DELICATE ★ JENLISA

Chapter 27

"And how many times has this happened to you?"

I shook my head. "Uh... I don't know. I wasn't counting."

"So these are reoccurring incidents?"

"Yes. Not this specifically, he's never done this before, but the beatings or whatever you want to call them, yes, they are reoccurring."

The man in front of me sighed, running a hand over his face and turning to another man standing by the doorway. He muttered something I couldn't hear and looked back at me with doubt in his eyes. "Listen, I'm going to be completely honest with you here. This sounds to me like your typical case of the parent unknowingly going a little too far with their punishments, and in cases like that, restitution for people like you is rare."

"Unknowingly? With all do respect, sir, he knows exactly what he's doing."

"It may seem that way but that's one opinion, your opinion. He may have a different one, and as much as my sympathy lies with you here, a courtroom is to remain neutral until there is proof that Charles, this man you're accusing of a serious crime, is guilty."

I was quickly becoming frustrated. I had known this process would be almost pointless because the justice system was broken, but I had gained hope and it was being crushed all over again. "Is the proof on my stomach not enough for you?"

"Relax, Jennie. I understand how this can be frustrating but there's a process that you need to go through to put this man away. For starters, Charles can deny ever having anything to do with this, and even if he owns up to it, there's still a good chance that he's let off the hook with a few parent-counseling classes."

"So what, am I just supposed to give up?"

"No," the man emphasized. "That is not what I am suggesting. I will personally see to it that a thorough investigation is conducted. I'm sure you know as well as I do that if there is a reason why you shouldn't be in Charles's house, we need to contact child protective services and get you out of there. From there, you'll have the opportunity to testify in court."

I sighed. "Is there anything else I can do? Am I just supposed to go back to Charles's house while you and CPS conduct this 'investigation'?

He made a gesture with his hands. "Stay at a friends' for a few days, so long as it doesn't pose a problem with Charles. He is still your legal guardian until it's decided otherwise. As for something you can do, you can help with the investigation. We need to get in touch with your friends, your teachers, neighbors, anyone that can help to corroborate your statement. If you can point us in the right direction, that'd certainly be helpful."

I simply nodded as he then continued to ask me more questions. He was getting into the finer details now, specific accounts that I hardly remembered. He wanted the details: how long each instance occurred for, when it happened, what I usually did after Charles hurt me, where I went afterwards, who else was involved. That last detail was the tricky part because I had to tread very carefully. I could think of four people who knew what Charles had done: Chaerin, Taemin, Cate, and Lisa.

I didn't have to worry about Chaerin or Taemin, but I could get Cate and Lisa in serious trouble if I said the wrong thing. Both of them had technically broken the law by keeping quiet for so long, not to mention Lisa had broken the law in another way that I couldn't let the police find out about. If the officer's questioning somehow led to him asking me about Lisa and our relationship, I doubted things would go the way I wanted them to.

Eventually, they let me out of the interrogation room. I was told that the investigation would commence as soon as possible and if they had enough reason to believe that Charles had really committed a crime, they would arrest him. After Lisa had washed away all of the blood, the cut on my stomach didn't look nearly as bad as it actually was and it wasn't significant enough for him to be arrested on the spot.

I knew Charles had his rights, but he didn't deserve them, and the fact that my word wasn't enough bothered me.

I spotted Lisa sitting in a chair by the door, her arms on her knees as she spoke with a police officer. I wasn't sure whether or not it was okay to go over to her but she caught my eye and managed to smile at me, so I started in her direction.

"-miss that old fella, he was a damn good officer."

Lisa smiled at the man she was talking to. "He misses all of you too, trust me. All he ever does is complain about how boring retirement is."

The man laughed and nodded. "I bet. Alright well I'll see you, tell your dad I said hi and your friend I said good luck."

He turned away from her to see me and stopped briefly, nodding, before going on his way. Lisa stood up, keeping her distance from me. "How'd it go?"

"Could've gone better. Then again, it went how I figured it would go. He said a bunch of words but all I heard was that the process is long and there's a slim chance that Charles will actually be punished for being an asshole."

Lisa frowned slightly. "What are they going to do?"

"Investigate. Send me back to a foster or group home if they have to." I knew she could hear the sadness in my voice as I spoke, especially in the last sentence, and she frowned even more.

"It'll be okay.."

I just shrugged and walked past her, out of the police station. After a few moments, I heard her chasing after me, slowing by my side. "Hey, keep your chin up, okay? I don't know what they told you in there but there's always a chance. Charles did commit a crime and you have me to back you up."

"The legal system doesn't work that way Lisa. Charles's not going to go to jail because you and I know what he did. The jury has to know what he did and that he did it intentionally."

She tilted her head downwards at me. "Jen, I'm familiar with the criminal justice system. I read, I used to work in it, and my sister and her husband are lawyers."

I sighed, getting into her car. She did the same and I spoke. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm just so tired."

"I know, and you have every right to be." She sighed too, putting her car into drive and pressing the gas pedal. I gave her a run down of everything that the officer had explained to me in the station and by the time we reached her apartment, she seemed just as drained as I was.

I went straight to her bedroom when I got inside, kicking off my shoes and sitting down on the bed. I had missed her bed. I put my head in my hands and felt the bed sink next to me. Lisa spoke softly, "Are you hungry?"

"No," I answered. I doubted she had been expecting a different answer. I looked over at her and sighed. "Um, listen, I can stay here tonight, but I'm going to have officers surrounding me for a while and I don't think I should be living with you while they figure out whether or not I need to go back into the system."

Her brow creased. "What? Why?"

"Well, in case you've forgotten, you broke the law when you slept with me, and I don't want to somehow lead them onto that assumption by being around you. You're going to have to make a statement as my teacher, so you can't just be the friend that I'm staying with."

She frowned. "I guess you're right. You're a little hostile about it though... any reason why that is...?"

I sighed heavily. "Lisa, I'm sorry, I'm just so frustrated right now. It's like, I'm finally trying to do the right thing but so many things can go wrong, and a lot of them have to do with you."

She lifted up my chin with her thumb and index finger, shaking her head at me. "Stop doing that. Stop driving yourself crazy over what's going to happen to me. You need to think about yourself for once."

"I'm not going to let you go to jail-"

She cut me off. "Good, I'm glad, orange isn't my color. But you need to spend less time worrying about me and more time worrying about yourself and Charles."

I let out a breath of air that sounded like a strangled laugh. "How can you make jokes right now?"

She smiled. "I'm not making jokes, orange really looks terrible on me."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, you look perfect in everything that you wear."

She smiled at me and I was almost sure she was blushing. "Not true. But thanks. If you're not living with me, where are you going to go?"

I rubbed my neck. "Uh, I don't have many options... but I guess I can stay at Taemin's apartment."

"If that's an option for you, how come you didn't stay with him before you started staying with me?"

"Couple of reasons, one because he didn't have a house, two because he's involved in things that I don't want to be involved in, three because he didn't force me to live in his apartment like you forced me to live in yours--"

"I did not force you."

I smirked. "You did not give me many options. But thank you, for forcing me. It's been a long time since I've felt the happiness that I've felt during these last two months with you."

Her smile got bigger and I couldn't help but to think about how beautiful she was. Every little thing about her made her truly amazing. Her stubbornness that had gotten me out of a bad home, her personality that made me smile all too often, her eyes that I got lost in every second that I looked at them, her long blonde hair that I desperately wanted to move to one side so I could press my lips to her neck and make her moan my name the way she had that night in the hotel-

"What are you thinking about?"

I had never blushed more in my entire life when I realized what I had been thinking about, literally right next to her. "Umm..."

She smiled, her emeralds twinkling mischievously. "Something you should not be, perhaps?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Lisa smirked, leaning closer to me. I leaned back unintentionally, giving her the opportunity to hover above me. "Yes you do." She paused. "You have the same look in your eyes that you did the night we met."

"How the hell would you know, you were drunk!"

She laughed. "Now you're getting defensive."

I narrowed my eyes. "Yeah, fine, I was thinking about you." I didn't know if she had been expecting my honesty but she smiled softly. The atmosphere in the room had shifted tremendously. "I want you..."

The gleam in her eyes shifted too and she wasted no time in leaning down to press her lips to mine, holding herself up with one arm while letting her other hand trail up the side of my torso. It seemed like she wanted to take this slow but I didn't want to go slow. I wanted her, all of her, and I didn't want to have to wait any longer. I pulled her face into mine and sucked on her bottom lip, eliciting a hardly noticeable noise from her mouth. It seemed to get rid of her need to go slow and she deepened our kiss, letting it go to a place it hadn't yet gone as she dipped her tongue in and out of my mouth.

I suddenly hated the fact that both of us had clothes on and I gripped the edge of her shirt, bringing it up and over her head. I took in her torso, which I hadn't seen since we had gone to the beach together, and marveled in the view. She was barely even exposed and I still found it difficult to breathe. I trailed my hands down from her neck, letting my nails dig into her back. She made a noise that sounded pleased, though I wasn't entirely sure.

The moment was almost perfect, though it obviously would've been better if it hadn't been preceded by a trip to the police station.

And it would've been better had something actually happened.

But she must've forgotten that I had a rather painful wound on my stomach because her hand roamed over my bandage and I instantly pulled away from her, wincing in pain. She widened her eyes, pulling away too. "Oh shit, I'm sorry, I forgot--"

I shook my head, silencing her as I attempted to mask my pain. "It's okay Lisa. Come here."

I pulled her back into me and kissed her lips once, but she pulled away briefly, shaking her head. "I think we should wait."

I groaned, "Lisa, I'm fine--"

"I know, but I don't want you to be in pain while I'm pleasuring you. I'm not really that kind of girl and I highly doubt you are either."

I had to laugh. "You're not that kind of girl, huh?"

She rolled her eyes, climbing off of me and letting her back rest against the headboard. She shrugged her shirt back over her shoulders, shaking her head. "No, I'm not."

"What kind of girl are you?"

"One that's a little exhausted and would like to go to sleep next to a stubborn, beautiful brunette. Come on," she smiled, making a gesture for me to move closer. I stood up first, taking it upon myself to borrow a pair of shorts from her dresser and slip them on instead of my jeans. She watched me change the entire time and I tried to hide my face as the heat flushed to my cheeks, but I was sure I failed. After a few moments, I slid into bed next to her.

"Well, you kind of distracted me for a minute there--"

"I think it was more than a minute.."

She just shook her head. "I didn't get the chance to ask you, what's Taemin involved in?"

I bit my lip, looking away. I knew she wouldn't like the answer at all. I shouldn't even have said anything. "Umm... you know... horse-racing..."

She rolled her eyes and couldn't help but laugh. "You're a shit liar Jen."

"Not usually," I said, pouting. "You believed I was 21."

"Yeah, I guess I did. What's different now?"

"Well I... I wasn't crazy about you then, so it was about easier to lie."

I watched her cheeks tint a shade red. She ducked her head and I felt my heart beat ten times as fast as it had been before. Eventually she looked up at me shaking her head. "You're not off the hook just cause you know how to make me blush, you know. I need you to give me a real answer."

"You already know the answer."

"Drugs?"

I sighed, practically confirming her guess. She let out a heavy breath of air and sunk farther into the bed next to me. I spoke, "It's okay, Lisa, I have really.... really terrible experiences with drugs and I'm not going to get involved. I just need a place to stay that won't get you in trouble."

"People say they're not going to get involved with drugs all the time, that doesn't mean they stay true to their word."

"You don't trust me?"

She sighed. "It's not that, Jen."

"Look at me." She did so reluctantly and I eyed her hard. "My hatred for drugs stems from a very dark place that I do not want to go to right now, but believe me when I tell you that it's there. I, will, not, get, involved."

I could tell I had broken through to her and she let out a breath of relief. "Okay."

"I understand you worry about me, and... I get why you are the way you are about alcohol. But drugs? Come on Lisa, you know me. That's not my thing."

She sighed. "I know it's just... a lot of the bodies that I saw that first year of work were teenagers... and so many of their deaths were linked to drugs. I saw that same addiction that drives drug addicts to make stupid decisions in your incessant need to have an ID. It scared me. It still does, I can't bear the thought of anything happening to you. You know that."

I let myself soften a bit, leaning over and kissing her softly. "I do. I'll be okay."

"I know," she said, putting her hand on mine.

I sunk into the bed and watched her shut the lamp off, turning back to me. "What do you think is going to happen?"

"With what?"

She seemed to shrug. "With Charles."

"I don't know. But I have a feeling we're about to find out, very, very soon."

****

It turned out to be a little longer than a few days. The police were at Charles's house off and on for about a week and a half. First they questioned Charles, who had played it dumb and barely told them anything. Then they questioned Cate, who was also less than helpful because she loved Charles and she, of course, didn't want to send him to jail.

Then they moved on to my neighbors, who had told one of the officers that they heard me scream the night that Charles threw his beer bottle at me. Most of my teachers that had been questioned told the police that my behavior had shifted in the last few weeks, which helped my case. I needed to prove that Charles had physically and emotionally abused me and that he hadn't just disciplined me a little more than normal, because that was the truth. Charles had put me through hell and he deserved to face the consequences.

Lisa was the icing on the cake. Her statement had somehow given the police enough proof to arrest Charles. I should've been happy. This was exactly what I had wanted.

But I couldn't find it in me to be happy.

It was the Monday after Charles had been arrested that I could finally go to Lisa's apartment without worrying about police following me and arresting her for breaking the law. I went to work beforehand, hoping she wouldn't be asleep by the time I made it there. I knocked a few times, waiting as I heard her walking around behind the door.

She opened it and seemed surprised to see me, which would make sense, but she smiled. "Well hello."

I tried to smile, making my way past her into her living room to sit down on the couch. "Wow, warm greeting," she spoke, raising an eyebrow.

This time I actually looked up, paying a little more attention to her than I had before. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a white tank top, except this time she wasn't wearing a bra and I could see quite a bit. Needless to say, it caught me off guard. She looked down, crossing her arms and laughing a bit. "Um, I wasn't really expecting company."

"I see that."

"Well," she muttered, "Nothing you haven't seen before." She sat down on the couch next to me. "What's up?"

"I have news."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

I let my voice fall. "Charles was arrested."

Lisa leaned back, her mouth dropping open a little bit. "Hey.. that's... that's good news. That's.. what you wanted. Why don't you look happy?"

I looked down. "Well, first of all he made bail, which pisses me off... but also.. we're going to court, which means that I need a lawyer, a good lawyer to put him away, and I don't have the money--"

Lisa put her hand on my shoulder, silencing me. "Jen, that's what you're upset about? I... can't do anything about Charles making bail but June handles cases like yours. He's exactly what you need."

I looked over at her. "You think he would take my case?"

"Are you kidding? Of course he would take your case. I'd have to make Ashley divorce him if he didn't take your case."

I tried to smile. "Well that's a little excessive."

Lisa frowned, scooting close to me and putting a hand on my knee. "What is it, Jen? You look... crushed, and I think I just solved your problem so I'm a little confused."

I sighed. "My social worker is coming to Charles's house tomorrow to pick me up and take me to the group home I was living in before Charles and Cate adopted me."

Lisa's face fell and she moved her lips as if to say something, but nothing came out. "Oh."

"I've been trying to avoid this for almost two years Lisa. I mean I knew it was going to happen when I made the statement but now it's real and I don't think I can handle it."

"Why can't you handle it? Why is it so bad, Jen?"

"They all hate me. All of them. I can't go back there, I just can't--"

I was shaking now and my eyes were wet. Even thinking about going back did terrible things to my mental state. Lisa wrapped her arms around me and put her hand on the back of my neck. "Jen, take a deep breath okay?"

I did as she said and pulled back, falling back against the couch. She spoke, "What are you talking about?"

I composed myself and forced Chahee out of my mind. "The girls in that group home blame me for something terrible that happened, and I cannot go three whole months listening to them fucking talk about it. I will go crazy, I mean it."

She stayed silent for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. I didn't even know what I wanted her to say. She couldn't do anything about it. "Am I allowed to ask what happened?"

"No."

"Okay then. Um, well, if it makes you feel any better... you'll be at school for most of the day, and then work, so... you can go home and go right to sleep. You won't have to hear them say anything."

I just lowered my eyes at her. "That's not how it works Lisa. I have a curfew now and Aubrey is required to see to it that all of us are in the living room before we go to sleep, and even if I don't have to hear it all day like I did two years ago, I'll still hear it."

"Do you want me to buy you earplugs?"

I looked at her with the blankest stare ever before getting up off the couch and heading towards the bedroom. She sighed and stood up, running after me and putting her hands on my shoulders. "Okay, I'm sorry, that was insensitive. I say insensitive things sometimes. I just want to help you and I have no idea how. I hate seeing you like this."

I eyed her but stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her waist, letting my head rest on her shoulder. "Oh," she whispered, seemingly unintentionally. "Okay."

"Do you think my life will ever get better?" I muttered, my mind elsewhere. I wasn't ready to go back. I had thought that I was done in that house, surrounded by those people. But I couldn't deal with Charles anymore, and when I was sitting there on Lisa's couch, bleeding, I had let the anger overwhelm me.

Then again, I was so glad I had made a statement.

Charles had been arrested.

That was what I had wanted.

"Yes," she whispered, tightening her hold on me. "It will."

"How do you know?"

"Because," she said, leaning back to look at me. "One of these days, something good is bound to happen to you. I'm sure of it."

I cocked my head. "Something good has already happened to me."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What's that?"

"You."