His Tainted Soul

CHAPTER 4

Chapter Four

{Parris' POV}

I'm out of breath. My heart is beating so fast and my palms are sweating. Nervous, curious and confused. Those are just a few of what I'm feelings right now. What is happening? I really need a freaking explanation.

This kind of incident never entered my mind. They're acting like they know me, especially this Theo guy. He said I was his wife, I didn't even know him. I don't know even one of them except Bruce because he is the one who called me here.

I shrugged his hands off feeling annoyed.

"I'm not your wife and nothing happened to me. Are you crazy? I don't even know you or him-" I pointed at Kyle who is looking at me in disbelief. "I only came here because of Bruce. I'm here to see if I can help his girlfriend with her case and not because of you and especially not because I'm your wife, okay? I don't want to hear anything about me coming out of your mouth. And don't you ever call me Parris. You don't have the right to call me by that nickname because I don't know you. If this hurts your feeling, I'm very sorry."

The three of them fell silent because of what I said. He did not speak or move. I know I’m being harsh especially to him but I just can’t help myself. There’s a part of me that’s in denial and there’s a part of me that’s terrified. There's this people here, they are acting like they know me and what scares me is the thought that, what if they are telling the truth? Before any of them could speak, another newcomer arrived.

"Bruce, what's going on?" Question of a female voice. I turned around and was surprised to see a woman not far from my age. Slim body, a little smaller than me, long dirty blonde hair, red lips and thick makeup. She was wearing a soft pink mini skirt and white crop top.

"Clarice, come on babe,” Bruce said to my surprise.

She is Clarice? This woman is Clarice? Wow. It's not very obvious that this girl in front of me was a victim of rape and going through something very painfull. She looks well and healthy. Far far away from my former clients who have the same case as hers.

When you are told that you have been raped, all you can think of is that you are always crying, your clothes, face, hair are messy and you look vulnerable. But Clarice is different.

She walked over to Bruce and they both looked at me.

"Clarice, this is counselor, Hermione Akerstroam and she is here to help us." Says Bruce.

Clarice didn't speak and just stared at me. There's something in her eyes. A new expression that isn't there before. My forehead furrowed. I see fear and disbelief in her eyes.

I sigh.

It seems that she is traumatized by what happened after all. I thought she was different from the victims of rape, but I was wrong. The tragic events of the past are still clear in her eyes.

I cleared my throat.

She blink rapidly like she's just now snapping out of whatever reverie she was in, then furrowed her eyebrows and look at me with an expression like Kyle. Disbelief.

"Parris?" I was surprised by what she suddenly said. I was about to speak but Bruce beat me to it.

"You know her?" Bruce asked in shock and confusion. Clarice looked at him while frowning.

"She's Parris. Theo's wife and as far as I know she's… dead for a long time." I felt my heart stop when she said that. Is it true? Three people. Three people is saying the same thing. Should I believe them though? I have no idea of what they are saying even though it's about me. I can't remember this people but I felt connected to Theo. But why should I believe in people I just met?

"What? Counselor Hermione is Theo's wife? Are you kidding? Babe, are you drinking or sick?" Out of shock Bruce's face turned to concern as he looked at Clarice. He touched her forehead to feel if she has a fever. Clarice slapped his hand off looking irritated.

"I'm fine, Bruce. You don't have to treat me like a child anymore and yes, I'm telling the truth. She is Parris, she is Theo's wife." Clarice looked at Theo. "Why aren't you doing anything? She's your wife. Your long dead wife."

"Wait, wait, wait. What are you saying? I'm not a fool to not know that I'm the one you're talking about. And for your information, I'm alive. Very much alive. I don't have a husband either. I'm single and not anywhere near being taken. I don't even know that Theo you're talking about. I just came here because Bruce called me because his girlfriend said he needed help about the case. So please, I don't want to hear anything about my personal life. Let's just focus on the case, okay? "

They were all silent at what I said. I can feel that they have a lot of questions for me. But I don't have the answer to any of their question, so we'd better just focus on what I really came here for, and that is to help Clarice.

Bruce was the first to speak.

"Okay, counselor." He looked at Theo and Kyle that still looked speechless. I can tell that they are both still in shock. But I don’t care about that anymore. Clarice and Bruce were the ones I came here for and not them.

"Can you leave us? This is a private matter for just the three of us." There is no denying of the tension in this living room. All tense. Including me. Theo didn't seem to agree with what Bruce said but before he could protest, Kyle hold his shoulder.

"Sure, Bruce. If that's what you want. Let's go man." And they both exited the living room.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Theo disappeared from my sight, but why was my heart clenching in a painful way? I just want him here where I can see him but at the same time, I don't want him to stay either.

"I'm really sorry for what happened, counselor. I didn't really expect this to happen." He apologizes. Clarice didn't speak anymore and looked embarrassed of what had happened.

I sigh.

"It's okay, Mr. Stone. Forget about what happened. Let's just focus on your girlfriend's case, yeah?"

"Yeah,"

***

We are well seated now. I'm sitting on the couch that I previously sat on earlier with Bruce and Clarice, sitting across from me. I have a pen and a note in my hands to note every single detail about the case. Clarice seemed comfortable to me because she answered all my questions pretty well.

I look at my phone.

5:55 am

I sigh.

A lot of my time was wasted because of what happened earlier. Ever since Theo and Kyle left the living room they still haven’t shown up. I can't admit it out loud, but honestly, I already miss Theo. His presence stirs something inside me.

I shake my head. What am I thinking? I'm confused about how I really feel. Ever since I saw him, I was like this.

It's not healthy. I repeatedly reminded myself. You should forget about him, Parris. It's not good to think of him.

With that thought, I focus myself back on the real matter at hand.

"Okay, Clarice. Do you still remember when that happened? And if so, can you tell me the exact time and date when it happened?" I asked. I was worried that he might not remember that anymore. That part is one of the most important information she can tell me.

"Yes, I remember. It was the night of February 14 of the current year, Valentine's day. We were partying in my best friend Betty's house. B-bruce wasn't there because he and Betty's boyfriend who was also there at that time is not in good term. A-and because Betty is my friend, of course I came but Bruce on the other hand did not. " The regret was obvious on Bruce's face. It was clear that he regret not being there for her.

"Okay, and what happened next?" I asked calmly. She took a long breath. "Okay… we started drinking alcohol, then Betty pulled me to the dance floor. We danced for hours. I didn't notice the time in extreme drunkenness. Then I just felt that there were rough hands covered my face and pulled me towards a dark room. I can still remember myself struggling to fight the stranger then he started cursing, and after that everything went black. " She stopped and looked at Bruce to hug the side of his body. There's tears brimming in her eyes and her lips are wobbling.

"Don't you remember anything after that?" I asked softly. She harshly shook her head, then sobbed on Bruce's shoulder.

I sigh.

This is very typical. I've experienced this scenario so many times of being a lawyer. Especially when this is the case and women are the victim. They were too traumatized by what happened. I even admire Clarice because she can still tell the details about what happened.

"Okay, I think what you told me is enough for now. I'll take it to my office so my team and I can study the information you had given me." I stood up and so did Bruce who is still hugging the crying Clarice. "Bruce, I think Clarice needs to rest."

"Okay, thank you so much for coming, counselor."

"Don't thank me, Bruce. I still have to file in court and then I still have to finish my current case." I sigh. "But if you want the case to move immediately, I would suggest that you hire another lawyer. I know many good lawyers who could help you." I suggest.

"We're ready to wait, Parris. Just help us." I was surprised at what Clarice suddenly said. I feel uncomfortable with her or anyone in this mansion calling me Parris. Weird. So weird.

Bruce looks at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry, counselor. I think she's a little drunk, and not that sobber so forgive her."

"I-it's okay, Mr. Stone," I said with a forced smile. He sat Clarice down again and kissed her on the forehead. I immediately averted my eyes to give them privacy.

"I'll just walk her out, okay?" I heard Bruce say.

"Okay," Then a second later, Bruce was already standing beside me.

We walked out of the house. This is probably the weirdest thing that has happened to me as a lawyer and human being. Such an incident never entered my mind.

I heard Bruce cleared his throat, snapping my attention towards him.

"Don't be offended counselor, but you can't blame Theo either," He said suddenly. I frown and look at him questioningly.

"Excuse me?"

He sighs.

"I mean, if you only saw the picture of the woman in his office. It looks really like you. I thought at first it was you but that's not possible. Theo's wife is five years dead." My skin grew cold and my hair stood on end because of what he said.

So I look like Theo's wife who has been dead for a long time? Wow. Isn't that creepy?

"Well, that's… erm…" What am I supposed to say? I didn’t know what to say. So weird really.

Bruce chuckled.

"That's okay, counselor. Even I can't believe it." When we came out of the mansion, the rising sun immediately dawned on me. It's already bright. I realized that I had spent a lot of time in this mansion. He led me out of the gate. "Do you have a car? I'll order someone to drive you if you don't have a -"

"No need, Mr. Stone--"

"Just call me Bruce." He says. I hesitated. Strictly professional right? But maybe that will help Clarice and I get closer, so that way we could work on her case better. With that thought, I nodded my head.

"Okay. Anyway, you don't have to do that. I just live there." I pointed to the house that Kath and I are staying that's next to this mansion.

“No way,” He laughs in disbelief. "Wow. You just live there?" I nodded with a small smile. "It's fate. And you can't escape from it. This was meant to happen counselor, fate itself brought you here." He joked. I just shake my head at him.

"All right, Bruce. I'm leaving. I'll just call you if there's any update."

"Okay. Thank you, counselor." I nodded and walked to my car that's parked not far away from here. I can't go home yet. I have something to do and go to.

I opened my bag and picked up my cellphone. I quickly dialed the number and punch the button. After two rings, I heard the familiar voice of my friends. My sisters

"F.U.C.K G.I.R.L.S speaking." I couldn’t help but smile. I missed their voices.

"It's code red, b**ches."