A/N: This is a LONG chapter. Grab a kleenex or 10, sit and buckle up. There's a lot to take in. I hope y'all enjoy. Happy reading!
PS: There's a little something for Smut Sunday in here as well.
A few days after getting home from the hospital, Amy called Beca; she wanted to visit and see how her best friend was doing. Amy saw Beca just a few days before the attack. She looked wonderful, Jesse was definitely doing his job of making and keeping her happy, but a lot happened since then. Amy would do anything to get her hands on that bastard Luke; how dare he touch her friend that way? When Amy arrived, Nora went upstairs to let Beca know that she was there. Beca asked Nora to pour Amy a cup of coffee and have her wait downstairs for a few minutes. Nora nodded, kissed Beca's forehead and left the room in search of Amy.
What Amy didn't know was that while she and Nora were enjoying a friendly chat over the perfect cup of coffee, Rae was covering the bruises on Beca's neck and face. The other bruises; the ones that covered her chest and torso, could be covered with her clothing, but her face and neck were going to be a challenge, or so Beca thought. Remembering that Jesse suggested that she let Rae help in some way, Beca enlisted Rae's expert make-up skills and quickly put them to work.
Looking at her handy work, Rae stood back, extremely proud of herself, "This is about as good as it gets." Rae stepped away from the mirror so Beca could see. Beca looked at herself in the mirror and was in complete awe. Rae and her airbrush makeup kit had done a lot more than Beca ever expected. "My work here is done." she said as she packed her things back into her make-up kit.
Still not believing the difference, Beca never took her eyes off of her sister's artwork. Amy was really gonna have to look closely to find the bruises. "Thanks Rae. You did a wonderful job. I really appreciate it."
"No problem." Rae said kissing Beca on the top of her head. "I really enjoyed it."
"Me too." Beca said as she stood up from her vanity table. "Will you go down and tell Amy I'll be ready in a few minutes?"
"Sure. Don't take too long. She'll have Nora making her fried chicken and okra if you do."
Beca laughed. "She's been dieting and working out. She can't have those things."
"Yeah, ok... are we talking about the same Amy?" Rae asked. "Amy doesn't do cardio or vertical running... remember?"
Beca laughed. "You'll see when you go downstairs. She looks amazing." Rae just smiled. Amy was like their sister. Growing up she was always around and could usually be found by the food.
As she was getting ready to walk out of Beca's room she turned and said, "Love you Becs. You look beautiful."
"Thanks. I love you too kid."
Beca quickly walked into her closet in search of clothes that would cover the bruising. She selected a pair of black yoga pants and her favorite vintage 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt. Pulling her damp hair over her right shoulder, she braided it quickly, took one last look at herself then called Amy to come upstairs.
"Hey fun size!" Amy said as she walked into Beca's room. Beca was sitting on her bed, TV remote in hand flipping through the channels before settling on the 'Duck Dynasty' marathon. She loved that show. It was always good for a few laughs.
"Hey Amy! What's up?"
"Umm, I think I should be asking you that." she said after scratching Toby's ears then plopping down next to Beca. "What in the hell happened?"
Beca briefly told her what happened sparing her the goriest details to avoid having to relive the event. Amy couldn't believe what she was hearing and if the attack wasn't bad enough, she was just as shocked about the asshole threatening Beca and Jesse on the courthouse steps. Beca tried to play it off like it was no big deal but Amy saw straight through all of the layers of make-up and bullshit, she also saw the tears threatening to spill out of Beca's eyes. Cover Girl had the ability to cover a lot of things but it couldn't cover emotion. Amy knew Beca long enough and well enough to know when something was wrong.
"That no good rotten son of a bitch, I'm gonna finish him like a cheesecake!" Amy said pounding her right fist into her open left palm.
"Ames, calm down. No sense in ruining your diet for that piece of shit." Beca said rubbing Amy's arm.
"Yeah, you're right. Don't think he'll be throwing his wallet and bellowing for a burger anytime soon."
"No, I don't think so." Beca said. In an attempt to change the subject she asked. "So, what's been going on in the outside world?"
"Just school. Getting ready for finals."
"What else?"
"Oh my gosh! I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you this!" Amy said very excitedly.
"What?"
"That skank Stacie..."
"Yeah, what about her?"
"She's pregnant... and she's telling everyone it's Luke's baby!"
"How in the hell would she know who her baby daddy is? She's spun like a fuckin' top on every dick in this town."
Amy couldn't help but laugh at the visual and she was pleased to see Beca relax a little into her pillows. As the girls continued to laugh and catch up, trading stories and lighthearted jokes, Jesse walked in Beca's room not knowing that Amy was there to visit. "Oh hey Amy." Jesse said walking across the room to hug her.
"Hey Jesse. How's it going?"
"Pretty good. Can't complain."
Jesse walked over to Beca's side of the bed. "Hey Babe. How you feeling?" He said kissing her.
"I'm good. You?"
"I'm all finished. Just gonna take a shower." he said motioning over his shoulder with his thumb before he walked to the chest of drawers and pulled out his clean clothes. Amy, with her mouth wide open, watched the interaction between the two and the fact that Jesse was digging in Beca's drawer for clothes. She was trying to figure out if hell had frozen over or if pigs had begun to fly. "Jamie, Rae and I are going down to the Magnolia Diner for a burger. Wanna go?" Jesse asked.
"No." she said shaking her head. "I'm gonna hang out here with Amy for the afternoon."
"You sure?" he asked as she slid off the bed and walked over to hug him.
"Yeah. We haven't hung out in a while."
"Ok. Want me to bring you something back?"
"Surprise me." she winked.
"Amy, do you want anything?" Jesse turned to ask her.
"No, thanks. I'm watching my girlish figure these days." she said putting her hands on her slimming hips and shaking a little.
"You look great!" He told her giving her an appreciative smile and an encouraging nod. "Keep it up."
"Gonna try." Amy said as Jesse closed the door to the bathroom.
"Uhh... Bec, what was that about?" Amy asked pointing toward Beca's bathroom door.
"What?" Beca said, turning her head away so Amy couldn't see the sly smile on her lips.
"You know what. Now spill it Shorty McGee!"
Beca blushed as she turned around and mumbled. "UmmJessemovedin."
"Excuse me? What was that?" Amy asked acting as if she didn't hear what Beca said.
Beca walked back toward her bed mumbling, "Jesse moved in."
"Is your dad ok? Is he sick? Should we call Dr. Bordelon? No way your dad agreed to this."
Beca chuckled a little, "Amy, he's fine."
"I know Jesse's fine, visions of Jesse's tight ass flooded Amy's mind, but does your dad know he's here? Does Jesse shimmy his sexy ass up the tree after everyone's gone to bed at night?"
"Amy!"
By this point, Amy was pacing Beca's room. "Is this like a Rapunzel type thing? Do you let down your hair? Does he climb your tower? Do you get all tangled up together? There'll be hell toupee if ol' Tripp catches Jesse climbing your long, luscious locks in a bid to see if the carpet matches the drapes."
"What carpet?" Beca said with a huge grin on her face. She knew that would catch Amy's attention.
"Oooh Beca... You wax the deck?!" Amy winked. "I can't say I'm surprised. I'll admit I prefer hardwood flooring my damn self. Guys don't wanna have to weed through the forbidden forest to get to the crown jewel."
"Amy!"
"What?"
"That's gross!"
"Don't act like you're innocent with me missy. I know you like it when Jesse visits the downtown."
"AMY!"
"Excuse me bitch, you don't need to shout!"
"Obviously, I do. It's the only way to get your damn attention."
"Oh yeah, right? Where were we? I remember... Is there a bun in your oven? When are you due?" Amy asked trying to feel Beca's nonexistent tummy. Beca swatted her hands away. "When does my little Jeca niece or nephew get here?"
"Hello... Earth to Amy!" Beca said waving her hands in Amy's face. "There are no mini Jesse's on the way."
"Are there icicles in hell? Have we all died?"
"AMY!"
"Huh? What?"
"Amy, both my mom and dad know Jesse's living here and they're ok with it."
"Are you telling me that the prim and proper Lucy Robicheaux is ok with this little arrangement?"
"Well, no, not really. She wasn't ok with it at first but she's ok with it now."
"Yeah, I'll just bet she is."
"She's ok Amy. Really."
"You know you'll be the topic of conversation at afternoon tea, garden parties and her weekly bridge game."
"I really don't give a shit."
"Beca, you should. Those women are ruthless."
"Who the fuck cares? Jesse and I are happy. Everything is out in the open and we no longer have to sneak around."
"That's true." Amy agreed. "I'm really am happy for you both."
"Thank you, that means a lot."
"So...I, uhhh... I talked to Professor Reid yesterday." Amy said.
Beca looked up very interested. "Oh yeah. What did he say?"
"He has a meeting with the DA to present the evidence."
"So, there was something there?!" Beca asked excitedly.
"Yeah... there was."
Just as expected, Beca's nightmares would wake her from her peaceful slumber and she hadn't had a good night's sleep since before the attack. Nights were rough, not only for her but for Jesse as well. They were both exhausted. The guilt of keeping Jesse awake night after night was starting to really bother her. Throughout everything, Jesse remained strong for her; he was amazing. He would hold her through the nightmares, sing and rock her back to sleep while never once complaining of being tired.
Jesse was only averaging a couple of hours of sleep a night but he had a job to do and while Tripp was more than understanding, Jesse's dedication to the job, as always, was impeccable. Every morning he rose before the sun, gently kissed Beca and went about his routine. He quickly noticed that Whiskey was becoming more and more withdrawn. He would take him out for rides, but no matter how hard he tried, he wasn't Beca. On a few occasions, Jesse managed to get Beca to come out onto the porch and visit with Whiskey but even those visits were becoming few and far between.
Beca was slowly becoming more of a recluse, rarely, if ever, leaving her room let the alone the house. The house had become her safe place when her typical safe places on the property became too hard for her to reach. Jesse tried to encourage her to go outside but it seemed the more he did, the more hardheaded and stubborn she became. It killed him and everyone around to see her strength disappear.
Her physical strength was rock solid, when she finally decided to leave her room, she would spend hours in her dad's home gym and even more time on the heavy bag. Jesse showed her how to properly wrap her wrists so she wouldn't break them and how to spar with the bag. She had also perfected her roundhouse kicks and could take on just about anyone that dare to stand in her way. Her mental strength was wavering and watching that daily struggle was difficult. Here she was this beautiful, strong, independent, headstrong woman missing out on life, literally watching as it passed her by because she was scared.
In the wee hours of the morning, almost three weeks to the day of after the attack, Jesse was holding Beca after another nightmare. He sang softly into her ear knowing that it soothed her. He could feel her body trembling as the nightmare slowly left her mind. "That wasn't a bad one." he whispered to her as he stroked her back and held her tight. "They're getting better."
After several minutes of silence, Beca adjusted her position slightly. "Jess."
"Yeah baby… I'm here."
"I need you..."
"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."
"No, I need you." she repeated. He leaned up on his elbow and stared down into her face. It was dark in the room, the only light coming in was that from the moon, which filtered in through the French doors.
Beca reached up and took his face in her hands and kissed him with as much want and need as she muster. Jesse was a bit taken aback at first. They tried several times since the accident to be intimate, each time ended with Beca crying and pushing Jesse away because she couldn't control the flashbacks.
This time was different, Beca had taken control of the situation rolling him onto his back. She straddled his hips and said, "I need you to make love to me." she said as she pulled her tank top over her head and tossed it off the side of the bed. "Please."
For the first time in weeks her voice wasn't shaky. It was strong and confident and Jesse could hear the desire in her voice. "Are you sure?"
"Positive."
Jesse gently ran his fingers up her sides and over her tight, toned abs; he felt the goosebumps on her skin from his touch. She was beautiful and seeing the moonlight on her face made her all the more stunning. He tried to several times before to convince her that he couldn't see the bruises, that he just saw her but Beca saw the calling cards left on her skin even without looking in the mirror. But now, to Jesse's delight, things seemed to be going differently this time. He was taking his cues from her and when she nodded, he rolled her over and kissed her gently, not wanting to do anything she wasn't ready for. They had tried this several times before but had never gotten this far.
She pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him hard, their tongues fighting for dominance. When breathing became an issue, he trailed kisses from her jawline down to her chest. When his mouth found her nipple, he instinctively looked up to make sure she was still ok. When she didn't stop him, he continued on. She moaned and writhed under his hands. She missed him and he missed her just as much, if not more.
When Jesse reached the lacy elastic of her boy shorts, Beca raised her hips granting him permission to proceed further. Jesse knelt between her legs and removed her panties. He leaned over her, watching her eyes dilate as he lowered his head and took her nipple into his mouth. Beca jerked and cried out. She felt the sensation clear to her womb, the white-hot ribbons of pleasure striking at her, convulsing in her lower abdomen. Jesse put the slightest amount of pressure on her nipples as he twisted them, then sucked one into his mouth. Her eyes went wide and her fingers rose until her nails were digging into his shoulders.
"There you go baby. Relax and enjoy it. Enjoy me. I fully intend to enjoy you." The rough sexiness of his voice destroyed her. It washed over her, filling her senses and in the cloudy haze she forgot about the attack, she forgot about Luke; all she knew was Jesse, his touch and finally, the pleasure she had been missing over the last few weeks.
"Oh... God." The words escaped her lips and her soul as she felt his fingers touch her between her thighs. Her clit was so swollen and sensitive, she didn't think it had ever been that way before. He wasn't in a hurry but she wished like hell he was. "Please." she whispered as his mouth moved to her other nipple. Each brush of his flesh against hers was like fire. She needed him. "Jesse, I hurt." she panted as she tossed her head, lost in the pleasure. "Oh... God. I need you... so bad... it hurts."
He lifted his head. Her eyes were dark, her face was damp. He stroked his thumb beneath her eye. Tears. "Beca?" he whispered before kissing the remaining tears away.
"Jess, I need to come." she was trembling beneath him. "Please." He touched her slick, saturated folds. She was hot, so incredibly hot. Her flesh swollen. "Jesse, please."
Jesse swore his cock swelled thicker and got harder each time she begged him. He wiggled out of his boxers and moved back between her thighs. She was so hot, so ready, so wet. She was twisting beneath him, her nails digging into his biceps. She was going to blow his head off if he didn't do something soon.
Deciding to take the lead, she hooked her knees over his shoulders. He smirked then kissed her hard before kissing his way back down slowly, teasingly to her center. He slid his tongue through her slick folds. As she felt him, she hissed loudly through gritted teeth.
"Please Jess... I need you inside me... NOW!" He kissed his way back up her body, teasing her all along the way. As she wiggled he pushed the head of his cock against her folds. It was hot, like silk, her arousal coating the head of his cock. He pressed his hips closer, gritting his teeth as he felt the engorged crown of his cock press further into her.
He watched her breath catch, her nipples darken and harden impossibly as he all but shoved himself the rest of the way inside of her. With each thrust, he could feel her clenching, tightening, spasming around him. She was breathing hard, her eyes dilated. She was so tight that it was like a fist knotted around him, flexing and milking, coming and vibrating around him all at once.
He could feel himself about to lose control but decided not yet. He pushed into her again, a hard stroke, pushing past her slick tissue, gripping muscle, powering into her until she screamed his name and he felt her coming around him. He buried his full length deep inside of her, with one final thrust and he could feel his own release, spurting hard and heavily as it erupted from his cock. She was still vibrating around him, arched into him. Her clit grinding into his pelvis, her body shuddering and jerking, her eyes dazed. She had just come apart and for the first time in weeks she felt whole again.
Jesse fell to his back, dragging Beca with him. Draping her over his chest he kissed the top of her head and she kissed his chest.
"Thank you." she whispered as she pulled the blankets over them. "I needed you."
"I needed you too, more than you know." He said as they both drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Beca gave Jesse the wake up he never imagined. And after his glorious wake up, they showered together and made love again. For the first time in weeks, Jesse felt like he had his Beca back, even if they did break her dad's rule about "no funny business", three times in less than six hours. As they got ready for the day, Beca looked at him and said, "I want to take Whiskey down to the creek today."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, I need to get out of this house. I feel like the walls are closing in on me."
"Ok, can you wait until I'm finished working?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I'll get lunch ready so we can go when you're finished."
"Sounds good." he said taking her face in his hands and kissing her gently. "I'll see you in a few hours, ok?"
"Ok." she said kissing him with everything she had in her.
"Mmm... if we don't quit," he said between kisses. "I'll never get down to the stables."
"I know." she pouted. "I wish you didn't have to go."
"The sooner I leave the sooner we can go down to the creek."
While Jesse worked Beca did something she didn't usually do. Physical and emotional exhaustion overtook her and decided to nap, surprisingly she didn't have a nightmare but when she woke up it was a different story. As the daylight flooded the room, the dancing rays filtered over her face, she rolled over, her eyes still closed, she could hear the shower running. Snuggling a little further down into the pillows and blankets that still smelled of Jesse, she fell back into a light sleep.
Hearing the bathroom door open and smelling a freshly showered Jesse, Beca started to stir. Jesse stepped out of the bathroom with a towel slung low on his hips and another over his head to catch the dripping water from his wet hair. As he towel dried his hair, roughly rubbing his head, he looked over to her and said, "Hey babe. Did you have a good nap?"
"I did." she smiled, yawning slightly as she stretched out under the thin blanket. "Did you enjoy your shower?"
"I would have enjoyed it more if you had joined me." he said removing the towel from his head, and tilting his head to the side, shaking the water from his ears.
Beca rolled over, looked up at him and screamed loudly. All she could think was 'Why is Luke in my bedroom? Where's Jesse?' as she shrank back into the pillows in fear.
"No! Get out!" She screamed, looking towards the door as her only means of escape. Jesse took a step towards her, not understanding what was going on, unintentionally dropping the towel from around his waist as he moved into the room.
Beca screamed again and as she took in the sight of the naked male form before her, she covered her eyes with her hands and yelled, "Get away from me! Get out!"
Visions flashed in front of her of the night of the attack like a series of still photographs; the sounds of the horses braying in their stalls, the smell of the hay beneath her and she could still taste the blood in her mouth. She was unaware of how loudly she was screaming as the door to her bedroom rattled; the lock firmly in place.
"Beca? Beca, what's going on, open the door honey." Nora said from the other side of the door.
"It's ok Mom, I'm with her, she's just having a nightmare." Jesse called back.
At the sound of Jesse's voice Beca's eyes flew open and she finally realized it was in fact, Jesse in the room with her and not Luke. It was all a dream. Luke wasn't in the room with her. As she felt her heartbeat starting to return to normal, Jesse rushed to the side of the bed, pulling her into his arms, tucking her into the crook of his neck and rocking her gently.
"I saw Luke." Beca whimpered, clutching at Jesse's arm.
"Sssh, sssh, it's okay. I'm here. It's just me." He whispered lovingly into her hair, peppering light kisses to the top of her head.
"Jess, I'm never going to be free."
"You will be baby. I promise." Jesse said in what he hoped was a confident, reassuring voice.
"Make me forget Jess. I need to forget."
Jesse opened his mouth to speak but found that for the first time since this happened, he didn't know what to say. Instead he began to quietly sing, hoping the melody and the sound of his words would help her.
"No rush, though I need your touch
I won't rush your heart
Until you feel on solid ground
Until your strength is found, girl
I'll fill those canyons in your soul
Like a river leads you home
And I'll walk a step behind
In the shadows so you shine
Just ask it will be done
And I will prove my love
Until you're sure that I'm "the one"
Somebody else was here before
He treated you unkind
And broken wings need time to heal
Before a heart can fly, girl
I'll fill those canyons in your soul
Like a river leads you home
And I'll walk a step behind
In the shadows so you shine
Just ask it will be done
And I will prove my love
Until you're sure that I'm "the one"
Trust in me and you'll find a heart so true
All I want to do is give the best of me to you
And stand beside you
Just ask it will be done
And I will prove my love
Until you're sure that I'm "the one"
A short time later, there was a knock on Beca's door. "Beca, I need you and Jesse to come downstairs." her dad called through the door.
Jesse walked across the room to open the door and motioned for Tripp to come in. He saw Beca's tear stained face and knew something was wrong. "What happened? What going on here?"
"Beca had another nightmare of sorts. She thought I was Luke."
"Shit. Ok." Tripp said running his fingers through his hair. "This is probably a bad time for this but John is downstairs with news about the trial."
"Good news, I hope." Jesse asked.
"I'm really not sure." Tripp said. "Beca, are you up for going downstairs?"
Beca nodded, "Yeah, just give me a few minutes."
Tripp kissed Beca's forehead before turning to pat Jesse on the arm, "Don't take too long ok?"
"I won't. I just want to freshen up and wash my face."
"Ok, see you downstairs."
Jesse and Beca walked downstairs hand in hand. They could hear everyone chatting but didn't expect the silence that greeted them when they walked in. Tripp got up and hugged his daughter, kissing her forehead before reclaiming his seat next to Lucy. Jesse pulled a chair out for her, as she sat, he tucked her chair back under the table.
"How are you Beca?" John asked patting her hand.
"I'm getting there." she told him as she gave him a small grin. "What's going on? Why are we all here?"
"I have some news about the trial and thought it would be nice for all of us to sit down together to discuss it." John confessed.
Taking a deep breath, she said, "Ok. Has something happened?" Jesse wrapped his left arm around the back of her chair and took her hand in his other, gently kissing her temple.
Looking directly at Beca, John said, "The trial has been continued due to Williams' lack of access to his client."
"Lack of access?" Tripp asked.
"Because Luke is being held in Angola, Williams is having trouble making the 6 hour round trip because it takes away from his other clients."
"Oh, the poor thing." Tripp said sarcastically. Beca snickered.
"Believe it or not, this is a good thing." John stated. "Luke's had a hard time in there. He was put into general population when he arrived. He mouthed off and was on the losing end of Bubba's fist."
"Uoompf!" Jesse said. "That can't be good."
"Apparently the general population found out what his charges are and no one likes a man that beats a woman." John told them before taking a sip of his coffee. "He was beaten pretty badly and apparently some other things happened as well. For his own safety, he's in solitary confinement."
"That's where he deserves to be." Charlie piped up. "Does he even realize what he's done to Beca?"
"I think he has. The time alone has weighed heavily on him." John said.
Tripp chuckled in disbelief. "Oh yeah? How so?"
"He wants to enter plea rather than go to trial."
"What's the catch?" Jesse asked.
"He wants to speak to Beca first."
"NO! Absolutely not!" Jesse said very protectively. "I won't allow it."
"Jesse, let's listen to what John has to say." Tripp told him in a calming voice.
"Jesse, I know what you're thinking, but I promise you, she'll be safe. There will be no physical contact whatsoever. They'll be talking on a phone through plate glass. He can't get to her." John assured him.
"Can I go with Beca?" Jesse asked.
"Considering the history between the two of you I wouldn't recommend that. If you'd like, I'll go in with her and you can wait for us in the hallway right outside. Would you be ok with that?"
"Yeah, that'll work." Jesse said looking at Beca. "Are you ok with that?" he asked her.
She nodded. "Yeah, I just want to get this over with."
"John, when will this visit be taking place?" Tripp asked.
"Well, it's a matter of a phone call now that Beca has agreed. Let me see when we can arrange it." John said grabbing his cell phone and excusing himself from the room.
Jesse kissed Beca's temple again and whispered, "Are you sure about this?"
Turning she reached up and touched his cheek, "I have to see him Jesse. I have to know why he did it. I need to be able to put this behind me and get on with my life. I don't want to be afraid anymore."
"Ok." he whispered as he pulled her closer. "Ok."
John walked back in the room and said, "Does 10:30 tomorrow morning at the courthouse work for everyone?"
Beca looked at Jesse and nodded. "We'll be there."
"Ok, then. There will a short hearing after Beca and Luke talk. Luke will enter a guilty plea and the judge will set a date for the penalty hearing, which will more than likely be in the next day or two but you won't need to be present for that Beca."
"Thank you." she said standing to hug John. "I really appreciate everything you're doing for me."
"Beca, you're not just my client," he said pushing her away just enough so he could see her face. "You're my god-daughter and you mean the world to me. Seeing you like this absolutely breaks my heart." He took her petite face in his hands, kissed her forehead and said, "I love you Beca. We're gonna beat this."
"I love you too Paran."
"You haven't called me that in ages." he said with a tear in his eye.
"Yeah, I don't know why I stopped calling you that."
John laughed. "You said that John was a much nicer name than Paran." he reminded her.
"Yeah well… I was wrong." she smiled hugging John again.
After a rough night, Beca and Jesse got ready to make the drive with their parents to meet John at the courthouse. During the drive Beca was quiet, the only noise in the car came from their parents as they chatted about nonsensical things that had nothing to do with court, Luke or lawyers. Beca was pleased with the break in legal jargon and other court related mumbo jumbo.
Once they arrived at the courthouse, John went into a room to speak with Robert Gambino, the DA. It wasn't long before nerves set in and Beca found it hard to sit still. She took to pacing the hallway and wringing her hands. Tired of watching her pace back and forth, Jesse stood up and pulled her into a tight hug.
"It's ok. I'm here." He told her.
When John reentered the hall everyone turned their attention to him. As previously planned, Beca was wired. John and the DA wanted a recording of the interaction in the event that Luke tried to recant anything he said during his visit with Beca. When they were satisfied that the wire was well hidden John said, "Well, Beca… if you're ready we can go back."
She kissed Jesse's cheek and told John, "I'm ready."
"Then let's do this... shall we?"
They entered a room much like you see on TV with chairs on either side of a large pane of plate glass. The only way to communicate with the person on the other side was to speak through a filthy phone receiver. Beca looked at John who encouraged her to sit and listen to what Luke had to say. John took a seat on one of the hard plastic chairs along the back wall, placing his briefcase by his feet.
Luke sat down and motioned for Beca to pick up the receiver on the other side of the plate glass. She hesitated for a brief moment before wrapping her fingers around the receiver and lifting it from it's cradle. Placing it to her ear, he spoke into the mouth piece.
"Thanks for coming." He mumbled.
Beca didn't expect the reaction she felt when she heard his voice. The last words she'd heard him speak, or rather scream, was his promise to her that it wasn't over, and that he'd do it right the next time. This voice was different, much different. The voice she heard in her ear was quiet, sad and tired with a hint of desperation.
"Today he told he that he loved her
Put a ring around her finger
And promised her forever, together"
Looking right at him she asked, "What happened to your face?"
"Bubba happened to my face... my dick and my ass too, if you really must know."
Beca tried to hide her amusement, enjoying the large welt on his right cheek. "Walking a little funny too I see."
"Yeah, as it turns out no one likes a pretty rich boy who beats women."
They say quiet for several minutes, before Luke asked, "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine." Beca spat.
"Well, you look good." He said with the slightest hint of a smile.
"Ok Luke... enough of the pleasantries. Why am I here?" Beca asked, sounding extremely annoyed.
"Today, she smiled for all the pictures
And he was right there with her
Making all the memories without me"
Luke took a deep breath and Beca noted that for the first time he looked and sounded sincere. "Beca, I've had a lot of time to think in here and I want to apologize for what I did. I know it doesn't mean much, it doesn't change things and I certainly don't expect you to forgive me, but I needed to see you and tell you this myself. It means nothing if it comes from my lawyer or if I had written it in a letter that I knew you would throw away without reading."
Beca tried to stay strong, but she started crying and she silently cursed herself. Sniffling, she looked up and asked, "Why? Why did you have to hurt me? What did I do to deserve that?"
"And it hurts to say this out loud
Looks like she's really gone now"
"You didn't do anything. For the longest time I couldn't understand what Jesse had or what he could give you that was so much better than what I had to offer." Luke said, dropping his eyes to the floor. "I knew that even if we had married, I couldn't make you happy, that I'd never have your heart and it killed me. I'm a Babineaux, I get what I want, when I want it, but you evaded me. I wanted you, all of you but I couldn't have you, so I thought the only way to get my point across was to hurt Jesse, for him to hurt as much I did."
"Today is the happiest day of her life
I should be happy for her today
So tell me why are these tears in my eyes?
I know I should be happy for her"
Beca interrupted. "That doesn't explain why you hurt me."
"I'm getting there." He told her, reaching up to touch his swollen lip. "Beca, you're the girl that every straight, red blooded, American male wants. Throughout our childhood, I watched you stand up for yourself and do what you wanted to do. You're this tiny little person and yet you didn't take any shit from anyone. You're smart, you're beautiful, you're not afraid of hard work and you can handle a horse better than a most of guys I know." He paused to gather his thoughts before he continued. "If I'm honest with myself and most importantly, you, I think I fell in love with you that summer you stole the show and collected gold in every Barrel Racing event you took part in at the Parish Rodeo. I brushed it off as a silly crush but you were everywhere I turned. You were intoxicating and you permeated my skin, right into my soul."
"You have a soul?" Beca asked.
"But I've lost everything
I've lost everything I've ever wanted today"
"Beca... I-"
"-Rewind a bit here." Beca said, running her fingers through her hair. "Did you just tell me that you're in love with me?"
"Yeah, I guess I did."
"Today I thought about the moment
I could have said I loved her
And promised her forever, together"
"Luke, you are so conceited, you can't even distinguish between love and lust. You aren't in love with me, you are in love with the idea of being in love with me. Perhaps because I'm not a plastic, fake, permanently tanned, reality TV star wannabe, you realized what a real girl is all about and that I'm not one of the harlots that you are so keen to sleep with. No, you don't love me. I don't even know why you think that you do."
"You don't see it, do you? You're the entire package all wrapped up in a pretty bow and I got pissed that you wouldn't give me the time of day."
"Do you blame me?" Beca snapped, the tiniest of fires igniting in her eyes. "If you wanted my affections there are others ways to go about getting it."
"Today, today it really hit me
That she don't really miss me
She's found a new beginning"
"I deserved the chance Beca. I deserved the opportunity to prove that I could be what you wanted and needed."
"What I want, what I need and what I deserve is a man. Not a limp dick, man-whore who has to drug a girl to get her to comply and then can't even rise to the occasion." Beca snarled, as she saw the flashback of Luke kneeling before her in the stable, desperately jerking himself off, trying to get hard.
"Beca, I just wanted you to see what you could've had." Luke said, dejectedly.
"And I'm wishing
I had one more chance
God knows it's too late for that"
"You wanted me to see is that you're an animal and you can't get it up to save your life."
"Beca..."
Beca put her hand up, "No Luke, it's my turn to talk and your turn to listen." She said, feeling stronger than she had in weeks as she started to lay the ghosts to rest; the recent revelations still a shock to her.
"Fair enough." he conceded.
"Today is the happiest day of her life
I should be happy for her today
So tell me why are these tears in my eyes?
I know I should be happy for her"
"I'm sure at some point you had the ability to be a great boyfriend and eventually a husband and father but your over inflated estimation of your own self worth got in the way. It blinded you from seeing the truth. Please, understand, you were never, ever what I was looking for. I found the love of my life a long time ago. Jesse has always been and will always be "the one" for me. There is no one else. I would have fought the arrangement tooth and nail and with every fiber of my being. I. Do. Not. Love. You. Luke. I never have and I never will. I'm almost, the teeniest bit sorry that you're sitting where you are but that's on you, not me. You have to take responsibility for what you've done. No one twisted your arm, no one made you do it. That's all on you."
"But I've lost everything
I've lost everything I've ever wanted today"
"Are you finished?" He asked her.
"Why? Wanna shovel some more shit my way?"
"No, but I have something else I need to tell you."
"Oh really?" Beca said sitting back in her chair. "This should be interesting."
"Today is the happiest day of her life
I should be happy for her
But I've lost everything
I've lost everything I've ever wanted"
"Beca…"
"Alright, alright... go ahead." she said motioning to him with her hand.
"What made me the angriest was that I fucked up and even if you had come around, I couldn't have married you." Beca gave a side ward glance, her eye brow raised in curosity but didn't say anything. She was waiting for Luke to continue. "You know Stacie Conrad... right?"
"Today he told he that he loved her
Put a ring around her finger"
"Yes, I had the extreme displeasure of meeting that nasty trollop a few months back, until then I had only heard about her."
"I sent her for the riding lessons with Jesse's dad. I gave her the money. Her parents can't afford that type of thing. I sent her to the rodeo in Houston as well. I sent her to spy on you and Jesse. I knew even then that something was going on. But that's not all."
"Oh?"
"She and I were …" Luke trailed off sounding ashamed.
"You were what?"
"We were fuck buddies."
"Oh that's rich." Beca said. "The town man-whore and the parish strumpet."
"Anyway, she's pregnant. She says it's mine and my dad said I had to marry her. When he told me I went off the deep end. That was the night I attacked you. Beca, you have to believe me when I say I'm sorry. I wasn't in my right mind."
"Oh, I believe you're sorry, but I don't believe you're sorry for what you did. I think you're sorry because you were caught. I think you're sorry that you're going to spend the rest of your natural life in prison bending over for Bubba. That wasn't part of your plan. Your plan was to get away it or buy your way out of it and that's just not happening this time."
"Beca, please believe me when I say I'm sorry. Please."
"I believe you. I'll even forgive you, which is more than you deserve, but I'll never forget what you did to me."
"I don't expect you to forget and you're right, I don't deserve your forgiveness. The only thing I can give you now; the only way I can make this right, is to plead guilty and not take this to trial. I know I'll be convicted, so the least I can do is spare you more pain and heartache. I'm sorry Beca. I truly am."
The guard came in and told Luke his time was up. He took one last look at Beca and said, "I sincerely hope that you and Jesse find the peace and happiness you deserve." He hung up his end of the line, turned around and walked away, not looking back.
"But I've lost everything
I've lost everything I've ever wanted today"
Beca sat in silence for a moment, cradling the receiver in her hand as she watched the heavy door slam with a satisfying echo into the room and she realized that, just like that, it was over. There would be no trial, she wouldn't have to take the stand and Luke's lawyer wouldn't get the chance to browbeat her repeatedly. It was over. It was truly over.
A/N: Songs used in this chapter:
The One by Gary Allan
Today by Gary Allan