Author's Note: Hello everyone! I am back to writing fanfiction and I hope it is better than before, there has been a couple of years in between to improve my writing. I also have a few more things to add. I have a facebook page, Kainna15 Kainna15/ where I will be posting my chapters for my fanfiction stories a few hours earlier than on my fanfiction page. I also am working on a few original stories that you can also see some sneak peeks on my professional facebook page, J. at . .J. /
Please read and support! Check out and become a fan for more exclusive stories JMLewis on my original work. Thank you and enjoy the story!
Scarlett Quinn sat down at the dark wooden oak desk and placed her folded hands delicately on the surface. Her heart was hammering against her chest and she felt her hands shake against her will. Next to her, across the small walkway that separated the two sides of the courtroom, sat a woman with the same reddish brown hair and same auburn eyes as the younger girl. While the younger had straight hair, the older had curled locks, and while the girl had pouty lips that were bitten red from nerves, the woman had straight thin lips that were pressed tight together in a small scowl.
"Ms. Scarlett Quinn, as I understand it you are here on a request to separate from your mother, here in New Jersey, to go live with your father in Washington?" The Judge's voice broke Scarlett out of her daze and with a nervous nod, she agreed with what was being said.
"You have been living here with your mother for 7 years, why the sudden change in heart?" Scarlett spared a quick glance at her mother and saw with bitter relief that she was no longer staring at her. What was she supposed to say? She finally escaped her mother long enough to be able to file a case? That her father had been trying to get custody of her but only now had enough money for a proper lawyer? That she wanted to leave because she felt close to suicide living with her mother?
"I miss my father, even if I do see him every summer. And since I am considering going to college in the west coast anyways I figured moving there a year earlier would benefit me." Scarlett managed to utter the two sentences that she had been practicing for the past two hours. It was logical and reasonable and she really hoped that the Judge bought it.
"And what about your anxiety and depression?" The Judge's smooth deep voice almost made the question seem innocent. Scarlett's whole body froze for a moment and she hoped that the Judge, with his small rectangle glasses sitting on his wide face, could not see that her body was now shaking; panic was setting in.
"While I do have some problems emotionally," Scarlett started with a small voice as she looked at her lawyer with pleading eyes. He was rifling through his piles of paper while she tried to find a good way to continue her sentence.
"You see your honor, she has no idea what will happen if she leaves my side permanently. She might be endangering her health." Her mother's higher pitched voice cut over her own. Her fake concern coated her words and made Scarlett swallow nervously. She could already feel a panic attack starting, she never had gotten this close to leaving her mother and the thought of losing her only chance to escape made her nauseous. Taking her away from her mother would do nothing but make her health better. No more belittling insults, body shaming, forced diets, or depression. She needed to get away from her.
"Wait. Here it is. A copy of Scarlett Quinn's medical records. As you can see, almost every year she has to be admitted to the hospital because of a panic attack or depression. However, if you look at the dates; it is never during the summer when she is with her father. She has never went to the hospital when she was with him." Mr. Jenkins, Scarlett's lawyer who look much younger than his name hinted at, pulled out a stack of papers and handed them over to the balluff to give to the Judge. Judge Henderson read the papers carefully while the seconds ticked by slowly.
"It seems you are right, Mr. Jenkins." The lawyer grinned victoriously and sat up straighter with attention.
"But that doesn't mean anything, of course a teenager would have less stress in the summer." Ms. Morrison, Scarlett's mother, snarled with anger. The Judge gave her an unimpressed look before moving his attention back to the records.
"If we cannot measure her health with the timing of hospitalization then what can we measure it on, Ms. Morrison?" Judge Henderson questioned and, when he didn't receive a reply, neatly arranged the medical records and handed them back to give to Mr. Jenkins.
"As I see it, there is not a single reason why Ms. Quinn should not be able to live with her father." Scarlett's small tremors now stopped and a skin breaking smile covered her face.
"Thank-" The Judge held up his hand to stop Scarlett from speaking.
"However; if you have a panic attack that causes you to be hospitalized, you will be sent back into the custody of your mother." At this, Scarlett spared another glance at her mother. A small shiver of fear traveled throughout her entire body at the crazed, malicious grin placed calmly on her mother's face.
"That sounds reasonable." Mr. Jenkins spoke for Scarlett and within moments the deal was made.
"Alright Ms. Quinn. You are now legally out of your mother's custody and in Mr. Quinn's custody. You may leave to Washington anytime you would like." After those words, the gravel hit the table and Scarlett found herself moments later stepping out of the court room with more confidence than she thought she would ever have. Her hands were still shaking and her heart was beating faster than she thought possible but for once it wasn't because she was scared or anxious or nervous...it was because she was happy.
"Do you have everything you need, Scarlett? You said you had everything packed this morning." Mr. Jenkins asked as they walked out towards the small parking lot. Scarlett spotted her old red Mercury Cougar sitting a few spaces down, packed with all the items she thought necessary to bring with her. Most of the boxes were filled with books and clothes but a few had more sentimental items from the few friends she had over the years. They were all gone now, driven away by her less than sane mother, but the small trinkets still held their value with her.
"Yea, I have everything. It's all packed in my car." Scarlett answered as they finally approached her vehicle. She patted the rooftop affectionately and gave Mr. Jenkins a smile.
"If the Judge knew you were going to be driving to Washington alone, I don't think he would have been as lenient." Mr. Jenkins eyed the old car with distrust. Scarlett had known Mr. Jenkins for the past couple of months now, ever since her father managed to collect enough money to hire him, and even though she distrusted any lawyer, he was alright in her book; especially since he had managed to win the case for them. He cared about his clients and although he was a bit of a egotistical asshole, she assumed he had to be in order to survive in his career.
"Letty! Aren't you going to say goodbye to your mother?" Scarlett's entire body tensed as soon as the voice, and the annoying nickname, registered in her ears. Her mother stood a few feet from the car, her black pencil skirt and red blouse outlined her thin body perfectly and Scarlett was again reminded how much her mother looked more like a model than a mom. She stood with her arms open, as if expecting Scarlett to jump into them. The tremors came back and she pressed herself against the door of her car, as if she could hide, while she tried to stutter out a reply.
"Scarlett is not in your custody anymore Ms. Morrison. She doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to." Mr. Jenkins answered for Scarlett in a firm authoritative voice that left no room for debate.
When Scarlett had first met her lawyer, she wasn't impressed. Pretty blue eyes, light brown hair, young and carefree with an arrogant attitude had made Scarlett distrustful of the lawyer from day one. But when he sat her down and listened to her talk about the woman she called mom, he didn't give her pity like she expected or questioned her about the events like she was to be distrusted; but instead promised to get her home to her dad. He didn't make a face when she told him about being locked inside a closet because her mother wanted her to stop being afraid of the dark; or the malnutrition she suffered because being a size 8 was too fat for her mother; or her punishments of cleaning floors with bleach without gloves (those burns heal after all), or any of the hundreds of insultive nicknames she received from her mother on a daily basis. Instead he simply made her a promise and got to work. He saw how shy and nervous she was and instead of trying to change her, took over as her voice when she found she had lost hers. No pressure, no insults, no changing; just help. Its was reassuring and at this moment she realized exactly why her father hired this lawyer.
"Why wouldn't she want to say goodbye to her mother?" She asked in a innocent voice. Dumb doe eyes played her face well and her manipulation rose the anger inside Scarlett. Her mother did always go for the innocent dumb look, it always worked for her.
"Because she wants to get away from you." Mr. Jenkins spoke so nonchalantly it was hard to understand it was an insult at first. Scarlett watched her mother's face morph from surprise to anger, a conceited smirk danced across her lips.
"See you soon, Letty." She grinned and walked off. Scarlett stared at the pavement of the parking lot with a mixture of emotions; breathing slowly she gritted through her teeth;
"It's Scarlett."
Jasper Whitlock, or Hale as he went by now, stood looking out the floor length window for, well, God knows how long now. Time was hard for Jasper to keep track of as a vampire. Maybe because he was always so focused on other things that time just didn't matter anymore; focused on thirst, focused on the emotions he felt around him, focused on controlling his own emotions; focused on not reacting as if he was in a war-zone (PTSD was what they called it now) especially when Emmett barreled into rooms without a care in the world. Just so focused because when he wasn't he remembered he was waiting...and he'd remember that the waiting time was ending in just a week. Remembered that he would meet his mate in just a week. And once he remembered that, it consumed his every thought.
"Jasper? Are you ok?" Alice's light voice broke him out of his thoughts, his body tensing as he fought the urge to react and throw her through the window he stood in front of. It was always surprising whenever Alice did manage to sneak up on him, only because of how much noise she made on purpose to avoid it. But the few times she did, he had to fight every instinct to attack because when she did manage to surprise him, it was when he wasn't exactly himself at the moment.
"Alice." Jasper eventually breathed out as his muscles relaxed and he came back to himself. "How long have I been here this time?" He asked out of curiosity. If he missed something important they would have broken him out of his thoughts sooner. Alice's lips twitched, which let him know it was nothing serious.
"Just a couple of hours. Nervous?" She asked with a friendly smile. Alice had a vision of Jasper's mate just over 7 years ago. It came as a surprise to her at the time, while neither her nor Jasper had found a mate, she had never had a vision of either of theirs before. It was surprising, considering she saw his mate when she was already 10 and not when she was born. She could only assume at that time that they would have met her naturally if something hadn't happened. They were planning of going back to Forks within the next few years anyways and would have naturally met her...if not for Scarlett's mother. Alice couldn't explain it to Jasper when she first saw it, it was like her mother's mind just... broke. Her mother was perfectly normal and happy and then one day, she wasn't.
She didn't tell Jasper of the emotional trauma and abuse Scarlett would have to face in the upcoming years, only that she had to move suddenly but she would be back a couple of years after they moved to Forks. Alice couldn't tell Scarlett's life to Jasper, it wasn't fair. But Jasper already knew that his mate had went through something; Alice's sad and slightly guilty emotions gave him that hint long ago.
"Nervous isn't the right word." Jasper spoke softly and dug his hands into his pockets. "Excited is more of what I'm feeling." He gave Alice a sideways grin that made her laugh back at him.
"Well next Monday you'll meet her. Just survive this week of school." She grinned and nudged him with her elbow. "Which we have to leave now to get to." Jasper finally noticed that the sun was starting to peak over the tree line. September was ending quickly, the beginning of October was this week and it was becoming obvious by the lateness of the sunrise that Fall had indeed started.
"One more week. But she's already on her way here, right?" Jasper asked as he and Alice walked at a normal human pace to the garage. Alice nodded, recalling the vision she got just yesterday.
"Yup, she will be leaving today after the court case with her mother. She's driving here from New Jersey, at a normal pace with food stops and rest, she should make it by Thursday night." Alice already saw Scarlett arriving safely by Thursday night. The only time differences that affected her visions were Scarlett's choices of where to eat and luckily differed only by 10 to 30 minutes.
"She's going to be alright traveling by herself across the country?" Jasper asked yet again. Ever since he heard how his mate was to arrive in Forks, he had been thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Her car could break down and she would be at the mercy of whoever passed by. A frown graced Jasper's lips while Alice simply rolled her eyes.
"She will be fine. Being alone and away from her mother will do her some good. She needs this time to herself." Alice reassured as they finally reached the spacious garage and climbed into the Jeep Emmett was already revving.
"It needs to be next week already." Jasper simply answered.