Breathe In (gxg)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The day of the final custody hearing.

For the umpteenth time that morning, Avery watched Marilyn fiddle with the scarf around her neck. She arranged then rearranged the piece of garment more times than either of them had count. She was so anxious that it was hard to ignore, and it left the girl pitying her

All Avery wanted to do was soothe the woman's worries, make it all go away but nothing she did in the last couple of days seemed to work. But she knew the woman tried her best to be happy, she did.

The thought of the entire custody battle left her depressed but the girl knew Marilyn had no reason to be. She was a good mother and everyone knew it. She was going to get her baby just as long as she believed she would.

"How many times will you arrange and rearrange your scarf?" Avery asked after tiring of the woman's anxiety getting the better of her.

"Until this day is over for sure,"

"Everything's going to be fine Marilyn, I promise so there's no need to worry."

"If only it was as easy as that." Said the woman and her grouchy words left Avery no choice but to go over and stand next to her. She wrapped her arms around Marilyn's waist from behind, resting her chin on her shoulders. She inhaled her elegant scent, sighing at the aroma of mint and vanilla.

Marilyn caressed the girl's arm while slowly turning around. Ever so gently she cupped her face and studied it.

"Say it to me again." She requested, her eyes sparkling with so many emotions.

"Everything's going to be fi-"

"No, not that. What you whispered in my ear last night as we cuddled in the other's arms. I want you to say it again." Marilyn whispered and Avery's heart swelled at the memory.

Last night was probably one of the best nights of her life (she'd had plenty of amazing nights with Marilyn, but last night was outstanding.)
Instead of exhausting their bodies as usual, they spent the night cuddled up together by the fireplace, talking about everything while drinking wine and it was beautiful. In the height of all that, Avery made it her duty to whisper an I love you in her ear, which Marilyn happily reciprocated.

It was the first time either of them said those words out loud. For Avery, it was her first time saying it to someone who she considered a significant other. For Marilyn, it had been months and if it weren't for her fling with Belle it would've been years as she and john stopped saying it to each other for years.

Leaning her face closer too the woman's, Avery placed a gentle kiss onto her lips before saying,
"I love you."

Marilyn engulfed my lips with a passionate kiss while bracing me up against the wardrobe.
Their sentiment moment lasted a few seconds.

"I love you too sweetheart," the woman mumbled replied breaking their lips apart.

They could've leaned against one another that like that for the rest of the day, but they couldn't.

Avery started to giggle when Marilyn began to trail light kisses all along my face and neck, pulling away from her slowly to find that she had a wide grinned pressed across her lips.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, we both need to hurry up and leave, I don't wanna be late."

"And we won't," Avery reassured fixing her scarf hoping that might be the last either one of them did it.

×

A few people sparsely filled in the courtroom sat in silence a few minutes well into the hour waiting for John and his lawyer to show. The judge was furious and so was Marilyn and her lawyer. Everyone had somewhere to be and wanted the ruling to be passed immediately but the big bad wolf and his lawyer held them all back.

If the odds were in favour of John before, his tardiness to court had changed that, and low-key Avery was more than happy to see it.
If it meant that her love could be happy in the end, she prayed that John would arrive much, much later. Not that she was cruel but it was about a matter of needed equity. The one that was the earliest to a custody hearing, the final custody hearing deserved the child in her opinion and not only because Marilyn was early today, but entirely.

As the girl debated within her head, a creaking filled the room and she along with everyone else turned in time to see two police officers approaching the judge.

They whispered something into her ear and Avery realized her facial expression had changed to something of shock and horror.

"Councilman please approach." The judge said to Paul and the girl watched with eagerness as the man-made his way over too her.
At that point, Marilyn turned to her and she saw a glint of fear in the woman's eyes but it was fleeting and she turned away just as quickly.

Whatever it was that the judge said to Paul, his face also contorts drastically and as he walked back over to his client, Avery's my heart started to break.

"Is my son alright?" Marilyn caught on, on the shock that the man exuded.

She quickly flew out of her seat, causing Avery to follow suit behind in the benches with the other people there.

Marilyn stood hyperventilating, her eyes bringing bright red like a madwoman.

"Is my son alright?" She shouted at the cops, but they said nothing. She then looked at Paul who pulls her back into her seat, mumbling something to her.

"What's wrong?" Avery asked when Marilyn briskly walked over to her. The tears in her eyes were real, making her already sparkling green eyes even more lustrous.

"It's John. They said that he's dead. He was shot by Belle a few minutes ago," She said and Avery's mind blanked out at the last set of words.