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Chapter 42: Uncertainty

  'Cause you brought out the best of me
A part of me I'd never seen
You took my soul wiped it clean
Our love was made for movie screens 

All I Want - Kodaline 

ONE. TWO. THREE. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine.

"Ten," I gasped.

Ten seconds.

Every morning as my eyes opened, there were ten seconds in which my mind didn't remember what had happened. Sometimes I even felt those ten seconds were the reason why I fell asleep and woke up.

That sunny Monday of June was the exception. The buzzing of my phone was the undesirable responsible for my awakening and a knot was immediately settled in the pit of my stomach. I slowly slipped from under Harry's arm and groped my hand on the nightstand for a few seconds until I finally managed to grab my phone.

"Hello?" I asked, fully conscious that my croaky voice gave away that I had just woken up.

"Sorry to call so early Liv, but I needed to tell you the news before anyone else did," Adam said from the other side of the lines.

I cleared my throat and sat up in bed, "What is it?" I asked as Harry slowly opened his eyes beside me.

"We found him Liv," he announced proudly.

"Wha- Who?" I asked still confused, "The SUV driver?" I breathed as Harry's hand found mine.

"Yes, his name is Burt Christenson, we have enough proof that he was driving under the influence," he explained stumbling into his own words, "last night he was put under preventive detention, we are presenting a criminal case this week and I'm positive we can bring him to court in the next couple months, we are talking at least 15 years behind bars, Liv."

A shaky gasp crept out of my throat, I took a glimpse at Harry but I didn't really look at him, I was beyond my surroundings. All I could feel was an unstoppable wave of hope finally taking over me. The remote possibility of actually being able to make justice after Jill's death had been my leitmotiv ever since that fatal day. There was finally a light at the end of the tunnel.

"I don't know what to say," was the first thing I could mumble, "thank you so much, Adam."

It was as if I could see him proudly beaming on the other side of the line, "There's nothing to thank me for, I'll be traveling to L.A. as soon as I can and keep you posted, okay?"

I nodded, "Yes, please, and thanks again."

"See you soon, take care," he said before hanging up.

It wasn't until I could regain some composure that I was finally able to explain to Harry what was going on. I knew perfectly that I should be realistic and don't get too excited, but it was almost impossible when every piece of me suddenly cherished the hope of, at least, doing something to honor Jill's life by taking away from the streets a man that could cause further damage.

I curled up and Harry cradled me in his arms for longer than I could count while I sloppily cried with a bittersweet mix of sadness, expectation, and fear. I was scared of calling Lily, Jill's mom, to let her know the news. Even though we had talked a couple of times on the phone, I still felt guilty for what had happened and self-conscious when it came to talking to her.

With trembling fingers I scrolled down my phone and tapped into her contact, the phone rang and my hand was so tight around Harry's I was afraid I was hurting him. She answered by the third ring and the sound of her heartbreaking sobs quickly led me to do the same. It took us several minutes until we could finally engage in a conversation, I blurted the information and the anticipation in her voice tone made me feel relieved.