by V J Lee
Goldsmith took the file from Judge Evans. Stan Dower remained standing, despite the judge’s request. “If something happened to the plaintiff that has—or will—cause lasting psychological or emotional damage, then I would ask the court to take it into consideration when making its decision.” Goldsmith went back to his spot.
“Duly noted. Thank you, Mr. Dower.”
The judge pushed a key on her keyboard, and the screen at the front of the room came to life with a picture of Petra. Although her hair and makeup were immaculate, as always, the orange scrubs gave away her current incarceration. Trevor wondered how she was able to obtain makeup in her current situation. As soon as Petra locked eyes with Trevor, she began to speak.
“Oh, baby … you need to talk to me. We can work this out. It’s not what you think.” She swung her head around to Rissa and pointed her finger. “You know what a dirty, rotten liar she is. It’s all made up! This whole case will be dismissed, and we can be a family again.”
Trevor noticed the pain, not only in Rissa’s face, but her whole body. He knew what she was thinking, that it would only be a matter of time, before he went back to Petra—a woman who not only lied to him, but carried out the plot to murder his parents. And yet, he couldn’t even talk to Rissa about keeping information from him. It didn’t matter anymore. He was done with all women. His life would consist of work and Jacob, that’s it.
The judge frowned. “Mrs. Roth …” That’s right; Petra was married to Dr. Roth … another body slam to the brain. “Mrs. Roth, one more word and I will hold you in contempt, adding to your already lengthy sentence.”
Petra had the good sense to clamp her jaw shut and lower her eyes.
“Now, I have read the opening statements and conducted interviews with all involved, including young Mr. Jacob, who is a true delight.” She pulled up a document on her computer, reading through it.
“As this is not a traditional hearing, I don’t need to hear anything from the rest of you. First thing’s first, you all took paternity tests.”
Trevor swallowed the last remaining saliva in his mouth. His lawyer informed him that if Dr. Roth was the father and wanted custody of Jacob, chances were slim that Trevor would have any right to him. He began to understand what Rissa was feeling. Maybe he shouldn’t have been such an asshole and just let her see the child she loved.
Judge Evans faced him. “Mr. Snow, with ninety-nine-point-nine-nine-nine-percent accuracy, you are not excluded as Jacob Snow’s father.”
Wait, what? What did that mean? Was he the father?
“That would be a win,” his lawyer whispered to him.
“Petra Roth, you are excluded as Jacob Snow’s mother.”
Did “excluded” mean something else in a courtroom? Trevor toyed with the idea that his vocabulary wasn’t what he thought it was, as his brain worked through the denial of these new facts.
He watched the judge’s eyes soften, as she turned to Rissa. “Again, with ninety-nine-point-nine-nine-nine-percent accuracy, you are not excluded as Jacob Snow’s mother.”
What the ever-loving-fuck? Trevor was struck dumb. He lived in a world where anything could—and usually did—happen, but this shocked him to his core. How was this even possible?
“In light of this evidence, my ruling of Agency case, Jackson versus Snow, is this: Rissa Jackson will have visitation rights to Jacob. The boy adores you and wants to spend as much time as he can with you. That kid is something very special and sees things most adults can’t.” Her eyes narrowed in on Trevor, before she turned back to Rissa. “With that being said, and knowing what I know about you, Ms. Jackson, I don’t think you can handle more than a couple of hours a week with him, in your current condition. The rest of the time, the child will remain in the father’s care and custody. If your situation changes, we will revisit this. Is there anything you would like to say, Ms. Jackson?”
Her legs were almost buckling, but Rissa stood. It looked like the effort zapped all her strength. “Thank you, your honor. I just wanted any time I could get with him. I understand I’m not in proper shape to be a mother yet. I just need a little time.” Her smile was sad.
“Mr. Snow?”
He couldn’t say a word. Jacob was part Rissa, part him. Rissa was right. She never lied to him about him not being Jacob’s father. She just withheld information that he was also a little version of the two of them. Trevor’s heart ached so badly, he couldn’t breathe.
“Mrs. Roth, I don’t need to hear anything from you.” With that, she pushed a key that made the screen go black. “Mr. Snow, you and Ms. Jackson are adults. I would like for you to work around your schedules to ensure that Jacob gets time with his mother. Without a fight.”
“Yes, your honor.”
“Good. As I mentioned before, if and when things get back on track with Ms. Jackson’s health, we will revisit this and see if more time can be allowable. That is my final order. The court is adjourned.” She stood to go, then stopped. “Ms. Jackson, I hope everything works out for you … in the best possible way.” She smiled at Rissa, but her eyes were so sad that Trevor wanted to know, right then and there, everything that had happened to Rissa. But by the time Trevor finished up with his lawyer—who assured him that he didn’t feel like they lost the case—Rissa was gone.
* * *
Trevor got back to the Agency and stormed into Jock’s office without knocking. Cosmo, Titus and Aurora—Titus’s very pregnant, bonded woman—were in the middle of something very important, but Trevor did not give a fuck.
The three Light Aliens looked his way, then back toward Jock, like he didn’t just walk in on their meeting.
“Sorry for the interruption, but this is important. If you don’t mind, I need a word with Jock.”
“Speak. We aren’t stopping you.” Cosmo was his usual laid-back, asshole self.
“What’s so important, Trevor?” Jock asked from behind his big desk.
“It’s about Rissa. I just got back from court.”
“Hence, the monkey suit.” Again Cosmo.
Aurora slapped Cosmo on the thigh. He just grinned at her. Aurora was a tall, lethal beauty with auburn hair way past her ass, eyes as green as sparkling emeralds, and big, lush red lips that made a man want them wrapped around his cock.
He heard a low growl. Titus bit out through clenched teeth, “I do not approve of your thoughts, human.”
“Titus, leave him alone,” Aurora requested, sweetly. “You know I can’t lower my guard. It’s not his fault.”
Aurora had once been the lead Healer of the Light Aliens, but now she and Titus were Overseers of their entire colony. As a Healer, they cured others by sexual energy, so it was necessary for the Healers to be able to arouse them for sex so they could be healed. Now that she was with child, she could not keep in place the invisible guard used to restrict her sexual aura, the erotic energy that coursed naturally through her veins. It was the reason his thoughts went to lips and dicks, and it meant that every male in the building was hard and horny, without knowing exactly why.
Trevor turned his attention back to Jock. “Can we have a minute alone so I can talk to you?”
“They know everything about Rissa. If you want to talk to me, you can do it with them here.”
Jock was still angry with him for separating Rissa and Jacob, forcing her to take him to court. Jock was the one to get the Agency lawyer for her, after she walked into his office two weeks ago, heartbroken and defeated.
Trevor made eye contact with the others in the room, then figured, fuck it. He had questions, and maybe they could help him find some answers.
“What’s wrong with Rissa?” he asked.
Jock ran a hand over his face, then scratched at his chin for a second, and before he could answer, Cosmo chimed in.
“If you had been to the hospital to visit her, or showed up at her house, or, I don’t know, maybe—just maybe—if you even fucking cared enough to ask her, then you would know!” His voice slowly escalated int
o booming anger as he answered. Trevor concluded that everyone agreed, when no one tried to calm Cosmo down, letting his anger reach boiling point.
“I’m sorry, son. I agree with Cosmo. If you truly cared, you’d already know her circumstances, and I don’t feel it’s our place to fill you in. If you want to know, man up and go talk to her.”
“I don’t understand how she can be the mother of Jacob if Petra had him. Can you at least explain that shit to me?”
“Trolls,” Aurora said, causing all the other men to look at her. “Sorry. I mean, you have to ask her.” That seemed to appease the men.
“I tried to call her, but she’s not answering. Where is she?”
“She’s home now,” Cosmo said as he looked down at his boots.
It bothered Trevor to his very core that Cosmo knew she was home. He wanted to ask how he knew. As if reading his mind, the other man looked over at him. “I have been spending time with her. Caring for her. Several of us have been, actually, and it’s funny … not once have you come by or called.”
Before he could stop himself, the words spilled out. “You just want to fuck her.”
Trevor didn’t see the man move, and yet he found himself up against the wall, feet dangling. A large hand was wrapped very tightly around his neck this seemed to be a signature move for Others.
Cosmo brought his mouth close to Trevor’s ear. “Been there, done that, and could go back and do it again, any fucking time I want, but she’s too good for me.” Then, even quieter, he said, “And she’s way too good for you. If you were smart, you’d just stay away.” He released his hand, sending Trevor to the floor and on his ass. In a blink of an eye, Cosmo was sitting back in his seat, staring at his boots again, like nothing even happened.
Trevor noticed that no one moved to help, or bark at Cosmo to stand down. Everyone was pissed at Trevor, but no one could be as mad as he was with himself. He had told Rissa that he loved her, and she graciously gave him a second chance, but the first time she kept something from him, he pushed her away. He ignored her and was even cruel to her in her time of need.
He was selfish. He was an asshole, spewing hate at her, merely because she withheld information from him, nothing more. He needed to know what was going on with her. He knew it couldn’t be good. He could see that she was wasting away and now he needed to find out why. Hopefully, she wouldn’t shoot his nuts off at first sight of him, though he deserved much worse.
Chapter 20
Trevor was content for the moment, knowing that Travis was with Jacob. Travis didn’t have any experience with kids, but he would only be gone a few hours, and Jacob was excited to learn about blanket forts and to watch the Minion movie with someone who had never seen it before, let alone one million times.
Trevor had called Rissa’s cellphone, but received no answer. Then he had taken to calling her home phone, again, with no answer. This was going to be a surprise visit. The drive passed more quickly than usual, and he found himself on her doorstep in no time. The crickets were singing an annoying-ass song. The breeze was cool, yet warming slightly, and the smell was ripe with the new life of spring. It nauseated him.
From the porch, he could usually hear Rissa’s footsteps or the muffled voices from her TV, but inside the little cottage tonight, there was nothing but quiet. It was too quiet for his liking. Instead of knocking like a normal person, he used his key and let himself in. He knew that it wasn’t a wise move to sneak up on an agent like Rissa, who could snap his neck upon surprise or at least give him a wicked shiner, but he took the risk. The deathly silence scared the shit out of him, especially after seeing how bad she had looked in court. Fear gripped at his gut and sent his blood into freezing slush through his veins.
“Ris? Rissa? Ris? Where are you?” He held his breath while he waited for an answer, but there was nothing. On her couch, her laptop laid open, still humming with life, and a cup with a tea bag string hanging out of it was sitting on the coffee table next to a package of saltines. Piles of blankets and pillows covered the couch.
Filled with dread, he proceeded down the hallway, headed to the bedroom. Before he got there, he looked in the hall bathroom. That’s when he saw her. The toilet lid was open, and her head was resting on the cool porcelain rim. Her eyes were closed, and both arms were wrapped around the toilet like a sweet lover who didn’t want to leave an embrace.
Trevor took a breath in an attempt to steady his racing heart, then he went over to her, checking for a pulse, praying until he felt the beat in her neck signaling she was, in fact, still hanging on to life. He could barely tell where her face started and the glowing porcelain of the toilet ended, she was just that pale. Picking her up took no effort whatsoever. She was so light, so frail. Never did he think that “Rissa Jackson” and “frail” would be used in the same thought.
Carrying her down the hallway to the bedroom with her braided hair swinging back and forth, Trevor took the time to really look at her. The hair around her face was wet, curling into ringlets. Without makeup, the dark circles under her eyes looked like she went a few rounds with Mike Tyson. Her cheeks were hollowed out, making her look skeletal.
What the fuck was going on with her? How could she allow herself to be this close to death, after all she had just fought for?
Laying her in the big bed they once shared made his heart ache even more. Trevor pulled beige sheets up over her, leaving the brown comforter within reach, not knowing if she would be hot or cold. He bent down to place his lips on her forehead. There was no fever, and he was relieved that she had one less thing to endure.
Next to the bed was a metal trash can, lined with plastic bags. He removed the can from the side of the bed and threw the soiled bags away, then rinsed the can so her room wouldn’t smell of vomit. He put in a new bag and retrieved a glass of ice water, some crackers and Pepto-Bismol, then brought them to her bedside table. He looked at her, lingering there for as long as he could, drinking her in, at what was left of her, anyway.
Trevor went to the kitchen and washed all of her dirty cups, most of them half-full of tea or ginger ale. Checking the fridge, he grimaced at how empty it was. In the living room, he grabbed the cup from the coffee table and checked the laptop to see what she had been working on, before he found her praying to the porcelain gods. The lockout screen was on. He glanced guiltily over his shoulder toward her room, before he sat down and typed Beast6969, figuring that if it was still her password, it was because she wanted him to see what she was working on. The screen went black, then a frozen picture of her blinked on. The time stamp was just three hours ago. She had been working on some video. He rewound the video back to the start, along with his guilt for invading her privacy, then pushed play.
Rissa came into view. It looked like she had on the same suit she wore to court, and while the thick layer of makeup she had on made the dark circles under her eyes less noticeable, she still looked sick.
She ran a hand through her hair.
“I wanted to make this video to help you understand a little better who I am. I’m sorry that we never really got to know each other, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you any less. I love you like no other.” She sat back, taking a deep breath. Trevor was upset, thinking initially that this was a video note to a lover. He continued watching, regardless. “I don’t know how much longer I will be around, but until then, I’m doing everything in my power to make sure you grow stronger so you can make it. Tater-tot, I want you to know that I have loved you from the moment I knew you existed. For me, there was no other choice, but you.”
So, it was a new lover … that was fast, but what the fuck kind of nickname was tater-tot? Trevor figured with a name like that, he could surely take him in a fight. He found himself smiling at the thought of beating the guy to a bloody, withering pulp. Yeah, that would make everything better, even though he had no right to touch the guy. But oh, how he wanted to. His smile faded when he thought about the first part of her speech: “I don’t know how much longe
r I will be around.” Did Rissa think she was going to die? Not on his fucking watch, she wouldn’t. And where was this love of her life, while she laid here dying? He viewed on.
“I don’t know how much people are going to tell you about what happened, or why I’m no longer here. Just know that I did what I did for you. I know you and your brother are going to do great things. That’s why you were put here. You’re going to love your brother. He will be strong and teach you things. You need to listen to him about the monsters; he can see the good ones and the bad ones. I don’t know what kind of talents you will have, but your uncles and aunts in the Agency will help you with them … as will Cosmo. He already loves you, and don’t let him tell you any different. At first, he didn’t like my choice in keeping you, but he is getting used to it. He keeps working on a way to help me, but I know somehow that his efforts will fail. I’ve made peace with my decision, and I stand by it. It just makes me sad that you won’t have a mom right away. I say ‘right away’ because your dad is amazing … good looking, strong and generous to a fault. For me, once I met him, there never was or would be anyone else. He will teach you to be a great man like him, and I know it won’t be long, before he finds a woman who loves him as much as I do. She will take care of you, your brother and your dad, loving you just like I do. I don’t know if your dad will even want you to know about me, and that’s fine. I guess it’s possible you will never even see this, and that’s fine, too. I just needed to get this out.
“I gave my life for yours, willingly. Now, I’m trying with everything in my power to see that at least one of us makes it through this. Tater-tot, know that I’m not sick because of you, but because of what people, human people, did to us. I just love you so much already. I know you and your brother, Jacob, will make me proud. I want you to know that I do not regret any of my decisions. I would do everything in my life the same. I found the love of my life, I am passionate about my job, and I have a great family. You will love your grandma and grandpa. They are awesome. The only thing that I wish could be different in my life is to have more time with you, Jacob and your dad.” Her eyes began to water, and she started to swallow repeatedly, her complexion turning a shade of green. That’s when she hit the pause button.
