Again ~ A Luke Brooks Love Story

Chapter 35

LUKE'S POV:

As soon as we were dismissed, I went to find Paisley, leaving Mum in the waiting area. Of course, I could have left at any time really but I was transfixed by the court scene. I had seen countless police dramas but none of them prepared me for what I saw in there. I would be perfectly happy if I never had to go through that again in my lifetime. Paisley had been even more stressed by it, I could tell. I had to go and find her.

I went to find her in the room she had been in before her interrogation. It wasn't too hard but I wasn't sure if she'd been in there still.

I knocked lightly on the door but didn't hear a reply. I could hear voices though and I was certain one was Paisley's. I pushed the handle of the door down and it swung open.

Luckily, my assumption was correct. Paisley was sitting in a heavy looking wood chair. Another woman was filling a plastic cup with water from a dispenser in the far corner of the room.

"Hey!" she said angrily when she heard the door open. "You're not supposed to be in here."

"No he's fine," Paisley leaped to my defence. "This is my boyfriend, Luke."

A flash of understanding flickered over the woman's face but she masked it well.

"I see," she said with a politeness that wasn't there before. "I'll leave you two alone then."

She handed the plastic cup to Paisley and passed me on her way out.

I immediately take the only other seat in the room, next to my girlfriend.

"He's getting locked up," I told her. "The judge added seven years to his sentence."

Paisley shakily took a sip from her cup before speaking. "Good."

"Are you OK?" I asked softly. "You looked pretty shaken up there."

"It was awful," Paisley stared straight ahead. "That horrible woman interrogating me like I was the criminal."

"But it's over now," I said soothingly."I'll look after you."

Almost involuntarily, my hand snaked out to hold hers. She took it gratefully. Her palms were sweaty but I didn't care because I knew she was stressed.

"Do you know what the worst part is?" She finally looked at me. "I felt what they felt. I now know what they were all going through."

"Who are you talking about?" I was confused.

"The girls. All the girls," Paisley let out a little shudder.

"Care to elaborate?"

"When my dad and his gang were on trial," she said. "I didn't know how those girls felt but I do now. I was just angry because they were putting my daddy in jail. God, it must have been even worse for them."

"Trial?" I questioned. "I didn't know there was a trial,"

"Of course there was," Paisley said impatiently. "Why do you think I moved schools?"

"I thought that was because he d-died," I said hesitantly.

"That came later," Paisley shook her head. "Bastard judge let him have bail."

There was a stunned silence for a moment because I honestly couldn't think of anything to say. I had never heard any of this before. It was a while before I could speak.

"What did he do?" I asked finally, for some reason needing to know.

"He sold girls into prostitution," Paisley spat out. "Girls younger than me now. They were desperate and he took advantage of it and ruined their lives."

"So why was he killed?" I asked. "I mean if you don't want to talk about it..."

Paisley shook her head.

"It's OK," she said. "It's about time you knew. My dad died - was murdered - because one of these girls died. He was pumping them with heroin and ecstasy and she overdosed. Her brother was angry and he had a gang. They shot him and chucked his body in a river."

"I'm sorry," I say, absolutely stunned.

"He deserved it," Paisley said. "I hated him."

"But he couldn't have been all bad," I said, surprising myself. Why was I defending this man? "He shouldn't have done it but he was raising the money for you. Right?"

"Wrong," Paisley said bitterly. "He might have cared about Mum once upon a time but he didn't give me or Cameron the time of day. We never saw a penny of that money. He was an awful dad. Did you know he used to hit us?"

"No," I said quietly. "I always thought I was hard done by not having a dad but then I hear things like this and I'm sort of glad."

"Not all dads are bad," Paisley shook her head. "Some of my friends dad's were lovely. And you're a great dad to Ava."

"How can you say that?" I protested. "I was addicted to drugs!"

"But you got over it," Paisley argued. "You're not anymore and that's all that really matters."

"I hope so," I sighed deeply.

Paisley looked at me closely, long and hard. I knew we were both thinking the same thing.

"I love you," I broke the silence.

"I love you more," Paisley said quietly.

"I don't think that's possible."