Trust Me

Chapter 9

Olivia

Sucking in a deep breath I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. My brunette hair was curled loosely and I wore a full face of makeup, something I rarely ever did. The women's suit that I had on looked really nice and the light grey color of it complimented me well, but it was also extremely uncomfortable and stiff. Ultimately, it left me feeling completely off, but the entire day felt off and made my stomach turn nervously.

I wished I could just skip over this part...this trial, be able to blink and wake up in a time and place where everything was normal and happy again. Or even better, go back in time and avoid ever even meeting Daniel. Now that would be ideal.

My hands rested against the black granite of the sink helping to support me as I stood on the shiny tile. The black heels I wore, although very modest in height, made me feel as if I would fall over at any moment. Maybe it was just the nerves making me feel so woozy.

"Liv?" Cassie whispered, peeking in from the other side of the door.

I couldn't even bring myself to look at her or anywhere else but at myself in that mirror. I felt like I would panic if I looked her or anyone else in the eyes. I knew I would lose every bit of calm that I had worked so hard to muster up.

When I didn't answer, Cassie sighed and came over beside me. She wrapped her arms supportively around me and pulled me into a hug, nearly causing me to break down. She noticed me getting teary eyes and pulled away to grab tissue. She began to dabe at my eyes gently before holding my face in her warm hands.

"Babes you have to be strong." She asserted, shaking her head. "No more crying, he doesn't deserve your tears, he's taken too many already."

"I'm just so scared." I cried out, feeling myself fall apart. "What are they going to say Cassie?...the lawyer is saying it could get really ugly and I don't know what I'm going to do."

The mere thought of the things that they'd possibly say about me to sabotage my image in court had been racing through my head all night. My lawyer had been telling me to prepare for that but how the hell do I prepare for that?

"And it might get ugly Olivia." Cassie shrugged, rubbing my back. "But you have to do it, you can't let him get away with what he did to you." She stated shaking her head. "You just can't do that to yourself and to everyone who fucking loves you." She stressed.

I knew she was right. I didn't want him to get away with his wrong doings but I also never wanted to see him again. I didn't want to have to go into that courtroom in front of a bunch of strangers and share my story. I didn't want to be challenged by his lawyers and belittled in his favor like I knew could happen. But most of all I didn't want to face him. I didn't want to see his face ever again but I had to.

"I know." I whispered, biting down on my lip. "I just hope I'm strong enough to handle it, because right now I don't think I am."

"You are." Cassie assured me with a small smile. "So stop crying babe, you're stronger than you think." She promised, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze. "Let's go okay, your parents are already at the courthouse waiting."

"Okay." I whispered, wiping my tears away with my free hand.

As we were headed out the door Cassie paused for a moment before bending a bit to get a better look at whatever she saw outside. My brows pulled together in confusion as to why she had stopped so suddenly.

"What's this?" She asked.

I peeked over her shoulder to see what was outside of our apartment door and my eyes widened in surprise.