Saving Justice

Chapter Thirteen

"You go and fix your things," Aubrey says, pointing to the cabinet inside her room. "I'll go and prepare our dinner."

I smile at my best friend. "Thanks, Brey."

She just nods her head then closes the door of her room once she gets out, leaving me alone.

Aubrey's apartment is almost as big as mine when I lived alone. It is a studio apartment with one bedroom, suitable for those living alone.

I open the biggest luggage where my clothes are packed with a sigh.

After what happened last night, I did not sleep. I could not sleep. Cole was very worried about me because I was trembling in fear. He had no idea what to do because I could not even speak. I remained awake with a troubled mind. I was being paranoid. I kept on checking the door, afraid that Justice might suddenly come in again. It was good that Cole did not bring it up when he woke up. He just quietly helped me in packing my clothes.

All I could think about the earlier morning was to move out of their house as soon as possible. I'm very thankful to Aubrey for suggesting that I live with her. If she did not offer it, she'd find me crawling to her door just to take me in.

I don't know if she was just really drunk when she said those words last night but in vino veritas. She directly said that she hurt her brother. She even threatened to hurt me if I left her.

"How's Justice?" Aubrey asks me.

We are eating take-outs from Portillo's for dinner, which Cole and I bought on our way here.

"Did she try to pull you back inside the house when you were leaving earlier?" she adds.

I shake my head. "She was just quiet..."

When I was leaving earlier with Cole, Justice was standing on the front porch without any expression on her face. She was just watching me leave, which gave me creeps. Though I still acted casual with her when I bid my farewell, I was utterly terrified inside. Her cold eyes were piercing at me like I was her next target or something.

"But she got drunk last night and entered our room while Cole and I were sleeping," I say. "She was begging me not to leave her..." I can't bring myself to tell Aubrey about Justice's threats and her possible slip of the tongue.

"Damn..." she whispers. "She's totally obsessed with you, Ven! I'm telling you!" She shakes her head and takes a bite of her chicken panini.

I know that now...

Seeing first-hand how she acted last night, I can't help but agree with Aubrey. I already acknowledge that.

"I have to mention this to Dra. Olsen," she says. "The appointment next week's already scheduled, right?"

"Yes."

She sips on her diet coke. "What SSRI is she taking, by the way?"

"Citalopram," I answer.

"And she's drinking that in a lower dosage?"

I nod my head.

"In her case, she should be taking an antipsychotic drug by now," she says and rolls her eyes.

Despite her sarcasm, I smile at her. "Thank you, Brey."

Her eyes soften, and the irritation subsides. "Why are you suddenly looking so emotional?"

"This means a lot to me..." I tell her. "And I know you have plans to move to Singapore and be with Timothy, but you still accepted this job."

Aubrey sighs. "I still have six months left before my contract with the center ends," she says. "And besides, I still have to process some papers. I can't just leave because I want to. It might take me a year or so."

"Did you already tell Timothy about your plans?" I ask her.

"I did," she says, timidly nodding her head. "He told me that if that's what I really want to do, he'll support me. I'm welcome to stay with him.

I furrow my eyebrows because her answer doesn't match up with the expression on her face. "If that's the case, why are you not happy?"

"He's doubting my decision..." She plays with her metal straw. "He advised me to reconsider my decision if the only reason why I'm moving there is because of him," she tells me and looks straight into my eyes. "Tell me, Venice, will I be really making a wrong decision by choosing him?"

"I don't know if I'm right, but I think what Timothy wants you to do is to choose yourself above him, Aubrey," I tell her what I think about it. "Maybe he can feel your hesitation, and he doesn't want you to compromise for his sake. You might regret it and blame him in the end." I reach out for her hand, resting on top of the table. "Try to take his advice and re-evaluate your decisions." I smile to assure her. "And once you finally have the answer, tell him without inhibitions. I think that's the best thing to do."

Finally, Aubrey smiles and nods her head, understanding what she needs to do. I just hope that she will make the right decision. I just hope that she will not regret it because she will leave behind every opportunity she has here. There's no turning back once she leaves the country.

•••

Just when I thought I'd be sleeping comfortably in Aubrey's apartment, I hear the same creaking sound back in Cole's room and feel someone crawling up to the bed. Feeling frightened, I immediately open my eyes, and I see Justice kneeling on the bed to my horror. My body is in between her legs. I try to move, but she is locking me in place.

Looking for help, I look beside me, but Aubrey is in deep slumber. "Aubrey, help me..." I cry to my best friend, but she isn't responding like she is drugged or something.

"Why are you asking her for help, Venice?" Justice asks me with a very creepy voice. When I look back at her, she's smiling at me with her head c****d to one side. Instead of making me feel good, that smile only makes me feel even more haunted. "I'm here... I can help you. Just come back to me."

I shake my head, terrified of her. "No, no, no... Please..."

"I told you not to leave me, but what did you do?" she asks, her voice having a hint of menace. "You still left..." She extends her hand to reach my hair and plays with it. "Why did you leave, Venice? Why did you leave?"

"No, no! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I shout in desperation and close my eyes, not wanting to see Justice, who's putting on a demonic face. "Don't hurt me, please! Don't hurt me! Someone, please help me! Aubrey! Help me!"

"Venice! Venice, wake up!"

Aubrey pulls me back to my consciousness. Her hands are gripping on my shoulders as she tries to wake me up from that hell of a nightmare. She looks worried sick because of me.

Slowly, I try to sit up, and Aubrey supports my back right away. Once I'm up, I cover my face with my trembling hands. I don't know if I should be relieved that it's just a nightmare. It feels so real that I get even more scared that I dreamed about it.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Aubrey asks, coming back to the room with a glass of water in hand.

Without answering her question, I receive the glass and drink to the last drop to quench my thirst. I'm breaking out in cold sweats, and my heart is still beating triple time like I just reached the finish line of a ten-kilometer marathon.

Aubrey takes the empty glass from me after I finish drinking. The concerned look is still etched on her face while observing me closely. "Do you still want to drink more?"

"No..." I answer in a breathy voice.

"What is your nightmare about?" she curiously asks, eyeing me skeptically. "You are shouting my name for help. You are begging someone not to hurt you..."

Contemplating if I should tell her about my nightmare, I purse my lips and remain quiet for a moment. Aubrey patiently waits for me, but I think I disappoint her when I shake my head.

"I can't remember anymore..." I lie and bring my head down.

She sighs. "If you can't remember, I won't force you," she says. "Anyway, I called Cole earlier because I was panicking. He told me he'd be on his way. For sure, he'd be here in a few minutes."

I snap my eyes back to her. "You called Cole?" He must be freaking worried right now and risking his life by driving 100km/hr or more. "You shouldn't have called him..."

"I was panicking. I'm sorry!" She raises her hands to surrender.

I'm about to say something when the doorbell rings, declaring Cole's arrival.

"Speaking of..." Aubrey smiles sheepishly and runs out of the room to open the door.

Though I'm still feeling a bit weak, I stand up and follow Aubrey outside to meet my fiancé.

"Where is she? Is she fine now? What happened?"

I can already hear Cole firing questions to Aubrey as soon as he gets inside.

"Calm down, Cole," Aubrey tries to stop him from panicking. "She's fine now."

"Then, where is she―" Cole stops his parade of questions when he finally sees me. He approaches me with huge steps to close our distance as quickly as possible. And when he finally reaches me, he pulls me closer to him, and I crash on his chest. After a quick, tight hug, he slightly distances himself just to see me properly. "How are you feeling, babe?"

"I'm fine. It's just a nightmare." I smile to assure him. "I'm sorry if you were disturbed from your sleep, and you had to come all the way here."

"Babe, that's nothing to me," he says and looks at me like I'm his everything. "What's important for me is to see and make sure that you're alright."

I nod my head, and he draws me closer to give me another hug. He rains soft kisses on my head, and I've never felt this secure in my whole life.

•••

Cole and I stayed in the living room while Aubrey went back to her room to continue her sleep. We are sitting on the couch, and I'm leaning on his body. His arms are all on me. His hands are playing with the ring he put on my finger, trying to put me to sleep.

I know it's the right opportunity to tell him about Justice, but I don't want to cause him another panic attack. Whatever I know may ruin Justice's life completely. If I tell Cole something that I'm not even sure of, I'm certain he'll take action right away. No doubt. He will fight for justice. But if it turns out that I'm wrong with my accusations, it will be hard for her to recover, and I will never forgive myself for it.

So the best thing to do now is to be careful of what I'm going to say. I need to confirm what I heard from Justice first. If I need to investigate this matter, I will do it.

"Anyway, Cole..." I hold his hand, which is playing with my ring. "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" His voice sounds husky. He intertwines our hands together.

"What do you know about the accident?"

My question stops him a bit, but he renews our position, making me feel more comfortable. "Why did you suddenly ask?" he queries. "Is this about Justice?"

I purse my lips. "Nope," I lie again. I'm sorry for lying, Cole. I promise I'll tell you once I find out the truth. "I'm just curious about it."

"Justice didn't tell you about this?"

Well, she did, but I don't know if that's the truth or not... I'm guilty because I'm starting to doubt Justice, but I know I have every reason to. Trying to face him, I sit up and turn my body to his side. "Hmm... She only told me that she and her brother had a car accident. The car crashed into the tree... She survived with only minor injuries, while her brother died."

Cole nods his head while giving me all of his attention. He rests his elbow on his lap and puts his chin at the back of his hand. "According to a witness, that's what happened," he confirms. "They were on the way home from their relative's house when the accident happened. The authorities also reported that Justin was not wearing his seat belt, and that's why he was injured severely."

So, Justice is telling the truth about that part... If so, why did she say that she hurt her brother?

I feel like something is missing. There is something I can't point my finger at.

"Do you know the contact number of the relative they visited before?" I ask him an important question. "Or do you know where they live at least?"

Suspicious of my questions, his eyebrows furrow. "Why are you asking about this, Ven?" He is now suspecting me. "Is there something that you're not telling me?"

"No, no, no..." I shake my head. "I'm just trying to get more help for Justice. Maybe they can help us."

"I doubt if they can help when Justice already stayed for almost a year with them, but she didn't have any improvements."

"You mean they are her relatives who migrated to another country? The one who was taking custody of her before she moved into your house?"

He nods. "If I remember correctly, her mother's sister's name is Belinda Hammington," he tells me, and I make sure to remember the name. "I don't have her contact details, but I think my mother does."

If that's the case, I should ask Eleanor for Belinda Hammington's contact information. I have already started to plan inside my head. I'm going to tell Eleanor to meet with me tomorrow after work.

Suddenly, Cole interrupts my train of thoughts when he hugs me. "Just rest now and stop thinking of these things," he persuades me. "You still have work tomorrow. You need to sleep."

"Are you going to stay here?" I ask him.

He smiles. "I'll stay with you."

I smile back at him and rest my body on him like earlier.