Ellie and Brass worked on how she should talk and act in court until the day of the hearing. She was questioned harshly, and the fact that she had been a stripper was used viciously against her, as were other facts about her past. She was firm in all of her responses though, and she managed to get through it all very bravely.
After her testifying was over, Brass went back to Vegas. While the case was being deliberated, she worked as hard as possible to get through the stress of it. The verdict was guilty, and she was very relieved, although the city was in shock over the entire ordeal.
About a month after the court decision was finalized, Ellie realized that she was low on money and her rent was due. She weighed the decisions in her mind and she found only one option, she decided to go back on the street for a night to get the rent money. She knew that she would regret it, but she needed to pay her rent. So she dressed in one of her old outfits, and she went down to her old street and she picked up a few guys.
She made the rent, but she felt sick because she knew that she had messed up again. She figured out how much money she could spend and still pay off her bills, and then she went to a liquor store and she bought what she could afford. Afterwards she went back to her apartment and she got drunk. She was doing it to kill the pain, but it made things worse for her because she was going against all that she had wanted to change.
She managed to pass out on her sofa, and when she woke up it was already about two in the afternoon. She was massively hung over, but she needed to go to work, so she took a fast shower and she left.
She didn't mess up any of her orders at work, but she did have a massive headache and a very low self esteem that day. When her shift was over she went down to the clinic and she cried to her support group. They helped her out, and they suggested that she get a roommate to share her apartment with.
That evening Ellie sent in an ad to the newspaper advertising that she wanted a roommate. By the end of the week she started to get offers, but none of them interested her. Then, two weeks later, Ellie found the person she wanted to have as a roommate. Her name was Roxie Carmichael, and she was a very nice person.
Roxie had just graduated from Stanford University in San Francisco and she had moved to Los Angeles to become a chemical analyst at the crimelab. Roxie had blue hair, and she got along instantly with Ellie, so they became roommates.
TBC...
I thought that she needed some drama, thanks to the reviewer who suggested it!
For those of you reading Before Me, yes this is the same Roxie, I like her character so I thought she would work well as Ellie's friend : )
Thanks for the reviews they keep me writing! CSI Kennedy, Lalenna, csifreak04