Lucky Penny [h.s.]

26.

"Yes." I nodded as I took my bag, picking out the envelope that I had found in my mailbox a few hours earlier, "Got it this morning."

Amanda took it from me, her manicured fingers opening the envelope once more and picking out the paper. She hummed as she glanced over it, "Oh, he's got Miles Dickson as his lawyer? Tough cookie." She muttered and I sighed, "So I've heard."

"Nothing I can't handle, though." She shot me a reassuring smile and continued reading.

My eyes darted over her form, seeing bright red lipstick that complimented her equally red dress and equally red nails. Her hair was nearly white, the same colour as Katie's. It was cut in a sharp bob, and she overall looked extremely professional. Like a power woman. I felt comfortable here immediately.

"Okay, court date's in a little over two weeks. October 8th I see here, gives us some time... Okay, judge Hellerman handles this case, that's good. He's old, but definitely not traditional. Women's rights are very high on his priority list and he's done lots of cases like this with a good outcome."

I nodded as Amanda seemed to be talking more to herself.

October 8th was a Friday, giving us two and a half weeks until then, starting today.

Nick closed the heavy office doors behind him, sitting down next to me in the second seat as he put the two coffees on the desk. I thankfully smiled at him.

"Okay," Amanda spoke, putting the letter down, "I've gotten some information from officer Mullin through the weekend, but I'm going to be honest... I haven't had the time to read everything over. Why don't you tell your story to both me and Nick?"

I nodded, "Um. Okay. So, I dated Patrick for nearly eight years. We met in high school when we were fifteen, and were together ever since. A lot changed in the past few years, with us graduating, going to work, moving out on our own and everything..."

"You two live together?" Amanda slightly interrupted me and I quickly shook my head no, "No. He lives with a roommate and I live in a rented house with two of my friends."

"Alright, continue." She nodded.

"Basically, what prompted me to go to the police, was that I feared for my life two weeks ago. A week before that, we had a fight and he pushed me into a mirror. I fell down, a cut in my arm from the glass." I gripped my arm with my other hand, where the cut had been. "I broke up with him then, saying that I'd had enough. It was always little pushes and shoves, and he yelled a lot. But that time I was truly injured, more than just a bruise or a scrap. And I snapped out of it and decided to break it off."

Amanda nodded and had a deep frown in her forehead. I sighed, "Um, so a week later he was suddenly in my house. We hadn't been in contact since breaking up. I got out of the shower and he was sitting on my bed, going through my phone. He denied our break-up, telling me that I was still his girlfriend. I told him no, he then saw that I got a message from another guy, who is a friend. He freaked out, pushed me against the wall. He – um," My throat went dry, "touched me." I anxiously flicked my eyes down to my own lap as I took a brief pause, inhaling a deep breath.

"Take your time." Amanda murmured and I nodded, feeling understood here in this office. I took a few seconds, "I managed to push him off, but he then slapped me. H-He wore rings," I brought my fingertips up to my jaw, "and it bruised my jaw and split my lip. My head flew into the wall and cut the skin. I ran away from him, he got a hold of my shirt and ripped it. He then got a hold of my arm at the top of the stairs, and by trying to get away from him, I fell down the stairs."

I noticed Nick's eyes lingering on my legs, where the two bruises were still visible, "Is that from him or from falling down the stairs?" He asked, pointing to them. I lowered my eyes to see the bruises, "Falling down the stairs."