Reasons to Live | ✔

Chapter 43-

Chapter 43-

"I'm sorry...but what?" I exclaimed in shock as I took off my barista clothes as I made my way to the changing room, preparing to leave. I pulled the scrunchy off my hair that was holding a short amount of long hair back, making a reminder in my head that I needed a haircut soon.

I pressed my phone closer to my ears, knowing clearly that I heard wrong.

I had to be.

"Life in prison with no chance of parole is what I said," Mrs.James repeated proudly and excitedly repeated on the other line of the phone. 

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

A part of me was...elastic but another part of me was in denial.

Shock.

So many other emotion was running towards my mind and I didn't know how to even express it.

"Life in prison?" I repeated, shocked by what was going into my head right now.

My rapists are getting life in prison. 

Life in prison. 

No parole.

They were off the streets for goods.

I don't need to feel...confined or trapped anymore by their existence. 

I actually didn't even know what to say to that in general. 

I never thought that my rapists would be caught. 

I never even thought that I would have lived this long to even find them and put them into jail. 

And it all happened so fast without me even taking it in all the way. 

It was just a few months ago that Mrs.Taylor took my case after hearing it from Paul which heard it from my dad.

And here we are.

Given, Paul still kept in touch of me but..there was no emotional romantic lingering from neither of us anymore.

"Yes, Reina. With no parole. They are both going to serve life in prison. I know this is a lot to take in, I can only imagine but...yes they are," I can hear her excitement at the other end of the phone, squealing happily.

Me?

I'm not sure what to think.

A part of me was still in shock.

A part of me had been beating myself up the past few weeks for chickening out and running away instead of standing in court and facing them. But every time I did, it was another panicking breakdown ready to spring forward.

One can say that I did technically since I did a video recording of myself confessing.

But...

It wasn't the same.

It was such a weird dilemma that I don't know if anyone can understand.

I wanted to talk to someone about it but I couldn't.

Especially not Calvin.

But it didn't help that Calvin had been a bit suspicious of my change in mood these last few weeks as well. I would smoothly lie and say it's because of high school graduation coming up soon but...he could see right through me.

It didn't make it any better that he started to notice I was wearing long sleeves again when I went to sleep for the handful of time he slept over instead of short sleeves to show my healing cuts.