Red Tiles

chapter 26

  It had been two weeks since I arrived home, and was now the morning of the trial. I was woken by the sound of a firm knocking on my front door. I rolled onto my back with a groan and forced myself out of my recumbent position, and dragged myself to the front door in a zombie-like state.

When I opened the door, I was met with what used to be alluring but was now the agitating smile of Tommy. I sighed and turned away from him, slowly pulling myself back to my bedroom, forcing myself to get dressed and ready to go.

I emerged from my room ten minutes later clad in black skinny jeans, a black tank top, and a white jacket with thin, spaced out lines, each stripe a different color of the rainbow. Tommy smiled as I slipped a pair of black flats onto my small feet, hiding my shiny red toenails.

With just a glance at Tommy's face, I could already tell what he was going to say to me. He had previously warned me to dress formally, in a black dress and matching sweater, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of my obedience.

"Tommy, I'm not doing this your way. If I'm going to be forced to testify, I should be able to at least choose how I look," I snapped, heading towards the kitchen. The clock on the stove showed it to be 08:00. First time I've been out of bed this early in a while.

Tommy started the coffee maker that was on the kitchen island, and sat on one of the wooden stools, waiting for it to finish. I set out two mugs, one gray, one white, and then sat beside him, looking down at my lap. We sat in silence until the coffee maker started beeping, indicating it had finished brewing and was ready to be poured.

Tommy poured coffee for us both, and then took his cup to the living room, making himself at home on the sofa. He took a long sip of coffee before looking up at me.

"So. Did you sleep well?" I glared daggers at him, willing him away with my eyes. He sighed and looked away for a moment. Then looked back at me.

"Good coffee. Is this Target brand?" He asked nonchalantly. I rolled my eyes and stayed seated at the island.

"Cut the small talk, Tommy," I sighed. "I'm not in the mood." I slumped down in my seat a bit, and rested my chin on my forearm, against the island countertop. We sat in silence for what felt like a very long time, until his smartwatch began to beep, indicating it was time for us to leave. 09:00, the stove clock read.

I placed my coffee cup in the sink and grabbed my jacket off the coat rack, and headed towards the door, Tommy close behind. He shut the door behind us as we headed out.

If the drive to the courthouse didn't kill me, then surely my guilt for testifying against Jinx would.