All Chapters of Lavender: A strong woman: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

After half an hour, James comes to sit down next to me and smiles at me. “You’re gonna owe me for this for the rest of your life. I haven’t yet decided how, but we’ll start by you having to clean my house one every two weeks.”I smile back at him. “See, I knew we’d be friends.”“Bullshit.” He responds and sighs. “They’re very close to making a decision, and it’s a good one. I think we’re gonna be called back in very soon.”He’s right. Not ten minutes later, jury declares that they’ve come to a decision and we’re escorted back to the courtroom. Once everyone’s sitting down, the judge looks at the jury. “Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict?”“Yes, your honour, we have. The members of this jury find the defendant not guilty.”I’ve never felt lighter in my life and an enormous smile breaks out on my face.“The defendant is found not guilty. This court is adjourned.” She says and Jim’s family, especially my mother-in-law, stands up and start to scream one over another. The case

I laugh when I cut off the first strand of hair, in the front of my head, immediately feeling lighter, so I swiftly cut the rest of it off as well. The reflection in the mirror is unfamiliar to me, a happier version of Lavender.Throwing the braids in the trash, I jump in the shower and clean my skin and hair thoroughly. Just 24 hours ago, I thought my life was over. Now, I wanna do this right.I have difficulty falling asleep that night, my head filled with so many different thoughts, so when I wake up in the morning, I’m tired, but planning to continue on with my journey. I cross the border soon without any problems, then think about where to next.Briefly, I consider making my way to the unfamiliar east coast, but then decide I want to see the ocean so I steer to the right until I can see the vast sea before me. It’s a little scary, being alone, but I don’t mind it.Deciding that this journey is something I should keep a record of, I drive up to a small store and buy a diary to wri

She laughs and stands up. “I can’t believe Eli got married before you. You want me to make you another cup of tea?”“No, it’s fine. I’ll better get going.” I stand up, too, then look around. “You said the money is tight, huh?”She shrugs. “We get by.”“I, uh, stumbled across some money. I could help out.” It makes sense. Everyone eventually gives back to their family. I never did, because I didn’t have any family (or money), but in a way, I guess this is mine. “Get the kids some toys or something.”“You don’t need to.” She declines. “But if it wouldn’t hurt you, the kids would always be happy to get some new toys.”“Of course.” I remember how much I wanted one just for myself when I was little.Margaret accompanies me to the door and in the park, I see some kids playing in the ground and I smile. I have a chance to be the person I needed when I was small.Maybe I don’t want to be a chef. Maybe I could be… Something bigger.“I’ll get to you in a few days.” I promise and she nods, happy

He drives off the parking space so fast I think we might fly out into the air, and speeds towards his house. I giggle and inch it up even more.“You’ll be the death of me, Lavender.” He rasps.“Good.” I say and place my palm over his budge, making him hiss and speed up. “You’re gonna get a ticket.”“If I do, you’ll pay for it because it’ll be your fault.”I squeeze gently as a warning not to play with me and a smirk grows on his face. “Savage woman.”As soon as he parks the car, he lifts me onto his lap and reconnects our lips, making me moan into his mouth. Somehow, he manages to stand up and exit the car with me in his arms and then he carries me to the door. “You know. This would be easier if you put me down.”“I haven’t held you in months. I’m not putting you down for the rest of the week, Lavender.”I never liked my name, but good God, when he says it, it’s the most beautiful word that ever existed. I laugh, because if I don’t, I’ll cry. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed him

“Bite me.”“Let me guess. This didn’t happen overnight.” He motions with his finger between us and I shrug. “You’ll never know.” I wink. I’m lying. He’s gonna know every detail, and he knows it.James slowly looks at us, his expression unreadable. The tables have turned on him. If I was angry for him being with Eli, now he gets to know how I felt. He purses his lips and sighs, but doesn’t say anything. I guess that’s better than him freaking out.“Come.” Atlas motions and a fuzzy feeling spreads in my stomach when he smiles down at me. He’s wearing his contacts, and however much I prefer his mismatched eyes, I guess I also like the fact that I’m one of the few people who gets to see them. Atlas, in his jogging pants and with his natural eye colours, just for me to cuddle with, is all I could ever have asked for. A literal dream come true.I hold onto his arm as we walk into the reception, paying attention to both the scenery and every woman who lays her eyes on him. “Stop it.” He whis