1Lisa stood in front of her bathroom mirror, once again toying with her hair. It woas one of those days. The days where the mascara clumped and the hair frizzed, where the skirts wrinkled and the shirts ripped. She shouldn't be surprised, really. Life had been anything but satisfactory for over a month now.
The incident on the Red Eye had affected her more than she liked to admit. Her dreams were riddled with crystalline lakes and she cried at the strangest things. The Comedy Marathon, novelty pens, and airplanes were some common triggers. Of course, her friends and family questioned and worried, but Lisa shrugged off their accusations with an annoyed glance. Everyone had their different diagnosis and remedy. Joe said she was still in shock and should move home. Her mother, Susan, said her fear in men had been increased by the situation and she should see a psychologist. But Cynthia had the weirdest conclusion of all.
"You love him," she said simply, waiting in line at Starbucks. "It was love at first sight, and you're confused because you also hate him."
Lisa strongly refused all of these statements, most especially Cynthia's. She figured that none of these were accurate, and spent her days working, restlessly sleeping, and reading.
She'd given up her scrambled eggs and classic movies for books in a strange feeling that if she changed her lifestyle it would be like proving to Jack Rippner that he was wrong, she had a life. She went out with Cynthia every Friday night for drinks and dinner, and often went by herself.
Lisa finally gave up on tying her hair into a bun and let it fall loose around her shoulders. She brushed it fiercely to make it stay smooth, then slammed down her brush and collapsed to the floor, sobbing. The brush clattered in the sink as she pounded her fist and the floor and scrubbed the tears from her eyes.
"Screw makeup," she muttered, standing back up and reapplying mascara and shadow. She put light concealer under her eyes to cover the lack of sleep-induced bags, and on her face to cover the stress-induced pimples. She straightened her skirt, grabbed her purse and left her apartment.
The hot Miami sun beating down on her head as she drove to the courtroom heightened her strength slightly. Lisa breathed in a deep breath of Miami air to calm her nerves. Jackson wouldn't dare talk to her in the courtroom. Too many policemen and officials. And he was bound to be headed right back to jail after the trial.
Finally her Eclipse pulled up in front of the courtroom and she cleared her mind as she stepped inside.
"Lisa," three voices shouted in unison as Cynthia, Joe, and Lisa's lawyer, Beth, ran up.
"Are you ready?" Cynthia squeezed Lisa's hand in sympathy.
"Are you okay?" Joe corrected her. Lisa rolled her eyes but nodded.
"Don't worry, Lisa," Beth assured her as they walked inside. "There is no conceivable way that he can win."
Lisa nodded and took a deep breath as they entered the high-ceilinged room. Her mind told her to look away, to stare stubbornly at the floor, but her eyes instantly snapped to Jackson's. He stared at her, his eyes cold and unmoving at first, then switching as he grinned cockily at her. Lisa swallowed hard and glared at him, then looked away. Her father took her arm as they sat down.
Lisa dreaded it. She dreaded going up there to speak, having all eyes on her, and most especially his. She recited the words she'd practiced, of being terrorized on a plane, nearly killed in her own home. And then her witnesses. Her only witness, her father. She'd tried to get some of the other people on the plane to speak for her, including Rebecca and the old lady. But of course, not knowing their full names, tracking them down was impossible. Lisa had told herself that they wouldn't be believable witnesses anyway, as the whole ordeal had been very hushed aboard the Red Eye.
Lisa finally took her seat as her father spoke. She lightly touched the scar on her forehead she'd received from knocking Jackson down the stairs.
Jackson took the stand next, his suit neatly pressed and his hair tucked behind his ears.
Lisa turned the tables and stared strongly at him while he spoke. He stared back, as if her were talking solely to her.
"In conclusion, ever crime I committed against Ms Reisert," he strongly emphasized her name and Lisa cringed, "was purely in self-defense. The accord on which she accused me of threatening to kill her father was entirely false, and I was not in any way connected to the explosion at the Lux Atlantic."
Liar, Lisa cursed him under her breath. He finally nodded and sat down.
Her stomach was in knots until the judge was ready to announce the jury's decision.
"And the jury finds the defendant..."
Lisa cheered inwardly before he'd even finished.
"...not guilty."
Her stomach dropped as the last few words were uttered. She gazed helplessly to her father as she stood back up. Jackson looked at his attorney, who shook his head as Jackson said something, and then nodded after he said something else. Joe took Lisa's hand and Beth muttered her condolences as they left the courtroom.
As Lisa walked through the doorway, she felt something being pushed into her other hand. She looked around for who had placed it there, but saw no one. When she was finally outside she unfolded the piece of paper.
We'll talk again.
