Angel (Damiano David & Victoria De Angelis)

Chapter 37

Just two days later, the first contact with the lawyer came. It honestly surprised Victoria when she picked up the phone. She didn't know the number, so she was a bit anxious to answer. She didn't like answering for unknown numbers, but she did so anyway. "This is Victoria...who is this?" Her voice was steady but her hand was trembling a bit. She had gotten real good at hiding her anxiety over the past few months though. "Hello. My name is Chiara Porcaroli. I'm the lead prosecutor on the case against Mrs. Carla Marda. I understand you are in close affiliation with the victim Mr. Damiano David. Is that correct Mrs. DeAngelis?" It took Victoria a moment to respond; she hadn't expected the lawyer to call so soon. The woman on the phone sounded young and quite nice though. Once she had gathered herself a bit, she responded: "Yeah...yeah, I am his girlfriend." "Good...I would like to arrange a meeting with the two of you. Just to get to know you for now, so there is no need to be scared or anything. Would the day after tomorrow work for you?" She was a bit taken aback by that. She definitely wasn't ready for that...and she didn't think Damiano was either. But she also knew that they couldn't waste any time. "Yes. That works for us. You won't ask any specific questions about the things that have happened to him yet, right? It's okay if you do want to ask questions about it...I'd just need to know beforehand so I can prepare him, you know? It's not easy for him..." The woman, Chiara, seemed to smile. She could hear it in her voice. "Don't worry, Mrs. DeAngelis, our main goal is Mr. David's safety and I will personally do my best to support you all the way through this. But to answer your question: No, I will not ask any questions about specific incidents yet. I just want to meet you and get to know you. So, Friday 2.00 PM? I will text you the address of my office." "Yes, we will be there."

"Friday? But that's so soon..." Victoria sat down on the bed next to him, gently taking his hand into her own. "I know, love, but she promised me that she only wants to get to know us. She won't make you talk about anything yet. And she sounded really nice..." She was trying really hard to assure him. She knew he was scared...of course, he was. "Don't worry, Angel. I'll be there the whole time and if she tries to make you talk about anything, I'll stop her and tell her not to, alright?" He looked at her and she could see just about every emotion he must have felt at that point. It was strange because sometimes he showed her so much and other times, he didn't let her see anything at all. He was very scared, that much was obvious. "What if she won't stop? What if we tell her no and she just continues?" She looked him directly in the eyes, trying to figure out how to help or at least assure him. He naturally didn't have a lot of trust in people...women especially. That wasn't surprising, considering what he had been through. "She won't, I promise. She sounded really really nice and if she oversteps any boundaries, we'll just ask her to stop. She's on our side, Angel. We need to work together with her. At least give it a try, okay?" He took a bit of a shaky breath and nodded: "Okay...I know we have to do it. It's just scary." Victoria slowly pulled him into her arms: "I know, Angel. I know. And that's totally fine. Those feelings won't just disappear within a day or two. Things like that take time to heal and get better. After all, she hurt you a great deal." "But it's been so long. I mean, we've been staying here for months...", he told her, frustration now clearly showing in his voice. She raised her hand, gently brushing through his soft brown hair. "Listen, honey...I know you want to get back up and have it all be okay right now, but that's not how it works. You wouldn't be human if you weren't struggling. It's important that you take your time to heal and then, when the time is right, you'll be able to live a normal life again. I promise you that. But for now, you'll have to be patient."