by Sara Hess
“You just looked kind of sad. Are you worried about the court appointment this afternoon?”
Ford, Evan, and I were scheduled to talk to a judge today about the incident on campus a few weeks ago, as well as all the crap leading up to it. These last couple weeks since Ford had been arrested and kicked off campus had made a huge difference for me around the university. All the guys who had made a nuisance of themselves before were making a wide berth around me now.
The last two weeks would be what I considered perfect; no assholes…Evan in my life…more friends than I could count on one hand…if only I knew it would last. Unfortunately, fortune and hope were never my friends.
I shook my head and picked at my rice and vegetable plate. “Evan’s lawyers say there’s nothing to worry about; Ford is definitely gone from campus for good, and that with the testimony from all you guys, plus some of Ford’s friends who flipped because they were scared of being arrested and sued, he will probably get convicted of slander and sexual stalking.”
“Those guys who were part of it should have gotten arrested as well, and not just kicked off campus.” Sam declared angrily. “They were basically a crew of sexual predators. I here the Fraternity is under some pretty heavy scrutiny because of everything they did to you. They all had to know what he was doing; it should just be burned to the ground. Fraking House of Assholes.” She stabbed at her pasta dish.
David patted her shoulder reassuringly. “Calm down Sammy Sizzle; they will get there due.”
Sam muttered something under her breath continuing to look irate. It looked like I wasn’t the only one that was high-strung today. Her mom must still be on her case.
Eyebrows raised at her overt anger, David turned to me. “What about Evan? Is he going to be pardoned for smashing Ford’s face in?”
I sighed. “He says he’s not worried.” But I couldn’t shake the worry. I didn’t want him going away from this with a record. I didn’t want to be a bad memory.
“I can go with you if you want me to…for moral support?” David offered.
Carrie and Sam jumped in and said they could too and a real smile spread across my mouth. “Thank you, but since you would have to sit outside the chambers your support will be just as affective from here.”
“We could bring signs reading ‘Down with Ford’ and picket in front of the court house. It would be fun.” Sam smiled gleefully.
David looked equally interested in that idea. “We could paste a picture of Fords head on a poster with a hammer coming down on his head.”
“Or a guillotine.” Carrie broke in.
“Wait…wait…wait…” Sam waved her arms, eyes bright. “A guillotine and his penis.” All three of us grimaced, David especially. Sam frowned. “Too much?”
David put his fingers close together. “Just a smidge over the Lorena Bobbitt line.”
They were being so supportive and it lifted my spirits. “If it somehow doesn’t get settled today, then I will get back to you on all those super ideas.” I pushed my food away unable to finish it with all the butterflies in my stomach. “I should head out. I have to go change before Evan comes to pick me up at one-thirty.”
They all stood and gave me a hug for good luck. I rode my bike back to the apartment and after an express shower I exchanged my jeans and sweatshirt for black dress slacks and a green silky v-neck top. I fixed my hair into a more restrained bun and added some light make-up. I put on some small gold hoop earrings and the gold necklace with a green pendant David had given me last Friday. He said it was for our years of friendship.
I’d almost choked on the emotion and tears that had wanted to flood my throat and eyes. David and I had given each other gifts before, but they’d been for birthdays and Christmas, and mostly revolved around technology and had been inexpensive because I hadn’t had a lot of money until recently. I’d told him off once when he’d tried giving me an old laptop early on in our friendship. He knew I didn’t feel comfortable taking expensive gifts when I could barely rub two nickels together.
This time he’d been so adamant about me accepting the necklace, looking so earnest, that I’d given in. I told him I’d cherish it, and even hugged him, which had tears filling his eyes. That of course had me chiding him switching our tears to laughter.
When Evan saw the necklace he’d frowned like he was displeased about it, but he hadn’t said anything. The next day when he’d come over he’d brought me some earrings to match it. I’d stared at them in confused astonishment for a few moments because I could see they were really expensive, and getting gifts wasn’t something I was accustomed to, but then reality hit me and I handed them back telling him I couldn’t accept them.
He’d scowled and asked why and I’d told him the earrings were too expensive a gift to be giving to someone he’d only been going out with for a month, and that I wouldn’t be uncomfortable taking them. He’d tried using his negotiating tricks to get me to change my mind but I’d ignored him and wouldn’t talk to him until he shut up about it. He hadn’t looked happy about it but he let it go, and that night he’d been extra demanding in bed, wringing four tortuous orgasms out of me before bellowing and pounding out his own. I thought the issue had been resolved.
It was a few days after that Evan had started to work late. Coincidence? All I knew was that I didn’t want a pair of earrings to remind me of what I lost when Evan finally walked away. The shirts he’d given me were already messing with my head. I knew I was going to have to get rid of those as well when the split eventually happened. Going to work for Nic was out of the question too.
The only way I would survive is if I never saw Evan again and erased everything of him from my life.
I stared at my tense features in the mirror. I dreaded Evan leaving, but waiting for it was giving me an ulcer.
A knock on the door had me taking a deep breath. Expelling it I strode to the door plastering on a bogus smile as I opened it. “Hey.”
Evan immediately wrapped me up in his arms. “Damn, I missed you. How are you doing?”
My body melted instinctively into his and I found myself breathing him in like he’d been gone weeks. My eyes stung with impending tears but I blinked them away. Had he really missed me or was he being polite and supportive for what we were about to deal with?
God, I hated questioning everything.
“I’m doing fine, but I’m sure I’ll be better after this is over.” I wasn’t certain I was referring to this thing with Ford or Evan. “Is Dan okay that you have to miss more work again?” This was another thing that was raising my anxiety; cause Evan to miss so much work. First his arrest, then the Dean’s meeting, and now this.
My gut was one painful twisted knot from everything that was going on.
Pulling back he leaned down and brushed his lips over my cheek. “He’s absolutely okay with it. He wants this guy to go down almost as much as you and I.”
My pulse thundered crazily as Evan’s lips left a trail of fire over my skin and I closed my eyes when his mouth settled over mine. I drank hungrily from him before we separated, breathing heavily.
“Damn girl, you’re about to make the rocket in my pants go off.” His hot amber gaze skimmed my face and a half smile pulled up the corner of his mouth.
My lips tilted up. I’d missed his one-liners. “Well, I’d better step back then. I don’t want to catch on fire.” I stepped away to grab my coat.
As I lock the door his hands caressed my hips. “I’ll work on stoking that fire later.”
I couldn’t control the quiver that coursed through me. He wasn’t sounding like he was bored with me.
Evan drove us downtown to the courthouse and after he parked we walked together into the building.
“Just to give you a small heads up…my mother is going to be here today.”
I slowed in shock and dread. “Your mother?! Oh god, she probably hates me for putting you in trouble?”
His hand squeezed mine as he pulled me forward. “You didn’t put
me in trouble and she doesn’t hate you. She’s proud that I stepped in to help you. She’s looking forward to meeting you.” He grinned down at me.
Yeah, right. She might be proud he was being a good son, but she was going to be eyeing me with extra hard scrutiny thinking…this girl has trouble written all over her.
And how many other girls had she met? The woman was also probably thinking; god, not another one.
As we walked down the hall I spotted a tall, well dressed, extremely beautiful woman with a vague resemblance to Evan stand from a bench and smile at us. I tried really hard to not squeeze Evan’s hand to death. The closer we got the more gorgeous she became. Her gaze flickered over me in curiosity but I could see her sole focus was Evan.
She held out her arms with a smile. “Evan baby, it’s been forever.”
Evan released my hand to embrace her. “Mom, let’s try not to throw around the word ‘baby’ in front of my girlfriend.”
She smiled at me as she hugged Evan. “I’m sure her parent’s still think of her as their baby.”
My smile froze on my lips, and then I jumped in surprise when Evan let go of his mother abruptly and folded me back in his embrace.
His mother’s eyebrows rose at his abrupt departure and she eyed us both. “Did I say something wrong?”
Evan shook his head. “No mom. It’s just that…” He looked down at me.
I took pity on him. “I don’t have parents.”
Her brows rose higher and then an expression of compassion crossed her face. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
Another face smile adorned my mouth. “How could you, and its fine.” I hope I didn’t have to go into details because this didn’t seem like the best place and time to unload my crap past.
She wrung her hands and seemed to look to Evan for support.
He reached out and took her hand. “It’s fine, mom. Shaw, this is my mom, Jasmine. Mom, this is Shaw.” Surprisingly, Evan looked faintly nervous. What was he nervous about?
Jasmine and I held out our hands and voiced simultaneously, “Nice to meet you.”
Her smile seemed subdued as she studied me…the girl who got her son into this mess. “Evan told me you were the one to get all that material on my ex-husband. I thought Evan was smart, but acquiring that information…” She shook her head in bemusement, but she also looked uncomfortable that I knew her business. “I have no idea how you got it, but thank you. It was a very sweet thing to do for someone you don’t know.”
I hadn’t expected Evan to tell his mom what I did, and I could tell she wasn’t overjoyed that I knew the intimate details of her marriage. “Uh, sure. No problem.”
“So, you and Evan work together, right?” Her head tilted inquisitively and her eyes flicked up and down my frame. I shifted nervously at her inspection.
“No mom,” Evan answered for me. “Shaw was only doing us a favor that one time.” He smiled at me. “Shaw’s a genius on a computer. She’s friends and roommates with Carrie, Nic’s girlfriend.”
My chest warmed at Evan’s compliment. Any praise from him elicited the same reaction. I was a dry well that soaked them up. It just illustrated how pathetic and needy I was.
Jasmine’s gaze flickered from Evan to me. “Two genius’s…” She murmured.
My skin went hotter under her scrutiny.
Thankfully, Evan disrupted her examination. “Our lawyers just came in so let’s go get this showboat on the river.” He tugged us both down the hall with him.
The next second we were face to face with three men aging from thirty to sixty wearing expensive suits and carrying briefcases. They all gave Evan a smile of respect. They gave Jasmine huge smiles of admiration. They smiled at me with what appeared like calculation. They were probably pricing my clothes, and I could see in their eyes that if it came to throwing me or Evan under the bus, it would be me.
I was actually okay with that, but screw them anyway.
Introductions were made and then they were directing us to follow them. We took the elevator up to the third floor where we were conducted into a large room with a huge oval table. At the table sat several other people…among them Ford.
I think he was trying to burn me with his eyes, but I stared back impassively biting back the mocking kiss I wanted to toss his way just to goad him.
“Don’t do it.” Evan whispered in my ear.
I looked up at him in confusion. “Don’t do what?”
He raised one brow and smirked. “Something is going on in that head of yours, and while I would love to see you cut him down to size, let’s not do it here.”
How in the hell did he know I was thinking of doing something? I wrinkled my nose at him for being a fuss pot and he grinned and flicked it. I saw his mom staring at us with wide eyes and I looked away in embarrassment. It was weird having her watch us.
Crap, he better not kiss me in front of her.
We seated ourselves around the table and then all the lawyers started discussing terms, and charges, and other lawyer shit that was over my head with the guy at the head of the table in robes. I was asked to give a summary of my account. It wasn’t my greatest joy replaying everything Ford had done, but with the testimony of my friends, his friends who’d turned on him in hopes of not getting charged themselves, the three people who witnessed him grab and threaten me, as well as the video and audio of Ford’s rant in the police car, the charges against Ford for assault, slander, and sexual stalking were filed and processed without a lot of objections. The charges were serious and I was feeling pretty damn vindicated when his face turned green with shock and dismay as he was given two years probation.
It wasn’t jail time, but he had a record now.
Then they moved on to Ford’s charges against Evan, and it didn’t appear to be as cut and dried as Evan had assured me. They were saying that Evan used excessive force on Ford by continuing to hit him when he was already down.
Ford’s complexion was losing its green and was turning smug, and it was pissing me off and making me sick to my stomach. I didn’t want Evan leaving here with any charges against him, and even though misdemeanor charges weren’t that serious, this was my shit fest and I should be the only one penalized. It seemed my bad luck was seeping out to him.
Evan wasn’t showing any emotion so I couldn’t tell if he was worried or not, but his mom was looking how my stomach felt…sick.
The lawyers disputed back and forth for what seemed like forever, and I was rubbing my belly because the knot in it was killing me, when the mediator…judge…whatever, finally concluded that Evan’s actions against Ford, while excessive, were reasonable due to the years of Ford’s continued harassment and hostile actions toward me.
The judge gave Ford a severe look. “You were advised to stop your harassment of Miss. O’Conner by Mr. Michaels attorneys once and you didn’t. If you are caught bothering her again I will consider that your third strike and you will be seeing jail time.”
Ford and his father blanched.
The judge turned to Evan. “Mr. Michaels, you should have stopped hitting Mr. Rainwright when he was down. While I’m not filing the misdemeanor charges I am going to have you pay Mr. Rainwright’s medical bills. All it could have taken was one off placed punch and you could have been arrested for manslaughter. I can’t count how many times I’ve had to send someone to prison for a fight that went wrong.”
I breathed a sigh of relief but my stomach was still knotted painfully. That was too close.
We were there a little while longer for paperwork and then I breathed another sigh of relief when we stepped out of the building.
“Thank the Lord that’s over.” Jasmine hugged Evan. “I can’t believe it took so long for the judge to render you innocent, and I can’t believe he’s making you pay that boy’s medical bills.” My stomach cramped at that notion. “He should be paying Shaw for the years of abuse he put her through.”
I wasn’t going to let Evan pay Ford’s medical bills when all this
was my fault. I didn’t know how much his medical bills were but I had a little over six thousand in my savings. If it was more than that I could make payments. Suing Ford was a thought, but those things took time, and there were lawyer fees involved, and then I’d have to deal with Ford all over again. He deserved it, but I would have to reflect hard about that.
“Evan won’t have to pay Ford’s medical bills. I’ll pay it.” I announced. That six thousand in the bank filled a fissure in my soul that growing up dirt poor had hollowed out, but Evan was more important.
They both twisted to look at me with differing frowns.
“No you’re not.” Evan stated.
“Yes I am.” I countered, rubbing at my knotted stomach.
“No. You. Are. Not.” He stepped up close to me, amber eyes blazing.
“Don’t tell me what I can’t do.” I poked him in the chest. “This was my problem. You may have butted in, but you are not bearing any of the consequences. I’m paying Ford’s medical bills and there’s nothing you can say about it.”
His eyebrows arrowed down. “Yeah, there actually is; I could not take your money.”
I laughed darkly. “If I want to give you money there’s nothing you can do about it. I can do it anytime, anywhere.”
His eyes narrowed. “Are you seriously telling me you’d hack my account?”
“I’m not saying anything that could incriminate me, but I think we understand each other.” I mocked.
Irritation covered his face. “Dammit Shaw. I made the decision to punch Ford. You had no part of that. When I did it I was willing to accept the consequences.”
I shook my head. Why would he want to? This relationship wasn’t a lasting one so why should he waste his money on me?
God, I couldn’t handle anymore today. My emotions were all over the place; the restlessness of not knowing when my time with him was up, on top of all this Ford crap, and feeling like my bad luck was spreading to people around me. I was a bad fucking coin.
“Okay you two.” Jasmine moved up next to us. “Today has been a trying day, and emotions are high, so maybe you should shelve this discussion for another time. There are other options; you could split the cost, or I could…”