Stolen Love (2 page)

She did not really want to get close to him. She only liked him as a friend, but that was enough for Charles.

She went to the movies with him on Thursday, just because Dru was out with Tiffany.

Friday evening Dru talked with Tiffany on the phone. She told him that she was spending the night at Ashley's house since she would be going out of town with Ashley and her parents Saturday morning and that they would be back the next Saturday afternoon.

Dru said, “I will see you in church next Sunday if I don't see you when you get back.”

Dru went into the family room where Charles was, and told him that the girls would be leaving early in the morning with Ashley's parents and that they would be back the following Saturday.

Charles knew he would be leaving that Friday before she came back. Dru said to Charles, “I'll be in my room. I think Mom and Dad have gone to bed.”

Charles said, “I'm going to call Ashley, and then I'm going to bed, too.”

He did not call Ashley. Instead, he decided to go see her. He wanted to say goodbye and let her know he would be back home when she returned with her family.

He took his uncle's truck and parked it up the street from her house then walked back to her house. Afraid to knock on the door, he saw her through the window putting on her shoes.

Her parents were sitting on the couch. She told them she was going to meet Tiffany. Ashley went out the door; starting up the street, she heard something on the side of the house.

She started to run back inside but Charles grabbed her, pulling her to the side of the house. He wanted to talk to her without her parents seeing him.

It was so dark on the side of the house that Ashley could not see who it was. She started hitting and kicking him. He pulled her to the ground to calm her down, but she kept fighting him.

Charles was saying, “Ashley it's me, I need to talk to you,” but she was not listening to him. She was not hearing his voice at all.

She continued kicking and punching him and out of anger . . . he raped her.

Charles could not believe what he had done.

Ashley was crying, he whispered to her, “I'm sorry.” but she did not hear him.

She never knew who he was.

Charles heard Tiffany call out, “Ashley is that you?” Charles ran.

Ashley called out, “Tiffany help me.”

Tiffany ran into the house screaming, “Mr. and Mrs. Richards, help!” She ran back outside with the Richards right behind her.

They took Ashley inside. Her father asked her, “What happened?” She told him that someone grabbed her when she went to meet Tiffany and pulled her to the side of the house and onto the ground.

Tiffany asked Ashley if she knew who it was that grabbed her. Ashley whispered, “No, it was too dark.” Mrs. Richards took her daughter to the bathroom to clean up.

Tiffany picked up the phone to call the police but Mr. Richards took the phone from her and said, “No, Tiff.” Tiffany went into the room with Mrs. Richards and Ashley. Ashley did not want to go to the hospital and did not want to call the police. Tiffany said, “But you were raped, you need to call the police.”

She said to Tiffany, “I can't.” and pleaded to parents, “Please, Mommy, Daddy. No.”

Tiffany just hugged Ashley and Ashley's mother said, “You have to promise us you will never tell anyone, not even your parents.”

Tiffany promised Ashley that she would not tell.

The next morning they went on their trip. Ashley told Tiffany never to tell Charles and Dru what happened.

Charles got up the next morning too afraid to tell his aunt and uncle what he had done. Friday came and Charles was extremely ready to go home.

When Charles got on the train, Dru said, “I will tell Ashley good bye for you.”

Chapter Two

Summer was finally over, Charles and Dru went off to different Law Schools.

Ashley and Tiffany went back to high school. After two months of school, Ashley became sick and discovered that she was pregnant.

Her parents moved away to the next town. They didn't want anyone to know their daughter was having a baby.

Tiffany kept her promise; they didn't see much of each other.

Ashley found out she was having a girl, and she told her parents she wanted to name the baby Marley.

When the baby was born her parents let the adoption agency take the baby away. Ashley never even got to see her baby girl.

Her parents told her “You are going back to school and to college! Forget you ever had a baby.”

Her parents told the agency their daughter got pregnant from a boy that didn't want anything to do with her or the baby. They wanted the baby named Marley.

The Agency knew nothing about the rape.

Ashley finished school; the next year she went off to college to study law, which is where she saw Tiffany again.

She told Tiffany she lost the baby, it hurt her to tell her best friend a lie, but that is what she wanted Tiffany to believe.

Ashley met someone the next summer. He was in medical school, she stayed in touch with him for years.

He was in medical school a lot longer than she was in law school because he was studying to be a plastic surgeon.

The girls graduated from law school and Tiffany went back home and began working in Dru’s father’s law firm.

Ashley went to
Arizona
where she married the doctor.

One year later Dru and Tiffany got married, at the wedding Charles asked Dru, “Do you ever see Ashley?”

Dru told him she left here last year and there was talk that she had a baby.

Dru went on to say, “The child was a girl, she put her up for adoption around two years ago.” Charles started thinking; he knew the baby had to be his.

Since his father was a lawyer, he would know what to do. Charles went to his parents and told them what he had done.

Charles found out Ashley never reported a rape. She did have a baby girl named Marley and the child was placed in a foster home.

Charles told his parents he wanted his daughter, he promised to love and take care of her. He said he loved Ashley, still did, and that he would tell his daughter about her mother. Charles said, “Mom, Dad, please help me get her!”

His parents went with him to the adoption agency, the Roxenbury’s told the agency their son didn't know about the baby. So, a DNA test was conducted.

A few days later, the Roxenbury’s got a call saying the DNA results were back and to be at the adoption agency in the morning.

Before they left the next day, Charles told his parents that if the test said she was not his baby that he wanted to adopt her anyway because she was Ashley’s child. “I love Ashley. I can love anything belonging to her. I will give the baby the same love as if she were mine own.”

His father said, “Let’s go see what happens. It would be nice to have a little girl around here.” and he winked at his son.

His mother said, “A little girl for me, very nice.”

A few hours later they arrived at the agency, a social worker asked them to come into her office. She told them, “The DNA test proved Charles is the father. We got Marley from the foster family and she‘s here.”

The social worker gave Charles the birth certificate to sign. Charles signed his name, and then she said, “Sign here to give Marley Ann a last name.” Charles signed Roxenbury and he started trembling.

The social worker said, “She’s right through those doors, go get your daughter.”

Charles stood up, and then he sat back down. He broke down and started to cry, his mother comforted him. Mr. Roxenbury said to the social worker, “Let’s go get her.”

He told his wife, “I’ll take Marley for a walk. We will be by the car.”

Charles cried telling his mother, “It’s my fault she didn’t want her baby.” And, “It’s because of what I did to her Mom. Marley is her daughter, why she didn’t want her is my entire fault.”

His mother held him, saying, “Maybe her parents didn’t think she was ready for a baby. Don’t say she didn’t want her, she carried her for nine months. She loved what was growing inside of her. It’s not her fault, either. Love her child for her. Teach your baby to love her mother.”

After she calmed her son down, they walked outside.

Marley was walking hand in hand with her grandpa, he lifted her in the air spinning her around, and then he ran around in circles with Marley chasing him.

When grandpa saw his wife and son coming, he told Marley, “That’s your daddy, let’s run to him.”

When grandpa said, “Ready, set, go!” Marley took off running saying, “Daddy.”

Charles reached down and grabbed her, holding tight to his little girl, telling his mother, “She’s mine. She’s Ashley’s baby.

Marley repeated him saying, “Ashley baby.” He continued, telling his mother, “She’s beautiful, my beautiful baby.”

Charles held his daughter all the way home.

The family stopped in town to go shopping for their little girl. They bought bedroom furniture and everything they needed to fix her room at the ranch.

Grandma took Marley shopping for clothes, shoes, and everything she would need.

Grandpa and Charles said, “We will catch you later. We need to shop for her, too.”

A few hours later, she ran into the men coming out of a toy store. While taking everything to the car she asked them, “Did you two buy every doll in the store?” Her husband grinned and said, “Yes we did.” They had lunch and headed home.