Chapter Twenty-Five…
It appeared the blonde woman had only been a messenger, because the crisp woman sat in front of me now was much more like how I’d pictured a solicitor.
Her brown hair was pulled back into a tight bun and there was no fringe or loose ends in her face, which was clad with a minimal amount of make-up.
Her outfit was a pencil skirt and blouse, which unlike the blonde’s, came just below her knee. The shiny black mid-heels completed the image and I could gather she was very professional when it came to her job.
“I have come to inform you that the drug test will be taking place tomorrow.” She told my mum, practically blanking my presence altogether. He voice was formal and held no emotion. It was like she was reciting a prepared script.
My eyes widened slightly, but I tried to keep the frown off my face. It had only been a week since my mum had promised to stay off the drugs, but would she have really managed it? Has she not touched them once since she gave me her word? I didn’t know. I honestly didn’t.
In the last week, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Lydia had gloated about her date nearly all the time I was at work and so I knew it had gone really well for them so far. I was as pleased as I could be and hoped that they lasted a long time, hopefully then the excitement factor would wear off. As much as I was happy for them, her adoration for Matt was getting a bit excessive.
I hadn’t spoken to Arthur again, and he hadn’t sent any other solicitors, until now. We had sorted out our own lawyer, one that the government provided us with. It was a requirement that we had one, so we had to settle for the free one.
My mum’s reaction was one similar to mine, and that worried me further. She would know whether or not she’d managed to keep off the drugs and that should mean she had nothing to fear. The fact she appeared nervous made me nervous in turn.
“All you need to do is go to the hospital between the hours of nine and three tomorrow and they’ll know who you are.” She briefed my mother.
My mum nodded, now trying to keep the anxiety off her face. “I understand.”
“Your daughter needs to have her speech prepared for next Saturday, that is when the court case will be held. I’m sure your lawyer can outline the details of what she should put into it.” She told my mum, still completely ignoring me.
“I am here you know.” I muttered, rolling my eyes. Just because I was a teenager, it didn’t mean I didn’t understand what was going on. This was more about me than my mother in the long run anyway.
The solicitor obviously caught my negative comment and sent me a frosty glare. I just blanked her, like she had been doing me so far. “Mr. Sledhill and I will see you on the day, and probably not before.” She stood up then and dismissed herself, much like the blonde woman had done.
I scowled. Even though the blonde woman had been ridiculously fake and annoying, at least she hadn’t ignored me. This woman was just plain awful and I really hoped I didn’t have to see again, full stop.
When she had left, I turned to my mum. “We should be fine then. As long as you haven’t touched anything since you said you wouldn’t, we’ll be okay.” I announced, grinning in hope, but also waiting to gauge her reaction.
I didn’t miss the flash of guilt that vanished as soon as it appeared and I tried not to let the frown I was concealing surface. She smiled though and chuckled. “Everything’s going to be okay. I can’t believe it.”
No, I couldn’t believe it either.
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“Jess, could I speak with you for a moment please?” Jord asked, just after having dismissed the class.
I nodded and headed over to his desk. He hadn’t requested that I stay behind for months and it was surprising how much I missed that habit of his.
I sat on one of the front desks, allowing my legs to swing absentmindedly whilst he got to the point. “Have you seen Arthur again?” He inquired. We hadn’t spoken since last weekend, unfortunately, except for when I answered questions in class, so he hadn’t been filled in with the latest gossip.
I shook my head. “I have talked to his solicitor though.” I revealed. “The trial is next Saturday and my mum did her drug test yesterday.”
Jord looked shocked. “It’s all moving really fast, it took much longer for things to be sorted out when the police with dealing with our accusation on Zack.” He commented.
“That’s because they had to figure out who was lying and who was telling the truth, all this rests on is whether my mum really is on drugs or not.” I reminded him.
“Ah, that‘s true.” He agreed. “Are you going to have to say anything?”
I nodded grimly. “I have to talk about what I want the outcome to be. Even if my mum doesn’t get caught for her drugs, it doesn’t mean Arthur won’t get any custody of me.”
Jord sighed. “I suppose, but if you say how much you despise him, then he’s less likely to get you, right?” He pointed out. “They’ll take your opinion into consideration.”
“They will. I really don’t want to do it, though. I don’t know if I’ll be able speak in front of people like that. I was dreading that it would come to that in Zack’s case.”
Jord looked at me sympathetically. “You’ll do fine.”
An idea popped into my head then. “You know how you said I could ask you if I needed anything?”
He looked at me suspiciously, knowing I wasn’t likely to be asking for something he’d want to do. “Yes.” He replied cautiously.
“I was wondering if you could come to the trial with me.”
He looked hesitant and I knew he didn’t want to. “Jess…” He trailed off.
I shook my head. “It’s okay, you don’t have to.” I assured him. I had wanted the support of having him there, but he didn’t have to. I could understand that he didn’t want to waste his time coming to a trial which didn’t even involve him.
He looked to be considering it, but eventually he smiled. “No, I’ll come.” He finally conceded.
“You don’t have to.” I repeated. I was being kind of selfish asking him to come, even though I desperately wanted his encouragement and I knew having him there would help me get through it.
“I want to.”
I smiled gratefully. “Thank you. I just don’t think I could have done it by myself.” I admitted.
“Do you think your mum’s going to pass the drugs test?” He inquired, changing the topic of our conversation slightly.
I sighed and averted my eyes. “I don’t know.” I confessed. “When Arthur’s solicitor told her when she’d be taking it, she looked nervous and kind of guilty. I think she might have given in and taken some.”
Jord looked surprised. “Really? I didn’t think she’d give in that easily.” He informed me. “She might not have either, you can’t be certain. She denied it when you asked her didn’t she?”
I nodded. “In so many words. I didn’t accuse her directly, there was no point.”
“I’m sure it will all be fine Jess.” He tried to convince me.
I was still sceptical though and I think he could tell. “So, Lydia and Matt have been on a date.” I told him, wiggling my eyebrows and moving onto a lighter topic.
Jord groaned. “Don’t worry, I know. Matt keeps telling me about it.”
I chuckled. “So does Lydia.” I agreed.
“Well at least now I don’t have to listen to him complaining about how she doesn’t like him.” He pointed out.
I laughed. “God, I know! That was so annoying.”
I hadn’t spoken to Jord in just over a week and so I was thoroughly enjoying this, despite knowing I probably shouldn’t. Even though we’d said we shouldn’t even be friends, that had clearly gone out the window. We knew that would be impossible, and our theories had been proven correct.
Instead of sticking to staying away from each other like we’d agreed, we’d just weakened the bonds between us. We’d not spoken in an out of classroom setting for any reason aside from coincidence, even texts had been minimal. It had been better than I’d expected, but I’d almost preferred it before we kissed the first time.
It had been normal, with no awkwardness whatsoever. We’d had intimate moments, but not ones so significant that it had ruined our friendship for an unbearable amount of time. We’d been much closer, because there had been nothing there to tear us apart.
I glanced at the clock then and realised that I’d been in his room much longer than I thought. The phrase ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ sprung to mind. I also realised I was hungry. “I should probably go and get some lunch.” I broke the comfortable silence.
Jord snapped out of his thoughts as well and did as I had, taking a glimpse of the clock.
“Oh yeah, I’ll come with you, I need to grab something from the cafeteria.” He suggested.
He locked his classroom door behind him and we headed off to get something to eat together.
Mel and Grace would be sat together waiting for me. It was good how they’d begun getting on a lot better since Mel had finally stood up to Leonie. Mel had earned Grace’s respect now and so they could actually get into a productive conversation.
When we entered the cafeteria, our conversation dropped off altogether. We knew we couldn’t be too casual around the rest of the student body, it would look too unusual. Even when we talked normally around Mel she found it weird, and she knew most of our situation. Students and teachers didn’t talk with each other, they generally ignored one another.
We stood in the line, which was considerably shorter than normal since due to the late time we’d come in. Instead of cutting the queue like most teachers did, he kept standing behind me. I smiled at that, even though it was probably out of habit.
“Don’t worry about the trial. Your mum will pass the test and your speech will be fine.” He whispered to me, his eyes gleaming with sincerity. He might not be telling the truth, because he had no way of knowing, but he was doing a good job of making me feel better.
“Thanks.” I replied, smiling.
“You’ll have to give me the details of the trial closer the time.” He told me, making me happy, knowing that I would be able to speak to him again this week.
It was rather sad to admit that it was speaking to Jord that lit up my days. Even when I didn’t talk to him, I spent a lot of my time thinking about him. I could barely remember how my life had been before I’d met him and the number of complications he’d introduced into it. It wasn’t something I’d regret though. I would never take back meeting Jord.
I nodded. “I will.”
We reached the front of the queue then and stopped conversing again. I got the food I wanted and so did he. When we’d paid, he turned to go back to his classroom. He didn’t tend to eat with the majority of the teachers who sat at a designated table, but I didn’t question it. I could understand his want for privacy.
Before I headed off find Grace and Mel, he subtly touched my arm, so that no one who was bothering to look would notice. “You’ll be fine.” He repeated his earlier sentiments, his eyes piercing into mine with an intense quality.
His words had given me confidence, that I didn’t think anyone else could give me, and I was so grateful for that.
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Just about got this chapter up! I'll be going to bed in a minute! It took me a while to write this, and I only just finished it in time :)
I'm SO grateful to the people who have voted, commented and fanned me thanks to this story! I've officially got 500 votes on it! I'm amazed!