16. Savannah
Chapter 16
Savannah
A lice pulls out the chair for me to sit, and I give a polite, thankful nod.
“Thank you for agreeing to see me. I didn’t think you’d pick up my call or agree to meet me here,” Alice says.
I purse my lips. I didn’t want to. I would have been fine sitting at home, curled up in a ball, thinking about my life, or making calls to people I know who had some sort of relationship with Brandon.
But my life is in shambles. I never had many friends, but I had my colleagues at work, and we would occasionally have lunch together from time to time. Since the first trial, it’s been me. Me against the world, me on my own with nobody except Michael to turn to. Since we’ve established that sex isn’t happening again, I know to keep an emotional distance, too.
It’s been a week. A long, exhausting week.
When he has something important, he calls me. I only call when I have concerns related to work or my case. So, when Alice called and asked if I wanted to get some air and meet with her, it was the only source of light in my dreadful existence.
“You’re welcome,” I reply.
“What would you like?”
“Just water,” I say.
She makes a series of hand gestures to the wait staff before returning to me.
“Okay. First off, how are you?” She seems genuine.
I sigh. “Do you want to know how I am because you feel guilty about sleeping with my ex, who is now dead, or are you asking because you want to act like you care?”
Alice bites her bottom lip, and watching them quiver, I feel guilty immediately.
“I’m sorry,” I reach out. “I shouldn’t have said that. Yes, you are a shitty person, and I still haven’t forgiven you for what you did, but you’re the only person who has asked me how I am. I don’t know how to respond properly.”
She smiles and shrugs. “It’s okay. I am not asking you, so you forgive me or tell me your worries. It’s just hard to sit back and do nothing because we were once close friends and I miss that. But if I can help—I’d like that. I don’t want anything in return.”
I exhale loudly. Never for once did I think I would come to trust the person who betrayed me, but I sense nothing but sincerity in Alice’s tone. That is if I can look past the part that can’t stop thinking of her in bed with Brandon.
“I’m terrible. I’m sure you know they claim they found the murder weapon in my house. I don’t know how it got there, but it shows one thing—that someone is trying to frame me, and it’s got to be someone that either I know or who knows me.”
She gasps. “You think it was planned? Like, the murder and then framing you? That they thought about blaming you before they killed Brandon?”
I nod, taking the glass of water from the staff.
I take a sip. “Yeah. I think so.”
Alice shakes her head. “That is scary. Have you told Peter? Your dad? You will need somewhere to stay, right? It’s frightening to think of you sleeping in the same house where someone broke in.”
I frown. “You know how things are with my family.”
Peter, whom I haven’t seen in a while, and my father, who hasn’t called me since the news came out. I don’t even want to get started on Peter’s mother. She would be the last person in this world to give a shit about me.
“Yeah,” she blinks rapidly. “I forgot about that. So…why don’t you stay with me? I could use the company.”
I think about it for a split second. A split second because I’ve been staying in a seedy motel since that night. But I know that I can’t stay with Alice; I still resent her too much. If I am ever going to forgive her, it has to be on my terms.
She realizes the implication of her words in my silence, waving her hands and shaking her head.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to. I’ll take whatever you give. I just hope that you can forgive me someday, and even if we don’t go back to what we used to be, I hope we can be friends.”
Sighing, I turn and signal for the waiter. I need that drink after all.
***
“So, he is your boss and your lawyer, and you have feelings for him?” Alice leans in.
It is the alcohol, I know. One glass led to two and maybe three and now I’m talking to Alice about the man I slept with. But I needed to get it off my chest and who else was I going to tell?
“Yup,” I nod, putting down the glass. “We had sex once but before that, we were bickering a lot. Can you believe I accused him of being Brandon’s attorney? I barged into his office one morning, angry as hell and I let him have it.”
Alice laughs and I can tell that she too, is tipsy. We’ll have to call a cab after this. Or two? Depending on where I choose to spend the night.
“You did?” she says.
“You betcha. I kept telling him that I wasn’t going to return Brandon’s ring even if he sent me ten thousand letters and that he could shove them up his ass. Then he called me a nagger and a few other unsavory names. When I found out he was the big boss at my firm, I was scared.”
“How is he your lawyer now?”
Ha. Funny story.
“Well,” I wave my hands around. “We ran into each other a couple of times, and everyone thinks of him as kind and caring and handsome, but to me, he was a handsome jerk. I told him I would tell everyone what he was really like.”
She laughs again. “Did you have proof?”
“No.”
“How was it going to work, then?”
I shrug. Looking back on it, Michael could have easily fired me. I had nothing on him except a burning anger fueled by the men in my life who have fucked me over. He put up with my outbursts when he could have said, “To hell with it,” and rid himself of a loudmouth paralegal.
Huh.
I shrug again and drink some more.
“I guess he heard about my arrest and came to the station. I explained things to him and asked him to defend me. But Michael Stone,” I wag my finger, “that handsome devil rejected my plea.”
The wait staff comes with another round of drinks, shakes her head at us, and walks away. I laugh as she walks away.
“Why is she shaking her head? We are paying for our drinks, aren’t we?”
“I think it’s because we’ve been sitting here for over three hours. A lot of people have come and gone.”
“Oh.”
I look around and realize that she’s right. We’ve been here the longest. Which means it’s time to go.
“I guess we better call it a night, then,” I say slurring my words.
“Where will you stay? Your house?”
I open my mouth to tell her that I was staying in a motel, but I feel embarrassed, and I know she will bug me to come home with her. So, I shrug my shoulders instead.
Alice sighs concernedly. “Okay. I promised I would not push. But if you need anything, you know where to find me.”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“Okay. Wait a second. I’ll go call a cab, and then I’ll come get you.”
I watch her walk away, and in her absence, a bit of soberness returns to me. What am I doing, sitting and getting drunk with Alice?
My life has truly hit rock bottom.
She returns and places a hand on my shoulder.
“Alright. The coast is clear. Let me help you outside. I want to stay a little longer.”
I shake my head. “I’ll get there myself. Thanks.”
“Okay. Uhm…I know I’m in no position to give you advice, but if you feel something real for this guy, your boss, maybe try telling him?” She suggests.
That’s why you’re in no position to give advice.