Chapter 10
Killian
Age Seventeen
I spotted Alayah at her locker as I strolled the halls before second period.
I’d had a test in my first-period class, and thanks to studying with her, I’d aced it.
I slapped hands with a few of my friends as I made my way toward her.
She was just standing there, looking in the locker like she’d lost something.
Sneaking up behind her, I poked her side, causing her to jump.
“Hey, pretty girl—”
“Don’t do that,” she snapped, “and don’t call me that.”
She looked at me with angry eyes, confusing me. We had a playful relationship. She’d always laugh at my attempts to scare her, but today…today seemed different.
“I’m—I’m sorry. I was just playing around like we always do.”
“Well, I don’t feel like playing today.”
She grabbed her history book and slammed her locker shut before storming off down the hall. I stood there for a moment before going after her. I caught her on the empty stairwell, gently grabbing her arm. She jerked away and pushed me.
“Don’t touch me!”
I raised my hands in surrender and took a step back. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing is wrong with me. I just don’t want you touching me. I’m tired of people touching me without my permission.”
My brows furrowed. “Who touched you without your permission?”
“Nobody. I just…It’s nothing.”
“You know you can trust me, Layah. You know that, right?”
Her pretty brown eyes pooled with tears as they met mine.
She slumped against the wall and collapsed to the floor in a fit of tears.
For a moment, I stood there, not knowing what to do.
Dropping my backpack, I took a seat beside her and pulled her into my arms. We were late to second period that day.
She never elaborated on what she meant. She never spoke on it again.
In fact, when I saw her during study hall, she seemed to be in good spirits.
She was laughing and talking like she hadn’t broken down in my arms earlier.
I wanted to ask her if everything was okay, and when I did, she told me she was just emotional because she was on her period.
She apologized for spazzing on me and asked me to forget about it.
I hadn’t forgotten about it though. I beat myself up about that shit for the longest. If I’d just said something…if I’d just made her tell me what was going on, maybe she could have gotten the help she needed.
I sat back at my desk, thinking about Alayah. She’d been an ever-present thought since seeing her at the mechanic shop. By now, she was settling in at her new job. I prayed that she had a happy, healthy, and smooth transition back into civilian life. Still, I couldn’t seem to shake her.
Two weeks had gone by, and she hadn’t used my number. I mean, I never expected her to, but I was hopeful. I was trying to give her space like Kadeem and my mama told me to, but it was like an itch I couldn’t scratch. I wanted to see her…I had to see her.
Standing from my desk, I left my office and headed down the hall to Erica’s. I gave a light tap, and she gave permission for me to open the door.
“What’s up, Killian?” she asked, looking up at me. “You look a little perplexed.”
“I am.” I took a seat across from her. Leaning forward, I clasped my hands in front of me. “Are you still looking into the Alayah Chambers case?”
“I am. I’m actually about to go see her in about twenty minutes.”
I swallowed hard. I wanted to ask her if I could go with her, but I didn’t want to be pushy.
“Would you like to come?” Erica asked, seemingly reading my thoughts.
“Was I that obvious?”
She giggled. “You have a horrible poker face, Killian. I don’t mind you tagging along since I assume you plan to help me with the case.”
“I’ll help any way I can.”
She eyed me curiously. “I sense there is more to your history with Alayah.”
I sighed. “I told you I had a thing for her back when we were classmates. We were friends, but I never got up the nerve to ask her to be more.”
“Why not?”
“I didn’t think she would want it. If she wasn’t studying, she was taking care of her sisters. Her mother would have never let her have a boyfriend anyway.”
Erica scoffed. “I need to meet this mother.”
“Trust me, you wouldn’t be meeting much. How she still has custody of her other children is beyond me.”
“According to the police reports, the other two couldn’t corroborate Alayah’s story.
CPS did a visit and didn’t find anything that would deem her unfit.
The house was clean, they had food, clean clothes and shoes, proper bedrooms, and neither of them had been touched.
If anything, they were just very sad about their sister. They loved her very much.”
“They did. She was more of a mother to them than a sister. I hope they get to reestablish a relationship.”
“Me, too.” There was a bout of silence between us before she spoke again. “Well, give me a few minutes to finish up what I’m doing, and we can head out.”
“Okay.” I stood and headed for the door, stopping when she called my name.
“Killian?”
“Yeah?”
“Try not to go in there with googly eyes, okay?”
I kissed my teeth. “Bye, Erica.”
Her laughter rang in my ears as I closed the door behind me.
Erica and I stood on the front porch of Mr. and Mrs. Easton’s home.
My heart felt like it was resting in the pit of my stomach.
Maybe it wasn’t a good idea for me to tag along.
I was never one to hide my emotions or feelings.
I just knew seeing Alayah would stir up all the feelings I buried so long ago.
Before I had a chance to bow out, the front door opened, and there stood Mr. Easton.
“Ms. Sawyer. Good to see you.”
“Good to see you, Mr. Easton. This is Killian Lake. He works at the firm with me and will be acting as my co-counsel.”
He extended his hand to shake mine. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Lake. Wait…have we met before?”
“Yes, sir. I brought my car into your shop for a tune-up a few weeks ago.”
“Oh! Right. Well, won’t you both come in.”
He opened the door wider to allow us entry. Nervously, I stepped inside.
“Thank you for continuing to help my niece,” Mr. Easton said, leading us into the living room.
Erica smiled. “Of course. We didn’t fight this hard to give up now.
There is much work to be done. While I know we can’t take back the guilty verdict, we are going to do everything we can to make sure everyone knows she was telling the truth.
My goal is to get her conviction overturned. She deserves that justice.”
“I agree.” Mr. Easton looked behind him and called out. “Penny! Alayah! The lawyers are here!”
I swallowed hard as I heard footsteps approaching.
Erica stood, and so did I. When they rounded the corner, it felt like my feet were stuck in place.
I couldn’t move. I didn’t think I was even breathing at this point.
Today she was dressed in a pair of joggers and a tank top.
Her curls were pulled into a sleek, high ponytail.
Those beautiful brown eyes bore into me, holding me captive.
“Who is this?” Mrs. Easton asked.
I couldn’t answer her because I couldn’t find my voice.
“This is Killian Lake,” Erica said, “my co-counsel.”
She slapped my arm, breaking me from my trancelike state. I averted my eyes long enough to speak.
“I apologize,” I said, extending my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Easton.”
My eyes fell back on Alayah, who was still looking at me with her arms now crossed and a frown on her face.
“You two know each other?” Mr. Easton asked, looking between the two of us.
Alayah nodded. “We went to school together.” She stared at me for a moment before taking a seat next to her uncle. “Why are y’all here?” she asked quietly.
Erica spoke up. “I just wanted to touch base with you on a few things. I know you disclosed some things to me that you may not have disclosed to your aunt and uncle. I would need your permission to discuss them now.”
Alayah gave a hard swallow, letting me know that she knew exactly what Erica was referring to. Slowly, she nodded. Mr. and Mrs. Easton looked back and forth between each other.
“What’s she talking about, Alayah?” her aunt asked.
Alayah took a deep breath. “I was pregnant,” she said just above a whisper. “I had a miscarriage.”
Both the Eastons’ eyes widened.
“When did this happen?” Mrs. Easton asked. “Why didn’t we know about this?”
“I was a fresh seventeen. I didn’t need a parent notified.”
“Did Kennedy know?” Mr. Easton asked.
Alayah shook her head. “No. Rodney took me to the hospital. My mama was working that night. The girls were asleep. I’d been having really bad cramps all day long, and it just got worst that night.
I couldn’t sleep because I was in so much pain.
When I got up to use the bathroom, there was just so much blood on my sheets.
I didn’t want to ask him for help, but I knew something was wrong. ”
Tears welled in her eyes as she paused in her story. I was shocked to hear it because it wasn’t in the court records or any of her files.
“I was in denial about the pregnancy. I knew my period was late, and I just couldn’t face the fact that I could be carrying that man’s child.
The girls were asleep, so he left them in the house and made me get in the car and drove me to the hospital on the other side of town.
They told me I was having an active miscarriage at eight weeks.
Everything moved so fast. Within thirty minutes of being seen, the baby was gone.
They gave me a D and C, kept me for a few hours, and then sent me home with meds.
Rodney didn’t even go in with me. It would have been so easy to just tell them what he was doing to me, but I was scared.
He told me before I went inside that if I said anything, I’d be sorry. ”
The Eastons sat with shocked expressions. The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Nobody was expecting that. Erica cleared her throat before speaking again.
“I’ve contacted the hospital he took you to.
They do have it in their records that you were seen.
I put in a formal request with a judge to have those records subpoenaed, and it was granted.
” She reached into her bag and produced the documents.
“Hopefully, we can find some DNA record of the baby on file. Do you remember signing a consent form for genetic testing or anything like that?”
Alayah shook her head. “I was pretty much in a daze by the time it was over. The doctors were talking, but it all sounded like gibberish to me. I just wanted to get out of there, so I just signed the papers and agreed to whatever they said.”
Erica nodded. “Okay, so if they did genetic testing, your baby’s DNA is on file. It’s logged into their system. You would have gotten a notice or something explaining your results.”
“I never got anything,” Alayah said. She paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating her next words. “So…you could do a DNA test?”
“Yes. Since we can’t get a sample from Rodney, we can try to get DNA from a family member.
I suspect they will say no. Worst-case scenario, we would have to get a court order to have one of them tested.
The tough part is getting enough evidence to prove any new findings would have changed the outcome of the first trial.
Now, the judge that signed off on the subpoena owed me a favor, but I can only ask for so much without bringing him something substantial. ”
“So basically, I’m screwed?”
“I wouldn’t say that—”
Alayah stood, shaking her head. “I don’t wanna do this.
I don’t want to relive this nightmare over and over again.
I already have to deal with dreaming about this shit.
I don’t want to go through that hell again, Erica.
I appreciate what you’re trying to do. I know you think I deserve justice—and I do—but I’ve already lost ten years of my life.
If there is a chance I can live peacefully, I want that…
I need that. Please drop this. I got out, and I’m home.
Just let me try to have a little slice of normalcy. ”
Without another word, she left the room. A few seconds later, I heard a door slam. We all sat looking at one another, still digesting what we’d just learned. Erica packed up the papers and placed them back in her bag.
“I won’t push her,” she said softly, “but I’m gonna continue to work on this. There are too many Rodneys in the world and not enough Alayahs brave enough to fight back. Her story deserves to be told correctly.”
The Eastons nodded.
“Give her some time,” Mrs. Easton said. “This…This is a lot. She’s only been home a few weeks. She’s still hurting, and she misses her sisters terribly. My niece isn’t in the best headspace right now. Just please…give her a little time.”
Erica sighed and nodded as she stood. “I hear you. We’re gonna get going.”
I stood and extended my hand. “It was nice to finally meet you both. Alayah used to talk about you all the time. I’m glad she has you to come home to.”
Mr. Easton offered a warm smile. “Me, too. I’ll walk y’all out.”
He stood and led us to the front door. He stood on the front porch as we made our way back to the car.
As I was climbing in, I felt eyes watching me.
I looked up to see Alayah staring out of what I assumed was her bedroom window with her arms crossed.
Our gazes met briefly before she pulled down the shades, disappearing from my view. I found myself sighing heavily.
“Don’t worry,” Erica said, breaking my gaze. “We’re going to win this for her.”
I nodded. I sure as hell hoped so.