Love is a Trial

Chapter Four

The nervous feeling in my belly was something I hadn't felt in so long. When I was prosecuting a convicted criminal, I felt nothing like this at all. I'd left the fireworks just after 11, wanting to get a head start to the tree house. And here I was standing at the base of the tree looking up at the rickety ladder and the weather damaged hut that sat 10 metres up the tree. I remember the first time we found it, one of the guys a year ahead of us had built it in protest against the council wanting to cut it down. I never did find out why this tree had meant so much to him, but when he left the job of protecting the tree to us, we didn't hesitate. Well, Brad hadn't hesitated. I'd been so sceptical, I wasn't sure if it was safe, if it would hold us both up and even if we were allowed to go up there. He had laughed at me and told me that I'd only leave it blank. I hadn't understood at first, it was only after we had started dating that I realised, I couldn't leave the pages blank; I had to write my story.

I grabbed the first rung and pulled myself up, I closed my eyes like I always had, though I'd climbed it hundreds of times, it didn't remove my fear, I had just learnt to ignore it. The room was dark, apart from the beams from the moon, which shone through the slats in the window. I ran my fingers along the floorboards and found the oil lamp, I held it up to the walls as it illuminated all the lyrics that covered all the free wall space. Some were etched into the wood, some were painted, and it didn't matter how it was written, it only mattered that we had the words to write. I followed the walls around the small space until I saw Brad's curls pop up over the bottom of the treehouse.

"Hi," I said, shuffling over so there was more room.

He crawled in, coming to sit across from me, "Hi,' he replied tugging at his burgundy sweater. Though my nerves hadn't disappeared, it seemed I wasn't alone with them.

"How have you been?" I asked watching him as if he could disappear at any moment.

"Good, we just got back from touring Europe," He replied and the silence hung in the air like a poison. How was it that we just didn't have the words? I suppose that is what time does, to some it heals wounds, to others it lets them fester.

I wrung my hands, and started to speak, "Brad," my eyebrows furrowed, "I'm sorry."

It appeared there was no easy way of starting this conversation.

"I know," He paused and his eyes met mine, "But you always are. You left me with a song and a ring. No explanation. Nothing."

He closed his eyes and I thought he had finished speaking but he kept going. I assumed six years of bottling it up had to break at some point, I just wasn't ready for it to be now.

"It's so far back in the past but it still haunts me, I don't understand, what did I ever do to make you run?" His voice leeched with hurt, and I wanted to tell him the truth but I didn't even know what that was. "Nothing. You did nothing. My Dad-" my voice broke, "My Dad died, and I guess I realised that I only had one life, and I wasn't cut out for the one you had ahead, for the one you have now," I smiled weakly, "I wasn't meant to be in the spotlight."

"I just don't know why you threw your dreams away?"

"I didn't, I have my dream job," even I could hear my own hesitation, but I didn't stop to take notice of it so I hoped he didn't either.

Brad shook his head slightly, "When they told me that you had gone to law school, I couldn't believe it and then they said you graduated and got a job in some big law firm, I thought it was a joke. You were this carefree, joyful, blunt as hell girl, I couldn't imagine you going through the motions, I couldn't imagine you without expression and a voice." His features softened and I watched his eyes crease into his laugh lines. Brad had distracted me, like he always had, and once I realised what he had said, I recoiled.

"You don't have to be writing songs about some girl you had a fling with to have expression," I jeered, "I have the voice that I always had and always wanted." I scowled, at this person who was hurting me.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that, is having a voice really writing up contracts?" He retorted.

"Who even cares Brad, we both succeeded in our line of work, so let's leave it at that."

"You think some high paying job, at some pretentious firm is success?" He questioned, raising his eyebrows. I couldn't understand where this was coming from, who this person was biting my head off, even after I apologised.

"I take it back, you haven't succeed at all, because you're an asshole with asshole band mates."

"Oh" He cocked his head.

"So your band fighting and suing each other is the epitome of success is it?"

"How did?"

"I'm his friggen lawyer, Brad, that's how I know. By doing my bloody job!"

Brad clenched his jaw and I could see the anger in his eyes. He stood as much as he could in the small tree house, and shuffled to the opening, "Lawyer or not, I wished that you hadn't have signed over 'High Hopes' to me. I feel guilty every time I sing it, it feels like I accepted you quitting music. Even though I have the song, I feel like I lost it, when I lost you."

I'd climbed down a half hour after Brad had disappeared into the dark, I had to clear my thoughts. Which was hard with what had been said. Though I recoiled from what Brad had said, I knew there was some truth to it all. I had loved music but my life wasn't here anymore, it was in New York, it was at my firm. I slipped in the window of my bedroom and hopped into my bed without changing out of my clothes. I was exhausted but at the same time I was barely able to sleep. His words were on repeat in my brain and I couldn't seem to get this picture out of my brain from before.

6 years earlier

I sat quietly by the bonfire my notebook laying in my lap. I scrawled some words down that could possibly rhyme with fire. It had been nearing the end of the summer and it was our time to go out with a bang. I heard him before I saw him; his laugh was hard to miss. "Bradley, don't even try to scare me."

He laughed, and buried his face in my hair, "I wasn't trying to scare you."

And before I knew it his hands had slipped through my hair and he had stolen my notebook from behind me. I squealed and jumped up "Bradley Will Simpson, you give that back to me or else."

He grinned and took off running towards a group of our friends, I ran after him a wild grin on my own face. While he was short he was still fast, I stopped and turned around in circles trying to figure out where he had gone. I spotted a shadow coming out from behind the trees and then an arm snaked around my waist, " You know Addie you ought to show this to people," Brad waved my notebook in front of me, "It really is beautiful."

"Thank you," I sighed as he passed my book back, and I fell into him feeling lighter than ever. It seemed his approval had taken a burden off my back. He looked down at me his brown eyes reflected the glow of the fire, he kissed my forehead and wrapped his arms around me. "I love you, Bear" I mumbled into his chest.

"I love you too, Addie, so so much"

My laptop beeped, pulling me from the memory, and I gave up trying to sleep and checked the email.

Adelaide

After consultation with Mr Evans, via email, we have come to the decision that you will meet with him tomorrow, at say 9am, at the Café in Birmingham you talked about. He says he knows it and that he is in town staying with a band mate after his recent tour. From further deliberation we have realised that this will take much more effort on your part, and so we have divided your other work up with the firm and you will solely focus on this case. It is such a miracle that you are back in England, and can communicate face to face with your client.

We all appreciate you offering your time even on your time off, a promotion is definitely on the cards.

Also Mr Evans will be bringing along another band mate as support in his time of trial.

Marisha

I closed my eyes and lent my head into my hands, I had six hours before I was meeting with Mr Evans and I couldn't bear to think about who his other band mate could be. I only hoped it was the fourth member, not the curly haired, brown eyed, boy I had a brutally honest 'chat' with earlier and the one I used to love.