Rei tapped on the large, heavy, wooden panel, glancing at Ami. She trashed her Starbucks coffee cup right before Setsuna opened the door. Rei was shocked to find the judge wearing a sharp, grey dress suit, similar to her own, instead of the usual black judge’s robes she wore in court. It suites her well, thought Rei as she nodded at the judge and stepped into her office, Ami following behind. She shot a glare and momentarily scowled at the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed blonde lawyer sitting in the center of the pristine room.
Somber colored law books lined the walls from ceiling to floor, giving the room an intimidating, pedantic atmosphere. A throw rug graced the floor underneath the judge’s tidy desk, which had three large leather chairs in front of it. Her friend’s shimmering shoulder-length blue hair caught her attention and Rei turned toward Ami who was already looking quite professional in the chair opposite J.D. Rei sank into the only other empty chair in the room, grateful for the shockingly cold leather on her bare legs. It would help keep her wits about her during this early morning appointment.
Setsuna sat down gracefully in the rolling chair behind the desk, “So what is it that brings you both to my office so early?”
Rei cleared her throat, scooting to the edge of her chair, “This is Dr. Ami Martin. Ami this is Judge Thromberg and…” Rei presented the judge, while Ami smiled.
“Jedite Dorian, but my friends call me J.D.,” the stunningly smooth man got out of his seat, grabbing Ami’s small hand and smiling charmingly, “It’s a pleasure.”
“Your Honor,” Rei began, interrupting what she considered a grotesque display. She didn’t like the look J.D. was giving her pretty, blue-haired friend. “Dr. Martin works at St. Luke’s Hospital in the emergency room. She has new evidence for my case that I would like to add to today’s proceedings.”
The judge retained a professional, if somewhat shocked expression, “What is this evidence?”
Rei fumbled for a moment and then handed the judge several large brown envelopes as well as twelve photographs in a picture folder. “These are photos and x-rays taken at St. Luke’s roughly a month before the incident in question. Ami…”
Ami took her cue, “The x-ray shows several fractured ribs of Mrs. Alexander and the boxer fracture of Mr. Alexander’s right distal metacarpal. Both x-rays were taken on the same day. The pictures included there are of a severely bruised orbital, a fractured mandible and a displacement of the zygomatic arch, these were also taken on the same day as the x-ray of Mrs. Alexander.” The judge flipped through each as Ami spoke, passing them to J.D. as she finished. “The other pictures are of various other injuries that happened prior to the others. I’m sure you can see they are all of Mrs. Alexander.”
“What is this?” J.D. asked staring confused at the last several pictures. He turned them upside down and then sideways and finally passing them over Rei to Ami.
Ami looked at the pictures and blushed slightly. “These are welts and bruises on her vaginal area.”
“Oh!” J.D. said and, blushing bright red, he immediately put the pictures back in the folder.
Rei couldn’t help but smile at J.D.’s obvious embarrassment. Setsuna cleared her throat. “This is quite… disturbing evidence you’ve found Rei.”
“Yes,” Rei started. “That’s why it needs to be in this case. I have several witnesses who already will be testifying to the abuse my client has suffered at…”
“Allegedly suffered,” J.D. added. “We can’t assume these injuries are from my client. For all we know Mrs. Alexander was the victim of some nameless rape.”
“That’s why I brought Ami,” Rei said smugly, pointing to her friend.
“What did Mrs. Alexander give you as a reason for these injuries, Dr. Martin?” Judge Thromberg asked, turning her attention toward the frail doctor.
“I wasn’t her attending physician during the rape case, but from what I understand she wouldn’t say anything about it. The nurses had an awful time trying to get any information out of her. It’s why it wasn’t reported.”
“What about the x-rays and facial injuries?” Rei asked quickly trying to steer the conversation before J.D. could start.
“I was on her case that day. Serena Alexander is what we call a frequent flyer. She comes in all the time. This was the first time she came in with her husband. We were all quite shocked, he seemed so charming…”
“Ami?” Rei raised an eyebrow at her friend.
“Oh, sorry. They told us they were in a car accident and that Serena had hit her face on the steering wheel while Seiya had just hit his hand trying to brace himself.” Ami finished a bit flushed.
“And I’m assuming you don’t believe that?” Setsuna asked directly.
“Well, no.”
“Of course she doesn’t,” J.D. started. Rei rolled her eyes, there he goes. “She has already made an assumption without facts. For all we know, they were telling the truth,”
“That’s not true!” Ami said louder than normal. Rei was a little surprised but said nothing. “The reason Mr. Alexander’s fracture is called the boxer fracture is because it happens to boxers when they punch something. If his injury was caused by impact he would have shattered or fractured his wrist, not a metacarpal. And there is no way that a steering wheel would have touched Serena’s orbital. The zygomatic arch is there to protect the orbital. The only way that could have happened is if she was hit twice, and I doubt she slammed her head on the steering wheel after a car accident.”
For a moment everyone was silent, to hear and see such a mousy girl give such a passionate speech.
“Well, I admit this evidence seems very solid…” Judge Thromberg said.
“What? This is a little late in the game to be submitting such evidence. I mean if these pictures were taken months before this incident as you say, then you should have found this before. It is a bit unfair not to mention against proper court etiquette to allow existing evidence into the proceedings so late into the trial.” J.D. said pointedly, emphasized the dates on the photos. “In all fairness, a good lawyer would have found this kind of evidence before the trial began.”
Rei stood infuriated, “Don’t you insult me! You can hardly use that as grounds for dismissal. It is neither fair to me nor my client. I had only just made this discovery because Ami happened to mention it at lunch the other day. Before this Serena hadn’t signed medical release forms…”
J.D. looked Rei sincerely in the eyes and stood sensing already he was winning, “If Dr. Martin discussed such confidential patient information to a friend in a public restaurant then she is hardly an ethical physician much less a valid expert witness.”
“How dare you! I mentioned to Rei that Serena was a patient at my hospital I did not, under any circumstance, reveal any confidential information. You may be a lawyer Mr. Dorian but I am a highly acclaimed physician and I know the laws concerning my practice!” Ami rebutted ardently, furrowing her eyebrows indignantly as she did so. J.D. looked impressed but did not allow it to stop him. He held up an authoritative finger and silenced Ami.
“Still, we can not allow a friend of either lawyer to enter the case as an expert witness. It would clearly be a biased testimony.” J.D. said coolly, leaning both hands on the Judge’s desk, “I guarantee you I will appeal this case and it will be overturned if such an unethical practice were allowed…”
“You have made your point J.D., now sit down,” Setsuna demanded, glaring at the pushy blonde lawyer.
Judge Thromberg sat silently for a moment, examining both the evidence and the three people who sat before her. Rei noticed every nuance of her expression, from her slight grimace, to her wrinkled forehead and even the slight nod of her head. Rei knew that if the judge allowed this evidence it would mean ultimate triumph for Serena. Judge Thromberg would be the one to decide whether this trial ended now or lagged on.
“Though I must admit that you do have a point, I am sorry, Rei. As compelling, and disturbing as this evidence is, it needed to be discovered earlier; Mr. Dorian has had no time to examine this evidence, let alone find his own expert witness to refute it. Evidence of this gravity and severity should have been obtained earlier and that, Rei, is your error. As for you Dr. Martin, it was a pleasure meeting you, but under the circumstances I’m afraid I cannot allow you to be an expert witness in this case. Unlike Mr. Dorian implied, Ami, you are allowed to have your own opinion about this case and I have no doubts that you are an outstanding physician, both morally and ethically. I am also aware that Serena has signed a medical release. However, it is not clear how it was that Rei obtained notice of this evidence; the court has no way to prove that you did not disclose any confidential information, though I am sure your word is true, the same thing cannot be said about Mr. Dorian. Therefore, because the lawful origins of obtaining this evidence are unclear, I can not allow them to be presented in court.”
Ami looked completely outraged, her anger evident in her glossed eyes. Rei knew her battle was lost. How could she have let J.D. sabotage her like that? She should have seen it coming; she should have been more prepared!
Rei stared at the judge sitting regally behind her desk and glared at J.D., tempted to make an opposing argument. However, she decided that arguing would only irritate the judge who she realized was intent on upholding her decision. She put her arm around her small blue-haired friend, shooting one last dirty look at J.D. who had plastered on his face a disgusting, triumphant grin.
“Thank you for your time, your honor,” Rei said, surprised at how well she hid her fury, as she gracefully collected the photos and x-rays. She held back a small smile when she saw J.D.’s disappointment at her lack of persistence. Wait until later today, Rei thought with a smirk as she led Ami from the room.
“Rei,” Setsuna’s voice boomed before the girls could leave. “I actually need to speak to you alone for a moment,”
Rei hesitated, then regretfully left Ami’s side to return to the judge’s chambers. J.D. gave her a smug, taunting “you’re-in-trouble” look and she felt her calm composure melt away. As Setsuna closed the door behind J.D. and Ami, Rei couldn’t help but feel like she had returned to grade school.
“I wanted to make it clear, Rei, why I made this decision,” Setsuna began.
Rei gave her the best deer-in-the-headlights gaze and pretended to be ignorant of the betrayal Setsuna had just completed.
“I had many reasons at my command to allow the evidence you presented. Though late, I am sure you are aware that it might have won the case for you. But, you must know I wanted to give J.D. no grounds for appealing this case. I have enough faith in your skill as a lawyer that I believe you can make do without it. This must be the one and only case. There is no reason to put each party through another painful day in court,”
Rei hated Setsuna in that moment. How right she was, and for that rightness Rei wanted her to rot somewhere under a rock. Rei gritted her teeth and managed a “Thank you for your faith, Your Honor.”
Outside of the chambers, Rei found a surprisingly happy Ami being wooed by J.D. At the sight of Rei, Ami popped to her feet and followed her friend out the door.
Not noticing Rei’s foul mood, Ami burst, “J.D. just asked me to supper tonight,”
“WHAT!?” Rei felt something unpleasant uncoil in her gut.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sound of a gavel pounding echoed around the courtroom, ceasing all conversation. The gavel alerted everyone that the trial was about to commence and in turn the court room began showing decorum. Rei glanced irritably at J.D. who grinned haughtily from his place beside a greasy looking Seiya. It had been difficult to shake the emotions that had been stirred earlier, but Rei was headstrong and managed to transform the negative emotions into a positive energy-- energy she was sure would give her the edge she needed. She already felt invigorated. It was as if she was on the edge of some epic battle and it was her first move. Rei could feel her heart pulse in her chest and could feel the warmth which her galvanized blood sent through her body. She quivered with anticipation.
“Defense?” Setsuna inquired, looking down through dark lashes with her usual calm demeanor. It was obvious that the events of the morning had not changed her composure. Rei had expected nothing less from her.
Rei stood smoothly, adorned in navy, and called out charmingly, “I call Samuel Jameston to the stand.” She opened the court room gate gracefully and into the courtroom stepped a muscular young man in dark cargo pants, an attention drawing orange T-shirt and tousled brown hair.
“Could you state your name, age, and relation for the court?” Rei began.
“Sammy Jameston, 20, and I’m Serena’s younger brother.” He leaned back in the witness stand.
“Thanks, Sammy. Were you present at Serena and Seiya’s wedding?”
“Yeah.”
“Did Serena appear to be content?”
“I thought she was.”
“You ‘thought’ she was?” Rei questioned, trying to draw out more information concerning Serena’s character.
“Well, yeah. She smiled deleriously on her way down the isle, she was so into Seiya during their dance, she laughed every now and then,” Sammy added, trying to recall specific details of the day.
“So she acted as any woman should on such a happy occasion…?” Rei fished.
“Yeah I would assume. To be honest, I don’t know anything about weddings and she was sort of distracted the whole night.”
“She was distracted? Isn’t that odd considering that the people that a bride most wants to be with on her wedding day are her family?”
“Objection!” exclaimed J.D., “She’s leading the witness your honor.”
“Sustained, watch yourself Rei,” Setsuna warned. Rei contained the smile that was threatening to adorn her face. This was the adrenaline she needed.
“What about Seiya, Sammy? What kind of impression did Seiya make on your family?” Rei asked, switching the topic so as to avoid irritating the judge further.
Sammy paused, reaching to scratch his ear, his biceps rippling as he did so.
“He seemed fairly lame to me, but Serena was all about him. He wouldn’t let me be in the wedding or at the bachelor party,” the muscles in Sammy’s jaw began working. “I heard it was because he had strippers overnight.”
The court gasped, Sammy glowering with unadulterated hatred at Seiya, “I should have known from the start he was trouble. He schmoozed Mom pretty well, but Dad never liked him. Actually he hated him. Dad even refused to walk Serena down the isle, because he objected so much.”
“Really? That must have crushed Serena,” Rei commented.
“It did, but sadly, she still got married,” Sammy replied regretfully. At this comment Seiya shifted angrily in his seat.
Rei hid a small conspiratorial smile, “Why sadly?”
“After being married Serena all but disappeared. We started seeing her less and less, until we barely got a phone call once a year. She didn’t even show for dad’s funeral! She always sounded so distressed and even her closest friends would ask us if we had heard anything. Nobody knew what was going on, other than the large chunks of money that started disappearing out of her trust fund.” Sammy spat. “No doubt he spent it all. He was always after her money, don’t buy his crap, he never loved my sister…”
“I object!” J.D. stood. “Her witness is speculating and rebel rousing my client!” Eyes turned toward the red-faced Seiya, whose shoulder was being held firmly down by J.D.’s powerful hand.
“Sustained,” Setsuna replied authoritatively, not even meeting Rei’s eyes this time.
“Let’s go back to the trust fund,” Rei said trying to salvage his testimony. Sammy was usually so cool tempered, this was unusual for him.
“Like I said, money was disappearing out of her trust fund. She had only just opened it after the wedding. Within a year, half was ‘withdrawn’,” Sammy rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“How much money was in Serena’s trust fund?”
“Three million,”
“Are you telling me they spent 1.5 million dollars in a year?” Rei feigned shock.
“That’s how much was taken out,” Sammy said eyeing the judge a little.
Rei returned to her desk where she retrieved an envelope of papers. “I would like to submit an inventory list of all of the Alexander’s assets. Included on the list are 9 red sports cars, a wall-sized television set, several leather whips, 4 guns, 2 sets of brass knuckles, 21 subscriptions to porn, and the list goes on...” the Judge accepted the envelope and Rei turned back to the handsome man on the witness stand.
“Sammy, did you ever see or hear of your sister hunting?”
“No,”
“Why is that?”
“She hates it.”
“What about fighting? Or using brass knuckles?”
“I don’t even think she knows what they are.”
“Did your sister often watch television?”
“No. She preferred to paint. She’s famous, you know.”
“We’ll get there Sammy. Did your sister own any horses?”
“Not that I know of,”
“Why then, do you think she owned whips? What could she do with brass knuckles? And so many guns?”
“He bought them, I’m sure of it.” Rei paused to let this soak in; she had always had a penchant for dramatics.
“And was your sister always so detached from her loved ones?”
“What? No! She was always the social butterfly. She always got to go out to more parties than I did. If she wasn’t hanging out with friends, she was at home with me and Mom,”
“Isn’t it strange then that her friends hadn’t heard from her since the time she had gotten married? Even her family hadn’t heard of her?”
“Yeah! That’s why….”
“My witness?” J.D. asked, impatiently. Rei smiled charmingly, and allowed him to question her witness.
Rei sat, waiting, hoping that everyone could feel the battle-like atmosphere. This was the reason she had become a lawyer.
“Are you in college now, Sammy?”
Sammy stared suspiciously at the suave-looking lawyer before answering, “Yeah, NYU,”
“NYU, huh? So do you live in the dorms?”
“Yeah,”
“Why?”
“It’s cheaper,”
“And do you know how much it costs to own a house, Sammy?”
“Not really…”
“What about a car payment?”
“My parents take care…”
“So you don’t know anything about utilities, either?”
“What does this have to do with my sister?”
J.D. smiled devilishly, “I just wanted to make the point that the newlywed’s expenses might be more than you think. A big house, nine car payments, utilities, cable, internet, food, it all adds up doesn’t it? And on their taxes it looks like they spent almost $31,000 in medical bills...” he looked contentedly at Rei, hoping to spur her into mistake.
“Objection your honor! Is Mr. Dorian going to ask questions of my witness, or are you going to continue to allow him to make a fool of himself?” Rei asked the judge silkily, the sarcasm dripping from every syllable.
Judge Thromberg eyed Rei crossly but turned her stare onto an angered J.D.
“No matter how ill phrased Ms. Hino’s objection was, she does have a point. If you are to continue with this witness Mr. Dorian I suggest you do it by proper court etiquette,” Setsuna replied icily.
J.D. stared at the judge, cursing Rei under his breath. “One more question. Sammy, what kind of job did your sister have?”
“I didn’t know at the time…” Sammy suddenly mumbled.
“I’m not asking about the time, I’m asking what you know now.”
Sammy’s voice quieted, “A famous painter. She was well known, made all her own money…”
“After she got married, Sammy, what was her occupation?”
Sammy mumbled something.
“What? We couldn’t hear you,” J.D. almost sang.
“A stripper…okay?” Sammy glared.
“Thank you, Sammy. I’m done,” J.D. smiled. Sammy walked down from the stand and headed for the gate, until Seiya finally couldn’t hold in his snide remarks.
“That’s right, all powerful one! Think you’re so much better now that you know your precious sister is nothing more than a low down, dirty stripper whore!” Seiya yelled.
It only took a second for the snide remark to sink in. The tension in the courtroom during those couple of seconds was unbearable. Sammy’s rage was evident in his stiff posture and scarlet complexion. Everyone was on edge, waiting to see Sammy’s reaction. Just as everyone thought the whole fiasco was over Sammy spun on his heels, and jammed his fist into Seiya’s face before anyone could even think to blink.
The courtroom delved into chaos, and the judge tried fruitlessly to cease the madness by banging her gavel feverously. The bustle of the courtroom had attracted more spectators and Seiya’s bleeding nose and the call for security guards was likely to add many more.
Rei noticed Serena’s body tense as she let a small “Sammy!” escape from her lips. Her face paled as she watched Sammy’s fist contact Seiya’s face once more, blood spurting. Darien jumped from the crowd to join the group of men trying to restrain the fighting, giving Serena and Rei a quick glance.
“Order!” Setsuna trilled standing, still ignored because of the scuffle. Storming out of the judge’s box, Setsuna made her way into the middle of the skirmish as the men around them parted instinctively. She put a calm long-fingered palm on Sammy’s shoulder and hauled him off a bloody, screaming Seiya. Seiya took advantage of the situation to take a sucker punch at Sammy’s abs, making him bend in pain. J.D. quickly melted out of the crowd, grabbed Seiya by the arms and shoved him in his chair.
The judge immediately placed herself between the two fighters, and put her finger in Seiya’s face. “Enough! I will not stand for such ostentatious displays of disrespect!” she turned her eyes now on Seiya and held him there with a powerful stare. “Another outbreak like that and I’ll have you dragged to jail until these proceedings are through! Do you understand me? You are in no position to produce such an unfavorable image.”
“We apologize, Your Honor,” J.D. said crisply, his contorted facial features showing his utter fear at his case being lost because of the scuffle.
“He’s a menace!” Seiya barked angrily, feigning realization of the judge. As if on cue, there was a rush of incoming security guards, who dragged Sammy from the room.
All right Sammy! Rei smiled, squeezing Serena’s tense hand. “He’ll be okay,” she murmured. “They’ll let him go. Trust me, I’m a lawyer for a reason.”
Serena nodded, shadows of terror still reflected in her eyes.
“You gotta hand it to your brother though,” Rei whispered lightly brushing a soothing finger over Serena’s cheek. “If he hadn’t done it, I would have.” She slowly opened her eyes and saw Seiya with brown circles of drying blood spotting his pristine white suit.
Serena tried to smile at her lawyer, as Setsuna returned to the judge’s box. “This court will not stand for such barbaric acts of insolence. Make it a point to contain your witnesses, Rei.”
Rei just shrugged her shoulders, leaning back in her chair, “He was provoked your honor, what could I have done? I most certainly do not have control over the Plaintiff’s mouth.”
J.D. cast Rei a resentful look as the Judge settled herself back to into her chair.
“Do you need a recess?” Thromberg asked, directing her question at a disheveled Seiya.
“No, he’ll be fine.” J.D. ascertained, watching as his client tried wiping the dried blood from his face with napkins.
“Well then let us proceed with the next witness!” Judge Thromberg demanded.
Rei nodded, “We call Mina Delacarte to the stand.” Rei noticed and mentally thanked Darien who was now sitting directly behind Seiya, ready to pounce if he should try anything else. She felt pride well up in her chest.
Rei was interrupted by the back door swinging open and a sudden change in the courtroom atmosphere. Everyone turned as high heels clacked quickly on the tiled floor announcing the entrance of a pair of gorgeous long legs. They were encased in a simple white dress that ran over promising hints of delectable curves. The thin touch of orange thread stitched around the hem added a dash of color that was reflected in the modest neckline. Glowing skin, impassioned lips, large somber blue eyes, topped off with natural blonde hair swirled professionally in a French Twist completed the vision of the kind-hearted, supermodel therapist. Her face flushed becomingly, as she gave her best sheepish smile, silently apologizing for being late.
“Could you please state your occupation for the court?” Rei stood undaunted before the beauty in the witness stand, regardless that the woman appeared to have just stepped out of magazine ad.
“I am a psychiatrist. I received my degree from Harvard University,” she breathed, staring at Rei for any signs that Rei had forgiven her for her entrance. Rei ignored Mina’s silent plea.
“Do you know my client?” Rei pointed to Serena who was relaxing in the presence of the psychiatrist.
“Serena Alexander,” Mina winked at Serena who actually smiled. “Of course, she is my patient.”
“How often have you been seeing Serena?”
“Twice a week,” Mina smiled brightly, eyes crinkling slightly.
“And what have you deduced about her marital integrity?”
Mina’s smile slowly disappeared from her face and she resumed a somber expression, “She had a very hard home life. Her marriage seemed to be falling apart after the honeymoon. Her husband seemed to be playing the role of alpha male in the relationship while she took the role of subordinate. We’ve had several sessions about whether she was okay with that.”
“Was she?”
“No, but she didn’t know any other way to avoid being hurt.” Mina squeaked.
“Hurt?”
“Serena has admitted she is afraid of her husband, though she hasn’t been able to provide specific reasons as to why…” Mina trailed off, thoughtfully.
“Did she ever mention Mr. Diamond in your sessions?”
“Not by name, but she did mention an exquisite and charming man she’d met. It was a friendship I warned her about. Several days had passed before she mentioned him again. She related to me that the man had expressed a wish to be more than friends and he didn’t seem to be able to take a polite reminder that she was married as a negation to his wishes.”
“What became of this man?”
“I am not quite sure, after that day she quit talking about him. I had heard that he had been giving her some problems due to the fact that Serena had never bluntly negated the man’s insistencies, though I doubt a blunt refusal would have deterred this man anyway. He seemed hell-bent on having her,” Mina’s lips turned up slightly until Rei turned her fiery purple gaze hotly at the woman.
“Why didn’t she just say no?” Rei asked with a hint of disgust, catching Mina’s attention sharply.
“It is my professional opinion that at that time she was incapable of saying ‘no’ to any man.”
“Explain,”
Mina nodded earnestly, “You have to understand, Serena’s been my patient since the death of her fatherShe had always given the illusion of being a bright, cheery person but she truly had darker issues. She made the decision to marry Seiya perhaps too quickly. She saw him as a quick fix for her father to see her get married than a loving until-death-do-us-part husband; something that he used to his advantage by manipulating her with blackmail, abuse, and her family to get what he wanted. He did it slowly enough that Serena knew what was happening faintly enough to know she was losing but not how or to what end. She has confessed despair without a full realization of why. He messed with her for a full year before her spirit broke.” Mina paused for effect.
“I think that she was so scared of men that she couldn’t be confident enough to repel this so-called Diamond in a way she normally would have,” the blonde woman pushed up her fashionable glasses. “You see the same pattern with rape victims. They turn themselves inside because they can’t find a way to escape physically.”
“So Seiya has raped her?”
“I cannot confirm that myself. She hasn’t mentioned anything, but she does act as a rape victim would.”
“You mentioned physical abuse…?”
“She was often seen with various bruises. I know she was frequently seen at the hospital as well. She never seemed to remember where she got them, which is again typical for a victim of this kind of abuse,”
“You also said something about manipulation?” Rei prompted.
Mina sighed, “I believe Mr. Alexander knew about Mr. Diamond’s advances…”
“I object!” J.D. stood.
“On what grounds?” Rei instantly demanded.
“Witness is stating her opinion,”
“The witness is an expert psychiatrist,” Rei retorted snidely, looking at him like he was stupid. “She’s here on the very assumption that she will share her professional opinion about my client and yours.”
“But…”
“Overruled,” Setsuna’s authoritative voice startled them. “J.D., you knew what kind of evidence Miss Delacarte was going to submit before this case began and you still approved her as an expert witness.” Setsuna dismissed further arguments by returning her attention to Mina.
J.D. huffed and sat down disgruntled.
“I apologize for the interruption, Miss Delacarte, please continue,” Rei stated smugly.
“Like I said, I believe Seiya knew about Mr. Diamond’s uncomfortable advances and used it to guilt her into doing things. I also believe that he used threats of divorce, physical prowess, and threats of hurting her family to cow her into doing the things she didn’t want to do.”
“Like what?”
“The one instance she spoke of was him taking away her credit cards and taking her name off all bank accounts to control her flow of money and her freedom. He then forced her to get a job,”
“Do you know what that job was?”
“No and I didn’t push the matter,” the blonde beauty paused, staring intently at Serena before deciding to go any further. Something passed between them and Mina added, “She did mention how demeaning her job was, how she reviled it. But she seemed torn because she cherished the camaraderie among her co-workers and mentioned something about feeling better outside the house and away from his presence. It was the one interaction she seemed allowed beyond myself. I will admit I was a bit curious about it.”
Rei nodded, pacing in front of the witness stand, “What kind of abuse did Serena suffer at the hands of her husband?”
“It is hard to get the victim to talk about their humiliation. Beyond the credit card incident, I only was able to get bits and pieces from her that weren’t complete.”
”Thank you,” Rei turned toward J.D. “Your witness.”
J.D. got to his feet, quickly regaining his composure. Rei could almost hear the gears in his head beginning to spin. Just try it, Rei thought sitting next to Serena, This witness is smarter than you!
“Miss Delacarte, if you believe Mr. Alexander to be such a bad husband and a manipulative man, why would he allow Serena to come see you so often?” J.D. boomed.
Mina’s blue eyes glared at him and she replied icily, “Perhaps as a good front, it would make for an excellent defense when he finally decided to carry out his threat of divorcing her.”
“Or maybe he actually cared for the welfare of his wife?” J.D. grinned a little, knowing he had gotten under her skin, “Why would anyone divorce their dream girl, anyway? She’s beautiful, rich, and a stripper. If what you say is true, she is bending to his every whim! Why would you divorce that?”
“She most likely got out from under his thumb a bit. Maybe she was going to expose him somehow and he couldn’t deal with the threat!” Mina looked accusingly at Seiya, who sat calmly.
“You say that she suffered, but you don’t give us a single example other than she had to get a job?” J.D. delivered coolly. “Oh, poor, little rich girl.”
“Objection your honor! He’s slandering my client’s character!” cried Rei, infuriated that he would dare make such a remark.
“Sustained. Mr. Dorian, let me remind you that you are still in a court of law, apparently both you and your client have seemed to forget that,” stated Setsuna irritably. J.D. soured a bit at the reminder of his clients previous outbreak but cleared his throat and muttered a “Yes your Honor” before continuing his cross-examination.
“As I was saying,” J.D. began, trying to recapture his authoritative stance, “There are no examples she suffered from the marriage other than attaining a job which most people wouldn’t consider tremendously upsetting, isn’t that right?”
“When they returned from their honeymoon, Seiya hid all Serena’s clothes outside the house and made her walk around naked for a month!” Mina stood, yelling at J.D.
“That doesn’t mean anything, what man doesn’t want to see his wife naked all the time?”
“Even when his friends are over?” Mina’s voice sank; it was barely above a whisper and thrumming with anger.
J.D. knew when he was beat; he grimaced at the beauty and turned abruptly to his seat. Mina winked in Serena’s direction as she headed out, pulling her vivacious orange purse after her. She clacked her way out the door, hoping to make her next appointment in a timely fashion.
Setsuna looked at Rei expectantly, who was already standing, “We call Lita Silesky to the stand.”
A determined, confidant brown haired woman approached the stand. She was considered pretty, beautiful if one decided to look closer, but her glamour seemed somewhat tarnished after Mina’s supermodel beauty. In an attempt to tame her wavy brown locks, she tied it back in one long pony tail that bounced as she walked. She swore to tell the truth in a simple white t-shirt and tight jeans that seemed to, in some way, give her more class than anyone else in the room. Lita’s most remarkable feature was her startling green eyes. With one look, she gave off an almost electrical vibe that would cause goose bumps to rise on the back of the receiver’s neck. Just as Serena represented everything that was soft feminine and innocent, Lita was everything a woman could be proud of, including a large chest that was the envy of the room.
“Lita, could you state the nature of your occupation and relation to Serena for the court?”
“I’m Serena’s boss, I own the Lady Legs Bar on 7th street.”
“We’ve been talking for sometime now about how our sweet little Serena is a stripper. Since you own the bar, perhaps you can tell us the story? How did she become interested in her job?”
“Of that I’m not quite sure. I inherited the bar as somewhat of a family business, because it is more of a gentleman’s club at night I get all sorts of girls who have applied for jobs, but she was the hardest to read by far,” Lita paused making sure everyone was listening. “Serena was accompanied by her husband during the interview, which is most unusual. He seemed to force her hand when signing the papers. He had to push her on stage to make her show me a dance. She was terrified, but she insisted she wanted the job, which I gave her. She had the perfect body and beauty for my bar. She went through training just as the rest of my dancers and was a natural. When she finally went out on stage she was an instant favorite,”
“She was that popular?”
“I don’t know what it was, she was so timid and fragile off stage. But on stage she was something else. Though I’m sure she didn’t like exotic dancing she seemed to be free on stage. She showed confidence, ferocity, and an allure beyond sexuality I have never imagined.” Lita’s face lit at the mental picture forming in her head. “However, Serena never seemed cut out for the kind of dancing they do at my bar. One night she was particularly good on stage and several men harassed her, they had to be thrown out. She was shaken after that, never seemed to get her groove back. So I let her have some time off, she painted murals on the walls. I didn’t know what to expect but they are all abstract, very beautiful.”
“So she wasn’t a stripper anymore?”
“Well, she seemed so much happier painting the murals, though I had several disgruntled customers. Eventually though, her husband came as he usually did once a week, and saw she wasn’t performing.”
“And he was upset?”
“Upset?” Lita’s eyes glittered with something dangerous, even Rei unconsciously took a step back. “He went ballistic, broke several dozen of my dishes and broke two customer’s noses and tried to take on my whole security team. I had to thrown him out myself,”
“Really? Astonishing. What happened then?” Rei asked sarcastically.
“After that Serena started dancing again, though not as well as before. She cried often on stage and off. Several of the girls approached me, as well, worried about her home life. It got to a point where we started having to order extra cover up for her various bruises.”
“Bruises?” Rei echoed.
“She came in sporting all sorts of colors, they weren’t very good for business. Every once in awhile we get a few girls who have the same problem, but they never last long in any job. Serena, however, stayed.”
“Did anyone ask her about them? The bruises?” Rei asked licking her lips thoughtfully.
“Of course. She and I had many long talks in my office. All I could get out of her was she fell down a lot. I offered to help her in anyway I could, even offered her a place to stay if she would leave him…”
“Leave him?”
“Bruises like that come from a person, my guess is the husband. He was slimy from the beginning, even in my line of work. He had been a frequent customer before his wife applied, offering to take home several girls a night. We never knew he was married until she came in…”
“That doesn’t sound like a very loving husband,” Rei spat, throwing a quick glare toward J.D.’s table. “Did you hear Miss Delacarte’s testimony?”
“I did,” Lita nodded.
“And how accurate was she about Serena’s man problems?”
“Well, I’m not entirely sure,” Lita looked at the judge hesitantly. “But I know that Diamond guy was around frequently. He was constantly trying to sneak back into Serena’s change-room. We had him thrown out on a number of occasions and finally banned after getting on stage with her and trying to pull her to the back.”
“Anything else?”
“I think she was overly timid around men. I only witnessed the part where she can’t tell men no. It included everyone, security guards, Diamond, my husband, and customers. It was depressing really. Serena would show us glimmers of her personality as I imagined it was before she became like it. During those times, she was funny, sweet, and clumsy. The contrast between her actions at those times and every other time showed me how broken she really was. I don’t know what he did to her, but I hope he pays,” Lita finished with force.
“Oh, okay,” Rei finished rather lamely. “Your witness,”
J.D. nodded and stood, waiting for Rei to return to her chair. His brow furrowed, studying the girl in front of him.
“You don’t seem to be the type to own a strip club,” he commented softly. Rei unconsciously raised an eyebrow.
“It’s a rather long story that I’d rather not go into right now,” Lita colored a little.
“Of course,” J.D. said not losing a beat. “Earlier you mentioned Serena took a break from dancing to paint a mural on your wall, proving your uncanny generosity at least for a person of business.”
Lita’s eyes crinkled, “That’s not much coming from a lawyer.”
“My big problem with this whole story is that your compassion only seems to be short lived. Why did you give her break then?”
Lita opened her mouth but J.D. ran over her.
“I mean really, where was your compassion when she applied? You said she applied almost unwillingly and she really didn’t like her job, why didn’t you do her a favor and not hire her in the first place? After all you said she felt degraded and hated it, after you hired her, wouldn’t you, as a person so full of compassion and understanding, at least fire her?”
“What! That’s not what…well, you have to understand that… I wanted to help her in anyway I could to get her away from her husband. The only way available to me at the time was to hire her….I didn’t...”
“That still doesn’t answer the question. You knew she didn’t want the job, and hated it later. How could you make her go up on stage and dance so degradingly?”
:”I never forced her to do anything.”
“You might as well have, you said you knew she couldn’t say no,” J.D. said calmly.
Lita’s eyes filled with tears, “That’s not what I intended. I said she couldn’t say no to men, but…”
“Well, were there men around when you do the interview? Or when you told her to go up on stage?”
“Well, my husband, but he would never…”
“There you go then, you forced her to go on stage!”
“You’re wrong. I protected her. I’m sure she would rather have danced than be with that shitty husband of hers away.” Lita stood, slamming her fist on the witness stand.
“Calm down, Mrs. Silesky,” J.D. said, examining his fingernails with a coy smile on his lips. He waited for the girl to sit again. “Now, is it possible that little timid Serena felt obliged to go up on stage because you expected her to? Isn’t it probable that she felt like she had no way out?”
“I suppose it’s possible, but I never meant…” Lita looked pleadingly at Serena.
“That’s all,” J.D. prompted and held open the witness’s gate for her to step down.
“But I’m not finished!” Lita demanded looking at Setsuna.
“I’m sorry, but if the lawyers have no more questions than you must step down,” Judge Thromberg stated.
“I have no further questions, Your Honor,” J.D. said emphatically.
Lita huffed down the steps and went directly to Serena’s side. “You know I never meant…” Serena put her arms around her friend, and hugged her.
“I know you didn’t.”
“Hey! Hey!” Rei whispered urgently. “You’ll have to do this another time. Sit down, Serena, before…”
“Rei? Is this another problem with your witness?” Setsuna threatened.
“No, Your Honor,” Rei said, as Serena sat and Lita sheepishly put her head on the shoulder of a menacing looking brown haired man in the audience.
“Alright then,” Judge Thromberg stood. “I think we’ve all had enough for today. The court will reconvene tomorrow at nine o’clock.” The gavel pounded once as her long green hair swished into her chambers.
Rei stood with a sigh. That could have gone better. She would have to do better tomorrow. Luckily, she had an evening filled with Darien to look forward to. He would help her strategize and calm her nerves.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rei ran about her fifth story apartment in a disorganized frenzy. On her bed lay at least six different outfits, several more lay auspiciously on the floor, while her dresser displayed dozens of various make-up utensils and hair products. A least three different cords curled their way from the power outlet to the bathroom, where a slew of jewelry pieces and perfume decorated the countertop.
“Geez, what happened in here?” Lita asked.
Rei rushed out of the laundry room on the other side of the house. A stunningly gorgeous turquoise gown floated over her luscious curves to dangle whimsically at her knees, half her raven black hair tumbled in loose curls over her bare shoulder, while the other was tied in a messy knot out of the way. A single, tall black pump graced her left foot as a more graceful brown sandal encased her right. “You’re finally here! Where have you been?”
Lita tried to keep her straight face at the sight of such feminine indecision. “I had to drop off a few cases at my bar, but if I had known this was going to be such an emergency,” Lita trailed off.
“He’s going to be here any minute! Can you zip this up?” Rei panicked and turned around displaying an open zipper.
Lita reached forward smiling, “Where is Serena? Why isn’t she helping you?”
“She’s on the couch and absolutely refuses to move. She keeps blubbering about something and breaks out crying. She insists on apologizing to me every five seconds, that’s why I had to call you,” Rei rushed into the open bathroom to pick up one of the curling irons, while letting down the rest of her hair. “I just can’t handle her like this,”
“That’s strange,” Lita contemplated, following Rei into the very crowded bathroom. “Sounds like you’re not going to get a break this week,”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Lita looked around, distracted. One of the cords leading into the bathroom lead to a portable coffee maker, which was half empty. The sink countertop was covered with manilla folders and their contents. Every other minute Rei would look down read something, take a sip of her coffee, and go back to her hair.
“With whatever this is, the case, and J.D. and all,”
“This is the most fancy date Darien has ever asked me on, and what about J.D.?” Rei stopped to take a sip of coffee. “I can take him,”
“Yeah, I’m not so sure I helped you out there, today.” Lita dropped her smile.
Rei popped her head out of the bathroom momentarily to study the brunette. “You didn’t do that bad. I mean he is a tough interrogator. I’ve heard many expert witnesses cave. Don’t worry too much. He has a sharp wit and twists words better than any lawyer I’ve ever met,”
“Wow Rei, are you sure you’re not dating J.D. instead of Darien?” Lita teased.
Rei bustled out of the bathroom, hair in perfect loose curls. “I should say not!” Rei stared at herself in front of her closet mirror and turned trying to decide which shoe she should choose.
“Well, if you ask me, he wouldn’t be a bad catch,”
“I’m not asking you, I am perfectly content with Darien thank you,” At that statement, sobbing came from the next room. Rei turned toward the door, but Lita held her back.
“You get ready for your date, I’ll take care of her.” With that Lita walked out of the room and let Rei get ready.
After several more minutes of changing shoes, Rei added a dash of perfume and left the bedroom. Lita had her arm around a very damp Serena, tears still pouring down her cheeks.
Lita winked at Rei as Darien’s car honked from the street. “Knock him dead,” Lita called.
Serena took that moment to launch herself at Rei, frantically mumbling incoherently. Rei pulled the girl into a hug and let her calm somewhat. “It’s okay, Rena. It’s just Darien, I’ll be back tonight.”
“No! No! Don’t go! I have to tell you, it should be me! I just…. You shouldn’t… You can’t leave! Stay here,” Serena stuttered hot tears running her mascara down her face.
“What are you talking about?” Rei pulled the girl up to look her in the face.
“Please, Rei, please. I beg you don’t go!” Serena yelled before Lita pulled her back.
“Maybe I should stay,” Rei considered looking concerned.
“Oh no you don’t. You’ve worked too hard not to go. You look hot enough to propose to! She’s just upset. I’ll take her for the night. You go,” Lita had Serena in a bear hug, who seemed to be flailing. Darien honked a second time.
“Go now, before you upset her further!” Lita yelled. Rei gave one last glance over her shoulder at the blubbering blonde before she walked out the door and down to join Darien in his Sudan.
The dim restaurant was filled with the clatter of silverware and languid saxophone music. Lazy smoke drifted over the front hall chandelier that was bigger than Rei’s car. Darien strode forward confidently to the host’s chickaree podium to pick up their reservations, while Rei took in the scene.
The room was almost tent-like, the golden chandelier dominating the center and hanging securely above a small jazz band that played a lazy, seductive tune while wearing matching tuxedos with light pink ties. Waiters bustled politely through the tables arranged randomly around the band. Every table sported only two or three chairs.
As the host lead Rei and Darien to a table for two toward the back, Rei was impressed by the dazzling display of wealth each customer radiated. Rei noticed the large sparkling diamonds that graced many women’s ears and the complex designer gowns they wore. She began to question the appropriateness of her simple-seeming dress and modest jewelry.
The host pulled out the polished hickory chair waiting for Rei to be seated and distracting her from any more doubt about her dress. He quickly pulled two menu’s out of his apron. “For madame and missour,” he bowed, set them gently on the table, and left.
“Wow, Darien. You really outdid yourself tonight,” Rei whispered across the table. He locked eyes with her only for a moment and quickly looked away, studying the menu harder than was necessary.
Soon an attendant brought a courtesy ’87 Merlot to the table, finally breaking the comfortable silence.
“So did you talk anyone into taking that class you don’t want to teach?” Rei began pleasantly, remembering a freshman level class he had been complaining about for weeks.
“Uh, yeah. Professor Tomoe took it for me,” Darien shifted in his seat.
“The father or the daughter?”
“The daughter. She really is a good professor, but I’ll be glad to have her out of my lab.”
“Is she that bad?”
“No, but you know how she and her father can be, they do it their way,” he said idly taking another sip of his wine.
“Yeah, how did you get her to take the class?”
“Oh, she was very nice about it, but then again she’s always been quiet really. Not much of a backbone,” Darien referred to the mousey black-haired daughter of the head of the biochemistry department, and his boss. “I did have to take her upper division Organic Chemsitry, though,”
“Oh, that should be better,” Rei said, out of things to talk about. She decided to return to the very complex menu.
“Yeah,” Darien fidgeted and watched the waiters go by. Several times, Rei thought she heard him begin to say something, but when she looked up he was always biting his lip.
Finally, Rei deiced to ask, “So do you know what you want to get?”
“Huh? What?”
“To eat?” Rei encouraged.
“Oh yeah, I’m going to have the Chicken Gratinee Clafouti,”
“Yeah, that looks pretty good,” Rei commented not entirely sure what it was, but if Darien liked it, it would do. Silence fell yet again.
Finally, a pretty young waitress with hair that matched Rei’s dress approached their table. “Are you two ready to order?” she asked pleasantly.
“I think we are,” Darien began, nodding at Rei.
After ordering the stunning waitress gracefully collected their menus, doing a double take of Darien. “Excuse me, aren’t you Professor Darien Shields from UM?”
“Yes,”
“Oh! I wanted to tell you I was very much impressed with your article on the cardiopulmonary platelets and their effects on the mitochondria,”
Darien beamed, “You read that. Thank you.”
“Name’s Michelle. I am working on my doctorate in biochemistry at MSU,” she offered him her hand, and they shook.
“Wonderful. Have you read the new article out by Dr. Brian Jones?”
“On the theory of cellular methalene vectors? I am doing my dissertation on it!” Michelle exclaimed.
Rei began to tune the two out, already feeling somewhat rejected. She had no idea what they were talking about and doubted she would contribute to the conversation even if she did. For awhile Rei watched the two interact, Darien’s hands swinging about and pounding the table to emphasize his point while Michelle’s eyes gleamed prettily as she nodded and swept her perfect hair behind her shoulder. Rei started to feel uncomfortable and somewhat jealous.
Rei brushed the thought from her head, staring instead at the tiny engraved silver fork and the matching silver spoon, both wrapped delicately in an off-white cloth napkin. So perfect together.
“Well, well. Look who we have here,” a male voiced burst from behind her. Rei jumped and was surprised to find a very suave looking J.D. sporting sun glasses and a lovely young woman in a yellow silk dress decorating his arm.
“Ami!” Rei blurted, she had forgotten about their argument earlier.
Her pretty blue-haired friend nodded, hugging J.D.’s arm closer. Michelle and Darien had stopped their discussion at the interruption.
“I had better get back to work,” Michelle hesitated, eyeing Darien’s empty glass. “I’ll get you two a refill,” she regretfully retreated into the kitchen, leaving the two couples to talk.
“Not preparing for court tomorrow?” J.D. asked, eyebrow raised.
“I don’t need to prepare, I am ready,” Rei smiled instinctively, reaching for Darien’s hand which wasn’t there.
“Arrogant much?” J.D. quipped.
Rei sighed and shook her head. “I think you have the one up on me there,”
“Mmrph,” J.D. suddenly seemed very fascinated with Darien, who was shifting uncomfortably under his gaze. A coy smile lit his lips after seeing Rei’s unsuccessful attempt to catch Darien’s hand, interrupted only by Ami’s quick tug on his arm. “Well, I leave you two to your… chat,” J.D. winked at Darien and lead Ami to their table.
“That was strange,” Rei commented, studying Darien’s panicked look. Before Rei had a chance to ask, J.D. bustled back over to their table, tossing a five dollar bill at Rei. “Here honey, you might need a drink later,”
Rei raised an eyebrow and caught the fiver resentfully. She quickly folded it in half and held it out for him with a hint of disgust, “I don’t drink,”
“You will,” J.D. insisted, refusing to take it.
“And you know me so well,” Rei spat sarcastically, throwing it back at him.
“We’ll see,” J.D. picked up the folded bill, smoothed it out, and placed it carefully under Rei’s water glass. He patted Darien on the shoulder, whispered something into his ear, and left.
Darien was had now began to sweat a little, the panic draining from his face only with strict self control. Rei suddenly felt forsaken and out of the loop, “What did he say?”
Darien took a breath, “Nothing of consequence,”
Rei studied him for a moment, what an obvious lie. But Michelle came again to the aide of her favorite professor by setting a carefully prepared chicken dish in front of them and opening another bottle of Merlot. “Enjoy,” she smiled, and scurried away.
Most of the meal was eaten in silence, despite Rei’s attempts to engage him in conversation. He was nervous about something and Rei’s interest was now peaked. Once the meal was over and their empty plates whisked away. They both waited in silence for Michelle to return with Darien’s credit card, it finally arrived but he didn’t move to touch it. Instead, he grabbed Rei’s hand, stared into her eyes for a moment then dropped both his gaze and her hand. In his eyes was more emotion than Rei wanted to dissect.
“Rei, I have something important to tell you,” Darien bit his lip momentarily.
“Oh?” Rei feigned, trying to calm the anticipation eating it’s way through her stomach. She tried not to be too hopeful.
“I’ve been trying to work up the courage all night,” Darien started. “Our relationship thus far has been…” He paused to think of the word as Rei edged out her chair trying to ready herself. “enlightening.”
“Enlightening?” Weird choice of words, she thought.
“Yes, I have learned so much from you and about you. You are a wonderful person, a fantastic lawyer, and a good friend. I hope things will stay that way for a long time,”
“They will,” Rei beamed.
“This past week has been stressful and educational for us both. With my promotion and your big case I have had a lot of time to reflect on what it is exactly I want,” Darien spoke carefully, staring at his wine glass. Rei held her breath.
“And I realized that you are everything a guy could ask for and more, I really valued our relationship…”
“Valued?” Rei interrupted worriedly.
“But I found something I want more. We have had a good go of it, Rei, but I can’t have both. I have considered this for awhile and I want us, I have for awhile, but I found something I want more. I’m sorry Rei,” Darien finished staring into her violet eyes, clouded with confusion. The anticipation in her gut suffocated, experiencing a quick a painful death.
“What?” Rei asked, a large ball of dread already building itself forcefully in her throat. Her eyes began to well with tears against her will.
“I’m sorry Rei, it’s over,” he sat silently for awhile, letting her soak it in, not daring to meet her gaze, expecting her to cause a scene.
Instead, she sat silently erect, blinking rapidly and staring at her left hand. How awry tonight had gone. She felt stupid and childish for ever expecting a proposal, of course he had invited her here to break up. All the signs had been there. How selfish she had been! Dread and a strange sense of self-loathing and abandonment began to feast upon her heart, even as the lump in her throat threatened to take over her wind-pipe. Rei gave in to it for a moment, then narrowed her eyes, squeezing her ring finger as if trying to force the lump down. She fought the tears away as best she could.
Once she was sure she could control them for a small amount of time, she looked across the table where the most important part of her heart sat staring at her with infuriating patience. Why couldn’t he have been a jerk about it? Why couldn’t he have hit her or cheated on her or called her a bitch? Instead, he commanded her attention with his caring, sincere look and his perfectly kissable lips that she was never again allowed to touch. Her tears welled once again, threatening to spill, she looked away quickly.
Darien took that as his cue and reached for his credit card. He stood and slowly turned to walk away.
Rei felt a sense of urgency rise in her chest, her loss flooding her mind. “Will you…Are you…can you at to my case tomorrow?” Her voice squeaked, betraying her hurt. She cursed it and herself for giving it away and embarrassing herself.
Darien paused, back still facing her. “I will,” he promised and walked out of the restaurant.
Rei sat for many tortured minutes, dazed, tears finally winning the battle. She let them flow, Darien no longer witness to her pain, all else forgotten. How easily her world had fallen apart.
All things had culminated at a stand still and she couldn’t get around it. Her brain was silent for an unknown amount of time, a muddle of emotion clouding all thought. She sat in her chair, just feeling her heart beat within her chest, feeling as if it would rip open. If only she could rip it open and let all the blood run out, all the emotion that she had for him would run out, and the pain would finally be gone. Then everything would be alright again.
Slowly the shock began to wear off, her hand began to tremble. Unexplainable anguish settled in her chest, air seemed unable to make the journey to her lungs, time and loss began to flood everything. She felt as if her lifeline had just been cut and the cord had ricocheted and hit her in the face.
Until a single blurry vision consumed her focus, there under her water glass no more than inches from her lay the crunched, distorted five dollar bill. It lay in testament to all that had happened and all that had been broken. Anger filled her upon the sight of it replacing the rejection, rage consuming her every fiber. He had known all along! She remembered his coy smile and his quick and uncharacteristic excuse to let them chat. Rei pulled the five from under the glass, knocking it over and spilling the contents on the table.
Rei wiped the tears from her eyes and stood, holding the soggy bill. He would pay, he would pay for enjoying her suffering. Tomorrow would be the best damn court case he had ever been to. She would get Darien back and watch J.D. writhe in his obvious loss.
She walked toward the door, her plight confident and uncaring as opposed to her hesitant and awed entrance. Through the restaurant, Rei began to notice the things she had missed on her way in: the gaudy way the oversized diamond earrings looked on the flamboyantly shallow women, the tense, strained atmosphere that seemed to infect each table, the overwhelming number of false smiles and desperate-to-escape looks that many customers couldn’t hide, the strained sense of useless propriety, and the genuine lack of all things true and real.
Rei reached the door and flung it open, still clinging to the soggy fiver, a fiery, dangerous look on her face. She stormed out of the restaurant, flippantly allowing the doors to slam. She strode into the night making a bee line for her apartment, people shrinking back from her war path.
Hell hath no fury, like a woman scorned.
