Fatal Attractions

LI

I almost didn't believe what I was hearing.

After all I've been through, every single day in court, every minute of interrogations, every lunch trying to adapt to prison food, I wasn't guilty. After all the fighting, I had won.

I burst into sobs, the entire room silent as I fell into Jason, staining his shirt with tears as he embraced me tightly.

"Thank you thank you thank you..." I kept repeating, not sure how I could ever repay him for this. Somehow he had done the impossible, and I can't believe it.

The room exploded in shocked chatter, every single person, no doubt, thought I was going to prison, including myself.

"You're free." He said quietly, trying to stay professional and not cry. "It's ok, Madi, you're free."

I pulled away from him. "But how-"

He took out his phone and opened his news app, the headline being VOLTAGE SPOTTED ON MAYOR STREET AS SHARPE TRIAL AWAITS VERDICT

"What?" I asked. "Who is it? How-" I asked quietly.

He smiled. "Let's just say that blond secretaries make the best vigilantes." That girl was getting a raise. "And I may or may not have given one of the jury members his phone back during recess," They weren't allowed to read any newspapers or have one bit of correspondence with anyone else during the trial to prevent bias from the public, for obvious reasons. "And I turned on the news notifications, whoops."

I threw my arms back around him, planting a kiss on his cheek. "I have no words."

"You don't have to have any." He said back. "I just want you to be happy."

I pulled away from him and searched around the courtroom for Logan, still no sign of him. Of course the first thing I thought of was Blake, he probably killed him already, but I didn't have that gut feeling that anything was wrong. All I know, there is nothing I can do about it right now, they had to bring me back to the prison first for my things, then I was free to go. Released back into the city I had abandoned for two weeks. Released back into my real world problems.

After I was done with my brief celebrations, the guards took me back out to the prison van, reporters swarming me.

"Ms. Sharpe! How do you feel after that?"

"Is Blake Rockwell actually Hypothermia?"

"What now?"

"Will you go back to being deputy mayor?"

"What are you going to do with your first bit of freedom?"

Logan.

I was hoping and praying he would be at home so I don't have to go on a wild goose chase trying to find him. All I wanted to do was see him, touch him, kiss him, I just wanted to make sure he was ok.

Before I could leave a comment, I was being led into the van.

"Hey," I scolded Mike. "I'm not a prisoner anymore, I want to talk to them."

"No you don't. A crazed protestor would've come up at some point and stabbed you, so I'm doing you a favor."

I smiled. "It's really been a pleasure listening you doubt my innocence."

"Can you really blame me? All the evidence was against you." He scoffed.

"I guess not all of it." I was just so happy, I could've kept the conversation going a day for all I cared. It was the last I would be talking to these guys.

We got back to the prison and they told me that they just had to get my discharge papers and I was free to go.

Nothing. Not even bail. No parole. This was a dream come true. I couldn't even put my excitement into words right now. 100% guilt free of all charges, even though only about 50% of that was actually true.