Sage's POV
After Alex left to meet with his lawyer friend, I was left alone in the apartment, I had basically nothing to do and personally I didn't have the strength to do anything.
I had my bath and just sat down on my bed thinking, I had seen myself earlier on in the bathroom mirror and I looked nothing like the Sage I knew, I was a shadow of my former self.
I was too broken to even care anymore, I suddenly heard the door open and I assumed Alex was back but he left not too long ago.
I decided to get up and see for myself, because I had asked him to lock me in, that way I'd feel safe.
I walked outside my room and into the living room to find Anna sitting there with a baby in my her arms, he was blabbing and saying incoherent things.
I guess this was her son, the one she bore for Tony, she looked up from him and smiled at me.
She was a very beautiful and remarkable woman and she looked even more attractive with her child in her arms.
"Sorry for busting up on you, I know Alex isn't home and plus I have a spare key to his place so I thought I'd check up on you, I can leave if you're not comfortable having me around" she rushed out.
"No don't leave, I'd appreciate the company" I squeaked out stopping her, she just smiled at me and went back to arranging her son.
"Is he yours"? I asked her pointing at the baby, she looked up at me and smiled.
"Yes, his name is Rhys" she said with so much love in her eyes, I yearned for that.
The love she was having, I yearned for it a lot, I wanted to be loved and I wanted to love.
I just stood there awkwardly until she patted the space close to her asking me to sit with her, I walked gently to her and sat with her.
She asked if I wanted to hold him, at first I refused because I was still skeptical about human contact but she assured me it was okay so I agreed.
He looked so cute, he had the eyes of his father but he looked like his mom in a lot of ways, he has her blonde hair, his was a shade darker, he had her lips and he just kept looking at me strangely.
I didn't know when a tear dropped from my eyes, if only my life wasn't such a mess, I wanted this too, a child of my own, a happy and loving family.
She put her hands on my laps and started consoling me, I gave him back to her and walked into my bathroom to wash my face, I hated feeling weak and helpless, especially in front of people.
I came back and saw she had laid him on the couch, he wasn't sleeping but he was just playing with his toys and blabbing stuff
"You know it's okay to cry" she told me after I sat with her, she went ahead to tell me a lot of things and even the time she tried to take her life after Alex left.
She told me she was pregnant then and she didn't even care if she hurt her baby, she told me of how Tony had helped her see things the right way.
She was indeed a strong woman, tho our situations were different but still, she held on strong.
She also told me of how she had to testify against the man that kidnapped her and forced Tony to have sex with her, she assured me that if I wanted peace then I had to put Dante where he belonged and I had to get justice for myself.
I got to see her for how nice and kind she is, she wasn't a snob or even judgemental, she just wanted me to open up to someone, even if it wasn't going to be her.
She talked a lot of sense into me, making me see that I still had hope at a life even if not a normal one but I could at least try to live to the best of my capabilities.
She was almost like Aisha but she was straightforward, not minding if some of her words were unfiltered and might bother me.
She didn't walk on eggshells around me like everybody else, she treated me like everything was normal because she said she understood how I was feeling now since she was in my shoes about a year ago.
By the time she left I had decided I was going to meet with the lawyer and get this case done and over with, although I still don't think I could testify physically against Dante in court because i wasn't ready to face him yet but I was ready to provide every information they needed to put him behind bars, even if it meant talking about all the horrible things he did to me.
Alex came back a few hours later, and I informed him of my decision, he was shocked at first but he agreed to set up the meeting between his lawyer and I.
I asked him to be present during the meeting because I still wasn't comfortable around people a lot and I felt more at ease with Alex around.
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The meeting was to be held today at Alex's condo, I wasn't comfortable going out, so they made it so that the lawyer would come here.
They said the first trial against Dante would commence in two days time so they had less time on their hands than expected.
I've been out of the hospital a week and three days, the therapist Alex hired had come on two occasions but I didn't say anything to her, I wasn't ready to really open up to her yet and personally I didn't think I would.
She had asked me a few questions and I only answered what I could and just gave her silence the rest of the time, I was currently sitting on the couch with Alex beside me, the lawyer was on his way.
I was fucking nervous and I didn't even bother to hide it because I didn't really care. Alex still hadn't made any physical contact with me since that day, I hadn't really warmed up to the idea of him touching me.
"You okay? We can cancel if you don't wanna do this" Alex asked me looking at me with concern
"I'm fine, let's get it over with" I whispered out, although I was ready to talk but I still had problems communicating very well, it would take time for me to go back to normal, that is if I ever went back to being normal.
The doorbell rang indicating he was here, my palms were sweaty but I put them on my laps to keep my legs from bouncing up and down.
Alex opened the door and a tall young guy walked in, he was wearing a suit, he had well built body and his hair was not the regular dark hair, it was strawberry blonde, he had a striking hazel eyes that was sharp it could pierce through any soul.
He walked in after greeting Alex, he went over to the couch close to the one I was sitting in and sat down, he brought a suitcase with him.
"You must be Sage? It's a pleasure to finally meet you, I'm Chris" he said to me but he didn't ask for a handshake, I guess Alex must have told him I wasn't doing well with physical contact.
I just gave him a nod and a smile "the pleasure is all mine" I whispered out, these days most of my words were always in a whisper.
Alex sat close to me so he was in between the Chris guy and I but not enough to obstruct either of our views.
Chris took out a journal from his suitcase and a pen "I understand you might not feel comfortable answering some questions so I'll try to be considerate in some, and if by chance I ask you any questions you feel uncomfortable with, do let me know" he said calmly making me nod at him
My eyes involuntarily moved to Alex and he was already staring at me "Are you ready"? Chris asked and I heaved a sigh still looking at Alex.
This was it, he was going to find out a lot about me, he was going to see all the baggage I carry with me, I closed my eyes and nodded.
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Alex's POV
Chris finally arrived after a few hours of waiting, when she had told me she was ready, I thought she was bluffing and would change her mind the minute he arrived but she was determined.
Whatever happened two days ago to make her want to do this, I was really proud of her and I would show her how proud of her I was.
Initially I had wanted to give her privacy with Chris during the meeting but she requested I be there, I know she wasn't comfortable with being alone with anyone at the moment so I respected her wish and stayed home.
I would stay with her no matter what, I let her down before and I was not ready to let her down again, I wasn't going to leave her side for anything
Sage doesn't know it but she is one strong woman and I admire her a lot for that, mom had wanted to come see her but I told her no, I wasn't sure she was ready to meet anyone just yet.
I was surprised she didn't freak out the day Anna came, maybe because she'd met Anna before now.
I sat down close to her, I know I couldn't touch her just yet even though I craved to hold her in my arms so bad, I wanted to hug her and tell her everything was going to be fine but since that day in the hospital that she had asked me not to touch her I had resolved to not do anything that'll push her farther away from me.
She still smelt the same, like Strawberry and coconut, and that alone intoxicated me in ways I couldn't describe.
She looked beautiful even though she was broken, I saw past all that and saw her beauty.
Chris asked if she was ready and I found her looking at me, there were doubts in her eyes, I know most of the things she was about to reveal were personal and bad experiences, ones she didn't want me to know about just yet.
I wanted to assure her that no matter what she said here today, it wouldn't change how I feel about her, instead it'll only make me love her more.
She was strong and that alone was reason enough to love her.
She closed her eyes and nodded, giving Chris the go ahead to begin.
I hope she doesn't shut me out after this meeting because I noticed that was her defense mechanism, to bottle up her feelings without letting anyone in.
I was ready to help her through it, should she just let me.
I love everything about her and nothing was ever going to change that.
Awwww
From here on out things will be emotional for our dear Sage and Alex