A Liberated Decision - COMPLETED!

Chapter 38

Ashley had made it through the preliminary court meeting just fine with a lawyer that had been assigned to her. She had been a bucket of nerves, but Stan had surprised her by bringing Molly in as her counselor and character witness. That had helped to calm her down a lot. The counselor definitely knew the right words to say to put Ash at ease.

The preliminary had proved that they were going to trial for everything. Ashley had expected this. It was not clear as to what her punishment would be or if there'd be enough evidence to truly convict her. Her lawyer was pulling out all the stops as he tried to get her off on a deal after she had told them where to find her journal that documented all of Trent's dirty deeds and what she had went through.

Her lawyer had made it clear that he wasn't sure if he could get her off without having a little jail time, but he was going to try the hardest he could to bring in the evidence to get her the least amount of time possible. The judge seemed hard, but also seemed just. She had a chance. That was all that she could ask for.

Her lawyer had made it clear that the murder charges would most likely be dropped and that a self-defense plea would definitely be taken into consideration. He had enough evidence to prove that Ashley had been trying to better her life and trying to get out of everything. It might be enough to say that she had been forced to do everything and that her life had been threatened, forcing her to do everything without a choice. If that were the case and the judge bit it, she could get off without doing any time. No matter what happened, she'd still have quite a bit parole and community service tied to her name. At least she wouldn't be in prison.

Dom and Liv had sat behind her during the preliminary. They had wanted to know what was going to happen to her just as much as she did. The extra support was nice. It had helped to ease Ashley's nerves as well. She had felt Dom's hand on her back when she had to stand to hear what the Judge had to say and when her next trial date would be. It had been warm and a reminder that she wasn't alone. Not anymore. Not ever.

After the Judge had announced that they had a week to prepare for trial, Stan brought her back to Tom's. He had to get to work so he couldn't stay, but having him around for a little while definitely had helped to calm her nerves about what the future held in store. She knew that Dom and Liv would be over soon to see if she was alright, and to just stay with her for awhile. It was nice having them both around, but she also enjoyed seeing them separately. She didn't like giving up the time to spend with Dom alone, but Liv had that feminine presence that she had lacked for so long.

Ashley came inside the home, gently pressing the heavy door shut on her way through the threshold. She reached for a small bag of cat food by the door and poured it into a small, gray bowl. The water next to the food was good still. She'd add some more in it later. She still hadn't seen the mystery cat, although it obviously had to be around. Maybe it was just shy.

Ashley sighed and pushed her shoes off before heading to the living room. Her nerves were finally unbunching. She made a mental note to ask Dom for a shoulder rub to help ease the knots out of her. It would help her sleep later.

"How was court?"

Ashley jumped and swung around in a heartbeat. A blue-eyed blonde sat in a chair and watched her. His eyes were piercing and his black button up shirt nicely pressed. He had suit pants on and a pretty boy look that left behind a chilliness that could probably only be broken by family or someone close to him. A scar was hidden near his eyebrow and another at the top of his neck, right under his jaw. It proved that he wasn't the type to back down from a scuffle.

Ashley swallowed as she eyed him up. There was only one person this could be. Only one that could have such a demanding presence. "Miko..."

"Glad we don't need introductions, Ashley." He said calmly. His eyes didn't peel away from her's. "Care to have a seat? We have some things that need to be talked about."