[ forty ]
Some time during the night, James sat next to me on the bench and I laid my head on his shoulder, going back to sleep instantly. It was uncomfortable, but I was tired, and I wanted to be as well rested as I could, in case they wanted to interrogate me again.
It was early in the morning when the woman officer opened our cell and shook James awake. "Hey," She told him. It took a couple of seconds for him to wake from his sleep. He wiped the sleepiness away with the backs of his hands and shot her a confused look. He had probably forgotten momentarily that he had been put into jail the night before. When she saw he was fully conscious, she continued, "You're free to go, sir. I'll just need to get your information to fill out a police report stating that you were here, disrupting the peace."
"What about Arista?" He asked sleepily.
The woman shook her head. "My collegues are revising the security tapes from the press building where the incident occurred. They will let us know shortly if the young woman is free to go or will be formally put under arrest."
"But she didn't do anything." James insisted.
"Can you testify in her favor?" The woman officer wondered, adding another question, "Were you there when it happened?"
With a shake of his head, James replied, "I wasn't there. But I know Arista. She would never do something like that."
He was going to continue arguing with the officer, but I took his hand in mine, giving it a light squeeze. "James, don't get yourself in more trouble over me. The police already have the security tapes and I'll be out of here in no time. Maybe you should go check on Giselle, see how she's doing."
"You're so caring, mi amor." James sighed. "How could anyone believe you were capable of hurting anyone?" He then got up from his seat next to me, but knelt before me before leaving the cold jail cell. Cupping my face in his hands, he told me in a very reassuring tone, his eyes looking right into mine as he spoke, "I'm going to the hospital to see how Giselle is doing, then I'll come right back here to pick you up once they let you out of this place. I know you're innocent, I trust you." And he gave me a small peck on the lips before the female officer grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away from me.
As I heard James leave the station, I could also hear the bustling of the press, trying to get answers from him. Most of them were no doubt getting photographs as well. I could already imagine the headlines tomorrow morning. And I knew I would be in them as well. People would believe me to be a child murderer until the truth could be put in the news.
I sat in the jail cell all by myself once more, hoping I would soon be free.
-
Hours went by before an officer, one of the ones that had arrested me at the hospital, came to my cell and unlocked the door. "You're free to go, Miss Paez." He said to me. "There was no evidence found to prove you were guilty. But there was more than enough to prove your innocence."
I couldn't help but smile at his words. "The truth always finds its way."
He nodded, agreeing with me, "We apologize for the misunderstanding. But all charges will be dropped now. As for Miss Vilanova, we have sent a squad car out to the hospital to question her and the doctor she bribed." He explained to me. "I don't want to let too much information out, but we anticipate they should be given at least fifteen years of jail time for their crimes."
I got up from my seat at the bench in my jail cell and stepped outside into the hallway. The officer led me out into the front office where there were waiting room chairs. James was sitting in one of them and he got up when he saw me. Pulling me into his embrace, I felt him nuzzle his face into my hair. "The officers explained everything to me." He said, "Giselle lied about being pregnant, she lied about you pushing her, she lied about everything."
"I'm so glad everything worked out." I cried into his chest.
"I feel bad for Giselle." He said into my hair, which, even after all this time, smelled like roses because I was still using the shampoo he liked so much. "But she needs to pay for everything she did."
When we pulled away from our embrace, I looked up into his chocolate brown eyes, saying, "Thank you for believing in me and listening to me, even after I didn't want to listen to you."
James shook his head. "Don't worry, bonita. They were different circumstances. You were hurt because it looked like I was cheating on you. But I would never do that to you, I would never throw our relationship away so stupidly."
With a sigh, I said, "I know. And I promise I'll listen before jumping to a conclusion, no matter how bad something looks."
"Now come on, bonita." He slipped his hand into mine and a small smile touched his lips, but it was genuine. "Let's go live our dreams together."
"But what about the press?" I bit my lip.
They were always starting rumors. And how bad would it look now that James was leaving his girlfriend, who was in the hospital, for another woman. James scoffed at my words. "Let them think what they want. If you and I are happy, then our dreams are real."
Being happy with James was what I most wanted in life.
And if we were happy, then he was absolutely right, the dream was real.
-
i used the title of the story as the closing line! i love doing that because i feel it ties in the whole story. i did it with 'hala madrid' and now this one. bahaha. and now giselle is gonna get what she deserves. bc she is a motherfucking puta. lol and ps. fifteen years is what u get in usa for bribery. idk how it works in spain tho, so i used usa jail time estimates.
next will be the epilogue for you all. i hope you like it. thank you so much for reading, and voting, and commenting. the support was just amazing from you all and it meant the entire world. like, never in my life did i imagine someone would be reading, much less actually liking the stories my crazy little brain comes up with. i appreciate you all so much. you are all my friends, MY FAMILY. i love you all to bits.
so stay tuned for the epilogue.
-clary xx
