Eric was unable to sit still in his chair, and no, it wasn’t because he had locomotive problems. He was worried, as anyone would be if they had a meeting to talk to their lawyer about the chances of their freedom. Things weren’t looking good for him. He stared at the pristine white walls of the small conference room.Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, although the room was ventilated. He loosened his tie and knotted it again. His nerves were all over his face, he couldn’t even think. He was beginning to run out of options. There was a rapt knock on the door, and he jumped to his feet almost immediately. He crossed the length of the room and extended a hand. "Good day, Mr. Pratt.""Good day, Mr. Allen."Eric showed him a seat.Mr. Pratt was the best crooked lawyer that was willing to defend him. Henry had gotten on the side of the public; no lawyer wanted to wade into that kind of murky water, but with the right amount of money, any man could be bought."Any good news?" Eric delved
Mason Blackwood was spotting an overgrown stubble on his chin. Save for his lankiness and dull skin, he looked fairly the same. He was spending more time out of prison. Although it was in a courtroom, it was more than he could ask for. He lay on a thin mattress, his hands behind his head, as he stared up at the ceiling. The cell was dark save for the streaks of light from the hall that reflected in the room. The prison was uncharacteristically silent. It would have been complete stillness if his roommate did not snore so loud.Mason loved the early hours of the morning. It was the only time when the guards and wardens were not shouting out orders, the inmates were not issuing threats, laughing loudly, or doing whatever they liked. He liked to think it helped him think clearly, but if he was honest with himself, there was nothing on his mind.At first there was, he was dealing with lots of emotions at once. Anger, hope, regret, and sadness. He was angry at Henry, and Eric for landing hi
Ashley sipped her cocktail and watched in amusement as Henry and Adrian continued to bicker. They sat in a secluded area of a high-end restaurant. They had been at it for a while. She wanted to meddle, but she decided against it. They were the ray of sunshine on an otherwise gloomy day. The announcement of the attack on Mason’s life had terrified her, although she hid it from Henry. This was not a normal sibling squabble anymore. This was an ongoing attempted murder case. An attempted murder on her life. Eric had attempted to kill his brother and now had most likely attacked Mason. He wasn’t afraid to kill again. She tried not to think about it. Henry was still pretty shaken about her near-death experience, she didn’t want to alarm him further."When are you ever on time for anything?" Henry asked.Adrian appeared to be thinking. "I came early for Asher’s one-year birthday party.""Emm...you missed the little in-house toast we had before the party officially began," Ashley butted in.
Ashley was humming and moving her body to the sound of the music that filled the large kitchen when Henry burst through the doors. She almost knocked the tray of vegetables off the counter. "Henry!"He had his phone in the air. A confused expression on his face. "My phone is ringing."She stared at him in puzzlement. "So...""My dad is calling!" he replied in surprise.Her face softened. "Take the call then.""No!" he said suddenly. "I mean, yes, of course I want to, but what should I say to him?""Henry," she said, washing her hands and wiping them with a napkin. "You need to take the call." The phone stopped ringing at that moment. "Only then can you know what to say to him.""Why is he calling, though?""There are a lot of reasons why he could be calling. Maybe he wants to just check up on you and everyone else in the family, or there could be something really important he wants to tell you. You cannot know until you talk to him."Henry held her gaze before releasing a deep breath.
"Who is he?""He was the guy I thought she was in a relationship with, turned out they were only friends," Henry answered in a flat tone."I see." Adrian nodded.Henry had a frown on his face when he turned to him. "What do you see?""I see why you thought they were together, he is obviously taken by her, look how clingy he is..."His frown deepened. "Is it that obvious?"Adrian shrugged. "She is doing a good job of making it look as casual as possible."Henry cursed under his breath.Adrian gulped down the contents of his glass loudly. Henry turned to look at him, his face scrunched. "So are you jealous?"Henry scoffed. "Jealous? No? Why would I be?"Adrian had a look of amusement on his face as he shrugged. "I don’t know because he has his hands around her waist?""It doesn’t mean anything." Henry replied in a flat tone."Why are your eyes twitching and your hands in a fist?"Henry gritted his teeth. "Means nothing..."Adrian smiled. "If you say so..."They watched her in silence. "
Eric could feel his heart beat hard against his chest. It had never been this way before. Home was where he felt more at peace and loved. He had been away from home for only seven months, yet it felt like years. He was sitting in his favorite position. A small cushion positioned opposite the chair in which his father usually sat. He had always felt like the favorite, and even though he wasn’t the oldest, he believed he was his father’s heir. Of course, he had never let his thoughts out in the open. Now, as he sat on the chair and stared at the vacant seat from across the room, he realized the emotions he usually felt were lacking. The difference between then and now was that there was no sad aura hanging above their heads. It had always been all joy and love.His back was stiff from sitting upright for too long, it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes, but it felt like tortuous hours. His hands were clammy from sweating. He rubbed them against his knees."What did Mr. Pratt say?"
Stephanie peered at Adrian from underneath her lashes. She had a wide smile on her face. "I think Chloe might just be ready to meet you."Adrian’s fork stopped midway. "Chloe?"She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, my daughter," her pearly white teeth shone. "Really?"She heaved a sigh. "You have been talking about wanting more for us. I thought this might be a good place to start."Adrian hesitated. He was caught up in his thoughts.Stephanie bowed her head. "You know if you are not ready to meet her, it is fine. I am sorry for being forward with it.""Hey babe, that’s not it. That’s not it at all. You are important to me and your daughter as well. The thing is..." He paused. "I don’t want to mess it up. This, what we have, matters so much to me, nothing else has in a long while."She smiled at him. "Adrian, I don’t see how you can mess anything up. I know your heart is in the right place, and you don’t need to fear anything, Chloe will love you."He bit down on his lower lip. Not long
"Do you want to talk, Adrian?" she asked out of the blue.Adrian stared into her kind eyes. He shook his head. "How do you do it?"She smiled sheepishly."How do you always know when something is wrong with me?"She shrugged. "Anyone who cares about you can tell. So tell me...""It is about Stephanie."Her eyes widened in shock. "What did you do? Did you break her heart? How dare you?" she whisper-yelled in his face.Adrian raised his hands in surrender. "Woah! Woah! Slow down. One question at a time. Firstly, I didn’t do anything. Secondly, I didn’t break her heart; how could I? I am madly in love with that woman. Thirdly..." He placed his hand on his chest. "I wouldn’t dare."Ashley sighed in relief. "So what about her?""We had a little misunderstanding. I want more for us." He massaged his temples. "It is a scary thought, but I do want more for us, much more than I have ever wanted with anyone. Quite frankly, I didn’t think that I would ever want to be committed to a woman. I didn