the campus.

  The Hillsdale College campus itself was beautiful and the residence was suitable. She was in the McIntyre Residence, along with 132 other freshman and sophomore women.

  Now on her own, she was feeling more like a woman than she ever had at home.

  Most of the students—men and women—were Christians, and that made her feel good too. She was already enjoying the faith conversations she was having with Sarah, her “roomie.” She had strawberry-blonde hair like her mom and an insatiable appetite for knowledge, both academically and spiritually.

  The campus was by no means huge—certainly a lot smaller than Liberty University, another school she’d been accepted into—but it suited her. It was slower paced and more relaxed.

  As she walked lightheartedly from the bookstore and crossed through the quadrangle—an open area that was surrounded by buildings, including the bookstore, Central Hall, and the student center—she listened to the sounds of college life: laughter, conversation, and even a little hacky-sack banter. She hadn’t known hacky sack was even still a thing. But it was a lot of fun to watch.

  She heard her name called.

  Jenna smiled even before turning around. It was Sarah.

  “Let’s get lunch! I’m starved!”

  Sarah came up beside Jenna and linked arms with her.

  “Mmm. Good idea. Tacos again? Taco Tuesday!”

  “Uhh … it’s Thursday.”

  “Thaco Thursday, then!”

  They both laughed.

  Life was really looking up!

  TARA, ONCE AGAIN, removed laundry from the dryer. She wasn’t hating it, but it was such a nice day outside. She’d rather be enjoying some natural vitamin-D production in the sunlight than folding clothes. But it had to get done.

  She walked up the stairs and into the dining area. She heard Amy and her friend Brianna giggling loudly as they played in a pile of leaves. It was an unusually warm day for fall, and the girls were going to try to squeeze every minute out of it.

  Up the second staircase she went. She made two consecutive left turns and headed into what was now just Amy’s room. Many of Jenna’s exhibited interests were now gone, replaced with page after page of Amy’s drawings. Her creative side was definitely on full display.

  Walking into the room had yet to become comfortable for Tara. She was missing Jenna daily. But she knew that Jenna was only one state away—“that state up north,” as Brent enjoyed calling it. Based on Jenna’s letters and their phone conversations, she could tell that she was in her element.

  Her new element. Her element too far away.

  Tara sighed and began folding.

  She heard the front door open downstairs.

  “Tara, I’ve got the vittles! Do you want to eat in the living room or wherever you are?”

  Tara grinned. “I’m up here, Karen! Let’s eat on your bed!”

  Karen, as it turned out, was going to be a wonderful temporary replacement for Jenna. The woman loved the whole Lawton tribe and was especially fond of carrying Kyla just about everywhere.

  Life could certainly be a lot worse.

  Tara’s phone rang as Karen entered the room with two bags of hot food. She recognized the Marysville, Ohio phone number—the reformatory for women.

  “Hello?”

  “Tara, it’s Stephanie.”

  “Hi, Stephanie. Good to hear from you.”

  “Good to be heard! So, I’ve got some more Bible questions and a prayer request.”

  On second thought, maybe life could hardly get better.

  Her heart sang!

  BRENT RETURNED TO his office. Lunch had been spent with Tony Morelli from Millsville. The two men had begun making it a habit to grab a meal with each other every other week—when crises didn’t prevent it.

  He saw Officer Townsend across the hall, dutifully filling out a report. Since the day of Elizabeth’s rescue, she’d made it almost routine to ask about how things were going with his second oldest.

  You’re a good cop, Kim. And a good friend to our family.

  Life had gotten back into a regular flow again. Done were the trips to the hospital for physical therapy. Done were the moans and groans of Elizabeth fighting to walk up the stairs to her bedroom. And done were the fears of pornographic dalliances taking place in that room.

  Elizabeth had come clean about everything to him and Tara. She gave the two of them permission to search her computer anytime they wanted. And they’d done it, once each, to purposely place it in Elizabeth’s mind that they were going to help her guard her heart and mind. It also didn’t hurt for her to know that there was a chance that additional unannounced inspections would occur.

  Elizabeth and Brent finally had their sit-down conversation about all things Joshua. They’d experienced relationship with him that probably few others alive had ever experienced.

  Joshua was proven right—of course he had been!—that Brent and Elizabeth would be able to recognize the four connections that he shared with her and the two that she shared with him. It was Elizabeth who identified the biggest of the connections.

  It was easy for her to identify his dreamlike experiences in Kentucky as one of them and just as easy to see the incident at the grocery store when they met as the second. But as they sat across from each other one afternoon, enjoying a meal at Fazoli’s, that clever girl told him that she knew the other two.

  “You’re going to kick yourself for not seeing them,” she’d said.

  “I hope not. I’ve done enough self-kicking over the past several weeks.”

  “Your dreams—the nightmares—you had as a kid … blue pants, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “Could they represent police uniform pants?”

  He thought that through. “Okay. Maybe.”

  “And the white pants?”

  “I have never owned any white pants.”

  “No, but Jamie does.”

  Brent had sat there, mute for several seconds, as the realization struck home. It made so much sense!

  “I see where you’re going,” he’d said. “But I wasn’t a police officer in uniform pants when I was fifteen.”

  “No, but you told me that, during one of your experiences with Joshua in Kentucky, he’d said that he had purposely been closing all the doors that you’d been trying to walk through for a job. Didn’t he say he had a purpose for you that was going to fulfill you?”

  Clarity. And he could remember Joshua’s words precisely:

  “Your job frustrations are going to eventually lead you into a career that is going to be more fulfilling and more challenging than you can possibly imagine. I have a purpose for you in that career that you were created for. I will block certain employment choices of yours in order to get you to where I want you to be and where you want to be.”

  Tears formed in his eyes as he looked at Elizabeth. “He blocked every other employment choice so that I—so that we—could be here for you. He needed me to be a cop … for you.”

  Now tears began to escape Elizabeth’s eyes as well. She said, “And Joshua needed Jamie to be a karate student.”

  Brent looked down at his empty plate. Just like in my dreams, Jamie, in his white pants, was able to literally dive after Elizabeth and rescue her. He did what I was unable to do when I was twenty-five. He saved her.

  “You figured all that out on your own?” he asked with amazement.

  “Yeah, well … I am pretty wisdomatic.”

  He laughed. “You certainly are!”

  Brent suddenly had a flashback. His smile began to falter as h
e lowered his eyes from hers.

  He saved her.

  He saved her life.

  “Dad?” Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed with concern. “What is it?”

  It took a moment or two, but he locked eyes with Elizabeth’s again.

  “I just remembered something that Joshua said to me—something that never came close to making sense.”

  He paused, trying to take in the immensity of it.

  “For years, I watched out for it, but apparently, I finally gave up—to the point that I forgot about it completely.”

  Elizabeth took his next pause as an opportunity to speak. “So, what he said makes sense now? What did he say?”

  “Elizabeth, Joshua’s last words to me that day in his boardroom were, ‘Her death will save a life.’”

  “Her death? Whose death?”

  “My mamaw’s … your great-grandmother’s.”

  Elizabeth didn’t say a word in response.

  Brent had to take a moment to thread those words together with the events of the past few weeks.

  “Elizabeth, when I was in Kentucky, dealing with the loss of my mamaw, I couldn’t see how her death would amount to anything other than people’s pain. But…” He choked up, then cleared his throat. “But … if it hadn’t been for the way that she died—if it hadn’t been for the period in my life in which she died—I would have never had that three-day experience in which I tried to rescue you. I mean the other you.”

  Elizabeth’s lips parted a little, in obvious wonder.

  “And if it had not been for that experience, I would never have been able to identify you at the supermarket as you sat crying in that aisle.”

  Elizabeth picked up from there. “And if you hadn’t recognized me … I may never have ended up in your—in our home.”

  Tears lifted into her eyes. “Wow.”

  Brent began to smile. “Yeah. Wow.”

  After a moment, a playful look returned to Elizabeth’s eyes. “You know, for a guy who is shorter and less handsome than you, Joshua sure is big.”