Genevieve, and have a future. To be happy.
I wanted to be happy.
"I want to be happy," I whispered, unsure why I was answering him.
Maybe it was the way he asked. Maybe lawyers just have a knack for getting you to open up.
Or maybe it was just him.
"Good," he said, as though I'd accomplished a miraculous thing. "How do you envisage being happy?"
What a question. I had no idea how to be happy. Other than lose myself in the moment, in the body of the man I was currently with. But that was a false happiness, wasn't it? Because afterwards I'd feel... empty, disappointed, sad.
"I don't know," I murmured.
"Yes you do," he pushed, and I crossed my arms over my chest and offered him a glare. He laughed, the bastard. "Do you think I haven't seen what's been happening? What you've been doing?" he admitted, voice soft and careful now.
"What do you mean?" I asked, dreading the answer, but strangely being drawn to it. What had Drew Kline observed?
"You're cleaning house. Wiping the slate clear. Starting over. Someone only does that if they're unhappy with what they've got, who they are. If they're trying to find a new path. But there's a danger," he whispered, making me lean forward to catch his next words. Or maybe I was just mesmerised by his voice, or the story he was about to tell. The secret to all my problems.
Come on, Drew. Save me.
I held my breath. Partly because of the tension, mainly because I'd just realised I wanted his help.
"You lose yourself completely," he continued, in that same soft, enchanting voice. "You get rid of some of the good along with the bad."
He suddenly moved the last of the distance between us, standing over me for a split second and then lowering himself to his knees in front of mine.
My breath rushed out of me in one quick push.
"There are parts of you that are miraculous, Kelly Quayle. Parts of you that truly shine. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I saw it. A unique and dazzling ability to live life." He said 'live' like it meant more than the word actually should. "You've gotten a little lost along the way, mistaken some of that intensity you inherently have for something entirely else. And now you're floundering. Decided it all needs to go. But it would be a regrettable shame if I let that happen. If I let you disappear along with the rest. Just because your life needs a clean up, doesn't mean that you have to forget who you are. You're irrepressible. Unquenchable. A take no prisoners, liver of life."
Take no prisoners . Isn't that what Gen had also said?
"You do know how to be happy," he added, his hands somehow massaging the sides of my legs on the couch. I hadn't realised he'd gotten that close. I'd been blind-sided by all of his words. "You just don't know how to do it in a safe and secure way."
He paused, I got the impression it was on purpose, to lend weight to his next words.
"I can show you how, while keeping you protected from harm. Help you find yourself, find that happiness, and get out of this with some of that spectacular I see, still inside."
Holy fuck. He was good at this, wasn't he? He must really wow them in court.
"Now phone your last man," he said, steadily, almost challengingly, "and take the first step on your new path, knowing I'll keep you safe throughout."
I just stared at him. He stared back. Not a single word passed between us, but I swear I had never felt more connected to someone before in my life.
I'd always thought Drew had seen inside of me, seen past the fluff and sparkles, seen a little of what was inside. I had never, in a million different imaginings, considered he'd seen all of that.
Was any of it true? Gen had asked me to be careful of what I culled. She'd inferred there was good in me, even though right now I felt like it was all black. And now Drew, almost the same words, in fact the 'take no prisoners' were the very same words Gen had used. There was something about me they liked, despite the lifestyle I'd chosen to live. Something
I wanted to be happy.
"I want to be happy," I whispered, unsure why I was answering him.
Maybe it was the way he asked. Maybe lawyers just have a knack for getting you to open up.
Or maybe it was just him.
"Good," he said, as though I'd accomplished a miraculous thing. "How do you envisage being happy?"
What a question. I had no idea how to be happy. Other than lose myself in the moment, in the body of the man I was currently with. But that was a false happiness, wasn't it? Because afterwards I'd feel... empty, disappointed, sad.
"I don't know," I murmured.
"Yes you do," he pushed, and I crossed my arms over my chest and offered him a glare. He laughed, the bastard. "Do you think I haven't seen what's been happening? What you've been doing?" he admitted, voice soft and careful now.
"What do you mean?" I asked, dreading the answer, but strangely being drawn to it. What had Drew Kline observed?
"You're cleaning house. Wiping the slate clear. Starting over. Someone only does that if they're unhappy with what they've got, who they are. If they're trying to find a new path. But there's a danger," he whispered, making me lean forward to catch his next words. Or maybe I was just mesmerised by his voice, or the story he was about to tell. The secret to all my problems.
Come on, Drew. Save me.
I held my breath. Partly because of the tension, mainly because I'd just realised I wanted his help.
"You lose yourself completely," he continued, in that same soft, enchanting voice. "You get rid of some of the good along with the bad."
He suddenly moved the last of the distance between us, standing over me for a split second and then lowering himself to his knees in front of mine.
My breath rushed out of me in one quick push.
"There are parts of you that are miraculous, Kelly Quayle. Parts of you that truly shine. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I saw it. A unique and dazzling ability to live life." He said 'live' like it meant more than the word actually should. "You've gotten a little lost along the way, mistaken some of that intensity you inherently have for something entirely else. And now you're floundering. Decided it all needs to go. But it would be a regrettable shame if I let that happen. If I let you disappear along with the rest. Just because your life needs a clean up, doesn't mean that you have to forget who you are. You're irrepressible. Unquenchable. A take no prisoners, liver of life."
Take no prisoners . Isn't that what Gen had also said?
"You do know how to be happy," he added, his hands somehow massaging the sides of my legs on the couch. I hadn't realised he'd gotten that close. I'd been blind-sided by all of his words. "You just don't know how to do it in a safe and secure way."
He paused, I got the impression it was on purpose, to lend weight to his next words.
"I can show you how, while keeping you protected from harm. Help you find yourself, find that happiness, and get out of this with some of that spectacular I see, still inside."
Holy fuck. He was good at this, wasn't he? He must really wow them in court.
"Now phone your last man," he said, steadily, almost challengingly, "and take the first step on your new path, knowing I'll keep you safe throughout."
I just stared at him. He stared back. Not a single word passed between us, but I swear I had never felt more connected to someone before in my life.
I'd always thought Drew had seen inside of me, seen past the fluff and sparkles, seen a little of what was inside. I had never, in a million different imaginings, considered he'd seen all of that.
Was any of it true? Gen had asked me to be careful of what I culled. She'd inferred there was good in me, even though right now I felt like it was all black. And now Drew, almost the same words, in fact the 'take no prisoners' were the very same words Gen had used. There was something about me they liked, despite the lifestyle I'd chosen to live. Something
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