Page 8 of Starstruck
As an officer drags Logan away, Dylan pushes me into the aisle. He pulls me out of the courtroom with Emma, Trevor, and a sobbing Paige in tow. It’s probably for the best—the last thing anyone needs right now is for me to end up on the news for making a scene in court, of all places.
The courtroom door slams shut behind us, and I keep moving through the lobby toward the late-January air.
“Lennon!” Dylan yells after me, but I keep moving. I’m on the verge of a panic attack I desperately don’t want witnesses for.
“I’m fine, Dylan,” I call back as I approach the front doors. “I’ll see you later.”
Pushing them open, I appreciate the way the negative-twenty-degree air instantly cools every inch of my body. I wrap my peacoat around me and tie it shut before heading down the street in search of something to clear my mind of this horrible day.
[3 ]
ANYWHERE BUT HERE
BAXTER
“UNSATISFIED” BY NINE BLACK ALPS
The cold winter air blasts me as I throw open the door to the courthouse, storming down the front stairs.
I don’t even have words for what a shitshow that hearing was. It was the last thing I fucking expected when I walked in there this morning.
The moment I saw the face of the man responsible for killing Audrey and Brennan, I thought I was going to be sick. Then he said the wordsnot guilty, and I’m certain I looked like I’d seen a ghost.
If I’m being honest with myself, I’m still not entirely sure I didn’t.
Seeing the look on that man’s face today transported me right back to when I was twenty-one years old—the last time I had to sit in a courtroom for a drunk driving case.
Who knew that almost ten years later, I’d be living the worst day of my life all over again?
Sure as hell not me.
I fist one hand, pulling a cigarette out of my pocket with the other as I make my way down the street. I have no clue where I’m headed; all I know is I do not want to be alone with my thoughts right now. I need to clear my mind of the disaster this day has been—preferably with the help of a drink or a woman.
Both, if I’m lucky.
I meander down the sidewalk, bringing the cigarette to my lips. I let the smoke burn my throat before exhaling, keeping my eyes peeled for a bar. I pull my phone out of my pocket, checking the group chat with Colt and Levi, my best friends and musicians, as I walk.
Colt
How’s the trial going?
Levi
Have you punched anyone yet?
I huff a laugh. I can always count on Levi for some comic relief, even when all I want to do is punch something. Or someone.
Me
Don’t even get me fucking started. It took everything in me not to punch him. I left early. You guys will never guess who the defendant was.
Levi replies instantly.
Levi
Wait, you know them?
I used to.
