Christian slowly eased onto the bench right outside the courtroom doors. His bottom was screaming for him to find somewhere soft to sit, but there were no cushions in sight. He let out a small sigh as he allowed his head to lean back and touch the cool wall behind him.
For weeks, the case had raged on. The matter was thought to be resolved in a few short days, but unexpected recesses had drawn out the case mercilessly, causing heavy emotional stress upon Christian. Easing the pain, however, had been Becca. Every day she had made a point to show up in the courtroom to sit by Christian and offer him words of comfort. He smiled faintly at the thought. Throughout it all, Becca had never left his side.
Her devotion to their friendship caused Christian to wonder if there were something more behind it. Could he think of Becca in That Way? For quite a while, they had been just friends, but the last few weeks in the courtroom caused Christian to wonder if there could be something else there. Becca's innocence and loyalty had immediately attracted Christian, but he had convinced himself that Becca was just a friend. He didn't need any more problems in his life, and thus he had steered away from a relationship.
Now, however, he was beginning to see that a relationship with Becca might not be so bad after all. His biggest concern was that all of his family problems would drive a wedge between them, but Christian now saw that it was only drawing them closer. But how would he bring up the subject to Becca? He shook the thought away and sat up straight. He'd discuss the matter with Shannon later.
"Christian! Hey, Christian!" Shannon called out to her friend as she ran into the courthouse.
Christian sprang to his feet. "Hey, Shannon! I was just thinking about you."
"Uh oh. What did I do this time?" Shannon smiled, giving Christian a hug. "I promise that I did not take your 'N Sync CD."
Christian gave Shannon a playful push, a bright smile instantly appearing on his face. "Yeah, sure. So how's it going? What's the latest back at school?"
"Oh my God, Christian. You won't believe what happened," Shannon's bright mood immediately darkened into solemnness.
Christian's brow arched. "What?"
"Kim Anderson's been in the hospital for several months..."
"Right."
"Well, last night she...she died, Chris. Kim's dead."
A hand flew to Christian's mouth. His eyes widened in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me. Kim died?"
"Yeah, and Trace's taking it pretty hard. Chloe told me earlier today. She told me to tell you that we're thinking of setting up a memorial for Kim so that people can give their condolensces."
"Isn't that the family's job?"
Shannon scoffed and folded her arms in front of her. "You know Kim's family. They don't give a d-"
"Shannon..." Christian interrupted.
"-arn about Kim, even in death," Shannon continued. "In fact, Chloe said that they ran into Barrett, Kim's older brother, who sat up there and tried to defend his worthless family to them. It's absolutely mind-boggling how crude the rest of her family is. How did Kim turn out to be such a gem?"
"I don't know. First your addiction, then Randall, then this court stuff, and now Kim? The next thing you know we'll have terrorist threats at our school. Shannon, I'm really scared. I mean, with all of this bad stuff happening, who's to say that it won't get worse and worse? Who's to say that it's not going to destroy all of our lives?"
