The Lawyer

Chapter Three- Forgetting

Harlee's POV

It's been a long day. I spent half of it consoling my mother as she swallowed gulps of wine and cried into the bottle. It's getting harder to cope with my moms breakdowns. She uses me as a crutch to survive.

I hate my father, I really do. But at least I didn't have to deal with this when he was still in love with my mother. He dealt with it. My mom used to cry about everything, now she just cries about him. And I don't want to be there when he's officially moved out.

I'm sitting on my bed, stressed as ever. When it's not my mother, it's the memory of my encounter with the divorce lawyer. Noah. It's not that I don't remember his name, it's just that I remember what happened so much more clearly.

I've never felt such passion before. He was like a hurricane in the middle of the desert. And it's hard to make sure it's not the only thing I think about. The risk of getting caught was so exciting. 

He made me feel like I've never felt before. 

I felt alive. The only problem is, I'll probably never see him again. Even so, I 'd be glad just to have the memory of our experience together. I pick up my pen of the bed and open my journal. 

I pour feelings and moments onto the blank page like fish to a stream. Sometimes writing is the only way I can express my feelings. If I told anyone what happened they would never understand.

I close the journal and put it back in it's hiding spot under my drawers. I gently open my bedroom door and creep down the dimly lit hallway. Sunlight only comes into my room at this end of the house.

I sneak into the kitchen to steal the bottle of scotch my dad keeps in the crisper. It's half empty. I've been taking it out of the fridge and going out with it for over a month and my father still hasn't noticed.

I stop dead as I hear his bedroom door creak open. 

"Harlee? What are you doing with the scotch sweetie?" He questions warmly. I refuse to look him in the eyes. "I was just checking that it was still good for you and Michelle to drink" I lie. I angrily go to put the scotch back but my dad stops me. 

"If you hate being around me so much then take it. Maybe you'll drink enough to forget me entirely" He sighs and returns to his room. I seize the offer while it lasts and run from the house, scotch in hand.

This town haunts me like a bad dream. Reminders of how un-normal my life is are everywhere. I see perfect families with grade-A children and beautiful two-story homes. At least I'm happy that other people can be happy.

I run to the nearby lake and sit on the rocks by the water. I open the scotch and let tears run down my face. I can only ever cry where no one can see. I drink and cry until I'm too drunk to feel anything.

It's self destructive but it helps. 

My legs dangle from the rock, only just dipping into the lake. I can barely see my reflection through my flooded eyes. I barely let a sound escape my mouth, and I release the tears in silence. 

It just hurts so much. I never wanted to be the girl who ended up alone because of her trust issues. I can't handle being my mom's support system, and I never wanted to be my dad's mistake. It was forced on me, there was no choice. 

I was born into this life, I didn't stumble across it.

But I have to be strong for my mom. She means well, and I need to be open with her about how I feel. If I don't, I can't change the situation. I can't fix my life without trying. It just don't work like that.

I wipe the tears off my face and crawl back off the rock onto the dirt path behind me. I've downed the bottle of scotch and I now have no reservations. As I stumble to lean against a tree, I search for my phone.

I call my friend Diana, who has known me since I was little, and we decide to go to the city for the night. There's a few nightclubs that don't double check our fake ID's. I tend to like The Dollar Drop, which is an expensive club where I can meet rich people.

I change at her house, into a tight mini skirt and and an off the shoulder black shirt paired with a denim jacket. We catch the train in and get off at Alchoster Street.

The club we're going to is called Blue Diamond. It's one of the nicer clubs in the city. I'm friends with one of the bouncers at the door, so that usually makes it easier to get in. When we get to the door I wave at the two men working the club door tonight.

We get to the front of the door and flash the ID's to Mikey, who I know from back home. He lets us in and we immediately shuffle to the bar in our 6 inch Louis Vuitton pumps. I order a sex on the beach and Diana orders a cosmopolitan.

"Alright Harlee, what's going on? I can hear it in your voice. Somethings up" Diana grills me, looking for answers as to why I was so eager to get away. "I just don't want to be around the drama tonight. It's a lot to handle" I explain.

As me and Diana hit the dance floor, I see someone familiar in the crowd. It's Noah James. My parents divorce lawyer. The guy I rubbed up on. I try and hide amongst the people, but he spots me. 

Neither of us know what to do. He approaches me "Hey..." he greets me. "Hi" I respond, trying to ease his tension. "Listen I need to talk to you about.. what happened the other day" he says. "It's okay, we can forget it happened and-" Noah cuts me off.

"No. No, that's not what I want at all" He tells me sternly. I stare into his eyes, confused as to why he wouldn't want to forget someone like me. I would be no good for him. I'm a mess. I would ruin him.

"What do you mean?" I ask him shyly. He looks at me and bites his lip. He steps closer to me close enough to kiss. "See, the problem is, I don't ever want to forget what happened" He slyly flirted.

I bite my lip. I don't know how to react to what he's said. He takes my hand and leads me to the storage room at the back of the club. I can tell he's hesitant to speak. He presses me against the wall and grabs me by the hips.

His eyes are focused, lustful, unlike any look a man has given me. He pulls me into a heated kiss, laced with burning desire and lust. I really should come to my senses. He's seven years older than me. I shouldn't even be here.

But Noah James has a hold on me.