by Jack Parker
"What happened after?"
"I-I woke up to the red-haired woman standing over me, and they were trying to figure out if they should kill me or not."
"And what did they decide?"
"The woman had authority for sure, because the other two's ideas where instantly shot down. She didn't want the police to look into a murder, said it would be too suspicious. Then, the two men hit me over the head, and all the sudden they were dragging me along an ally."
"And what did they do to you in this ally?"
I gulped, and my breath was shaky. I didn't want to relive this, "I couldn't tell who was doing what. But one dragged me by one of my arms, and the other kicked me in the stomach. I couldn't breath." My last sentence came out in a whisper. "They began hitting me and hitting me, so I tried to crawl away…" My voice died out.
"One of them pulled me back again and hit me in the head, so I blacked out for a little bit. But I heard a door open, and they were gone. Eventually I went to the nearest store and the man who worked there called the police."
It was eerily quiet. Daniel didn't say anything. He walked over and grabbed some large papers from his desk. They were blown up pictures, of me, all beaten and bloodied. The camera's that were present in the room instantly zoomed on them.
Daniel showed them to the jury, speaking a few words to the judge but remaining relatively silent.
"Was this the last time you ever had trouble with Michaela Sullivan or any of the people that work for her?"
I shook my head. "No." I paused, before beginning to speak again. "I told the police everything I knew, and went back to school after I healed somewhat. I was in my school cafeteria and noticed someone who didn't look like a student, and he was watching me."
"You noticed he was watching you?"
"No, actually my friend noticed first, and from then on I noticed him."
"What did you do after you noticed this man watching you?" Daniel was leaning against his desk now, all cool and collected.
"I walked outside of the cafeteria to call the detectives working on my case. The man came up and I tried to run away from him, but he grabbed me and threatened me."
"He threatened you? What did he say exactly?"
"It's hard to remember exactly, but mostly that I shouldn't speak, or they would hurt my family, that I would never be able to get away from them."
"And am I correct when I say that it was at this point the police took you into their protection, moving you to a safe location?"
I nodded at the prosecutor, as he continued, "And what was it like, being uprooted, during your school year, Junior year, one of the most important years of high school, and forced to live in a completely different environment, with no contact to your family or any of your friends for months?"
I blinked dumbly at him. I didn't want to answer this. This was not part of the deal. I looked over at Kaiser and the smug look on his face. You can't practice heartbreak. He knew how I felt about leaving, and I'm sure it was all over my face, for the whole jury and camera's to see.
"It was hard." I stated simply.
"Can you give us a little more detail than that?" Daniel gave me an encouraging smile.
"At first, I hated it, and I wanted to come back, but after awhile, I got so used to staying, I thought I wouldn't leave for another couple of months… So I made a new life for myself."
"Did you like this new life?"
"Parts of it. I loved my friends, and my-my boyfriend." There was a painful pause, "But I missed my parents a lot."
"And how did it feel, when you had to leave, again, after you were just getting used to your new home?"
"Not good." I don't know where it came from, but I burst into tears. "I hate this feeling. I never know what's going on, one minute, I can't live in my home because it's not safe, because people can find me and hurt me or my family…" I let out a little sob, "Then I fall in love with this town and all the people in it, only to be ripped away, only to have a couple hours notice to say goodbye."
I put my hands over my face, embarrassment seeping into my core.
"Thank you Heidi, that will be all."
I tried to stop my sniffling long enough to nod back at Daniel's retreating form.
Mickey's lawyer stood up after him, and walked towards me. "Hi Heidi, I'm Corey Sullivan, Mickey's lawyer." I raised my eyebrow at him, "Are you guys related?"
He chuckled, "I am a distant cousin, yes. I'd like to ask you a couple more questions if that's alright with you."
"Okay." I said, suspiciously glancing at him. He had a much more real, friendly demeanor than Daniel, whose concerned looks I felt were more for effect than reality.
"I know what you've been through has been traumatic, I'm not trying to undermine that in anyway. But you said you fell and hit your head?" He asked me, "Just clarifying," He put his hands up, in defense.
"I ran into one of the men when I was trying to get away, and I fell back and hit my head on the ground."
"Just yes or no is fine," He spoke, giving me a smile. "And when you awoke, you found these two men discussing your death?" He turned and pointed towards James and Greco.
"Yes." I replied.
"But not Michaela Sullivan?"
"No." I gritted my teeth.
"And, when Anthony Greco suggested to kill you, Michaela Sullivan ordered him not to, is that correct?"
"Yes, but-"
"Ah, ah, yes and no answers are fine." He gave me another smile and I began seething, I hated getting interrupted. "So," He walked towards me, "one could argue that Michaela Sullivan actually saved your life, could they not?" A triumphant gleam showed in his eye.
"No."
"Right!" He snapped his finger enthusiastically, before pausing mid motion, fully processing what I said. "Come again?" The lawyer's friendly demeanor briefly left his face, as he menacingly raised his eyebrows at me.
"No, one could not argue that she saved my life." I repeated back at him, mockingly, my voice holding all the venom I physically wanted to poison him with. "If they hadn't broken into my home, then I wouldn't have been physically harmed at all, and my life would have no need to be saving. In fact, if anything, Michaela Sullivan put my life in danger. She had Thing 1 and Thing 2 beat the shit out of me, drag me into an ally, and leave me there, for whatever, and whomever to find me. She might as well have sentenced me to death. She had no idea I wouldn't be killed. For all we know, the only reason she stopped me from being killed in my home was so I wouldn't get blood on the carpet."
There was a person in a corner, typing up everything I said, and a sketch artist, drawing me franticly, those were the only noises anyone could here for several seconds before Corey Sullivan regained his speech.
"No further questions." He mumbled, before walking back to his seat. I gave him an icy stare, and the judge sitting beside me spoke, "You may step down now, Ms. Van Dauson."
I walked steadily back to my seat and slide in next to Anna. Kaiser turned around and gave me a wink, "Look at you, all fired up on there."
"The press is going to have a field day with you," One of the officers spoke to me, chuckling. "What a performance."
"What?" I whispered to him.
"You're testimony, Corey Sullivan's a pretty successful attorney. You just beat him at his own game." He gave me smile and patted my arm.
I was in disbelief. It hit me as I was sitting with Anna. I didn't have this responsibility anymore, this horrible burden wasn't on my shoulder's any longer. I was free of this. I did my part, and there was nothing more I had to do.
I looked at Anna and a smile crept on my face. "You did it," She grinned at me. I nodded in reply. "I know. Hey do you mind if I go back to the apartment? I'm so tired. I just want to rest."
"Yeah of course, I'll drive you back at the recess."
As soon as the judge had called a recess, I flew out of my seat, with Anna close behind me. She borrowed the keys from someone and took me back to her apartment in the police car. I was pract
ically squealing with delight, happiness was radiating through me.
"Anna!" I grinned at her, "Annnnnnnnaa! I FINALLY testified. For months, and I mean months, I have been anxious about this, and its over. My part in this is over. No more being drilled by Kaiser, or shipped off to random places, or staying in hiding. I am here, and I testified, and now things can be normal. I can be normal."
She just shook her head at me knowingly, "Oh honey, things will never be the same, and never go back to normal." She patting my hand sympathetically, " You'll just have to make your own normal now."
Chapter 15
Even with Anna's cautious words, nothing could distract me from my feeling. As soon as I opened to door to her apartment I flew threw my stuff, looking for my phone. I immediately pulled it out and called the last number that I had dialed.
"HEIDI!" I heard Dylan yell over the phone, "It's been to long!"
I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see, "Puh-lease, it's been a day."
"And I already have so much to tell you." He teased.
"Like what?"
"Guess who Marcus is going to ask out on a date this weekend?" His voice was gleeful; he couldn't hold back the smile that was penetrating his words.
"Who?" I began jumping up and down.
"Clarissa."
I immediately stopped. "What?" I said in disbelief. "Are you serious? Making fun of her is one of our favorite past times. This is a joke, isn't it? She's like, a bitch with half a brain."
"He thinks she's hot." Dylan said as an explanation.
"She's not that hot. Not hot enough to listen to her talk for longer than five seconds." I smirked.
In the background I heard some mumbling voices, and a voice I recognized as Marcus, "Why are you smiling?" Silence. "Whose on the phone?"
"Heidi," Dylan said, into the phone, so I heard loud and clear. "Oh cool," his muffled voice said, "Wait… Did you tell her?" He shouted.
Then there was a lot of rustling and grunts before I finally heard Marcus's voice clearly.
"I like her!" He screamed into the phone.
"There is no need to shout. I can here you just fine," Was my reply.
"You're so pissed about this, aren't you?"
"Actually, I'm in a really good mood, so you and your 6th grade crush will have to make me angry another day." It was true: I was on cloud nine. I had testified.
"Legitimately, she can be kinda cool, when she's not…"
"A total bitch, which is when, never?" I asked sarcastically.
"Heidi." Marcus sighed, "I don't want to convince you as to why I like her. And at least I know she actually likes me, and I'm not just her shiny new toy, she'll stop liking once I move away."
It was a classic Marcus comment, sarcastic, rude, but not malicious. I knew he didn't mean for it to hurt, but I certainly felt my heart wrench a little.
"What does that mean?" I was afraid of the answer.
I heard more rustling and I'm sure the phone was yanked out of Marcus' hand.
"I actually wanted to talk to you about something." Dylan said into the phone. "Its not a big deal or anything, and its nothing to freak out about, in fact, I wouldn't even mention it if Marcus wasn't such a…" I could imagine Dylan's twitchiness on overdrive.
"Just tell me." I closed my eyes, "It's Camdon, he has someone else, doesn't he?"
There was a pause on the other end of the phone, "Do you remember Kelly?"
"Of course." Oh please no, not Kelly, of all people. I liked her, but still, was I that insignificant, to replace me with Kelly who is so incredibly phony the only worse possible choice would have been Clarissa.
"They've been hanging out a lot, and apparently… I don't know if this is true or not, but I just thought you should know, but I guess they have hooked up a couple times."
"I only left two weeks ago." I said softly.
"I know." Dylan said. "Look, if that's true-"
"No Dylan, don't. We ended…badly. Horribly actually, I wouldn't be surprised if he never wanted to think about me again."
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, stop sounding like such a girl," Marcus called from the background.
"I'm gonna go." I told them.
"Are you sure? Are you going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine, just a little sad that's all. I'm tried so I'm going to take a nap. I'll call you later okay?"
"Alright. Don't be too worried about it. We're here if you need us. And don't forget, we need to finish talking about Clarissa, Marcus is like a love struck puppy." Dylan whined.
"Gross." I scoffed, laughing a little, before hanging up.
I sat in silence for a full ten minutes. There was no way Camdon did that, no way he just went and did anything with Kelly. We didn't even officially break it off.
I never got to tell him that I loved him.
Tears threatened to ruin my precious day. But I made myself focus on all the good things that had happened today. I was done with Mickey. After the trial, and they would have to get her on something, I would be free forever.
Thoughts of Camdon plagued me though, and he was always in the back of my brain. I finally got his home number from Dylan, because I was too afraid to call his cell, and called it, hoping, if anything, to talk to Jill.
It rang several times, and I was about to hang up when I it stopped ringing. There was a pause on the other end, and no one spoke.
"Hello?" I asked, confused. Maybe they hung up…
"Heidi!" I heard an excited Ella's voice come through the phone.
"Ella." My whole face broke out into a smile. "I miss you! How's my favorite girl doing? Chatting up a storm yet?"
"No." She giggled. "I'm waiting for you to come back home! When will you come back? Camdon's been so sad without you."
That's not what I heard, I thought to myself. "He's been sad? Are you sure?"
"He even cried a couple times." She said a matter of factly. "Mommy called it love."
I couldn't help but get chocked up. "I love him a lot. I think your mom's right." I hugged a pillow to my chest as I sat down on the pull out couch. "Is he home?"
"Yes. He's in his room. Want me to get him?" Ella asked, hopeful.
"Can you? I really, really want to talk to him, I have some good news!"
"Oh what is it?" She sounded so giddy and sweet.
"I might be able to visit soon. It'll be okay for me to go back."
"Did you keep your promise to those people?" She asked,
"Yeah." I said, her words bringing me back to the day I left.
"Okay. I knew you would. I'll go get Camdon." I heard a soft shuffle on the other end of the line, and a soft knock on a door. A muffled "What?" was spoken. "Whose on the phone Ella?" Camdon sighed tiredly.
"Hello?" His voice sent thrills through me, and I almost started crying, I was so happy to hear him again.
"It's me." I paused. Hoping he still remembered my voice. "I have some good news." I said, my voice light.
Camdon sighed into the phone. "What are you doing calling here?"
I bit my lip, "You don't want me to call?"
"No. I want to be angry at you. I trusted you with everything." His voice was quiet, but when he spoke again, it was stronger, angrier. "Things I never told anyone, ever, and you didn't even trust me enough to tell me your real name. Or what was going on in your life. I didn't need all the details, but you didn't have to lie."
"You don't understand."
"I do understand. You thought if you told anyone, you might somehow have been found. I wouldn't have said anything Heidi, that's not me." He was voice was stern.
"It wasn't about you telling other people. It was about if they found me, and knew you had information. I don't know what they would have done." I stopped, not wanting him to hear my quivering voice.
"Whatever Heidi. I thought I loved you." His voice broke this time. "Actually loved you, even though I knew I didn't know much about your past, I thought it didn't matter. But I find out all this… an
d I don't know what to think or feel anymore."
"Camdon-"
"Just let me be angry. I can't talk to you right now." Click.
The dial tone set in, and I stared at the phone in disbelief.
When Anna came home she found me laying on the couch, listening to the saddest songs I could find, eating out of a tub of Nutella. Screw Ben and Jerry's, I only eat it for the chocolate anyways. She walked in the room and raised her eyebrows at my speakers, a Hootie and the Blowfish song filling the apartment, soothing my broken heart.
"Is something wrong?" She asked, her voice a little comical at my dramatics.
"I think my heart just shattered into a thousand pieces today." I commented dryly, putting a spoonful of the delectable chocolate, hazelnut spread in my mouth. She sat down next to me, and was silent, waiting for me to speak. "I was having such a great day today. After I testified, I was so happy, it was a milestone marker, you know?" I turned and looked at the blonde-haired, doe-eyed beauty I had learned to love like a sister. "It's amazing that I can feel so good, and he can make it seem so insignificant. Like if I can't be with him, I can never truly be happy. Ever." I smacked the Nutella jar on the table in front of me.
"Why is this song playing?" I snapped. "Its way too happy for this play list." I grumbled some more and turned on another song. I looked back at Anna, "Oh! And guess frickin' what?"
She looked startled, her wide doe eyes watching me, "Guess who Marcus is dating?" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air.
"Who?" She asked frowning.
"Clarissa. That witch, Clarissa."
"But I though Clarissa didn't bother you so much anymore?" She asked sweetly, I glared at her and her accurate memory.
"She does when she's dating one of my best friends, I don't want him to be corrupted. This is horrible. I feel like complete shit." I started crying in front of her, and I felt like I was back to the first couple days I had been here.
Anna came up and put her arms around me and pulled me close. "Let me make you some real food, first of all, second of all, you need to tell me exactly how your conversation went."
I nodded and sat down at her little dining room table. I told her how I called Dylan and Marcus, then how I called Camdon, but I didn't mention talking to Ella. I picked at the chicken she made me, and looked up expectantly, waiting for her words of wisdom.
