Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
Two days later…
Rawlins got a call from Hank Patterson after breakfast and he excused himself as Chaney was loading the dishwasher. He went to his room to take the call.
“Sorry. We were cleaning up breakfast dishes,” he explained. “What news do you have for me?”
“Good. I hope. I spoke with Hannah Collins, the director at The Village and it looks like they need a security system put in place in their living facility,” Hank explained. “You’re going to head that up. I’ve ordered it and Swede and two more of the Montana protectors are coming down to help you install it. Once it is up and running, you will train one of her staff members to operate it so that when you’re no longer around they’ll still be functional.”
“This sounds like the Brotherhood Protectors are footing the bill for this project,” Rawlins said.
“We are. It’s part of our philanthropic program. Thank you for making me aware of The Village and their need. It’s a worthy project in Colorado,” Hank said. “I’ll be out of touch in the next few weeks in Washington, DC on some business, but if you need me, don’t hesitate to reach out.”
“Okay. Thanks,” Rawlins said. “Anything else I should know?”
“I’m sure you’ve spoken with Rafferty about what’s going on with him?” Hanks said.
“Not exactly. I had to hear from Chaney about the break-in at Liberty and Justus’ place when Justus called Chaney to apologize, but still no word from Rafferty.” Rawlins heard the disdain in his own voice at his twin’s silence. “He’s never gone this long without reaching out. I suppose I could call him, but at this point I feel he should do it.”
Hank chuckled. “I’m not getting into this brotherly squabble if that’s what’s going on. I’ll let the two of you work it out.”
“I don’t think that’s it,” Rawlins argued. “Just not sure why he’s being silent, unless he thinks no contact is best to keep Chaney safe?” Rawlins said.
“Maybe.”
“I’ll work it out,” Rawlins said. “Give him a few more days.”
“The equipment will arrive next week, but Hannah said there’s no reason you can’t report in at The Village when Chaney starts today,” Hank said. “I’ll ring off now.”
“Thanks for the in with the shelter,” Rawlins said. “Enjoy your time in DC.”
Chaney tidied her bedroom and got ready for her first day of work. She chose blue jeans; her tennis shoes and a jewel tone pullover with a collar that Hannah said to wear until she could get her own supply of The Village t-shirts that the volunteers wore. She French braided her hair in twin braids, then she returned to the living room to find Rawlins waiting for her. She was surprised to see him wearing his Brotherhood Protector gear.
Dressed in black boots, cargo pants, utility belt, and snug fitting black T-shirt that showed off his muscles, he was obviously ready to go to work. But where?
“Why are you dressed like that?” she asked.
“Hank Patterson called to inform me that I’ll be working at The Village in a security position,” he said. “The Brotherhood Protectors are installing a security system to the living quarters for them, but it won’t arrive until next week. Until then I’ll be doing whatever the director needs me to do while you are volunteering. I hope that won’t be a problem for you?”
“No. Not at all,” she said, her heart skipping a beat. She liked the idea that she’d be getting to see him while at The Village. “I’d been wondering what you’d be doing with your time while I volunteered. This works out perfectly.”
“Good. Let’s go. I’m eager to drive my new wheels.”
Chaney smiled, tucked her cellphone in her jeans’ pocket and followed him out the door, locking up behind her.
They drove to The Village. The ride was a dream. The car’s seat hugged her body like a glove, and she relaxed as Rawlins maneuvered the streets across town.
“Is it driving as smooth as if feels?” she asked.
“More than smooth,” he said. “It’s like velvet. And the steering suspension turns on a dime.”
Chaney sighed. “I can’t wait to have my own car someday.”
“What kind do you want?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it recently,” she said. “In high school I wanted a Mustang. But living in Colorado I might want something more practical, that will travel in all kinds of weather. A jeep or something all-wheel drive.”
“This is,” he said. “It might look sporty, but I looked it up and it is classified as an all-wheel drive vehicle.”
“Sweet,” she said.
By the time they reached downtown Colorado Springs, Rawlins pulled over on a side street and they got out to pick up lunch at a deli to take with them.
“I should have thought to pack a lunch,” Chaney apologized when they got back in the car. “I don’t know where my head was at this morning.”
“I’m sure you were nervous about your first day,” he said. “I didn’t think either. It only crossed my mind when I saw that fast food billboard and it got me thinking about what we were going to do. Did Hannah mention where the volunteers and staff eat?”
Chaney shrugged. “Maybe the staff eats on site?”
“They might, but if they don’t, we’ll at least be prepared.”
They rode in silence the rest of the way and when they got there, the staff was breaking up from a meeting.
Hannah and another woman named Lydia met them and introduced themselves. “Perfect timing,” Hannah greeted. “Tomorrow you should report at eight like everyone else, but I wanted you here at ten today because of the meeting. Let’s get you both set up in the system. Staff swipes in with coded badges.”
She led them down the hall to a room with a computer system that was connected to a camera and a special printer. “We’ll just snap photos of you. It won’t take but a moment to process these. If you’ll stand back against the wall there.”
They did as she instructed, smiling, while she snapped their pictures. A few seconds later their name badges with photo identification printed out and she gave them each a clip-on badge.
“Chaney, you will be shadowing Lydia today. She will show you what you will be doing. Rawlins, you’ll come with me, please.”
“I see you brought lunch. Let me show you the staff break room first,” Lydia said. “Then we’ll go to our first session. I run a teen support group at ten fifteen. We never know who will show up. But all are welcome to share.”
They walked down the hallway to a nice size room with a small kitchen area with refrigerator, sink, counter, upper and lower cupboards. A round table with six chairs sat in the center of the room and on the far wall was a sofa. A television hung from a bracket on the wall.
Chaney opened the refrigerator and found a place for the bag on the bottom shelf and put it there. Then she followed Lydia back down the hall to another room where there was a circle of chairs set up. A counter along the wall held refreshments for the session. Bottles of water in a plastic tub of ice, a bowl of apples and oranges, as well as a platter with individually wrapped granola bars.
“Help yourself to a bottle of water if you like,” Lydia said. “Or a piece of fruit. We try to make sure these teens get a balance meal any way we can.”
Chaney nodded. “Thank you, but we ate before we came this morning.” She took a seat beside Lydia.
Two girls came in and helped themselves to items from the counter before taking a seat in the circle. Next a girl and a guy a few years older than her entered. They looked like they had been arguing and she didn’t appear to want to be anywhere near the guy, but he sat beside her in the circle anyway.
A minute later two more boys came in and then another girl before Lydia began talking.
“Welcome everyone to today’s session. I’d like to introduce Chaney. She’s new to The Village. You’ll be seeing her around, say hi if you get the chance,” Lydia said. “Let’s take a few moments to go around the circle and introduce yourselves. We’ll start here on my right with Tiffany.”
The red-haired girls smiled. “I’m Tiffany.”
The blonde girl next to her said, “I’m Amber.”
On the other side of her was a Vietnamese girl. “I’m Lin.”
“Josie.”
The boy beside her grunted. “He’s Roger,” Josie said.
“I’m Mike.”
“Jonah,” the last boy said.”
“Thank you,” Lydia said. I’m glad you could make it today. As always, feel free to get up during the meeting for water or a snack. We want you to feel comfortable. And please, respect each other when someone is talking.”
There was a brief pause. “Does anyone want to start?” Lydia asked. “Tell us how you’ve been? Has anything good happened? Hopefully, nothing bad since we last met.”
“What about Chaney?” the possessive guy asked. He’d been staring daggers at her since he caught her watching him as he entered. “What brings her here?”
Chaney smiled. “Thank you for asking why I’m here. I was recommended to volunteer at The Village because I’m interested in studying social work before I change my major in college. My counselor thought this would be a good place to start. To see if working with others is really a good fit for me.” She paused and took a breath, not daring to falter and looking from one side to the next in the circle as she spoke. “I want to make the change because I was abducted, and human trafficked back at the beginning of the summer. Luckily, I was found before I was sold off or molested. But I know so many young people aren’t who find themselves in similar situations. I really hope I can be a help to someone else now or in the future because of my experience. I will leave if any feels I am intruding on your space.”
“No, stay,” several of the girls said at once.
“Thank you for sharing your story,” Lydia said. “Hannah had shared your past with me.”
“Are you sure you’re not here just trying to make yourself feel better?” the guy said, slouching in his chair, with his legs sprawled out wide.
“Roger, sit up and show the others respect,” Lydia said. “You know the session rules. And as far as Chaney being in the session, Hannah assigned her to shadow me today. That is why she is here. If you don’t like it, you can walk yourself right on out the door.”
He sat up, cocked his head to the side, before he sauntered toward the door, where he stopped, looking back at the young girl he’d been sitting beside. He snapped his fingers at her, but she didn’t budge.
“Josie.”
She didn’t look at him, only shook her head.
“Leave, Roger,” Lydia commanded, pointing toward the door for emphasis.
He stalked out, slamming the door.
When he was gone, Josie, finally glanced over her shoulder and heaved a sigh. Lydia crossed the circle and sat down beside her, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay. You’re strong. You can stand on your own and you don’t have to do what he wants.”
Josie nodded.
“That’s right,” Amber and Tiffany piped up.
“We’re here for you,” Amber said.
“I worry about when he finds me alone,” Josie said. “He can be so manipulative.”
“Realizing that is the biggest hurdle,” Lydia said.
Chaney looked over at the Mike and Jonah who remained quiet, not offering Josie any support and she wondered why? Were they afraid of Roger? She could see why if they were. Roger had an air of cockiness about him that would make anyone with low self-esteem feel weak. While Chaney wasn’t judging the boys, she didn’t know anything about them, either. Other than they had a scared look in their eyes. Had Roger threatened them?
Wasn’t The Village supposed to be a safe space for these teens? And yet, it looked like there was a bully within the shelter. And she empathized with Josie. The girl was clearly in this support group seeking help and Roger may have followed her here because he couldn’t allow her to be out of his control.
This was exactly the type of situation she longed to work with. It was like her own, but still different. While she felt controlled by her parents, she at least was able to get away from them, unlike Josie who couldn’t shake Roger. This seemed to be more of a domestic violence situation in her opinion and she wasn’t even trained to deal with such cases. All she could do was offer support and talk to Josie if she wanted outside of the session and if she had permission to do so.
“Okay, let’s talk about this,” Lydia said. “It’s obvious Roger is harassing Josie. Is he doing it to anyone else in the shelter? If so, don’t be afraid to speak up.”
The two boys nodded.
“I see,” Lydia said. “We have a no tolerance policy for this behavior. He’ll have to leave.”
“No.” Josie cried, clenching the tail of her shirt and twisting it. “He has nowhere to go. He can’t help himself. He was mistreated growing up. He doesn’t know how else to act.”
“Even so, he can’t treat others this way,” Lydia said. “I’ll have to talk to Hannah about this and see what the other counselors say.”
That seemed to appease Josie and she relaxed, releasing her shirt.
The session continued with the teens talking about themselves and answering Lydia’s questions. Chaney listened.
When the session ended, they all stood, joined hands, and Lydia said a small prayer of guidance until they met again. After the teens left the room, Lydia smiled at Chaney. “Not all sessions are as heavy as this one. Roger is a handful. Always has been. I knew he came from an abusive background. I could tell by the way he leaned in on Josie, but I didn’t realize he was bullying the boys here as well.”
“I got the sense something was up with them when they didn’t jump in to offer support to Josie like the girls,” Chaney said.
“I picked up on that too,” Lydia said.
They left the room and went down the hallway to an office. “You can wait in here while I go have a chat with Hannah,” Lydia said. She opened a filing cabinet and pulled out booklets. “Here are a few manuals new volunteers are asked to read. One is on our facilities and procedures. The other is about helpful tips and guidelines when dealing with different topics we encounter here at the shelter. You can study these while I’m gone.”
“Okay. Thank you,” Chaney said.
Chaney had finished reading the facility and procedures booklet and was starting on the guidelines and helpful tips when Josie dashed in, closing the door and leaning against it, breathing hard, eyes wide, with terror on her face.
“Is Lydia not here?” she gasped.
“No. She went to see Hannah. I’m sure she’ll be back soon,” Chaney replied, trepidation inching up her spine. Something was going on. She could feel it.
“Do you mind if I wait?” Josie pleaded. “Roger is looking for me and he wouldn’t dare come in here.”
“Sure.” Chaney focused on her breathing and considered what she would do if Roger were to burst through the closed office door.
“What are you reading?” Josie came to sit in one of the chairs beside Chaney.
“Guidelines to follow when dealing with situations here at the shelter,” Chaney explained. “Most of it is common sense and practical knowledge, but good reminders to treat people with respect as well.”
Josie nodded. “Were you scared when you were abducted?”
“I was, but I was with my best-friend and that made it a little easier knowing I wasn’t alone,” Chaney said. “We were at least there together. But I wouldn’t want anyone to go through it. We were lucky to have gotten away without anything bad happening to us. The nightmares, and mental scares aside, we are very lucky.”
“Sometimes I wish I could get away from Roger,” Josie shared. “But then he has a good day where he’ll be sweet and kind and I want to forget the bad, but it never lasts.”
“And it won’t,” Chaney warned. “That is the vicious cycle of domestic violence. You have heard of that, haven’t you? It doesn’t only happen to adults. It can happen in teen relationships, because as you said Roger has only known violence in his life. He only knows how to act by the way he has been treated.”
Tears welled up in Josie’s eyes and she slowly nodded. “I-I know. But he isn’t a bad person, really, he isn’t.”
“It’s good that you care about him,” Chaney said. “He needs a friend that does, but you don’t have to be his punching bag either.”
“He’s never hurt me like that,” Josie was quick to point out.
“Maybe not, but there will come a breaking point when his temper gets the best of him, and he’ll lash out. Do you really want to be there when he does?”
Josie shook her head.
“I didn’t think you would,” Chaney said.
The office door opened, and Lydia came in. “I thought I heard voices. Josie, is Roger bothering you again?”
“He was hunting for me, and I knew he wouldn’t come in here,” she said.
“Don’t worry, Tom is going to go find him and have a talk with him.” Lydia sat down at her desk. “Chaney, it’s almost lunch time. You take Josie down to the staff break room and get your lunch and then she can show you the cafeteria. You can eat with her today. A staff member will be there shortly but stay with her until that happens. I’ll come to find you later. And you don’t have to worry about Roger, he’s in a therapy session.”
“Okay.”
Chaney and Josie left Lydia’s office and went to retrieve her lunch before going to the cafeteria. Josie got her plate, and they found a table for two to sit at for privacy. They chatted about girl stuff and Chaney got to know Josie a little better. She told her about Justus, how they met at college and how her parents didn’t want her to see her anymore, and how hard that was.
“Are they controlling like Roger?” Josie asked.
“Very perceptive of you,” Chaney said. “Yes, they are. I’m sure they mean well, but it is stifling.”
“I’d give anything if my parents cared even half that much,” Josie said.
Chaney thought about that for a moment. Did her parents care? It was hard to tell. She couldn’t remember the last time they told her they loved her or tried to let her know she meant something to them.
But she got what Josie was saying. After all the girl was in a youth shelter. Chaney had parents who at least were in her life. For that she should be grateful, and she was, even if they were too busy to give her the time of day.
Chaney closed her sandwich container and finished her bottle of sparkling ice flavored water as Josie finished her lunch. The staff member that Lydia had promised would come meet them hadn’t arrived yet. Chaney didn’t know how long Roger was going to be in the therapy session but sitting here in the open seemed like an obvious location for him to find them.
Josie glanced around the cafeteria looking nervous. “Would you want to go for a walk? Maybe I can show you around the facility?”
“That sounds nice. I haven’t seen much of it so far,” Chaney said.
They quickly disposed of the trash and left the cafeteria to go outside, and Josie gave her a tour. “Those two buildings over there are the living quarters. One for the girls and one for the boys. It started out as one, but the population grew and two years ago a donor gave enough money to fund the second building. The girls got that one.”
“You’ve been here that long?” Chaney asked.
“Yeah. Sad, isn’t it?” Josie said. “I’m hoping to start taking classes to get my GED soon. I can’t take the test until I turn seventeen, but I want to be ready when that day comes.”
As they crossed the grassy quad that met the cement basketball court, Roger came out of a building. Seeing them, he ran towards them before they could retreat. “Josie. Josie, I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“Go away. I don’t want to see you,” she said, stepping back.
“Come on, don’t be like that.” He reached for her hand, but she pulled away.
“You heard her, Roger, leave her alone,” Chaney said, stepping in front of Josie to block his access to her.
“Mind your own business, bitch,” Roger snapped, coming to stand nearly nose to nose with her. “Or I’ll smear the pavement with your face. You got that?”
“I’m not scared of you,” she shot back, catching a glimpse of Josie running toward one of the buildings, hopefully to find help.
“Oh yeah?” Roger yelled, stepping in to tower over her. “You better get out of the way, or I’ll move you.”
“Go right ahead if you think you are man enough,” Chaney challenged. She was not going to back down from this punk.
He stared at her for several moments then grunted when she didn’t budge and instead, stepped away. “Looks like Josie ran scared. Don’t you worry. I’ll find her. She won’t always be by your side.”
“You lay a finger on her and you’ll regret it,” Chaney warned.
“No, you’ll be the one who regrets it, bitch!” Roger sneered, sticking his finger in her face and then he ran off.
Chaney shoved her hands in her pockets to keep them from trembling and breathed deeply through her nose to steady herself just as Josie ran back and flung her arms around her. A grim-faced Hannah was with her.
“You have to be the bravest person I’ve ever met. I can’t believe you stood up to him like that,” the girl said against her shoulder.
“Are you okay, Chaney?” Hannah asked, joining them. “Josie found me coming out the side door. I caught the last of what Roger said to you.”
Chaney slowly nodded, hoping her legs wouldn’t buckle beneath her. “I’ll be fine. He was trying to get Josie to go with him, but I wasn’t going to let him.”
“Olivia was right about you,” Hannah said. “You have a strong character. You’ll make a good social worker. I think you should come with me back to my office for the rest of the afternoon. Josie, go to the girls’ dorm and stay until evening meal. Roger can’t get at you there.”
“Okay, if you think that’s best,” Josie said. “Thank you again, Chaney.”
“You’re welcome.” Chaney followed Hannah to her office and sat before her desk. “Have I done something wrong?” she asked.
“Absolutely not. I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. I wanted to give you a place to collect yourself after that encounter with Roger,” Hannah said. “Do I need to call for Rawlins?”
“I’m okay,” Chaney assured her. “There’s no need to bother him, especially if he’s busy…”
“While I applaud you for what you did, I do want to caution you from making this a habit. You are only a volunteer here. Not a counselor, Chaney,” Hannah said. “Even our counselors try not to antagonize the teens by getting in their faces that way. They talk to them as Lydia had Tom do with Roger. And he provided Roger with another counseling session.”
“But did that work?” Chaney asked. “As soon as Roger had the opportunity, he was right back trying to get at Josie again.”
“I understand what you are saying,” Hannah replied. “Unfortunately, Roger has a temper. And even though he has been cautioned and we’ve warned him that he’ll have to leave if his behavior doesn’t improve, Josie begs us to be understanding with him. Believe me, we have tried. And if it wasn’t for the fact that I fear what might happen to him on the streets if we were to turn him away, I really don’t think we can continue to tolerate him under these conditions.”
Chaney nodded.
“He’s putting Josie as well as the other residents at risk.” Hannah looked down at her hands and took a deep breath. “In the six weeks he’s been with us, we’ve exhausted our resources. Before I came outside, I had just had a conversation with a director at another facility and I think I finally found him an all-male program that will work better for him. They can focus on cases like his where we can’t here.”
“That is wonderful,” Chaney said. “Maybe once he gets the help that he needs he can focus his time on finding a job that is right for him.”
Hannah nodded. “Jobs are hard to come by when you are homeless, even using the youth shelters address puts up a red flag with employers. They want to know why you are here and not with your parents. For Roger, that just sets him off when questioned.”
“It’s a downhill spiral. A losing battle,” Chaney guessed.
“Exactly.”
“Josie said she wants to study for the GED. What about Roger? Would that help him find a better paying job if he put his mind to it? Maybe even go to a community college to further his studies?”
“If he’d buckle down and work toward it,” Hannah said. “Our counselors have talked to him about it, but he isn’t interested. However, that could change once he goes to this other program.”
“What about focusing on skilled labor instead? Electrician? Plumber? Construction? The work force needs day labor as much as they need white collar workers. Perhaps that is where Roger would fit in better,” Chaney suggested.
“I’ll make a suggestion to Tom to bring that subject up to him and see if anything sparks an interest,” Hannah said. “Perhaps if he can focus on that when he goes to the other facility it will give him a good start.”
A knock at her door interrupted them, “Come in,” she called.
The door swung open, and Rawlins stepped inside. “Rawlins, what can I do for you?” Hannah asked.
“Sorry to intrude, but someone just told me that Chaney was in a confrontation with a resident,” he said, his features tight with concern.
“She was, but there is nothing to worry about. She held her own,” Hannah explained.
He knelt before Chaney. “What were you thinking?”
“That Roger was going to hurt Josie. You wouldn’t have stood for it and neither did I,” she said.
“But he could have hurt you,” he protested, his face flushed, and a muscle twitched in his jaw. “Really hurt you.”
Chaney heard the emotion in his words and saw the concern in his eyes. Despite his clear displeasure over what she’d done, she was thrilled. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t be acting this way. That meant he had to like her. He had to more than like her. He had to really like her.
Inside, her heart was doing flip flops at the prospect because she really liked him. Instead, she tried to keep her head about her and pointed out the obvious about what happened.
“Roger is all blow to someone who will stand up to him,” Chaney said. “He might hurt Josie because she cares about him and is afraid of losing him, but not me. I don’t give a fig about him, and he knows it.”
Rawlins chuckled at her response, then stood, and turned back to look at the director. “I received a text from Hank Patterson. The equipment he ordered has been shipped. It should be here in a few days as well as the guys who will be installing it. This is much sooner than originally anticipated.”
“That is wonderful,” Hannah said. “I can’t tell you how grateful the shelter board and I are that the Brotherhood Protectors have taken an interest in our group to provide us with a security system to keep our residents safe.”
“Hank believes in the work you are doing here at The Village. The fact that Chaney became a volunteer here made him realize the shelter might need some help. He wanted to contribute,” Rawlins said. “He had a vision for the Brotherhood Protectors and the organization has grown exponentially since it started. I haven’t known him long, but I value his opinion.”
Hannah nodded. “Are you finished with the task I gave you?”
“I have.”
“Then the two of you can go home for the day. We’ll see you bright and early in the morning,” she said.
“Should Chaney be worried about Roger?” Rawlins asked before they left.
“No,” Hannah said. “As I just informed Chaney, we’ve found another program for Roger and hope to have him moved to there in a day or two.”
As they headed to the car, all Chaney could think about was what a challenging first at the shelter. She wondered what tomorrow would be like.