When yet another curveball puts Andy and Lex's relationship into serious jeopardy, the stakes become higher than they've ever been, forcing the couple to fight not only for their love but also for their lives.
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Life see...
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"Are you ready to go in, Andy?"
Kevin's voice made its way into my mind, but I didn't register words, my focus distracted by the massive and austere building outside. Do they purposefully build courthouses to be so goddamn imposing and cold?
Not only did I have no will to go in, given the situation, but the sheer anxiety that the edifice unleashed made it even worse. I didn't have a choice, though. I needed to go inside, needed to look past my fears and find the strength to exit the car and walk into this dreaded place.
Lex needed me, and I would never let him down. Not in a moment like this.
Hope was a strong, potent thing. It kept me going, helped me through this darkest of times, gave me the inner strength I needed. Hope was the one thing I clung to during the days that followed Lex's arrest. The only thing I had to keep me from losing my mind, to keep me sane.
For as long as I hoped things would be fine, I could keep all of my dark feelings at bay. Despair, fear, sadness, grief... All of those were lingering in the back of my head, but the fierce hope that things would be okay kept them far enough from my mind.
Some might argue it was delusion or naivety, but I refused to see it that way. This wasn't our story. We weren't ending there. I wouldn't lose the love of my life to this. Lex would get out of this nightmare, and I would do anything in my power to help him.
"Andrea, sweetheart, we need to go," Michelle gently said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Looking away from the car's window and the gray building outside, I turned to my companions of misfortune. Ever since Lex's arrest, Kev and Shelly had been so incredibly supportive.
Since no one would let me see Lex or tell me what was going on, I had turned to the pair, knowing they might be more ready for this than I was. I had been right. While I was severely unprepared for what had happened, Kevin had been considering this possibility for a decade. He'd always known Lex getting arrested was a risk, and although shocked, he had it all planned.
After what had happened on Saturday, I'd gone to them, because no one else but Kev could understand what I was going through. No one else knew Lex had been arrested. No one else knew he was Nammota. No one else could fathom the magnitude of what was happening.
After spending the afternoon at their place, they'd insisted on me staying for the night, arguing the guest bedroom was ready. It was terrible to finally spend more time with them, get to know them, in such circumstances. After all those failed attempts in the past, I'd dined with the couple closest to Lex. But while we'd been struggling to eat anything, none of us having any appetite, Lex had been booked and interrogated, enduring what must have been some of the worst hours of his life.
"Come on, doll," Kev insisted, putting a hand over the handle, ready to open the door.
Outside, a massive group of journalists was waiting for us to come out, their trigger fingers ready to snap a few shots. The anxiety of having to face them made my guts twist painfully. Thankfully, Kev had expected this and had hired a small security detail, whose sole purpose was to keep them away. It sounded extreme, but I couldn't go through more harassment and questions.
