Page 73 of Dirty Roulette
Chapter fifty-three
Payton
It’s the middle of February as I fiddle with the coffee cup sleeve.
The tip of my tongue is numb and tingles from sipping it too early.
Charlie sits across from me nursing on her latte, a mist of steam rises from her cup.
The hiss and the grinding of the espresso machine fills the coffee shop.
We sit in pure silence and haven’t spoken much since leaving the courthouse after Brody’s sentencing.
The television mounted on the wall is stuck on the news station. The anchors have nothing better to do than showcase police escorting Brody in his orange jumpsuit from the courthouse to their vehicles.
Brody got a slap on the wrist for hazing, and girls swoon over him online through threads and reels.
The comments are nauseating as women beg to be hazed by him.
I don’t understand people. What’s worse is that I set my expectations too high, thinking he would be sitting behind bars a lot longer.
But Brody only gets to rot in prison for a year with the possibility of parole for his rape charge.
The fine was pocket change for his dad and if Brody’s extra good and collects enough gold stars he’ll be out sooner.
The revenge porn website he hosted wasn’t even allowed in court.
Why am I not surprised they run the justice system like a kindergarten classroom.
Brittni on the other had received five years for the attempted murder on Mr. Clorox, or I guess I should say Patrick since he did sort of get stabbed helping take Brody down.
Then it was simply two counts of aggravated assault when it came to Charlie and I.
They used the time she already served as punishment for most of it.
It was a double edged sword piercing my heart hearing the verdict.
The second it went south Charlie seemed out of it, just disassociating all together as the judge addressed the courtroom.
All of us went onto the podium and testified against Brittni.
They ripped Ryder apart, accusing him of rape and being abusive towards her.
Lawyers went all out trying to convince the courtroom he cheated like they were somehow a married couple.
He hurled into a trash can from the stress of some of their questions.
They used Charlie’s memory loss as their defense to help Brittni.
It made it a million times worse that they would persistently ask her what happened the night of the concert.
She couldn’t remember anything. Since she couldn’t recount the events, the defense lawyers babbled on that anyone could have attacked her – and Brody’s trial outcome wasn’t allowed before the jury either.
I divert my attention away from the television screen, and back to my creamy coffee and take a sip. It’s sweet and riddled with caramel and whipped cream.
“Noah was offered a record deal,” Charlie breaks the silence and plays with the sugar packets neatly packed in a small wooden container.
“Really?” I ask and pull off the white plastic lid and a puff of heat from the coffee hits my face.
“Yeah, his music exploded after that performance at the game. They’ve hit over a million subscribers.
” I stare at the jagged pink scar on her forehead from where she was hit in the head with Brittni’s crowbar.
The photographs from the court hearings flicker into my brain and vanish as I shake my head.
“They’re going on tour after graduation. The concerts were sold out within a day.” Charlie pushes strands of her hair behind her ears. I’m a bit mad she cut it to her shoulders. The long hair she grew out for years was just chopped right off.
I run both hands over my knees, wiping off the sweat building. “That’s amazing.” The air feels thin as I take a sip letting the warmth of the coffee fill my stomach.
“I think I’m going to go with them.” Charlie licks foam off her bottom lip before taking a napkin and dabbing her lips. “I can take online classes instead.”
“Oh...” I furrow my brows, with a sadness sinking its teeth in.
“I just don’t want to be here.” Her eyes glance all over the place, and I watch her swallow hard as she meets my gaze.
There is something empty about her grey eyes, like a piece of her was taken, and the glimmer in them that was once there dulled out.
“Noah said I would have a chance to see other places. I’d get a break from all of this shit. ”
“You deserve that,” I say back.
“After that sentencing, I feel really defeated and done. I need something new. I just know it might be hard on you if I’m not around to comb your damn hair.”
“I’ve been combing it myself recently,” I beam a smile at her, bringing my shoulders up to my cheeks.
Charlie leans back in the chair. “Yeah, but it shouldn’t just be my brother giving you a reason to be pretty. You should just do it because you want to be.”
“You’re always going to be my best friend telling me the naked truth, huh?” I blow a hole through the whip cream on my coffee and slurp some more.
“Will you be alright if I go?” Charlie asks, biting her bottom lip as if leaving me would somehow lead to my impending doom.
“Yeah, I am kinda used to Naomi as my roomie now. Ryder and I were sort of discussing living arrangements after his graduation too, so I might stay with him.”
“You’re gonna live with my brother? You sure you wanna be picking up his socks for the rest of your life?” She raises an eyebrow. “And explain to me why him? Like out of all the guys in the word, you let him deflower you. I don’t understand your taste in men.”
“Okay, but you decided to date a rock star with tattoos and black nail polish.”
“Point taken...” We both sip on cue.