It was the longest two weeks of my life waiting for the beginning of the trial. I didn't sleep at all the night before. By the time dawn rolled around, I gave up on sleeping and made my way to my kitchen for a cup of coffee. Dad had already left for the morning, leaving another passive-aggressive note on the microwave to remind me that running off was not okay. But, God forbid he confront the situation directly. I think he lost the courage to after mom's habit of turning everything around on him. It was easier to just keep his mouth shut than to be invalidated.
I sat down on the couch and sipped at my coffee. It wasn't very sweet, but it was plenty creamy. Just the way I liked it. I had three hours before I needed to be to the courthouse. How was I going to kill all of this time?
After a few minutes of pacing, I decided to throw on some clothes and cruise over to Ryan's. Even though he probably wasn't up, I wanted to look at the Datsun. I hadn't seen it since we left, which at this point, was almost two months ago. Ryan had plenty of time to fix it up, even if it wouldn't be finished.
I was opening the door to his garage when I heard the back door of his house opening. Turning around, I found Ryan in his pajamas, standing on his back porch. He rubbed his eyes, and then took a few steps closer.
"Declan, what the hell are you doing here so early?" he asked, voice low and rough from still being half asleep.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked around at his yard. "I was trying to kill some time, and I thought I'd come over and see how the Datsun is coming along."
Ryan's face lit up. "It's coming along fucking great. Come on, I'll show you."
Quickly, Ryan ran inside to grab the keys to his garage, and then let me inside. The Datsun was the first one there. It was missing its doors, but the paint was much shinier and smoother. He looked at me while he grabbed the keys off the wall, a cheesy grin on his face. "Check this out."
He sat in the driver's seat and shoved the key in the ignition. The engine purred smoothly. The grin came back, and looked to me.
"But does it run for any length of time?" I questioned.
"Hop in and we take it for a spin," he said.
"There are no doors on it."
"Just around the block. It's not the end of the world."
Figuring he was right, I slid into the passenger seat. With the door missing, I pulled on the seatbelt. No way in hell was I riding around in this car to fall out the gaping hole on the side.
It sounded much better now that it had been in Ryan's care. We cruised down the street to a park near his house. In the early morning, the park was vacant, and everything was bathed in golden sunlight. Ryan took me over to the swings.
"So, how did your trip with Hayden go? It was fun hearing the news unfold after you left and finding out I'd technically aided in the escape of a criminal," Ryan said.
We dangled above the ground, not really swinging. Just using the swings as a seat.
"It was great, until the end. Now I have knots in my stomach about the trial today, because if things don't go well, Hayden's life is ruined. I can't stand to see him like this."
"Livia is a total bitch."
"I could have told you that."
"No, I mean, I sort of knew her before all this shit went down. She and I went to a lot of the same parties. She was always hanging over college dudes and sometimes even older guys. Always a total tease. She'd flirt with a ton of guys, get one or two in bed, and then play mind games with them. Like, she threatened one guy that she'd send her nudes and blame him if he didn't fuck her."
My blood boiled. "That's essentially rape."
"I know. I found it ironic that she was out here crying about Hayden raping and beating her considering her past. Like, I know no one deserves it, but it was hard not to feel a little satisfied seeing her get a taste of her own medicine."
I tried not to chuckle to myself. It was so terrible. I wouldn't take pleasure in knowing someone had been violated. But, Ryan was right, it was mildly satisfying. I hated that.
"Do you think it's possible that she wasn't even raped?" I asked. "Like, she had sex and regretted it? If she likes mind games, maybe she thought it would be fun to watch this one."
"Maybe," Ryan said. "But that doesn't explain how she got beaten up. What, did she sit there and slam her face on the wall repeatedly?"
"You're right," I agreed.
The shadows became shorter as the sun climbed higher in the sky. Part of me wanted to stay here with Ryan forever. The other part was dying to get to court so that there would be no more anticipation or uncertainty. I couldn't let myself think that there was a possibility that we wouldn't win. Good defeats evil. Right over wrong. As much as I knew life didn't always have happy endings, right now I needed it to.
So, as far as I knew, good always won.
"Do you need a ride to the courthouse today?" Ryan offered. I looked up at him, and a smile broke onto my face. It would be nice to have someone there with me to calm my nerves. To remind me that I wasn't alone.
"Yes, thank you."
It was difficult to feel court-ready when I was far from a professional, put-together person. My idea of fashion was ripped shorts, skulls, tattoos, and colorful hair. The best I could do was a plain blouse and a pair of khaki pants that dad bought me for job interviews. I'd had to borrow a pair of dressy shoes from Amber. My long, blonde hair was tied into a ponytail down my back. Barely a bit of makeup was on my face.
God, how boring I looked.
"Declan, are you almost ready? You shouldn't be late," Ryan called through the house.
"Yeah! One second!"
I tossed my phone into my bag and ran out to the kitchen, where Ryan was waiting. Immediately, he started laughing at me.
"Aw, look at you. You look like you belong in an office getting coffee for some sexist vice president," he teased.
"Good."
My muscles trembled the entire car ride. I couldn't stop fidgeting to save my life. There was so much nervous energy coursing through my veins that I probably could have run to the courthouse. Ryan side-glanced me. He tried to give me half a smile, but I wasn't able to return it.
"Hey," he said, quietly. "I know you're freaking out. But if Hayden seriously didn't do it, then you guys will find a way to free him. You're smart, and you're stubborn as hell."
"I'll end up getting busted for running away with a criminal, since I'm going to have to reveal I was with him to testify," I pointed out.
"Maybe they'll let you off easy. You've never been in trouble before," he said.
"Yep, but now I'm going to have a criminal record," I replied. "Not exactly a shining mark on job applications."
"Until you explain to them you got it for helping solve a fairly famous case."
Ryan let me out of the car in a parking garage near the courthouse. I stood beside the car for a moment, finding the courage to leave. Seconds later, Ryan pulled me into his arms and whispered, "This is going to end well."
I forced a small smile and nodded. Over my shoulder, I offered a small wave, and then made my way towards the entrance.
Once again, I was searched, and then made to wait in a hall. I studied the details of the wall, counted the tiles in the cieling, and counted the seconds between flickers in the lights. God, I was going to lose my mind. But, then the door at the end of the hall opened, and Miss Simms walked in with Hayden.
"Hayden!" I exclaimed. The anxiety on his face was broken briefly by a small smile when we made eye contact. He was allowed to sit beside me on the bench. My hand had never been squeezed so hard.
"Don't speak about the case," Miss Simms warned us. "Don't speak about anything relating to the case. Anything you say right now could be overheard and used against you. We can win this, but we don't need to give ourselves a bigger challenge."
Hayden rubbed small circles on my palm with his thumb. He concentrated his gaze on our hands.
"I've never seen you clean shaven," I said, staring at his bare face. For as long as I had seen him in the band, he'd always had at least a little bit of stubble. He kept a bit of a goatee grown out. And, he looked much, much better with it. Now, he was smooth and wearing dress clothes that covered his ink.
"It looks more professional," he said.
"I feel like a total dork. I never dress like this," I replied.
Hayden grinned. "You like kind of cute all cleaned up. Like, some weird MILF fantasy fulfillment."
I crinkled my nose and started to laugh. "If I was thirty."
There wasn't much else to say. I rested my head on Hayden's shoulder. With him beside me, I felt safe. It felt a bit selfish. I wasn't the one on trial, here. I was the one who needed to be protecting him.
"You know, when boys dress up, it's mega hot," I whispered.
"Oh, yeah?" Hayden asked.
"Oh, yeah." I looked at him, trying to keep the images of his naked body out of my head. I wanted to see it again. Right now was far from the time.
The door to the courtroom opened.
"The case of the State versus Hayden Grace," someone announced. We were ushered into the room. Hayden and I were separated, and he was brought to the front of the room to be seated with his lawyer.
The only solace was that I got to sit with the rest of Remaining Daylight. I wasn't alone.
"All rise for Judge Hoff."
My eyes drifted around the room as I followed everyone else into the air. We stood as we watched a woman enter the room and have a seat at the bench.
"Today begins the trial of the State versus Hayden James Grace, on the charges of sexual assault and battery against Livia Masters," Judge Hoff said. We were all given the chance to sit back down. "Mister Grace, how do you plead?"
It took a moment before Hayden found his voice.
"Innocent," he said.
She smiled. "Well, it sounds like we have a lot to talk about today, don't we?"
Here we go. Time to find out once and for all whether or not Hayden is innocent. Everybody place your bets.
I'm facing a nice big hurdle right now. Once Remaining Daylight is over, what do I write next? I have a couple of ideas. Maybe I'll dive back into one that I worked on in the past. (And I should probably get out those last couple of chapters of Desolate.)
As always, thank you so much for reading. I love you!