Sinbound

(44) The Decision

Poole opens the envelope, his eyes scanning over it before clearing his throat, "the jury has found Alexandria Shelby... not guilty, on all accounts."

There was an uproar from the opposing side of the courtroom, as the cuffs are removed from Alex's wrists, the women smirking at them and waving with her freed hands.

Alex jumps over the barrier separating her from the spectators, Amari rushing into her arms, "I can't wait to get you home."

"Oh yeah?" Alex responds suggestively.

"I just meant that I can see you every waking minute, dirty woman," Amari blushes, "but I suppose their might be some other benefits."

"Suppose? Might be?" Alex replies, placing a kiss on Amari's cheek, before whispering in her ear, "wait till I get you alone, we'll see if you can even remember how to say anything but my name, darling."

"I think there's someone waiting for you," Amari says, glancing over at Mel's shoulder.

"Whoever it is can wait," Alex mumbles, burying her head against Amari's neck, feeling the woman's hand gently calmly caress the base of her neck.

"I think she might just implode if she has to wait another minute," Amari responds, "I'm not going anywhere, and she really needs to see you, you should've seen her when she came home from visiting you."

"Mel?" Alex asks, lifting her head, and turning towards the teenager who comes hurtling into her arms, almost sending them both staggering to the floor.

"Don't leave," Mel says, "never leave ever again."

-

Alex rarely found herself alone that evening. The group had gone to the Eden club, which was back under their control.

She didn't have a moment to herself. It was like everyone was waiting for someone to take the verdict away, for a herd of coppers to come storming in and lock her up again.

"Are you finally going to listen when we tell you to reduce the killings?" Tommy says, leaning against the bar beside his sister, who had only just managed to escape the crowd.

"Don't act like you wouldn't have killed them yourself," Alex responds.

"You have always been one step ahead in that aspect," Tommy chuckles.

"In that aspect?" Alex repeats, "I'm one step ahead of you in everything."

"Modest as always, little sister," Tommy replies, as Ada walks over to them, causing Alex to sigh.

"What was that about?" Ada asks.

"Nothing," Alex responds, but Ada doesn't take that for an answer, she swipes the bottle of whiskey from beside Alex, tugging on her older sisters hand pulling her into the back room, then down into the cellar.

"Lex, what's wrong?" Ada questions.

"It's exhausting," Alex states, "there's so many people, and they all want to talk to me, they're all congratulating me, clapping their hands on my shoulder."

Ada hands the bottle to her sister who takes a swig before continuing, "I've been alone in a tiny room for months, it's going to take me some time to adjust to being around a lot of people again, it's overwhelming. Furthermore, I should not be getting congratulated, they're making it seem like it's a good thing that I can slaughter people and get away with it, that it's one of my perks. Is that how people see me? I can't have very good characteristics if my ability to murder is considered one of the best."