sweet dreams | atz

PART 30

I never would have thought to see myself in prison. I wasn't the nicest kid when I was younger, but I wasn't the meanest either. That inner anger doesn't run in the family, it's just sorta there. Almost as if you could never get rid of it, that it's stuck with you from birth to death.

"Ms. Jung, are you listening?" asks my attorney. "Hm? Oh yes. Sorry, I was just thinking." I reply. "Thinking about your daughter, Rose?" she pierces her lips together, which made her look guilty of asking.

I nod before replying. "Yes, I miss her a lot. I wish I could see her again. She should know her mother is safe and that nobody is going to hurt me. I just want to hug her." I sniffle.

"It's ok to cry. I used to have a son Rose's age. But my husband had commitment issues. So my now, ex husband, left me and took my son. I haven't seen him in a year or so. He was the sweetest thing. His name is Braxton." she smiles.

I place my hand over hers and hold it. "I know what it feels like to lose a child. I lost my first one due to," I clear my throat, "difficulties with the medications I was on. I miss him everyday. I never got to hold him." I tear up. Hearing Ailee's story and her opening up to me proved to me that I could trust her.

"Do you want a coffee or donut before we get started?" Ailee asks. I shake my head. "I don't really drink coffee. But a water would be appreciated." I give her a smile. She smiles back at me. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." She says as she closes the door. "I kind of can't leave anyway." I whisper.

I tried standing up. Balancing myself, I walk around the room a little. I had a few days to come up with evidence to prove I was innocent. So Ailee and I are in her apartment with documents, pictures, anything that can prove I'm innocent, even though I'm not.

I look at the photos of Ailee and a little boy, who I assumed was Braxton. Braxton wasn't any taller than Rose. He had light brown eyes and a very bright smile.

I noticed something a little off about Ailee in the picture. I looked closer. I saw a man with a knife and a camera. I was so shocked, I almost dropped the picture and broke it.

I heard Ailee coming back so I rushed to my seat. As she walked in, I smiled. "You have a very nice apartment. I like the plants and the scenery. It's beautiful." I say taking the cup of water. I look at it. It looked like it was cracked and then glued back together.

I gather up my thoughts as we began looking through documents. Maybe Ailee suffered depression because of her husband. Maybe that's why he took Braxton. What if Ailee left him, so he made false accusations to get custody of Braxton because he didn't want Ailee saying anything? It all made sense. Ailee wasn't the psychopath, it was her husband. He was the one who took the picture. He must have been the one who broke the coffee mug in a fight with Ailee.

"So, where would you like to-"
"What was your husband's name again?"
"Calum. Calum Richardson. Why do you ask?"
"That name sounds quite familiar. Did he work at 1 Million Dance Studio?" I ask. Ailee nods. "Yes. But how would you know that? He was a private dancer. Nobody ever saw him unless the janitors saw him at night practicing." Ailee tilts her head a little. "I was a private dancer too. Him and I became quite close and ended up becoming friends. But when he got married, which I am assuming was to you, he left the academy for good and never came back. He hadn't collected his things or anything. Calum's items are still there, I do believe." I fiddle with my ring before taking a drink of water while locking eye contact with Ailee.

"That is true. But how did you find out so much in less than 2 minutes with so little information?" Ailee asks. "My mom was a cop. She taught me how to do it. We would always go for rides in her patrol car and get ice cream."

Ailee just stares at me. "I have another question before we start." I say. She nods. "Did Calum abuse or threaten you and Braxton? I was looking at the picture of you and Braxton and noticed that in your eyes, there wasn't just fear, but a man standing with a knife and the camera..." I shiver just thinking about the horrible things Ailee went through.

"No. Cajun would never do such a thing. I left for work one day and when i returned home, all of Braxton's dressers were cleaned out and so were Calum and I's closet. He had taken everything out of our bank account and left without letting me see Braxton. I have trauma from that day still." Ailee starts crying. I walk over to her and try to hug her. She pushes me away. "I think I need to be alone right now. I'll call an officer to come get you. We will finish tomorrow." Ailee dries her tears as she leaves the room.

"Either you open up about your abusive relationship or I will." I threaten. "No. I am not doing that to Calum." She rejects my idea. "Calum is a manipulative and abusive asshole. He shouldn't have taken Braxton and you shouldn't have let him either. A mother should never be separated from her child." I could feel my blood boiling. "You were separated from Rose." Ailee points at me. "That's because of a different reason. My fiance wasn't abusive or manipulating. It's my fault I'm in here, not his. So don't drag him into this." I shoot back.

"Listen, I don't know who the fuck you are thinking you can come into my life and start making orders. I am not telling anyone what happened a year ago. That's behind me. Don't bring it up again or I will kill you and we both will be in prison. Maybe even cell mates." Ailee gets in my face.

"Fine. But we have 5 days before we go to court to prove my innocence. That's 5 days you can women up and come out about Calum." I threaten.

"I already told you. I'm not coming out and that's final." Ailee argues. "If you were a good mother, you'd do it for Braxton." I say as the officer that was outside waiting took me away. I look up and see a slight shock on her face from my choice of words. I just shrugged it off and walked.