KAIDEN POV
Chapter name: a helping hand
"You didn't need to do that!" I raise my voice at Tivelly. I ease back as her small body flinches.
"You didn't even tell me what you were doing! Do you not understand that you're stupid?" Her eyes narrow, shooting daggers into my head.
I take a step back, taking a breath as I glance over to our friends who awkwardly wait for us by my car.
No doubt they can hear us.
I rub the back of my neck, turning my head back to Tivelly.
"I was going to tell you. You just showed up before I could." I was going to tell her, but there was no indication of when.
She has reason to be angry with me, I would be angry too. It's the fact that she walked into a basement of a building that she has no business being in. Not only that, but she talked to the man that had me trapped in that situation.
"What if I was in that situation?" She grabs my upper arms, shaking me, her beautiful eyes glistening with tears.
It dawns on me and I feel myself get weaker.
She was in that situation. I had no business dragging myself into her life but I did. I saved her and then she saved me.
I grab her, pulling her into my chest, gazing at the brick wall in front of me as I feel my shirt dampen with her tears.
Her trembling arms wrap around my torso, squeezing me like she is going to lose me. "Why would you not tell me?" She looks up at me, tears streaking her rosy cheeks.
"I'm sorry." My voice is quiet as I run my fingers through her silky hair. My heart is pained at the sight of her grief. Grief that I have caused.
With her quivering inhale we part, "We should just pack up and leave." She avoids my gaze as she speaks.
"Pack up and leave? To where?" I ask. The thought is nice although I know we won't be able to leave with the trial that will happen soon.
"Let's go to Italy. Your family will be there. Your sister too. We can escape from everything." Her soft hands gently touch my face.
"What about the trial? We need to get your family put away forever." The trial could happen anywhere from six months from now to years. You never know how long these things can take.
Without Tivelly here I'm sure they would be released.
Cold droplets of water fall onto our heads. Tivelly lifts her hands out, letting the rain fall onto her palms.
"Come on guys we have to go!" Case yells at us as the rain starts coming down harder.
With those words Tivelly and I start to the car, watching as our friends pile in.
"I don't know if you've realized but we are all going to have to squish," I tell her, watching several people try to squish into my car.
"We can stay here until trial, for however long that takes, but after trial let's leave." She stops in her steps, the rain soaking her hair and the top of her jacket.
I give her a soft smile, stopping with her as I get uncomfortably wet, "I'll follow you wherever you go."
"Only because of these security cameras Presley placed in your house are we able to visually have proof of the abuse." Mr. Jenson tells us, turning a computer screen towards Tivelly and me.
The screen shows footage of Presley throwing Tivelly into the wall. No sound comes out of the speakers but I'm sure Presley is threatening her in this footage. His large body stalks over her as she quivers in fear.
The blonde beside me looks away, trying to distract herself from the painful footage that is on display in front of us.
"It only has footage from the last six months from the time it was last in use. So for your years of abuse, we only have six months of proof." Jenson adds, turning the screen back around. He wavers over the footage for a few more seconds before he exits it.
"What could their sentence be?" Tivelly brings her eyes to Jenson. He leans back in his chair, fixing his tie.
"Presley pleaded not guilty. So when we show the court all of this footage he's done for. We got him for attempted murder and abuse of a child. We can only hope to lock him away for at least twenty."
Tivelly stays silent. No doubt twenty years is a stretch. I doubt we would be able to get a sentence as long as that. Unfortunately, cases like this one don't get longer sentences.
"I need to go to the bathroom." Tivelly stands to her feet, grabbing her bag and leaving the room.
I lean forward, resting my forearms on my thighs. "Is there a possible chance of him getting out?" The question has been eating at me since we started the case. My fear that he could get out and hurt Tivelly is growing stronger each day.
"There's always a chance. If not get out then he could only have parole or house arrest. Anything can happen." Before I can say anything he gives me a smirk, "Say, I know this isn't my case... but do you know about that fighting ring?"
He studies my shocked reaction to the question. It's clear to me that he knows I was a part of the ring before he asked.
I sit back up, watching his interest in me peek. "Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."
He shifts in his seat, shaking his head to say no, "The police want to shut them down as a whole. If you arent involved with it then you should get in tr-"
"He isn't involved with it." Tivelly stands in the doorway, her features sharp with anger, "You should focus on the case at hand. I'm sure this is something you can get in trouble for."
Jenson rubs the back of his neck as Tivelly closes the door behind her, her eyes not once leaving her attorney.
"You've misunderstood, this isn't to get Kaiden in trouble-"
"No, drop the topic."
"You're a part of them. Aren't you?" I narrow my eyes at him, standing and immediately moving in front of Tivelly.
I feel her hands grip my shirt as she stands closely behind me. Jenson's face drops, looking between us like we are the dumbest people that have ever been in this office. "You don't have to worry about them coming after you now. Your debt is paid and you have kept secrecy."
"What about the case? Was this just a facade to find out if we were going to tell?" I ask. Tivelly and Jenson have been meeting every week for the past two months.
She only recently found out about the stuff I was involved with. Was this all planned from the beginning? Was there ever any pure intention of helping her?
"Everything will continue as planned," Jenson reassures us, putting a folder of the case information into his drawer.
"Did you ever have any intentions of helping us?" Tivelly voices my question as if we are one mind.
She moves out from behind me, interlocking our fingers as we stand in front of him.
"This was merely a coincidence. I have sworn my loyalty to this case and I will finish it through. I have a young son, and imagining him going through what you went through makes my stomach turn. I have no remorse for Presley or Able." He stands to his feet, dusting himself off, "And if I could, I would kill him in this second."
Little do I know that this would be the start of ruthlessly picking up pieces of my past to try to appease the court.
YOU ARE READING
Say you love me
Romansa"I want to help you." His bright eyes sparkle in the moonlight. "You can't help me! You hurt me!" By now, the tears I had been desperately trying to hold back finally slip out. "They hurt you!" As he yells, the anger in his voice eases out; his eye...
