Page 107 of Impending Consent

"I did. It was necessary. We wanted different futures."

“I’m career driven too.”

“You are but would you make that kind of decision with me as an afterthought or would we talk that shit out?”

She smiled. “Talk it out.”

I nodded in confirmation. They were not the same.

She was quiet for a long moment. "And what future do you want now?"

"I want whatever future you're in. I want us to build something together. Not your life and my life running parallel but our lives so fucking blurred that there’s no me without you and you without me. I want mornings with coffee and evenings by the fire pit and arguments about whose turn it is to do laundry. I want the mundane shit that most people don’t even consider worthy of a conversation. I want all that but only with you."

She lifted onto her elbow and kissed me. It was timid then quickly deepened into something more urgent, more needy.

"I love you.” It was the first time she'd said it and I was already addicted.

"Say that again," I murmured, needing to be sure.

She smiled and let her hands frame my face. "I love you, Rival Hassan."

"I love you too. This shit can’t be healthy."

"Your apology is accepted, by the way," I said after a while, unable to resist teasing her a little.

"I noticed you didn't acknowledge it earlier. You know that was huge for me, right? Sailor Addison doesn't apologize."

"I know," I confirmed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "That's how I knew you meant it."

She was quiet for a moment. "I'm still scared sometimes of how much I feel for you, of how quickly everything changed."

"You don’t have to be scared, Sail. I promise I got you. If you don’t trust a damn thing in life, trust that, always."

Chapter 27

Sailor

"And can you explain to the court what happened when you informed your landlord about the water damage, Ms. Thompson?"

Ayana Thompson shifted in her seat with her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Her clothes were simple, but immaculate, and regardless of being nervous she held herself with dignity.

"I called him the same day it started. That was January twelfth. The bathroom ceiling was leaking and there was water all over the floor. He said he would send someone, but nobody came."

I nodded and glanced at Landry before I continued.

"And then what happened?"

"I called again the next day and the day after that. The water was starting to soak into the hallway carpet and it smelled horribly. I have a three year old son and I was worried about mold. I called him every day for two weeks."

I nodded and moved across the courtroom floor. Judge Hernandez was known for her no-nonsense approach which was why I tailored my strategy to be straightforward and factual with just enough emotional appeal to humanize Ayana.

"Did Mr. Landry eventually send someone to fix the leak?"

"A handyman came on February third, looked at it and said he needed to open up the ceiling to find the source. He put a bucket under it and said he'd be back the next day but also laughed and said good luck getting Landry to fix it. He didn’t spend that kind of money on repairs."

"Did he return?"

"No, ma'am."

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