How to Unkill Yourself [ruby da cherry]

Misleading Us

     "The outlook is very good, actually. And since both men are in custody now, you have some sort of comfort," Mrs. Fuentes said. I nodded, staring at the cup of pens on her desk, counting each one, noting the different colors... I wasn't bored or scared, just zoned out. I was lucky to have gotten an appointment with my lawyer the day after my attack. Or 17 hours? 12 hours? All I knew was that time had passed since then.

     "So next week? Seems kind of quick," I shifted my gaze from the pens to her. She smiled and nodded, flipping through papers in my file.

     "If they don't take a plea deal in that time, then the initial hearing will be next week. Then, after that, the actual trial will begin by picking jury members. Then opening statements, questioning, for both of you, evidence being presented, cross examinations, witness testimony, closing statements, and finally jury deliberation and decision. After that, there'll be sentencing if he's found guilty and it'll be done." She spoke, as if she's done this a hundred times. She may have, for all I know. I guess it'd be good for me if she has done this that many times. And won, hopefully.

     "That's a lot. How long will that take?"

     "Anywhere from a few weeks to months or even years if he has a good enough lawyer. If he's wealthy he could drag this out for as long as possible."

     I raised my eyebrows and looked away from her. "Yeah, I'm not worried about that."

     "I see. Well, we should be good then, like I said. Any questions or concerns just call, text, email, you have my info. I have yours too, so if there are any updates at all I will notify you." Mrs. Fuentes said, closing the folder of documents in front of her.

     "Yeah, I'd say email is best for now. Um, any idea when I'll be getting my phone back?"

     "Once investigators confirm that its contents weren't tampered with. And if it was, it'll be addressed, contents collected for evidence, and fixed. Or you'll have to replace it if there's irreversible damage."

     I straightened my back, getting ready to get up from the stiff chair. "Alright, so it shouldn't be long, then. Right?"

     Mrs Fuentes nodded with her usual warm smile. "Right. So, Charlie, I'll see you soon," she reached out to shake my hand. "And don't hesitate to reach out."

     Our hands separated and I smiled back at her, mouthing an 'okay.' After I got out of the room and went down to the first floor, Ruby stood from one of the leather chairs in the lobby.

     "So, how're we lookin'?" he asked as I made my way towards him. He placed a hand gently on my upper arm.

     "She seemed pretty confident. Daniel and his accomplice guy are both in county jail, so that's nice. Then all the evidence with the rape kit, he's probably going away for a while." I tried my best to paraphrase so I didn't have to speak so much. Ruby's face changed from curious to happy in a matter of seconds.

     "That's great, baby!" He cheered, his hand moving from my arm to pull me into a hug. I loosely positioned my arms around him for a couple of seconds before moving out of his grasp. "You feelin' alright to go anywhere?"

     "Depends... I'd really rather not be around a lot of people. If we go back to the house I'll probably just stare at the wall or something, so if you wanna go somewhere then that'd probably be better for me."

     "I was gonna go see my friend at his new tattoo shop, he owns it. Just opened last month, but I was on tour an' shit got busy. We don't gotta go if you ain't up for it, but I told him last week I'd come today."