Authors: Lexie Ray
The night before I was to testify at the trial, Jasmine thought it’d be nice to do something to distract me. She and her husband, Nate, hosted a dinner at the gorgeous condo they shared. Blue, Dan, Sandra, Terry, and I all rode over together. I was surprised and delighted to see Cocoa and meet her husband, Liam. She was heavy with child, she told me with a laugh, and about ready to pop.
At one point, everyone held their glasses up and toasted to me, though I didn’t understand why they would.
“To Sol,” Jasmine said, beaming at me. “And for her courage.”
“Here, here,” Blue cried.
Terry took my hand at one point during the night.
“Sol, I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done,” he told me. He looked so nice, his face shaved, his skin looking a little better, the bags under his eyes not so heavy. He’d even put his fancy legs on—the ones with dress shoes attached—for the occasion. He walked remarkably well with them, but it took concentration, he said. More practice and he’d have it down pat, he promised.
“For everything I’ve done?” I repeated incredulously, shaking my hand. “Thank you for everything you’ve done. I wanted to testify at first, but I became so scared. That day we first met, I decided that I just couldn’t.”
“You’re going to do fine,” Terry said. “But I wanted to ask you something.”
“Go ahead.”
“After this is all over, is it all right if we still keep seeing each other?” he asked. “You give me a reason to stand up and walk, Sol.”
That simple statement made me choke a little on my drink in shock, but Terry was completely sincere.
“I would love that,” I said, laying my hand on his arm. “I really would, Terry. You give me a reason to keep going at all.”
When I took my place in the witness stand, I looked out into the crowd first. I found Jasmine, Blue, and Cocoa, all sitting next to each other, giving me small smiles. I knew that Dan was just outside, holding Sandra. And there was Terry, standing tall in the very back of the courtroom, which he said he’d do so I’d know exactly where he was.
Finally, I turned my eyes to Andrew.
“Tell us what you remember the most about the time you spent with Mr. Steele,” the lawyer said.
Andrew’s face was expressionless, his black, lifeless eyes staring at me, daring me to tell them. He’d wanted to kill me. He still did. He wanted me dead. And he’d very nearly had his way.
“Miss Ramirez?” the lawyer prompted gently. “What you remember most?”
My eyes found Terry’s at the back of the courtroom and stared at him for a long time. He nodded at me.
“What I remember the most is Belle Nocton,” I said, my voice loud and clear. “She was my friend, and she gave her life to save mine.”
I told my story to the world that day, all news outlets agreeing, in the end, that it was my testimony that had put Andrew Steele away forever.
After the verdict was handed down, several weeks later, I felt better than I had since I made my escape. The psychiatrist suggested that it was because I’d brought justice down for Cream, and my heart was telling me that it was okay to move forward now and heal.
I would never have gotten this far if it hadn’t been for my new family. Jasmine, Cocoa, and Blue were all strong women who had survived. Through sheer will, they’d given me the tools to become one of them, one of the lucky ones.
I hoped one day, as I walked hand in hand with Terry through Central Park, that I’d be able to give that same gift to someone else who needed help.
There had been so many of Mama’s girls. I was just one of them.
~ END ~