The Lions Den

Chapter Thirty: When the Lioness Exposes Her Wounds

(And with this chapter we reach the the peak of the roller-coaster: Welcome to the final 10 chapters of the Lions Den. Thank you for making this possible. Simply, thank you. From the bottom of my heart. -T)

Kashera

Kashera

I was waiting quietly in the reception area of Marcus' physical therapist office on a somewhat gloomy afternoon. Despite the down whether, I was relaxed and patient as the end of Marcus' physical therapy neared. Since it was my first full day back, I volunteered to take care of getting him around today instead of my mom. She disagreed with it at first, but eventually she gave in seeing my genuine want to do it versus my normalized strenuous need.

Everyone I'd talked to so far had made note of my happy demeanor, and to be transparent it had taken some getting used to. I knew without a doubt that prior to Matteo's release I was not happy. I was simply going through the motions. If I had the capacity I would smile, and on the rare days few and far between I would laugh. My naive tendencies went away, but so did a good amount of my natural joy because I threw the weight of everybody onto myself more so than I could healthily balance. It was an adjustment that hurt like hell, but it was the only way for me to not feel drowned in the fear of the unknown.

Since the trip to Venice I'd been able to find balance, and that truthfully was all that I needed. Sure I was only a day back into my normal, but I could still feel the shift in me. I didn't need to be on max joy from the start of my day to the finish. Not only was that virtually unrealistic, but it also just wasn't me. What was me was being able to be in good spirits more so than not, and once I realized that I could do that while still maintaining this newfound strength and power I had I was better than ever. Most importantly I was indeed happy. How could I not be now that things were finally falling into place?

The most consuming case of my life was over and done. I had sent my reputation as a lawyer into the stratosphere with the outcome, and so many firms and reporters wanted to talk to little ole me. I was flattered, but also immensely humbled in knowing that my hard work to get justice for someone I loved had shed light on injustices occurring to many other people in this crazy world we lived in. I appreciated being able to sit back and take it in as much or as little as I pleased.

In addition to that, my family's lives were coming together. A dinner was in the works for both my family and Matteo's as we figured it would be best for them to finally sit down for something other than drama. We knew they'd like each other though, so we weren't worried. That was also because we knew my father wouldn't even bother trying to make an appearance (not that I was losing any sleep over that).

Then I had Matteo back, and that in and of itself was enough to throw my own party over. The first few days we were in Venice were interesting for my poorly strained heart and confused mind. I was shaken up still about what happened after the trial with James Adams. I couldn't sleep because I tossed with nightmares of different scenarios of how that encounter could've played out. I felt the tremble of the gunshot vibrate through me when I was alone or drowning under covers.