Fall Into Me (Into Me Series Book Three)

Chapter Twenty One - Mislead

Jet's POV

"Girlfriend, if you eat any more Tums today, you're gonna give yourself a kidney stone," Halle tells me, straightening her blazer in the mirror.
I swallow the chalky texture in my mouth and chug some water, "I know, but I can't shake this nauseous feeling whenever Jackson isn't around. Anxiety is a fucking bitch."
"Are you sure it's just anxiety?" she asks, turning to face me and leaning against the bathroom sink.
"Yeah," I nod, "What else would it be?"
"Gastroparesis? Pregnancy? Cancer?" she offers, shrugging.
"Cancer?!" I snap, eyes widening. "Why the fuck would you say that to me?!"
"I also said you could be pregnant," she counters, holding her hands up innocently.
"But we know that I'm not," I reply.
"True..." she mutters.

"Hey," Jenna calls from the door, poking her head through. "They're about to call court back to order and end the recess."
"Oh, okay, thank you!" I smile at the paralegal as she disappears from the door.
"All I'm saying is that you should at least get checked out because nausea for this long isn't good and you're losing way too much weight way too quickly," Halle continues.
I shove my phone and the bottle of Tums back into my purse, putting the strap on my shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. Come on," I urge, nodding my head toward the door.

I push open the door to the women's bathroom, my heels clacking on the linoleum floor of the courthouse. Halle's quickened steps behind me reverb off of the walls.

"Hey! We were talking!" she calls after me.
"I'm aware," I reply, rolling my eyes and keeping my quick pace.
"Jet, you can't take care of other people if you don't take care of yourself first," she reasons, catching up to walk beside me.
"You sound like Jackson, Brian, Avi, and Evans right now," I insinuate.
"Maybe because we're all right and you're bad at listening," she quips.
"No one tells me what to do," I shrug.
"You are an incredibly frustrating person," Halle determines.
"Oh, just figured that out, did you?" I wonder sarcastically.
"You're such an ass sometimes," she huffs.
"Indeed," I hum. "Indeed."

We step back into the courtroom and return to our seats behind Larry and our client, Ivy. Much to my dismay, I'm called to the stand. We go through the usual motions. The bailiff swears me in. Larry asks me my credentials and I rattle off the list. He asks me my education and background, to which I answer. Finally, he asks me to explain my role in the case.

Once all of the formalities are taken care of, I find myself relaxing back into my chair. I glance over to the jury, who stare at Larry as he lectures to the room. My eyes jump to the rapist. He smiles back at me eerily. I shift uncomfortably under his gaze, averting my eyes so I'm looking at Ivy. She sits with her hands on the table in front of her, her gaze cast downward as she refuses to look at anything. This pulls at my heartstrings. I just want to hug her and tell her that everything is going to be alright.

"Mrs. Hart, did your assessment of the survivor show evidence of sexual assault?" Larry asks.
"Yes. The injuries that were present, along with the blood test results and samples, all confirmed sexual assault," I state in a definitive tone. I try to slow my bouncing legs.
Breathe. Just breathe. You got this.
"Was there any evidence that the sexual assault was consented to?" he wonders.
"No. The survivor had many defensive wounds that indicated a struggle, meaning she fought her attacker," I answer. I glance over to her. Her eyes are on mine. "The injuries sustained in the vaginal and anal canals were those of sheer force. If it was consensual and willing, the survivor's body would have created fluids to lubricate. This would have prevented tearing."

Ivy grimaces at this, looking back down at her hands. I can remember how much pain she was in. I can remember all of the blood. I can remember struggling to get blood samples because she was shaking so hard. I can remember her begging for a sedative, to knock her out so she didn't have to remember it. I can remember her screams.