19-Where are you going ?

Ethan's point of view

I run my fingers through my hair to bring it back again, sighing as I walk into the house and give the door a little push to let it close by itself, then take a quick glance at the sofa in front of the television.

I raise a corner of my mouth when I realize I'm not alone and I catch Meredith staring at me from afar, with a spoon near her mouth.

I force a smile in greeting, as she remains perplexed, watching me impaled as I approach her.

"What work do you do?" - I ask her, letting out a little laugh when I take a seat next to her, settling on the sofa.

"What?" - she asks shyly, passing her eyes from my lips to my eyes several times:

"I always find you at home." - I explain, running my tongue between my lips to make her uncomfortable, in fact she begins to stammer as usual, forcing me to broaden my smile:

"I work in a restaurant." - I reach out a hand in her direction before she finishes, while she dilates her pupils at my gesture, but I don't stop and I bring a lock of hair behind her ear, taking advantage of the situation to fill her with questions:

"Is your friend here?" - I pretend not to be interested in the answer, as I slowly bring my head to her face:

"She ... she went shopping." - her lips are starting to tremble and I don't know whether to smile at her reaction or at the fact that she is about to tell me everything I can ask her.

With the tip of my index finger I touch the lobe of her ear, noticing that her breathing accelerates:

"How does she know Jack?" - I ask in a low tone, even if it was not quite what I had to ask.

I need to know about her family. Of her father.

I don't care about the story between her and that fucking cocaine addict, so I curse mentally, but at the same time I wait for Meredith's response impatiently, so much that I put a hand on her knee when it seems to me that she begins to hesitate:

"They were together." - I nod to her words, clutching Meredith's knee at the memory of those two kissing in front of me the other night, but at my gesture she moans in surprise, and then continues with her eyes closed:

«And they would have married ... »- she says in a strangled voice, making me jerk my head up in her direction when I realize what comes out of her mouth.

Valerie ?!

Valerie and Jack were going to ... get married ?!

With my free hand I bring my fingers through the messy locks again, this time more frustrated than before entering the house:

"Why didn't they get married?" - my tone is colder than I would have liked, but I try to make up for it, gently placing my mouth on her flushed cheek and dangerously approaching her thin lips, which move as soon as I do to distract her and kiss them:

"Valerie?"

***

Valerie's pov

"In agreement with my colleagues and with direct testimonies ..." - my heart rises in my throat even though I am sure of what follows:

"I declare Jack McGee innocent." - I close my eyes at the conclusion of the judge, while Jack next to me laughs as soon as the sound of the hammer spreads in the courtroom.

The idea of helping a culprit get away makes me nauseous, although I try to hide it by standing up and turning my back on Jack, but I roll my eyes when I hear his footsteps behind me:

"Where are you going?" - I hear him calling me, heedless of people around us, who turn towards us, but I don't stop until I get out of that stuffy room.

I feel awful. Dirty.

I never cared about being a lawyer for money and the only thing that kept me attached to this job was the idea of helping people who deserve it, not people like Jack.

"Go away." - I say between my teeth, without deigning him of a glance as I hurry to my car, even risking falling down the stairs to get away from him, but he pretends not to hear me and supports me with his long legs, surrounding my back with an arm to draw me towards his body, to which I react by pulling an elbow that leads him to move away.

The smile still sticks to his lips, but as soon as we're out of court I can't help it:

"Stop it!" - I push him slightly, placing the palm of the hand on his arm, but he does not move an inch, on the contrary, my gesture pushes him to stand in front of me and prevent me from walking:

"What's wrong ? Are you in a hurry to go back to the blondie? »- he raises his chin in defiance, but he is so amused that I don't know whether to punch him too or not.

I treated Ethan badly because I knew he would never hurt me back, but I'm not sure about Jack, so I try to control myself:

"It's none of your business!" - I slap his hand as soon as he starts to caress my face:

"I saved your ass, now disappear!" - I continue proud of myself, even if I know him enough to say that Jack will not leave me at all, as if he hadn't abandoned me in the past.

I can see it in his eyes that he now has another reason to be close to me.

He respected me for years without touching me and just kissing me softly, which surprised me as I knew his past enough to say he wasn't a good guy, but then he started getting bored until I told him the real reason why I didn't want to lose my virginity.

"Not so fast." - he says grabbing my elbow between his fingers when I go to overtake him and reach my car, which makes me shiver and he notices it, so his smile widens before he starts talking again :

"You forget that I know things about you ..." - he begins to whisper like a psychopath, approaching my face to make me listen to him better, while he looks around theatrically:

"... that the others don't know. " - he raises his chin again, making me take on a grimace of annoyance, but I don't wait long before reacting, trying to convey to him all the harm he has done to me in recent years:

"It was you who abandoned me, Jack." - I point my index finger at him, speaking with difficulty because of the lump that prevents me from expressing myself and swallowing.

His expression becomes serious for the first time since he decided to show up again, so I take advantage of it, holding back my tears and forcing myself to look him straight in the eye:

«You have already made me suffer enough.» - I whisper in a faint voice, analyzing his bewildered expression before starting to walk past him.

I breathe a sigh of relief when I realize that he's letting me go without following me, but I hurry to lock myself in my car before the tears run down my cheeks because of him, even if the ringing of the phone helps to distract me, so I I hasten to take a deep breath to open the call.

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