by Kendra Riley
“I don’t know what to say, Victor, besides yes!” Nichole screamed. Everyone in the room cheered for the two.
“I want to get married before my kids are born. I want them to know how much Daddy loves Mommy,” Victor said, smiling at Nichole.
Melissa jumped for joy. “Now I get to plan a wedding!”
Everyone at the party congratulated the two. Nichole opened all of the gifts and after the party was over, they announced they would have a baby shower. Nichole and Victor repeated, “Thanks for coming,” as their friends cleared out the party.
“You look so amazing, Nichole. Can you believe it’s been four months that we’ve been together? I’m the luckiest man on Earth,” Victor told Nichole.
Nichole blushed and said she was happy to hear that. “Can you massage my ankles? They’re swollen,” Nichole asked.
Victor smiled. “I’ll accept any chance I get to touch you.”
The two headed to the bedroom and Nichole cried. “We go to court in two days,” she said as she tried to stop crying.
“I know. Everything will be okay after we get the restraining order. He’s probably going to jail anyway. I called in a lawyer. He doesn’t lose. Plus, we just found out you’re having twins. The judge won’t leave him around kids,” Victor assured her.
Nichole sighed and then laughed. “These mood swings are killing me.”
Victor chuckled. “Everything will be fine in five months.”
“Yeah. I’m so excited! We’re going to bring two beautiful babies into the world. They’re going to have the right guidance to success,” Nichole assured.
“I know. This is the greatest thing ever. I truly feel like the luckiest man in the world. I love you,” said Victor.
“I love you too, baby. We’re going to be really good parents but what should we name them?” Nichole asked.
Victor smiled and said, “Nictor and Vichole.”
Nichole laughed and tapped his arm in a playful manner. “I’m serious!”
Victor laughed. “Okay. Okay. How about Nicolette and Miguel?”
Nichole smiled. “I love those names!”
They talked about babies the entire night until Nichole fell asleep. That night Nichole had a nightmare. She was walking into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. She was back to her original size, so she guessed she was never pregnant in her dream. All of a sudden, the lights flickered. She figured there was a storm coming through that messed with the lights and continued to make her coffee.
Derrick walked into the kitchen with a knife. When Nichole saw him, she screamed. He was covered in blood. “Get away from me! Victor, Tashka, help!” Nichole yelled. Derrick dropped the knife and rushed over to Nichole.
“It’s okay, darling, I took care of those problems. I took care of the little pests too,” Derrick said as he pointed over to the playpen in the living room. Nichole was confused. The playpen wasn’t there before but then she figured it out. She had the babies and Derrick took her whole family away from her.
She backed away from Derrick as he stepped towards her. “Don’t be scared. I only want to love you,” Derrick said as he came closer to her with his arms open.
Nichole had tears streaming down her eyes. “You’re a sick monster!” she screamed. “I will never love you!” Derrick frowned and ran at Nichole. She ran outside but was ambushed by another Derrick. “Love me!” the second Derrick screamed. The first Derrick ran outside and announced, “She called us sick and said she would never love us!”
Tears began to stream down the second Derrick’s eyes. He screamed like a tornado warning, and Nichole pushed away from the second Derrick. She was freed but when she looked around, she saw an army of Derricks forming a circle around her. “Love me!” the army of Derricks continued to repeat in unison. Nichole had nowhere to go. She ran at one of the Derricks and attempted to hit him, but he grabbed her arm and the Derricks began to close in around her. Before she woke up, everything was black and all she could hear was Derrick’s voice.
Chapter6
It was court day. Nichole wore a black dress with pearls. Her baby bump showed comfortably through the silk. Victor wore a black suit with a pearl colored tie. They both wore black shoes and after Nichole did her hair and perfected her makeup, they headed to the courthouse. Their lawyer showed up and introduced himself, but Nichole had already seen him on television as the youngest and second most successful lawyer in the world.
“My name is Larry Roberts,” he said as he shook Nichole’s hand. “I’m a good friend of Victor’s. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to attend the gender reveal party. I’m going to do my best to make it to the baby shower, though.” Nichole was flattered. He was a big-time lawyer.
“Thank you. I’m Nichole,” Nichole said in return.
“I know who you are. I see you all over the billboards and Victor talks about you nonstop.”
He chuckled. “Now, let’s get into this courtroom and get this Derrick guy locked up. I got some tricks up my sleeve. You’d be surprised.”
They walked in and got to their seats. The judge immediately saw Nichole’s stomach. Then she read the file papers and looked back up at Nichole’s stomach. “Are you really pregnant?” the judge asked.
Nichole and Victor’s lawyer, Larry, spoke up. “With twins, Your Honor.”
The judge’s eyes grew large. “I know I need to hear both sides of the story but you’re telling me she’s pregnant with twins and these papers say Derrick Lawson ran into your house with a bat. Did he know you were pregnant?” the judge asked again.
“Your Honor, the size of her baby bump indicates it’s been there awhile. When he forced himself into the house, he did see Nichole which leads us to believe he already knew she was pregnant,” Larry responded.
“I object!” exclaimed Derrick’s lawyer. “These indications are simply assumptions and shouldn’t be documented.”
The judge looked at Derrick who sat in his seat with his arms crossed. “Nichole, can you tell me what happened from the beginning?”
“Well, Your Honor,” Nichole began, “before I met Victor, I met Derrick on a dating website. We went on a date but his behavior at the dinner table was unacceptable to me. I ended the date by taking my food to go, paying for my half, and going home. He had been blowing up my phone with calls and texts for months after that.”
Larry took the text statements to the security guard who handed them to the judge. The judge continued to read as Nichole told the story. “A few months ago, I ordered pizza. When it got to the house, I went out to get the pizza, but Victor helped me by carrying them in while I tipped the pizza guy. That’s when we heard someone screech to a halt and scream from his or her car. When he got out of the car, only then, did I know who he was.
“He ran into my yard and attempted to fight Victor, but I told Victor to come inside. Derrick said he would be back, but we thought it was only a threat. We decided to let it go. Then came the bat situation. We were about to take our pets to the dog park. We heard a ring at the doorbell and Victor answered it.
“I was in my room, but I heard a loud noise and my dog started barking. When I went out to see what happened, I saw Derrick with a bat. He ran over and grabbed me. I was screaming for help,” Nichole began to cry, “I thought he killed Victor. I didn’t know how many times he hit him with the bat. Derrick swung at my dog with the bat and I was so scared.
“Then Victor came up behind him and got him away from me. They were fighting, and I called the police. That’s when I felt a shooting pain in my stomach and I knew something was wrong. The pain grew, and I couldn’t move. I just fell to my knees.” Nichole’s tears were streaming down her face.
“We can take a break if you need to,” the judge suggested.
“No, I need to get this out, Your Honor,” Nichole continued. “When the police arrived, a fire truck and an ambulance was with them. The ambulance had to rush me to the hospital. The doctor told me to take early leave from work because I had a close call.
I can’t take any more stress because if I do, I will lose my children,” Nichole finished. Victor helped Nichole wipe her tears. The judge quickly wiped away the tears she was trying to hide.
The judge took a deep breath and said, “Victor, what happened when you opened the door?”
Victor held Nichole’s hand and spoke. “As soon as I opened the door, I saw Derrick and he swung the bat as soon as he saw me. He hit me in the head and I was unconscious. I woke up to Nichole’s cries for help and I heard our dog snarling and snapping at him. I ran over there to pull him away because I didn’t want him to touch her,” Victor finished.
“Spoken like a good man,” the judge returned. “Derrick, your story,” the judge said as she turned her head towards Derrick.
“Your Honor, I am guilty. I’m guilty of being head over heels about Nichole. It made me do a few crazy things, but it won’t happen again. What they said was true but hasn’t love ever made you do stuff you regretted later?” Derrick asked with a smile.
“No, it hasn’t. If that’s all you have to say then I’m sure the people who are on jury duty would like to make a decision,” the judge replied.
“Your Honor, my client hasn’t had enough sleep. He’s out of his mind. We have more to say and I would like for my client’s statements to be scratched from the record.” Derrick’s lawyer stepped up.
“Proceed,” the judge replied.
“We aren’t sure if the altercation where my client “screeched to a halt” is true. Where’s their proof?” asked Derrick’s lawyer. The judge turned towards Larry who had a large smile on his face.
“You seem to really enjoy that question, Mr. Roberts.”
Larry laughed. “I had a feeling they were going to say that. That’s why I have the pizza guy who, it turns out, recorded a piece of the altercation. I would like to ask him to come to the stand.”
The pizza guy stood from the crowd. He stepped up to the stand and vowed to tell the truth.
“Can you state your name?” Larry asked.
“Uh, my name is William Barkley,” the pizza guy replied.
“What were your thoughts on what took place that night? What was running through your mind as you saw what was going on?” Larry asked.
“It was insane, man. I was right by the door. She had just handed me a tip,” replied William.
“Now when you say she, do you mean Nichole Jones?” Larry paused.
“Yeah, her,” William answered as he pointed to Nichole. Then he continued. “Then I heard a car stop suddenly. I thought someone was going to do a drive-by, to be honest. Then that guy, Derrick, ran up and tried to fight the Brazilian guy, Victor.”
“How do you know their names?” Larry asked.
“Nichole was screaming at them the entire time,” William answered.
“Do you have the video with you today?” Larry asked.
“It’s on my phone. I showed it to everyone at my job,” William admitted.
“Do you mind if the judge takes a look at the video?” Larry asked.
“Nah dude, here,” replied William. “It’s right here.”
He handed his phone to the judge and she asked William if she could put the video on a CD. He agreed to it and everyone in the courtroom was dismissed for lunch. “When we come back, we will all watch the video,” the judge announced before everyone cleared out.
“This is going very well. He’s going to get charged with assault and emotional distress.” Larry chuckled. The three sat at a table. Victor went to get them some food from a restaurant across the street.
“How did you get to be the youngest lawyer in the world?” Nichole asked.
“My dad’s a lawyer. He taught me everything. I went to college for eight years, but I graduated from high school when I was fourteen. I graduated undergrad school at eighteen and graduated grad school when I was twenty-two. I was born for this,” Larry responded.
“How old are you now?” Nichole asked.
“I’m twenty-four,” he responded.
“Victor and I met over some lawsuits pressed against him. He was new into the business and people were jealous. He was a young new business owner doing better than others who had been doing this for thirty years or so. Of course, there would be problems. He and I are both young and people hate to see success, so our relationship is stronger than lawyer and client. It’s a real friendship. I’d do anything for this guy,” Larry finished. Nichole was happy to hear that.
“I’m glad he has a friend like you,” Nichole admitted.
“I’m glad I have a friend like him. He’s sent a lot of my clients to me over the years,” Larry replied.
Nichole smiled. “You two really are close.”
“You’re right. Every time I’m not working on a case, I’m chilling with Vic,” Larry responded. “He was always telling me about how he wanted a real lover that would be by his side forever and from what I’ve heard about you, you fit the description. Other women would treat him horrible. They would use him for money or try to get him to get rid of Zap. One of them tried to sell Zap because Victor wouldn’t take her with him on his business trip.”
Nichole shook her head. “That’s awful. I’m glad he and I are together, and you already know you’re invited to the wedding.”
“I’m so happy for you both. I’m ready to clear a week from my calendar. As soon as I get the invitation, I’m going to R.S.V.P,” Larry said with a smile.
Victor returned with burgers, hotdogs, and drinks. As they ate their food, Nichole listened to Larry and Victor share stories of the old times and thought about how great it was to have someone like Victor by her side.
They finished eating and headed back to the courtroom. There was a television on a table and a DVD player beside it. Everyone took their seats.
“Is everyone ready to see the video?” the judge asked. She made sure the jury was paying attention. She hit play, and everyone watched the video. It turned out William had been recorded since he was by the door. He continued to record as he walked and watched by his car.
They watched Derrick run at Victor when Victor turned to walk into the house. The judge stopped the video and told one of the security guards to move the television and get the table moved. She proceeded with the case. “It appears that Derrick is the aggressor in both situations,” the judge announced.
“If the counselors have nothing to add, I’m sure the jury would like to decide now.”
“Nothing further, Your Honor,” Larry finished.
Derrick’s attorney sighed. “That’ll be all, Your Honor.”
The jury walked into a room and came back in five minutes. The leader of the jury held the papers in their hand and said, “For the charge of assault, we find the defendant, guilty. For the charge of emotional distress, we find the defendant, also guilty.” The courtroom clapped and got silent to hear the judge.
“Guilty on two charges. A sentencing hearing to be scheduled 10 days from this date,” the judge announced. She banged the gavel and stood. She walked out of the room and that was the end of it.
Two of the police officers in the room led Derrick out of the room and Larry smiled at the couple. “Shall we celebrate?” Larry asked.
“Yes! We must, and I know just the place,” Victor replied. Victor texted Melissa and told her to go ahead and get their table at Red Lobster ready. Melissa sent back a smiley face and they headed out. They got to Red Lobster and walked inside.
“How did you know this was one of my favorite places?” Nichole asked.
Melissa ran up and hugged Nichole. Nichole rolled her eyes and smiled. “Hey Melissa.” Nichole chuckled. “I should have known you told him.” Melissa laughed and led everyone to their table.
Victor introduced Larry and Melissa to each other. The two greeted each other and sat down. Melissa sat next to Nichole, and Larry sat with Victor. They all ordered their drinks and their food and waited for it to come out.
“I’m so happy that guy is out of the way. How long did he ge
t?” Melissa asked.
“Possibly ten years,” Nichole answered.
“Sheesh. How old is he?” Melissa asked again.
“He’s twenty-seven,” Nichole answered.
“He’d be almost forty when he gets out. That’s comical.” Melissa laughed.
“His attorney didn’t put up much of a fight,” Larry responded. “He knew he didn’t stand a chance when I walked in.”
Victor laughed. “Yes, conceited, you’re a large threat. Everyone already knows this.”
“I’m just saying. I brought in William and they didn’t know what to do. I’m just happy he had the video of what happened,” Larry admitted. “All I had to do was go to the pizza place, ask who saw what happened firsthand. Someone stepped up really fast. He knew what he had to do. Guy took off a whole day of work. I haven’t told him yet but I’m going to pay him what he makes in four days work, so he knows he’s greatly appreciated.”
“That’s really sweet,” Nichole added.
“Thank you. I do my best.” Larry smiled. Their food came out and they all ate as they shared jokes and made conversation about work, the world, and more.
“Where’s Tashka?” Melissa asked.
“She’s fine at the house alone now that Zap’s there. All they do is cuddle and play. She barely notices me anymore.” Nichole chuckled.
“They still snuggle with us when it’s time for bed, though,” Victor added. They all laughed and had a great time.
After dinner, Melissa said, “Well, we have one more stop before we call it a night.”
Nichole looked confused but went along with the plan. They left Red Lobster and headed to the movies. When they got there, they let Nichole pick the movie and they headed inside.
“You all spoil me. You know that?” Nichole asked.
They laughed, and Victor said, “You deserve it. You deserve the world.” Victor bought the group popcorn and drinks. They watched an action movie and they all enjoyed it.
“I want to see that again!” Nichole exclaimed. “It was just so good.” The group decided it would be nice, so they bought more tickets and watched it again.
