Unexpected
Thanks to: everyone who reviewed my first fic!! You ALL were SO nice….
She entered the hushed room. Suddenly, a sweep of eyes seemed to become focused on her, as she sat, gingerly, and rather awkwardly, down onto the cold wooden chair. Self-consciously, she pulled the stray strands of ginger red hair behind her ears revealing a pale, bruised face. One of her eyes was swollen, rimmed around the edges with black and blue marks. Countless scarlet red scratches littered her face, and on accidental touch with one she shook involuntarily. Carefully, she leaned slightly back in the chair, ever-cautious, ever-paranoid of the attention laid on her. And very slowly, very warily, she cautiously began.
"Where should I start?" she asked, as her eyes fluttered frantically around the room, like a spooked kitten.
He placed a soothing hand upon her own, wincing at the great degree of healing injuries covering her hand. "Just start from the beginning," was his reply.
Petrified and anxious, she let her eyes become lost in his own glittering deep brown ones.
Her sentences were choppy and nervous. "I guess, well, Matt and I, we had only been dating for a few months. But it was already the most intense relationship I had ever been in. He was so outgoing, we had so much ahead of us." Her eyes lost focus, as she stared past him, she was already absorbed in a dreamy state, and now seemed to take no notice of anyone else in the room.
He looked at her sorrowfully, noticing her change in mood. After all this time. "Continue," he whispered gently, so it seemed like only she could hear him.
"We had been childhood friends, but over the years, friends move apart. It's just a fact."
He nodded his head in agreement.
"But then, well, we both happened to be back in Japan, and I had been having a lot of trouble," she paused for a moment, "But then Kari introduced us. And I know love at first sight is such a horrible cliché, but it really was, well, love at first sight after six years. There's no other way to describe it. We just, re-clicked. And from the start, it was incredible. He lavished me with attention. When I was sick, he'd come right over with flowers, he'd always call me several times a day, and I just felt so entirely special. I began spending every night at his house."
"But then it all started," he spoke to her, as if they were the only two people in the entire room.
"Well, we were heading to a new club," she paused for a moment, then looked at him forlornly, lost. She was thoughtful, "Would you like the name?"
"It isn't necessary," he replied.
"Tantra," she responded. "Club Tantra, Mimi was having a party there."
"Matt was driving us, and we were talking, I don't remember exactly what about, but he mentioned that he had seen Daisuke that day, and that he was going to be at the party."
She stopped, noticing again all the people watching her. She did not like all of the attention. "And?" he prompted her.
"Well, I asked if he was still good looking. I mean, I hadn't seen Dai in such a long while, and it was really an innocent question, I mean, I didn't want to start anything, it was just a question, I was trying to make conservation. I didn't mean to start anything at all! I can be so stupid sometimes!" She buried her head into her arms, and wept childishly.
He wanted to comfort her, to take her into his arms and hold her against his chest, to brush his fingers through her bright auburn hair, and whisper that it was alright, that nothing was ever her fault. But he stood watching her, stoically, as did all the others in in the room. "And what did he do next?" he asked.
She continued on her own, stifling sobs. "I was never very good at small talk. I should never have started anything."
Her lower chin was trembling, and he could see the pools of liquidy tears forming in her clear eyes.
"And he slammed down on the breaks, and he screamed at me, 'Get out of my car.' And I was so shocked. He had never acted like that before. And I was so stunned, I just, well, got out of the car. And two seconds later, I was by myself on the curb. And—" she stammered, "And I felt so horrible. I needed to apologize to him. So I hailed a cab to the club."
And now she paused for what felt like decades to him.
"And I was at the club, and then he spotted me. And he came over to me. Actually, he barged through the crowd and grabbed me. And it hurt. He was holding me by the hair." She stared blankly ahead, as if in a trance, and rubbed her scalp unconsciously, as if after all that time, the bruise was still there.
"And he said to me, 'How did you get here, bitch.'" He drew a sharp quick breath, it was so alien to him to hear her say anything like that. But she continued, eyes squeezed shut as the events once again unfolded before her eyes. Her blank, emotionless voice as she quoted Matt slightly spooked him, it seemed as if it wasn't her talking at all. "I tried to shake my head, to free myself from his grip on my hair, but it didn't work. I just wanted him to stop hurting me so much. But then he said, 'Don't you dare shake your head at me—I'll fucking beat you up in front of all these people.'"
He closed his eyes, he could picture it all now. While he and Mimi had been necking in the back of the club, while everyone else had been too absorbed in their own petty lives…
"He grabbed me, harder."
And he could see Matt, as he dragged her petite frame outside onto the sidewalk as if she was nothing more than a limp doll.
And he hauled me through the club, and pushed me outside, and threw me onto the sidewalk," she shivered, "It was freezing outside."
He tried to shut his eyes, as he pictured Matt standing over her, screaming at her quivering body.
"And he started pacing, and he began yelling at me, 'You're a slut. That's all you are. A fucking slut. Do you realize how much you hurt me?'"
She was shaking, rocking slightly back and forth in her seat. "I told him I never meant to hurt him. That I loved him."
"What happened next?" he questioned.
"Well, he started to calm down. And I felt so sorry for him." She began to smile again, "He wrapped me in his arms, and calmed me down, and told me how it killed him to see me talk about other people, and how he'd never been in such a serious relationship before with someone he loved so much and he didn't know how to act."
"And," he prompted her again.
"I did what any person in my position would have done. I was overcome with relief. I instantly forgave him. He had never done anything like that before." She beamed.
"But then?" he nudged her on.
She stared at him for a moment, stunned for an instance by his impatience. Flustered, she continued, "Well, everyone was fine, it was all normal. And then we were at another party." She looked at him apologetically. "I don't remember the name this time."
"Go on."
"We were at the party, and everything was going perfectly. We inseparable for most of the night, he had his arm around me the entire time. But…..then I went off to say hi to people I knew. It's rude, you know, to go to a party and not even say hi to the host."
He could not believe that this was the girl he had been best friends with so long ago. The same girl never afraid to speak her mind. The same tomboy who never in a million years would have cared about proper manners. That was something that Mimi always thought about. Not her.
"Later I found him again in the crowd. And then, and then he yelled at me. He said……he said, 'You whore, I can't believe you. You fucking slut. If you loved me, you wouldn't act like this.' Yes, that's right, that's exactly what he said. I really didn't think that I had been flirting, but I always did unthoughtful things like that. I felt so horrible, I couldn't help feeling like I must have done something wrong for him to get so angry. But I apologized immediately, and everything was fine again."
"But it happened more often," he spoke slowly.
"Well, later we moved in together. Except for those events, everything was going so smoothly, so naturally. We spent every second we could with each other. But…."
"But…" he urged her.
"Sometimes his jealousy would become more and more….irrational. Sometimes he'd become paranoid that I wanted to sleep with next-door neightbors, pizza delivery guys, club bouncers, his best friend."
He averted his gaze, but he could still feel her innocent eyes burning directly through him.
"Sometimes, he'd become so infuriated, that he would rip shirts of mine that he thought were too tight or short skirts that made me look too slutty. And he'd drag me out of places, and sometimes there'd be huge red scars on my arms." She pulled up a long sleeve, revealing the flesh of her left arm, still completely covered in large, hand-shaped purplish red bruises.
He couldn't help cringing.
"But you still stayed with him."
"No, well, there were times when I'd pack my things to leave. But then, just as I got to the door, he would cry and plead with me. And I thought, how could I be so horrible, just to turn away and leave him? I was his whole world. It was flattering. No one. No ONE had ever felt that way for me before. He just had a temper. That was all. It was just a bad temper. But if I learned what made him mad, I could avoid those things, and then he wouldn't become so angry."
"So you did that?" he asked, just a little angrily.
"We were each others' worlds. I had to do whatever it took! I stopped making plans with my friends, stopped confiding in anyone besides him. And well, after our fights, he was still the only one who knew me enough, who know how to comfort me."
"No one else could comfort you? You couldn't turn to anyone else? Don't you see that he was the one who was hurting you?" He asked incredously.
He lower lip was trembling furiously, as glistening tear drops fell rapidly down her face. "He didn't mean to hurt me! Don't YOU see? It was my fault! And he DID comfort me! He'd, he'd be gentle, and he'd call me sweetie, and he'd ask if I needed anything, and tell me he LOVED me."
"But you couldn't ever fully predict what would set him off…"
"That was my fault! I'm just so dumb sometimes. I just, I felt so lost, so alone. I was worthless! I couldn't even stop him from becoming angry. I was so stupid. So stupid…" her face was fully buried in her hands right now, and her body was shaking uncontrollably as she sobbed piteously into her arms, tears cascading feverishly down her cheeks. She let out dreadful coughs, choking her words.
"And then it happened…" he continued, never taking an eye off the distressing scene in front of him.
"My mother gave it to me for self-protection," she cried out, more to herself, and the imaginary blond figure standing in front of him, looking down disgustedly on the wretched creature before him. She reached out her arm, trying to wipe away the scarlet blood staining his porcelain complexion. But her hand only passed through it.
"You'll have to back up," he spoke evenly, as if calming down a small, blustering child.
"I hadn't upset him for a while, and he took me to a nightclub. And I was talking to…." She paused, but continued, "A guy, and he was writing down his email address for, oh, I don't remember what it was for, but he had just written it down when Matt showed up drunk and pulled me outside." The following images stuck out vividly in her mind, no matter how hard she tried, they would not go away.
"It was raining outside," she spoke between sobs.
And she could see it all now, through the glaring rain howling in the pitch black night.
"He was slapping me, over and over again."
And she could still feel the fresh throbbing in her head as his hand clapped against her face.
"Over and over again," she whimpered slightly in memory of it.
"It was so cold outside."
The severe, unforgiving rain was beating down faster, stinging her fresh wounds.
"And then he slammed my head against the car window."
Matt was disappointed, and he gave her the same look he had so many times before.
"I'm so sorry! Honest Matt, I didn't know what I was doing. Honest…" she sobbed desolately.
She was going crazy right before their very eyes.
"Sora, you're losing us." He urged her on, urged her to continue reliving the moment.
"So hard the glass on the car broke."
She could feel the painful shards of jagged glass cutting into her face as the gray raindrops drenched her face.
"And he still wouldn't stop."
"And what did you do next, Sora?"
"I…I…I….I was scared. And I….I got angry."
"And?"
"And my mother always wanted me protected. I had a gun in my purse he didn't know about."
And now the images were pouring into his mind, as he saw sweet, loving Sora, holding the pistol in her slender hand, just barely visible through the cold, drenching rain.
"And I shot it."
She covered her ears, as if she could still hear the splitting, shattering sound of the gun shot.
And now the room was just a blur of gleaming color, she couldn't see through the tears.
And neither could he.
She raised her eyes from where they had been buried in her arms, looking up, seemingly noticing him for the first time. She looked at him sorrowfully.
He tried to recompose himself, wiping away the last shimmering tear from his face. "That's all," he said, "defense rests."
"Does the prosecution have anything for the witness?"
"Not at this moment, your honor."
************************************************************************
The next day would be the ruling. Her had made her bail for her, she was not a threat to society. Simple, sweet, loving Sora, a threat to society.
He walked to the back of the courtroom, where Mimi was sitting, watching the whole thing. They kissed lightly. She neatly wiped away a last remaining tear from her cheek. Gently, he brushed a strand of silky blonde hair behind her ear. Lowering his head, he whispered, "I just need to walk her out. Meet you back at home."
She nodded solemnly. Then she turned to walk out of the courtroom. He watched until she was lost in the crowd of people gathered in the hallways.
Slowly, he walked back to the table where Sora was still sitting. He stood behind her, watching her for a moment, before tapping lightly on her shoulder. When she turned around to look at him, she seemed so helpless and vulnerable. He offered his hand. She took it shyly. The two of them walked outside, never saying a word.
Twilight had fallen, and it was still raining. His eyes followed the clear raindrops, as they fell loosely through the sky, before splattering on the gray sidewalk. So fragile.
He got out his black umbrella, to share it between the two of them. She was already drenched from the rain. As he was opening it, his focus caught her brilliant, sparkling eyes. The crystal-clear raindrops clung to her glistening face, mixing with her salty tears. He brought his hand up to her face, tenderly wiping away the tears. He followed his hand down her cheek, till it reached her chin. Kindly, he tilted her chin, laying a delicate kiss on her fragile lips.
"Nothing turns out the way we expect it, does it Sora?"
"No Tai."
The End
A/N: Okay, I know the ending wasn't surprising at all. I should have just said it was Tai at the beginning. And I'm really sorry if any Matt fans were offended, because I just wanted to show that it could be ANYBODY, and I give you full right to flame me. Also, I don't know much about real court systems, so I probably got that wrong too. Otherwise….:trys to think of some creative threat or offer to get people to review:….awwwwwwwww, screw it, I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hoped you guys liked reading it. I truly hope this was different, and I'd absolutely love feedback….feel free to email me too, at retro_cool@hotmail.com….i know, dumb addy, I got it off a magazine…
~Corie