"Can I open my eyes now?", Taylor asked impatiently as I was making myself comfortable in the bathtub in front of her.
"Yes Taylor, you can open your eyes", I said chuckling and rolled my eyes amusedly at her silliness.
She removed her hands from her eyes, opened them big to look at me, but pouted in disappointment. What was wrong with her? We were literally naked in front of each other, I couldn't see where her disillusion might have come from.
"I don't see anything with all those bubbles", she whined as she folded her arms.
"I don't think you realize how big of an effort it is for me", I said blankly as I pushed the foam aside to clear the water and let her see.
After all, I'd promised her I would do my part of the job. We talked about the infamous issue concerning sex and Taylor was surprisingly extremely receptive and understanding. She assured me she would respect my boundaries. I told her I was determined to work with her but that we needed to take things slow and communicate. Letting her see my body was actually a good start. And it would take my mind off things before going to the trial. I needed this.
"You're gorgeous, Brooklyn", she said softly. I raised my head and came face to face with her mesmerizing blue eyes that made my heart skip a beat once again.
"Thanks", I mumbled and smiled sheepishly.
"Are you feeling uncomfortable?", she asked kindly.
"No, I feel good right now", I answered truthfully and glanced at her breasts. Damn, they were like super perfect. How could this goddess be naked in front of me?
"I'm glad then. You tell me if you need to get out, okay? Don't force yourself", she said in her usual soft and caring tone.
"Can you come closer?", I asked timidly as I felt this pull.
"You come closer and you decide what distance satisfies you", she said very sweetly and smiled brightly in reassurance.
I nodded in understanding and detached myself from the edge of the tub to approach Taylor slowly. I kept on looking back and forth between our two bodies to assess which distance could be both convenient and appropriate. Her legs were slightly parted with her knees sticking out so I placed myself right between her knees and flashed her a smile to indicate her I was settled.
"Is it too close for you?", I asked frowning in apprehension.
"It's never too close for me", she said chuckling so I smacked her knee playfully and giggled amusedly as leaned my two arms on her knee caps.
"You know, I'm really enjoyi-", my sentence was cut short when Taylor dropped her knees out of the blue which made my arms plop in the water and therefore splash water all over my face. I gasped loudly as I closed my eyes but she burst out laughing like a hysterical woman. "Are you kidding me?", I asked furiously. I opened my eyes but had to close them back right away when I felt my right one stinging.
"My poor baby", Taylor cooed between her giggles.
"You did this to me", I said sternly but quickly started chuckling when I felt Taylor's lips peppering kisses all over my cheek. Those damn butterflies.
"I'm so sorry", she mumbled against my skin and dropped a light kiss over my eyelid before going back to my cheek.
"No you're not", I said outrageously. Taylor burst into laughter again which obviously made me laugh too. Great, I was supposed to be serious there!
"Show me your pretty eyes", she said sweetly between her cute giggles so I opened them slowly and blinked a few times to make sure they weren't stinging anymore.
Wow, we were very close. It was pleasant.
"That wasn't very nice", I said in a saddened voice and pouted, even though it was exaggerated. She was not the only one who got to play, though.
"It was just for fun", she said chuckling.
"I know but it hurt my eye", I whined.
"It wasn't my intention at all, babe. I'm sorry", she said softly and grabbed my face to peck my lips. All forgiven!
This sweet moment was cut short by the ringing of a phone from the bedroom. It was actually an alarm to indicate us when we needed to go get ready. Yes, we had set an alarm for that because we didn't know how much time the bath was going to take us and we couldn't allow ourselves to be late. Otherwise the mothers would come kick us to make us move to the limo. Because yes, Jennifer was also coming to the trial and my mother had booked a limo for us four. And a team of bodyguards that must be waiting for us at the courthouse already. Way to stay discreet.
Taylor told me to keep the tub while she went to take a quick shower to rinse all her soap. I did the same and thought about how amazing and respectful she was towards me. I was very lucky to be with Taylor, there was no doubt about this.
Taylor had been smart enough to pack some clothes to leave them in my closet which made the process of getting dressed quicker. Way quicker. The time we didn't spend debating over what she should pick from my wardrobe was used wisely to compliment each other and focus on our makeup.
I was pretty satisfied with the outcome. I'd opted for light jeans, a white sleeveless blouse and brownish gray heels that I'd matched with golden jewels. My hair was let down in its natural waves and my makeup was a bit pronounced which contrasted with the lightness of the clothes. I asked Taylor for her opinion but she just nodded enthusiastically with her eyes glued to my cleavage. Great, an honest answer. Once my purse chosen, I prepared it meticulously and sprayed some perfume over myself as the final touch.
When I stepped out of the closet, I noticed Taylor fixing her hair in front of the mirror. She looked so beautiful that I wanted to immortalize it. Therefore I grabbed my phone, opened the camera and casually walked towards her.
"Tay", I called a singing tone.
"Yes, I'm ready", she said softly and stood straight up before spinning around to face me.
"Can we take a picture together?", I asked in my sweetest tone and put my hand on her waist to bring our bodies closer.
"Of course. Is it for your Snapchat?", she asked raising her eyebrows questioningly.
"No, for me", I said and smiled brightly at her beauty.
"Give me that", she mumbled and took my phone from me so I let her do her thing without any question.
I didn't manage to see what she was doing. Why? Because she cupped my cheek and she kissed me, making me completely forget about the damn picture or the freaking trial. I was focused on her soft lips, on the way they moved with mine, on my butterflies and my strong heartbeat. I was only focused on Taylor. Even when she broke the kiss, I kept my eyes glued to hers and smiled so big that I wondered how it could fit on my face.
"That makes a video and a picture for you, milady", Taylor said softly and dropped a light kiss on my cheek before stepping back and handing me my phone.
"I need more than that", I said frowning.
"You want more pictures?", she asked kindly.
"No", I whined and yanked her by her waist to make our lips clash back together. Much better.
I put more pressure into the kiss and Taylor wrapped her arms around my neck to bring our bodies even closer which I didn't mind at all. But this moment was obviously too good to last and was cut short by the ring of the interphone, indicating that the limo or Jennifer was here. Or both. So Taylor and I quickly pulled away, fixed our lipstick mess and made our way downstairs hand in hand.
"Brooklyn, dépêche-toi!", my mom yelled from the other side of the house (Hurry up!)
"Calm down!", I yelled back and grunted irritatingly.
"I didn't know you were here, sorry", she said blankly. I shook my head in disbelief and guided Taylor towards the foyer where our moms and who I presumed to be the chauffeur were waiting for us, looking more stylish than ever.
"Are you taking advantage of my misfortune to promote your new collection?", I asked raising an eyebrow.
"I'll take that as a compliment. Now come on, we're late", my mom said and pointed at the door to rush us outside.
"Come on, baby", Taylor mumbled and released my hand to rest her hand on my lower back.
"You're staying with me, right?", I asked her as we followed the chauffeur.
"Your mom will stay next to you and I'll be on the bench right behind you", she said reassuringly.
"And until then?", I asked knitting my eyebrows which made her stop walking to stand in front of me.
"I'm not leaving your side, Brooke. We're going there together and we'll leave that place together. I'll be there no matter what happens, okay?"
"Okay", I whispered and pecked her lips for reassurance.
We all got in the car and I greeted Jennifer properly. Taylor's hand was glued to my thigh and mine was stuck on top of hers to let my fingertips gently stroke her knuckles while we listened to our mothers' endless rambling. Now I understood why Taylor talked so much. Magic of genetics.
"We're there, ladies", the chauffeur's voice resonated through the speaker.
"We stay grouped together", my mom instructed in a firm tone but I ignored it and looked by the window to analyze the surroundings.
The amount of people stacked in front of the entrance was beyond unbelievable. There were cops everywhere to control the crowd and clear a little pathway from the sidewalk to the stairs of the courthouse. When the car came to a stop, a tsunami of flashes arrived in our direction and a group of five men in black suits hurried to surround the limo. I caught a glimpse of the chauffeur walking around the vehicle to get on my side so I looked at my mother who gave me a reassuring smile, I looked at Taylor who pecked my shoulder and I took a deep breath. Stone front.
When the door opened, Taylor released my hand to let me get out so I did it quickly and instantly spun around to wait for her to join my side. I noticed two of the bodyguards approaching me but ignored them and grabbed Taylor's hand to help her out instead. This was more interesting. She smiled at me and intertwined our fingers as we took a few steps back to let our mothers step out. The crowd went literally wild when they saw them but our mothers ignored them and came to stand on each side of us.
The bodyguards surrounded us and guided us forward to make us move in the middle of them. Journalists were hopelessly extending their microphones and screaming but I kept my hand secured in Taylor's and just walked. Some questions were flying around and were simply hilarious but I managed to remain serious and not to burst out laughing. We needed to keep a good figure after all.
We all released a loud sigh when we stepped inside and when all this noise faded. Some journalists were there and intended to approach us but they were quickly pushed back by the guards which I didn't mind at all. The lawyer was here already and asked to speak to my mom and I privately so I kissed Taylor and followed them in a separate room.
It wasn't interesting at all. Richard was giving us a recap of his strategy, of what he was going to require, of what they might throw at us and so on. I just wanted to see Taylor because I was hungry and I knew she had cookies in her purse. And because I wanted to see her, period. So I worshiped the moment when we got out of that room to go to the courtroom.
"Brooke!", I heard a bunch of feminine voices calling as I entered the courtroom. I looked around and spotted my cheerleading team waving at me from the back rows. I told my mom that I would be right there and approached them quickly.
"Hi guys", I greeted in a low voice and smiled brightly at them.
"Brooke, we're so sorry", Riley, our best flyer - after me of course - said in a soft voice.
"You don't have to apologize for anything", I said shaking my head.
"We would have visited, I swear we would have", she said in a quivering tone as her eyes watered.
"Hey, it's fine", I said reassuringly.
"Lisa told us you were on vacation and that you didn't want to be disturbed by any case so we didn't check on you but-"
"She did what?", I hissed sternly and scanned the room, only to find her on the front row, opposite to Taylor's. She was already staring at me but averted her eyes when she caught me looking at her.
She didn't know what was coming at her. She'd known and left me there without even caring if I were to die or not.
"I swear Brooklyn, we would have taken care of you if we had known", she said softly.
"Oh, I'm so not done with that bitch", I snapped furiously and left the girls there without any remorse to join my mother's side.
"Qu'est-ce-qui se passe ma puce? T'as l'air énervé", my mom asked worriedly (What's going on, sweetheart? You look mad)
"Tu veux savoir ce qui se passe? Il s'avère que ma prétendue meilleure amie non seulement savait que j'étais à l'hôpital et m'a complètement tourné le dos, mais en plus elle est allée dire à tout le monde que j'étais en vacances et que personne ne devait me contacter", I reeled off furiously (You wanna know what's going on? Turns out my pretended best friend not only knew I was in the hospital and completely turned her back on me but on top of that she told everyone I was in holydays and that no one shall contact me)
"On s'occupera de ça plus tard, ne t'en fais pas", she said reassuringly and patted the spot next to her so I pulled the chair loudly and slumped down (We'll deal with it later, don't worry)
"Babe", Taylor called softly so I spun around and scooted my chair to be closer to her.
"You okay there?", I asked frowning and looked at Jennifer who smiled warmly at me and tucked my hair behind my ear tenderly. Genetics.
"We got you", Jennifer whispered and leaned back to sit straight which Taylor took as her cue to bent over to reach my ear.
"I'm so proud of you", she whispered faintly.
"Move! I'm late!", I heard a woman exclaiming panickingly so I looked up and saw my therapist running to join Jennifer's side. She sat down sighing and looked to her left, only to open her mouth in shock and freeze at the sight of Jennifer next to her and my mom in front of her.
"Breathe, doctor", Taylor said teasingly.
"You're my favorite patient, Brooklyn", she blurted out and used her hands as a fan to ventilate herself. I let her regain her composure and focused back on my Taylor.
"Can you give me a cookie?", I asked knitting my eyebrows pleadingly.
"You're not eating when cameras are pointed at you, Brooklyn", my mom hissed.
"Maman, j'ai rien mangé ce matin", I retorted (I didn't eat anything this morning)
"Tant pis pour toi", she said shrugging (Too bad for you)
I sighed irritatingly and bent over to grab my little bottle of water from my purse that I set on the table. Hello breakfast.
I spun back around and smiled sheepishly at Taylor. She opened her purse to show me the box of cookies so I glanced at my mother and noticed how engrossed she was in her discussion with Mr Lindsor. Therefore I plunged my hand in Taylor's purse to nab a cookie and shoved it all in my mouth, earning a fist of giggles from Taylor and making me laugh with her as I was trying to eat the cookie the fastest I could to avoid getting caught by my mother. If the whole trial went like that, it promised to be interesting.
____________________
"The jury declare the defendant guilty of all charges and sentence Mr Justin Seth Chamberlain to a mandatory jail time of seven years with the obligation to participate in a detoxification program and to a psychological follow up that will extend two years further his mandatory jail time."
I heard loud sobs resonating in the room so I looked to my right and saw Lisa completely breaking down at the reading of the sentencing. It strangely didn't get to me. The only thing I was feeling was relief. And somehow I felt lighter and more relaxed, as if a huge part of my weight was finally leaving my body. I looked at my therapist with a confused expression and brought my hand to my chest to indicate her something was happening. She just nodded while smiling.
I spun back around to look forward and pretended to be focused on whatever was happening to avoid receiving another remark from my mom. In reality, I was trying to figure out what was going on with that body of mine. I was feeling different around my chest and stomach and it was so weird. It didn't feel like me but it felt more pleasant.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you!", Lisa's voice made me snap back to reality. I spun my head and saw her approaching me at full speed with an expression never equalled before.
I stood up in reflex to get ready for confrontation but a bodyguard jumped from behind me and literally tackled her to the ground without any mercy, provoking a wave of gasps. I approached them casually and stopped right next to her. I poked the man's shoulder and motioned for him to let her go so he stood up and planted himself by my side. I waited for Lisa to get up and took a step forward to fully tower over her which made her step backwards, but I took another step and so on until she was trapped by a bench.
"You knew", I simply said with a stern look.
"What difference does that make anyway?", she asked shaking her head.
I couldn't control what happened next. I couldn't control my own fist when it lifted in the air and collided against her nose, making her collapse on the floor with a loud thud. And one wave of gasps for Brooke, one. I squatted down and pushed on her shoulder to make her look at me. Jesus, I didn't miss her.
"You've picked your side, Lisa", I snapped firmly.
"You should have died in that hospital", she spat aggressively.
I weirdly couldn't find it in myself to answer back. For what? To drag her down even more? I just shook my head in disappointment as I stood up and started my way out of the courtroom with my head down and my mind full of confusion. I glanced up to spot the bathroom and quickly made my way there to try and leave behind whomever was following me. I opened the door and was literally pushed inside the bathroom. When I spun around I saw Taylor closing and locking the door behind her before facing me.
"That was insane!", she exclaimed chuckling and just like that, my mood was brightened and my whole attention was on my gorgeous girlfriend.
"I didn't scare you?", I asked amusedly and approached the sink to go wash my hands. I was not touching my precious princess with my hands all dirty from punching Lisa.
"Are you kidding me? You were so hot out there! I swear, I legit had the chills. Jesus Christ that punch! I didn't even see it coming. It like flew at lightspeed and boom! In the face! And you're just so strong", she reeled off excitedly while I laughed all along.. She was so cute.
"I hope I won't get into trouble for that", I said as my laughter faded and grabbed some paper to dry my hands.
"I should've recorded it. Seriously, it was better than watching porn", she blurted out and casually took her bottle of water out of her purse to drink some.
"You want me to punch people out of nowhere for your very own pleasure?", I asked raising my eyebrows playfully.
"I'll keep that idea in mind", she said nodding. She was crazy!
"Seriously, I don't know what came over me. I swear, she was just there and she was pissing me off and I had all those poisoning feelings that were resurfacing so I got rid of the parasite. I was feeling so good right before she came at me that I couldn't risk her compromising that, you know."
"Hey, relax. Try to calm down a little and we'll go back home to talk about all this quietly", Taylor said softly as she approached me. She wrapped her arms around my neck to pull me against her.
"Please, don't think of me as a violent person", I whispered and let my hands rest on her lower back.
"I know exactly what kind of person you are and violent is far from being it", she said reassuringly and smiled brightly, giving me a pleasant view over her perfect grin.
"Something happened", I said blankly.
"What? What happened?", she asked knitting her eyebrows confusedly.
"My weight moved", I informed her and smiled slightly.
"What do you mean moved? Did it shift elsewhere in your body or did it disappear? Or did just one part disappear and another one remains?", she asked very seriously as she looked down to focus on my chest. And stare at my cleavage at the same time. Clever.
"I think it's gone, Tay", I said softly
"Then it means you're on the right path", she said in a kind voice without averting her eyes from my breast.
"Don't we have to go?", I asked raising an eyebrow questioningly.
"One second", she mumbled without moving her head.
"You know you can totally see them better at home, right?"
"Let's go", she blurted out and wrapped her arm around my waist to guide me outside.
She opened the door at lightspeed and started walking quickly, totally ignoring the bodyguards or my request to slow down. I tried to spot our mothers but didn't manage to so I asked a guard who told me they were already in the limo. When we reached the front door, Taylor gripped my waist and pulled me even more against her. I smiled at her cute gesture and kept on walking with my mind on a little happy cloud from being with Taylor and acting normal in front of such a huge audience. It felt so good to not pretend.
"Brooklyn! Brooklyn! Do you have a minute for a quick declaration?", a man in his early twenties branded his microphone in my direction. He looked so desperate that I slowed down to give him a little bit of my time.
"Babe, please", Taylor begged as she tried to make me move.
"Come on, he just got a couple of questions", I said chuckling as I slid my hand to the back of her neck.
"Miss Robert, we need to move", a deep masculine voice instructed from behind me and Taylor reached for my ear at the same moment.
"I really want to go home with you right now", she said in a low voice and leaned back to look at me with her adorable puppy eyes so I grabbed her head to glue my mouth to her ear.
"Are you impatient to see my boobs?", I asked the most seductively I could.
"Come on!", she exclaimed firmly and wrapped her two arms around my waist to lift me off the ground. She started walking hastily towards the limo with me laughing my ass off and clinging to her neck the best I could.
A bodyguard opened the door of the limo and Taylor literally threw me inside, making me land flat on my back on the seat, obviously laughing hysterically. Taylor got inside to enable us to leave but I couldn't stop laughing. I was taking all the space which resulted in Taylor and I hustling like two puppies during the whole drive home. I think our mothers were wondering if we really were the correct versions of ourselves but I wasn't even thinking about that. I was in my bubble with Taylor where laughter and happiness were keywords.
When we arrived home, the table was set for four and Linda immediately served us our meal before retreating God knows where. I was sad because Taylor wasn't next to me but I still managed to sit in front of her.
"Brooklyn, ma puce, je dois repartir en fin d'après-midi", my mom said apologetically (Brooklyn, honey, I need to leave this late afternoon.)
"D'accord. T'as besoin que je t'amène à l'aéroport?", I asked kindly (Alright. Do you need me to drive you to the airport?)
"Non, j'ai réservé un taxi" (No, I booked a cab)
"Merci d'avoir pris de ton temps pour être là", I said truthfully and wrapped my arms around her shoulders to give her a quick hug that she strangely didn't respond to (Thank you for taking it from your time to be here)
"Je t'en prie, c'était la moindre des choses. Will you excuse me? I need to go finish packing", my mom said politely and stood up quickly to leave the room (You're welcome, it was the least I could do)
"She's leaving?", Taylor asked frowning.
"This afternoon", I said nodding and focused back on my dessert that I'd barely touched. I didn't even want it to be honest. I wasn't that hungry.
"Your French is impeccable!", Jennifer exclaimed shockingly and that made me chuckle sheepishly.
"Tay, take my dessert", I said softly and grabbed my plate to hand it to her.
"I thought you were hungry", she said with a confused expression but took the plate anyway to set it on top of her empty one.
"I had a whole meal, I'm more than full now."
"You need to stop eating so little", she said in her sweetest voice.
"I've made a lot of effort in that field and you know it", I reminded her gently.
"You have eating disorders?", Jennifer asked worriedly.
"No, absolutely not. I just look after my weight continuously but Taylor is helping me loosen up a bit", I explained composedly.
"She's so right! You're young, you're beautiful and you're in holidays so enjoy it and eat whatever you want to eat", Jennifer stated.
I didn't know what it was but it triggered something inside me that made me look at Taylor very attentively I let them talk between them and listened to what they were saying without any word. Apparently Jennifer would be leaving tomorrow afternoon so she and Taylor were gonna spend the day together to catch up and have some bonding time - which was a great thing. Jennifer asked Taylor if she was staying with her next door but Taylor gave her a negative answer and told her she was spending the night with me. So amazing.
I was thinking about tonight, about how we would have the house back to ourselves and how my weight was gone. All those elements together were creating a tiny turmoil of excitement in my belly. It felt so weird. That was unprecedented.
I really didn't know how I'd gotten so fortunate to have Taylor in my life but she was without a doubt the best part of me. I would never ever let this beautiful creature go.