Savior

Chapter 77

-xx-

Cate sighed as she read the paper sitting on the island once more. They had already scheduled a court date for Jade and her two friends from the bar. She ran her eyes over the date once more; how was she supposed to prepare for a wedding when the court date was just days before it?

The knot she felt growing in her stomach returned. Her coffee had gone cold as it sat on the counter next to the discarded envelope. Just reading the words on the page made her feel like her skin was on fire. She could almost feel Paul Garrison's hands all over her body again. She held back the bile as she recalled him unbuttoning her jeans; she was lucky it was moment before a bang on the door to let them know Derek was in the parking lot.

Five days before the biggest day of her life, and she was going to have to relive that night. She'd have to relive everything that family had put her through in the past few months.

Her father explained that her being in court would have a bigger impact on the judge and jury. "What Cole is facing is nothing compared to what these three will be dealing with," he explained over the phone when Cate called him earlier that morning. He was explaining it all in layman's terms; drugging her with the intent to let those two men do god knows what to her was listed as a Class 3 Felony in Virginia. After some research and more advice from her father, she realized that could mean years in jail for Jade.

"What about her son?" she asked meekly.

"Her husband will have full custody, Cate," Ted replied softly.

"I hope he keeps them as far away from the Hanson family as possible," she retorted.

She could only hope that her husband had the wits enough to stay away from Fred and any other member of their family. Her heart tore at the thought of Colby growing up with his mother in jail. But she feared for the child if he grew up around Fred and Cole. Jade may be facing a longer jail sentence, but Cole was only going to be away for a few more months.

Cate flipped the paper over, not wanting to re-read those words again. She was dealing with the flashbacks at the most inopportune times; things she didn't remember before were slowly coming back to her.

She sat at a stop light just the night before, and watched as the colors changed from red to green, then to yellow and back to red. Her body was frozen as she remembered being thrown out of the back door to the bar. As if Jade slamming her head was not enough, she knew she connected with the brick wall just outside of the door.

Cate pushed back from the counter and stood in the middle of the kitchen. She repeatedly searched the kitchen for anything to do – something to keep her mind occupied – but she realized that she could not deep clean the apartment once more. Three thorough cleanings in over a week was already insane enough for her.

She stormed out of the kitchen and took off down the hallway towards the bedroom. She pulled a suitcase out of Derek's closet and threw it on to the bed. They weren't leaving for Chicago for a few more days, but she was going to pack in hopes that it kept her occupied enough.

-xx-

"I hate everything in my closet," Cate said with a sigh as she plopped down in the chair. Jackie smiled in spite of herself as she tidied up her work station at the salon. "I have nothing to wear to the wedding this weekend."

"Stop over-analyzing everything," her sister warned. "You're going to drive yourself crazy."

Cate laughed as she tapped her nails against the arm rests. "Too late," she began, "this whole thing has made me crazy. And receiving the court summons this morning has only made me crazier."

Jackie pursed her lips. "I'll be there with you," she said gently. "You're not alone, Cate."

The younger brunette nodded. "I know," she answered. "Thank you."

Jackie patted her sister's shoulder on the way to return a few clips to her supply cart. "Back to the problem at hand - you waited until four days before you left to realize that you don't have anything to wear to the wedding?"

Cate shrugged. "I've been a little busy, Jacks," she answered honestly. "And it's too late to order something."

"Come check out my closet," Jackie offered. "You and Derek can come over tonight for dinner and you can shop my closet."

"I need something formal," Cate admitted. "Everything I have is still in storage."

"I have formal dresses," Jackie replied. "The blush dress I wore to Casey's wedding last year." She grabbed her cell phone and pulled up her Facebook account to find a photo of the family at their cousin's wedding.

Cate pursed her lips as she viewed the photo. "I did love that dress," she said as her lip snuck between her teeth. "I'll double check with D about dinner tonight and I'll try it on."

"I've been to enough fancy dinners and weddings in the past few years," Jackie said with a shrug. "You can go shopping in my closet for the next ten events."

Cate chuckled as she pulled her cell phone out of her sweatshirt pocket. "Good. 'Cause I need something for the rehearsal dinner, too."

Jackie rolled her eyes at her younger sister. Some things never changed when it came to her; Jackie was just glad she had already ordered her wedding dress. Knowing Cate, they would be out two days before her own wedding scouring the city for a dress.

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