Songs for this chapter:
Night Changes- One Direction
Photograph- Ed Sheeran
You and I - One Direction
***
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." -Martin Luther King
***
Lesley's P.O.V
I try focusing on something else.
The mahogany I'm seated on seem to crack with every movement I make. Beside me, Spencer and Megan are seated from each side. Kyan is sitting behind me. He dismissed me from the internship for two weeks, saying I'll start fresh with a job when I return. A job in a publishing house. If the time was flipped, I would be celebrating with cocktails on the beach.
My eyes dart to Adam. I can smell the scent of him from the shower earlier of mint and cinnamon with a hint of smoke. I remember his warm and agonizingly beautiful body holding me. His taste on my tongue. His eyes shinning like a green pendant. Instead, I spent two days staring at the wall and all I could think of is how things would've turned out differently. I remember the night I witnessed everything. From what I did before to after.
And watching Jenkins interrogate Lucian on the witness stand twits a feeling of shame in me. Because his brother is watching. His father is watching. Everyone is watching.
I nib at my fingers as Spencer offers me a weak smile. Megan reaches for my hand and she holds it laying it on her lap. I squeeze on it, trying to count my heartbeats: one..two..three..four..five
It takes five heartbeats for Lucian's lawyer to make Lucian sound innocent.
He brings Jeremy up to the stand.
"Can you confirm that you were with Mr. Lucian Reindl at around midnight on December third?"
"Yes, I confirm."
"And did any of you leave the house under any circumstance?"
"Not that I know of."
"How do you think Mr. Reindl was able to be in two places at once?" The lawyer sarcastically says.
"Not unless he had a twin brother that we don't know of," Jeremy mocks.
"Thank you, Mr. Scott," he nods at him. "Defence rests, your honor."
Jenkins stands up. He seems confident which is intimidating.
"What were you and Mr. Reindl doing all that time at the house?"
"We just hanged, watched some television."
"And what did you watch in specific?"
He makes a thinking face. But it looks fake. Too fake. "As I remember, the new episode of WWE raw was on."
Smart, I mumble to myself. When a lie is detailed, it sounds honest.
"So you're saying that you stayed home and watched WWE raw on television?"
"Yes, mostly."
"Then why do I have evidence with me that WWE raw didn't air on Tuesday, December 6 but instead on Wednesday, December 7?"
Everyone blinks. How did Jenkins have evidence for that when no one knew what Jeremy will tell at the witness stand?
Spencer winks at me as a smug stretches on his face. Adam leans forward as his eyebrows frown. And Jeremy's jaw tenses as he swallows back.
The lawyer stands up. "Objection, your honor. The consoler is basing evidence on a fact that was three years ago. Mr. Scott doesn't have a photographic memory, it's irrelevant."
"Overruled," she cuts him off.
"So, I will ask again Mr. Scott and I expect an honest reply. What did you do that night? Where you both under any sort of drugs? And how did you leave the house? Because the footage is all the same during the whole night. If a part was eliminated and another part was placed instead, we wouldn't be able to tell the difference, now, would we?"
Jeremy is looking at Lucian and the lawyer, his eyes wild. Jenkins nears the witness stand. "What are you looking at? They won't help you."
But before anyone can say anything else, he interjects. "I would like to take the 5th Amendment." Jeremy speaks up and heads back to the seat. From the smirk that draws on Jenkins, I can tell that whatever happened is a to our benefit.
"Thank you, your honor. No further questions." He turns to me. And I inhale deeply preparing for what's coming. What came before with my father can't be worse than what's coming next.
"I would like to call my next witness to the stand, Lesley Parker."
Adam's chair almost squeaks but he holds it together noticing we are in court. His eyes widen as I stand up and walk by him, sitting on my stand. Adam's jaw is tense and I can see the betrayal behind his eyes. He shakes his head frantically. He wants to stop this and I can tell that he didn't even expect me to show up but to take the stand aswell was out of the blue.
"Your honor, may I have a moment with my lawyer?"
She crosses her arms. "Mr. Reindl, we're in a middle of trial." She scans the court room and sighs in return. "But since there isn't any objections, you may have 30 seconds."
Jenkins walks toward the table. I hear a hint of what the hell do you think you're doing. They debate at first and Adam's eyes are rage. He's grabbing the table hard making his veins pop out of his skin. I know they are debating. Hell, the whole room can see it.
When the seconds are up, Jenkins turns to me and he gives me a smile of assurance. My stomach turns hollow but I sit straight showing confidence.
People think that it's an easy descion to take. As if it's either you do or not. Like life is black and white. But that's not true, there's always a hint of gray.
I can feel pair of eyes on me as Jenkins asks me, "Where were you at around midnight on December 6?"
I inhale. "In Witenau park."
"And what where you doing there?"
I catch a hint of his green eyes. "I had a rough day at home so I went for a walk. I remember that I needed some air. And it's a ten minutes walk from where I live, so it seemed the best option at that time."
What am I doing? This is going to come and bite me in the ass afterwards. But Adam started it and I'm helping him finish. This will be my last condolence before I leave.
"May you please tell us what you saw?" His eyes are with worry waiting for my confirmation. I nod.
I chew on the inside of my mouth. I look away from Adam. "It was late and cold. It was around christmas so I could see the decoration of lights everywhere. I remember I was running- sprinting actually. And when I took a minute to catch my breath, I heard a voice screaming. I looked around at first but there was no one so I assumed I heard wrong. But when I was about to turn back, I heard it again. I followed the voice." I take a moment to breath. And I tell them all I remember.
My heartbeats are roaring in my ears. I can hear the sound of snow whooshing under me and all I could hope for is not to slip. I hear it for the third time, and from a distance I see them. I couldn't spot it at first since her hair merges with the darkness of the night. When I step closer and closer, she's crying- sobbing.
"Someone help me!" She screams between her tears. It rings in my ears. My hands start shaking. I can't stop my feet from moving, they just do.
"You're mine," he says with possession.
"Get off me," she cries. My hands find a tree and I curl behind it. He's inside of her and bruises are all around her hands. I cover my mouth as a sob escapes.
And that's when it happens, he meets my eyes. Those shade of green that I couldn't forget not even in a million years. When he notices me, he stiffens. I step back. She cries out for me, again and again and again. I step back even further. When I feel him about to charge at me. I sprint.
But a crack sends me wincing. I slipped on the damn ice.
Snow enters my body and I go shivering as my teeth clatter. I hear his footsteps behind me. So I stand up, my hand feeling sore. Pain jolts right up and I cry out. I see her in the back as she runs away. She tries picking herself up but she needs time. So I give it to her. I wait till he's a safe distance and then I run again. I can feel him behind me so my legs move faster as an act of fear. When I near my house, I stumble with my keys at first but then run right up. When I'm home, I find the courage to look back. But there's no one there. So I run to the window fully dressed with my coat and boots and my wheezing non-stopping.
I see him, right under my house with those possessive green eyes of his. I gasp.
My eyes widen but I keep staring. I can't look away. I want to crawl under my bed, repeating to myself it's just a dream. But I wont rest until he walks away. He isn't walking away. Why won't he walk away?
For three hundred fifty heartbeats, he finally walks away, slowly.
And that's when my nightmares began.