She felt the large, closed fist land against her cheek. She was taken aback and had to pause for a split second. She was already furious, but she quickly became enraged at being struck. Lauren swung back as hard as she could. She felt the man's jaw split against her knuckles. Lauren didn't waste any time as the man fell towards the floor, she spun around quickly. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thank you for taking care of him. He has been staring at me all night and wouldn't leave me alone." the woman explained as she wiped her hands on her jeans before extending an open hand.
"No problem. It's part of the job" Lauren said as she returned the gesture and shook the woman's hand. "Name's Lauren Tripp."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Harper Richardson."
Lauren looked over Harper quickly. She took note that Harper was wearing jeans and a baggy shirt, to a club, she must be in a relationship then Lauren thought. But she couldn't help but notice Harper's petite figure and perfectly tan, flawless skin. Lauren tried to push her thoughts to the back of her mind, realizing she was still at work and she had to get back. She flashed Harper a crooked smile, "see ya around."
She was back behind the bar before Harper could say anything else. She quickly rounded up drink orders and started mixing. It only took seconds for the manager to show up. "Jesus Christ Tripp, what happened to your face?" he said poking at Lauren's swollen cheek.
"It's nothing Matt. Just stopped a guy from fooling with some girl who clearly didn't want him around." she replied, never missing a beat mixing and handing out people's shots.
"Well next time, let the bouncers handle it." Matt replies as he gestures to Dustin and Nick at the door. "We need you behind the bar."
Lauren nodded and continued working. She figured it better to just let Matt pretend he was actually doing his job. Typically Lauren would tell Matt how he was a shit manager and to fuck off, but she didn't have the energy to deal with it tonight. It had been a long week and the night was almost over. She threw back a shot that one of her regulars bought her. The rules were never drink anything a customer buys you, don't want to get drunk on the job. But Lauren's regulars insist on drinking with her and she holds her liquor well. Plus, it's not like Matt actually pays attention anyways. He's usually busy scouting the club for women to torment. Matt is a short, awkward man. He uses more hair gel than any woman Lauren has ever met. It is rare that any girl falls for Matt's lines. They usually just use him to get free drinks and then pretend to be too drunk to go home with him.
It was closing time and Lauren counted out her tips. $300 in one night, not too bad, especially for a slow night. She threw her cash in her pocket and headed out the door. It was sort of chilly so she walked faster to her car. As she waited for her jeep to heat up, she texted Jessica. "What are you up to?"
"Watching a movie at home. Wanna join? You can stay the night."
"Nah I'm pretty tired. I'll just head home. Thank you though." Lauren was hoping she'd want to meet up and drink. She turned the music on her phone on, which was already synced to her jeep stereo and headed home.
She tossed her keys on the counter and headed to the fridge for a beer as she sifted through her mail. Bills and more bills. Lauren threw them in trash along with the top to her beer just opened and started to drink. She plopped down on the couch with a heavy sigh. She had big decisions to make in the morning. Half way through her drink she decided to put it on the coffee table and head for the shower. As Lauren waited for the shower to warm up she undressed, throwing her clothes in the basket. Afterwards, she dried off and laid in bed. She laid there, staring at the roof for what seemed like hours before the exhaustion finally set in and she fell asleep.
She shot up from bed as she was startled by her alarm clock the next morning. She rubbed her head as she tried to forget the nightmare she had just awoken from. Realizing what time it was, Lauren hopped out of bed and threw on her favorite pair of khakis and grey button-down shirt. She ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth and run her fingers through her bangs, making sure they lay to the side in a perfect yet messy style. She quickly and purposefully fixed her tie in a loose and messy manner around her neck. She grabbed her black vans from the closet and headed to the living room. Completely dressed, she headed downstairs to her jeep. Before pulling out of the apartment complex parking lot, she checked her phone. 3 missed calls and a text from Jessica.
"Where are you? You better not be late!!"
Lauren didn't bother replying, she just put on her music and headed towards the courthouse. She parked and headed inside. As she approached the metal detectors she took off her shoes and emptied her pockets. She passed through the security device and waited for the guard to pat her down. Her lucky day, the cute guard approached her. As the guard placed her hands on Lauren's shoulders, Lauren gave her a quick smirk. The guard blushed and moved down Lauren's body. As she made her way back up to Lauren's shoulders, she whispered "meet me in the bathroom in an hour if you can" in Lauren's ear before she said loudly "grab your things and move along."
Lauren finished putting on her shoes and headed to the designated room where she was met by her sister Jessica, who was pacing back and forth in front of the closed door. "For fuck's sake Lauren, can you ever be early to anything?" Jessica squealed.
"Sorry, I didn't change my alarm from the normal time. At least I'm not late." Lauren shrugged.
"Well have you decided which story you are going to give?" Jessica attempted to whisper.
"The truth." Lauren said as she saw the lawyer walk up to them.
"Hello ladies. How are we doing this morning?" their lawyer questioned.
The replied almost in unison, "Okay considering everything Linda. You?"
Linda gave a sympathetic smile "don't worry, everything will be okay. It should go just as we've practiced. Let's head on in." She held the door open for them.
All three women headed to their side of the courtroom. On the opposite side sat Lauren and Jessica's most recent foster parents and their lawyer. All three were in their chairs huddled together, talking. Lauren sat in her chair calmly and showing no emotion as always. Jessica on the other hand was all but in tears. Lauren grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze and one of her famous, crooked smirks. Jessica took a deep breath and sank into her chair. Everyone was asked to stand as the jury and then the judge entered the room. As everyone sat back down Linda whispered to them "Let's finish this and then go finish a bottle." The sisters both gave a quick smile.
The court officer presented the case to the judge and the judge allowed Linda to make her opening statement. Linda adjusted her skirt as she stood up and cleared her throat. "As we know this is the third case against Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The reports have been made in the previous two cases on how the married couple mistreated all the children they have fostered. But this case shines a true light on what really occurred and just how brutal this couple was. In the other cases, we heard how Mrs. Smith forced the children to eat only once a day and when they did eat it was what was leftover from the rest of the family's meal, Mr. Smith had the children scrub floors and baseboards with toothbrushes and when they didn't get every single spot they were forced to stay outside, trapped in a hole in the ground that was barred with a gate over top. But today we bring in two sisters who went through even more troubling events than the two previous children."
As Linda sat back down and rested a hand on Jessica's, who was twirling her thumbs nervously, the Smith's lawyer stood up and began his opening statement. "While the statements made from the first two cases may have been true, we have proved over and over again this loving couple was only attempting to instill character and proper foundation in the children they fostered over the years. While some may see these accounts as extreme, others would praise Mr. and Mrs. Smith. As for what these two sisters claim they have done, there is no proof. In fact the Smith's daughter Melissa is her today to testify that her parents were always caring and loving towards her and these sisters that they brought into their family."
Melissa was brought in by the court officer and sat at the stand. This was the first time in 8 years that Lauren had seen her. Lauren gave a small smile as she saw Melissa sitting in front of her, fat and ugly like her mother. Lauren glanced at Melissa's mother, spitting image. That's exactly what she deserves Lauren thought. Melissa was sworn to oath and the lawyer began his questioning.
"So Melissa, are the Smith's your biological parents?" the lawyer started
"Yes." Melissa quickly replied.
"And Jessica and Lauren? Are they your biological sisters?"
"No, mom and dad adopted them when I was 13."
