"Armin Janko please rise." The Judge ordered. Eddie watched every move her father made, Armin did as he was told and stood. "You are accused of participating in a Ponzi scheme which has led to Money laundering, embezzlement, and tax evasion." The judge lifted his head to meet eyes with Armin. "How do you plead to these charges?" Jamie looked over at Eddie watching her every move.
"Not guilty." Armin's voice cracked. Eddie squinted in disappointment. The court proceeded and Eddie's father was definitely going on trial, he was denied bail and his sentencing was set for 3 weeks from the current date, the marshal officers led Armin away, right before he exited the courtroom his eyes finally landed on Eddie.
"I love you Edit!" Armin yelled he was then behind the doors out of sight. Eddie stood up leaving the courtroom, Jamie followed in close pursuit behind her.
"Eddie-"
"Jamie I'm fine." She turned around, there were no tears, no anything.
"Are you sure because you just jumped up and left."
"It's because I regret coming here." She replied back. "I will never attend another one of these things again." She was dead serious.
"He's your dad Eddie." Jamie was concerned.
"Yeah and he's facing 30 years. If he cared anything about me he wouldn't have done what he's done." Eddie preached coldly.
"Alright." Jamie of course, had more to say but he didn't want to argue right now. Eddie was quiet the whole ride home and when the two returned to his home, she went to the bathroom, Jamie sighed and went upstairs to his room turning on his PlayStation console and began playing games when Eddie had returned 30 something minutes later she laid in his bed with her back turned to him, Jamie continued for a few more games and was sick of the silence.
"Eddie," Jamie uttered, a response went unheard. He stood up, "I really think we should-" Eddie laid there in a ball-like position with both arms wrapped around her stomach her face scrunched in pain
"Are you okay?" He worriedly asked.
"My stomach hurts.."
"Why does it hurt?" She had yet to answer. "Should I call my mom? she's a nurse." Jamie said in a panic as if Eddie hadn't known his mother was a nurse. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"No." She laughed at him. "I have cramps, I just got my period." His jaw dropped.
"Oh." He felt so awkward and embarrassed, "Do you like... need anything to make it stop." Eddie sat up looking at him, she rolled her eyes laying back down laughing. "I'm serious!" He laughed.
"Well since you insist could you go to the store and get me some Tylenol? Oh and some tampons."
He backed up shaking his head no. "I can't go into the section!" Jamie uttered.
"And why not?"
"It's weird!" He cringed.
"You're just getting a box of tampons," Eddie replied. He thought for a second shaking his head.
"I used to go with Erin when I was younger there no way, I don't know which to get! I mean there are like thousands of boxes."
"I can tell you the name and size."
"There are different sizes?" Jamie had to verify.
"Just get Tampax pearl and the regular size."
"Tampax? and how do I know if it's regular size."
"Read the box, Jamie." Eddie barked. "It's not rocket science."
"Ahhh fine." Jamie grabbed his keys off his desk. "The tampons and the tylenol.. do you want something to eat?"
"No, I could just go downstairs and make soup, Thank you, Jamie I really do appreciate it." She smirked at his embarrassment.
"You're welcome." He bit his lip trying to hide the embarrassment. He drove to the nearest Walmart, while inside he looked around for a few minutes finding the aisle he dreaded so much going down, He looked around him finally going down the aisle. He smiled politely at a lady also looking.
"Tampax pearl, Tampax pearl." He mumbled, finally finding it, he knelt down reading the boxes. "It really does say 'regular'." He grabbed the box, he walked into the next aisle finding the Tylenol. He felt relief walking to the pay counter it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.
"Jamie?" He recognized that voice, he turned around, "How are things?" She smiled.
"Lauren! things are great just enjoying the break before school, what about you?"
"Just picking up a few things before I leave for college."
"You're going to Miami right?" She nodded. "I leave next weekend, aren't you going to UCLA?"
"Columbia," She turned her head to the side. "I decided I wanted to stay home."
"Oh! I had no idea you switched but I'm sure you'll like Columbia." Her eyes landed on what was in his hand. "Those are for you?" He looked down, feeling a wave of embarrassment, "It's for my girlfriend." He shied.
"Eddie right?" Jamie nodded. "I'm having a going-away party next Friday before I leave, you and Eddie should come."
"I'll see if I have work, if not, we're there."
"Cool! Hope to see you guys have a good one!" After paying and leaving Walmart the entire drive home his thoughts were heavy, mainly on the school side of things, he unlocked his front door entering his home he went upstairs to his room finding Eddie laying there watching TV.
"How was it?" Eddie sat up smiling. Jamie handed her the bag.
"It wasn't as bad as I thought."
"That's good, thanks again for going." He leaned in giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Of course." It was quiet for a moment. "So…"
"So…" She repeated. Jamie laughed.
"I saw Lauren at Walmart."
"Prescott? we had calculus together, did she say hi?"
"Yeah we talked for a bit, she invited both of us to go to her going away party."
"Didn't you guys used to date?" Jamie was stunned she knew.
"Yeah, in 8th grade and a little in 9th grade," Jamie replied nonchalantly.
"What happened?" Eddie asked interested
"To what."
"You and Lauren duh!" Eddie slapped his arm.
"Nothing." Jamie stood up.
"Nothing." She mocked in an unrelated tone. "Tell me!"
"Relationships at that age aren't even relationships." Jamie laughed. He looked through the clothes in his closet so he could shower.
"Then tell me what happened."
"How about you tell me about your old relationships." Eddie looked shocked.
"I've already told you about Teresa, you know I dated Lauren, what about your ex-boyfriends?" Eddie turned away. The tone Jamie had said that it was really unlike him he thought.
"Well, I've only ever had three," she replied laying with her back turned to him "The first one being in elementary like you said relationships that young don't even count, the second one.. he was nice but he moved that was my sophomore year in high school…"
"The last one?" Jamie sat at his desk chair, completely invested, but little did he know what she would say next.
"He was abusive." Jamie stood up from his seat, a wave of heat shot throughout his skin. "He never hit me but he verbally abused me, he belittled me and said things to me that were so hurtful after a while… I started to believe the things he said."
"And you stayed with him?" Jamie tried so hard to control his anger. "Did you tell your parents?"
"He wasn't like that at first! and no I didn't tell them.. he was the most popular guy in school and we were only juniors in high school, everyone liked him, all the girls wanted to date him, living in Albany, the town wasn't big pretty much everyone knew everyone." Jamie sighed looking away. "I wanted and tried to break up with him many times but he would always manipulate me, dragging me back in… I was naïve, the only thing that broke us up foreal was moving here ten months ago. I transferred to your school after four of those months. I was so damaged I didn't want to go and meet people who potentially could be the same."
"And you never told me?" Eddie sat up in the middle of Jamie's bed-sitting criss-cross, she couldn't look at him just yet, so she played his comforter.
"I don't know Jamie! that was just a part of my life that I wanted to forget and coming to the city and meeting you… when you lost Mason, I saw a part of you that I've never seen in any man, really in anyone and I just put that behind me." Jamie approached his bed, taking a seat, he sat there for a while just staring at her, he grabbed her to bring her in for a tight hug.
"Jamie?" She replied her arms were around him but he held tighter. It was clear he needed the hug more than her.
"I'm so sorry." His voice low. "I'm sorry I asked this way, I wish I knew sooner." he loosened his grip a little but he still held her. "Before the last two weeks everything was about me, I never asked you anything and I'm so sorry."
"Jamie, don't get upset about it, I'm okay now because I have you." Eddie thought. He broke the hug taking her hand, looking away.
"Lauren and I broke up because I saw her more as a friend than a girlfriend, we liked each other as people but we both agreed we'd be better off as friends." Eddie nodded she thought it would be more.
"We can go to her party if you want." Eddie really wanted to get off the subject of her last relationship.
"I'll see if I have the day off." Jamie squeezed her hand gently before letting go, "I'm going to shower." He left his room, running his shower water, he sat on the edge of the sink, he couldn't shake how selfish he's been, he never really asked Eddie anything personal and they're five months into a relationship.
Eddie flicked through the channels, not finding anything she was interested in watching, she found a movie channel tossing the remote on the other side of the bed, she thought long and hard if the decision she made was the right one, telling Jamie about her past, she never wanted to speak of that part of her life again so she kept it locked up but when Jamie asked it just spilled out, Jamie returned to the room his hair dripping water shirtless in shorts. She watched him scramble through his drawers then stop.
"Eddie, can you tell me about your past?" He stood up putting his shirt on turning to her. "You don't have to talk about the bad things if you don't want to, but I want you to open up to me…"
"Okay, but really it's nothing like the thing I told you about, before all that I was a regular girl going on family trips and hanging with friends."
"Yeah." He replied sitting on the opposite side of the bed. "Tell me about it." Eddie smiled nodding, starting her stories from as far back as she could remember
"Okay! one second! Jesus!" The second time the doorbell rang, Lena was stressed walking to her front door at a fast pace, with the movers coming by to take everything she absolutely didn't need to storage and everything else of hers and Edit's to their new apartment in Queens. She opened the door to a face she hadn't seen in a long time. "Noble Sanfino!?" Lena held the door open inviting him in. "How have you been! I haven't seen you since we moved from Albany!" He accepted the invite walking inside looking around at the boxes scattered everywhere.
"It has been a long time Ms. Janko. I've been good I just moved to the city for college-"
"Really what school!?" Lena asked impressed.
"NYU, I will be living with my uncle."
"NYU? same as Edit! How has Phil been?" Lena smiled.
"Great! He's glad I'm back." Noble looked around. "Moving?" Lena sighed.
"You must've seen the news?" Noble nodded. "Armin is going to prison and well… Edit and I are moving into an apartment, but I doubt she'll come along.
"Yeah, I'm so sorry about Mr. Janko… speaking of her, where is she? why wouldn't she come along?"
"Well, Edit has a boyfriend now, ever since Armin was arrested she has been staying with him until school starts."
"A boyfriend?" Noble said in a tone Lena has never heard. "Well, that's nice," Noble said it in a completely different tone, he smiled slightly.
"I'm sorry about that, you and Edit always had been so close before we moved."
"No, it's totally fine!" Noble said but his tone showed it wasn't. "I'll see her around and I want to surprise her, don't tell her I came by?." Lena nodded. Noble hugged her "It was nice seeing you again!" after closing the door noble walked to his car with his fist balled, anger shooting throughout his body. "Edit… I'll get you back."
TBC!
So! I've decided to take this story and make it a sequel! The next chapter is the last one before the release of the next story following this one's storyline.
Please review! Hopefully you guys like the direction it's going in and if not let me know good and bad REVIEWs are greatly appreciated!