Among the Fallen.

chapter three.

This chapter is dedicated to anna, happy 18th birthday my anna bear!!! 

Everyone say happy birthday anna because she is the reason this story is here. Thank you for believing in me, anna. also she's my favorite author and most of you know her from her masterpiece 'Devotion' everyone go read her if you haven't!!!

"Talking to the moon

Trying to get to you

In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too

Or am I a fool who sits alone talking to the moon?"

         - Talking to the moon, Bruno Mars.

I needed a coffee, I should text Annabeth that I need a coffee, yes. I started looking for my briefcase, Helen glanced as she wiped a couple of tears. Where is my briefcase? "What is it?" my friend asked, her eyes following every single one of my movements.

I walked to the other side of the room, it wasn't a really big or extravagant briefcase. It was brown, it was medium sized but everything I needed could fit in it. It also had my initials engraved on it. I pushed Helen's coat as well as mine's aside, there it was.

H.S that's what it said on the front. I opened it, I needed a file from one of the involved. Today was the first audience, we had been working on a defense argument the whole week. A part of working in the legal department meant advising clients (in a legal way), analyzing and writing contracts as well as reading them to guide the clients. Another thing was attending court hearings which can be a bit boring sometimes, just sometimes.. especially when you have a lot going on in your mind. Oh, let's don't start with reading witness' statements, the fun part is listening to them at the hearing, reading them? Not so much, again, just sometimes.

When you're able to collect evidence, connect the dots and represent clients in trials. That's the euphoria.

Disclaimer; this job includes not getting enough sleep, reading a lot, realizing the system is actually broken and drinking enough coffee to do all of those things I just mentioned.. every single day.

Sometimes it also meant working from home. The times that Annabeth and I had to have dinner on the sofa because the table was scattered with files, witness statements, evidence. Or the times she would join Helen, Jenny, Nick, and me when we would pull an all-nighter at the office. I scanned the printed files in my hands immediately finding what I was looking for and went back to my previous place.

"She was kind, bright, a free soul." Helen half smiled, her chocolate brown eyes had a strange glow on them, fighting back the tears. I kept typing on my computer. We had an audience today at 5:00 pm, my fingers quickly clicking on the keyboard, the sniffles of my co-worker. I needed a coffee, I should text Ann.. I can't text her.

I can't sneak out just to get a kiss from her. If I walk across the street she won't be there to smile at me and hand me my favorite coffee, and when I get home she won't.. she won't be there.

"Be ready for the audience, I need you to be on your best behavior." I closed the laptop, grabbed the stack of papers as well as my briefcase as I made my way out. I felt a gentle touch on my arm, Helen bit her lip, gave me a hopeless look. "What?"

"Are you sure you're okay? We can push this to next week, take a few days off.." Her hands traveled all the way to my hair, her voice trying not to crumble. "You just lost.."