Copeland
The next day she was out running all over the place, the firm, the court house, and then Josh's house. She had managed to get Marys terms and got them written up so she figured she would bring them over and have him look over them. She wondered if she should announce herself coming by or just pop by. She opted for just popping by, again without Charlie as she trusted Josh. She rang the doorbell.
He was in the studio, but the door was open and he was writing when it rang, so he heard it. Frowning, he walked down the hall with a sheaf of papers, chewing on the end of a pen as he pulled open the door. He looked surprised, and his eyes lit up when he saw her. "Catherine. Hi." He smiled, stepping back to allow her in.
She stepped inside, smiling to him. "I have the terms that Mary would like to request and did you get my e-mail?" She asked.
He nodded to acknowledge that she had the legal information, then laughed. "Yes, I did. And you win. That is definitely a Gambit trenchcoat." He smiled at her. "I'm glad you're here. I have something for you."
"Told ya. And oh dear, should I be scared?" She asked, smirking a little, though extremely happy to see him smiling.
"I hope not. Hang on." He ran down the hall to his studio and picked up a CD wrapped in white tissue paper and handed it to her when he returned. "It's new. This is the first copy. I wanted you to have it."
He watched her for a reaction, waiting for her to see the name 'Josh Copeland' on the front, beneath the title, 'Dawning.' He studied her, a bit, smiling slightly as she read the names. "I only started this a few days after the gala," he said softly. "I've been working on it almost nonstop since then."
"Are you done with being Corviss?" She asked. Some of these titles seemed to be a bit emo or angsty, but they could easily be misleading. She raised her eyes lock her gaze with his.
He met her gaze steadily. "I'm trying to be," he whispered. "It's hard. He's still popular, my producers don't want me to give him up yet." He gestured at the CD. "But this is my first step. You helped me take it. That's why I wanted you to have the first one."
She smiled warmly to him, setting her hand carefully on his arm. "I'm glad I could help you."
He smiled at her softly. "Thank you for taking the time to try," he whispered. As he looked at her, he was suddenly, horribly aware of the way his heart was beating harder at her touch and he took a step back. "Did, um, did you have those papers? Do you want me to look them over now, or should I call you? When I'm done?"
She made an 'Oh' sound and knelt on the ground, digging around in her briefcase. She held up a document, 2 pages in length due to legal mumbo jumbo. She hand wrote in laymans terms what everything was.
He watched her writing and accepted the pages. "Do you want me to go over them now? We can go up to the office. Or the kitchen, I was actually thinking of getting something to eat. Do you want anything?"
"I'm fine, thank you, but I would like to go over them now, if it's not too much trouble." She said, closing her briefcase.
"Of course not. But do you mind if I get something? I don't...think I've eaten yet today. I can't remember." He laughed. "That always happens when I'm working. And we can go over them on the table in the kitchen." He waited for her confirmation before leading them toward the kitchen.
"No, Josh. How dare you want to eat in your own home." She said, rolling her eyes. She settled down at the table, making sure she had everything written down, still going over and translating a few things.
"Of course not. But do you mind if I get something? I don't...think I've eaten yet today. I can't remember." He laughed. "That always happens when I'm working. And we can go over them on the table in the kitchen." He waited for her confirmation before leading them toward the kitchen.
"No, Josh. How dare you want to eat in your own home." She said, rolling her eyes. She settled down at the table, making sure she had everything written down, still going over and translating a few things.
He found himself a wrapped sandwich and a can of Coke and sat across the table opposite her. "Let's get started," he said briskly, used to dealing with terms. Mary had always insisted that he understand anything he signed.
She wants to ask if he wants something warm or more hearty than a sandwich, but she doesn't. She scoots a little closer and points out everything explaining it.
He paid attention, asking a few questions to clarify, but mostly staying silent. He didn't protest a word, leaning over her shoulder to follow as she pointed out various items. As she finished he sat back and waited for her to stop speaking. "All right," he said immediately. "Yes. Everything."
She blinked at him. "You're being rather laid back with all of this.. Don't you have any requests? Anything?" She asked, setting her pen down.
"There's only one thing I want, and it's something I can't have. So I'll settle for making her happy." He stared at the can between his hands. "She deserves that."
"What do you want?" She asked, curious.
He sighed. "I want her back. I want it to have never happened," he said in a dull, irritated tone, annoyed with himself for thinking about something like that. It had happened, and he couldn't have her back, no matter how much he might wish otherwise.
"I think you need a good, long vacation." She said, setting her hand on his arm again, trying to keep him level headed and here. The past was often a very dark place for people.
He covered her hand with his, gritting his teeth. "I know, but I won't get one anytime soon. I still have appearances scheduled, for the next few months at least. And anything that comes of this new album too, although at least I'll be able to be myself for those."
"If only my Dr. prefix came from something other than law I would make you go on vacation. You're going to fall into a place you don't want to be in if you keep this up. You've already not been able to pull away from Corviss once." She pointed out.
"I know, but...now he's hurt someone. Someone else," he amended quietly. "I'll be able to let him fade away this time, now that I have tangible proof that I can be separate from him." It wasn't clear if he was trying to convince her or himself.
She frowned when he corrected himself, wanting to help him. "If you ever need to pull away, if it gets to be too much, even if this whole divorce is over, I'll help." She offered
He looked at her fleetingly and glanced away almost immediately. "I still...don't understand. Why you'd do this. You don't even know me," he whispered.
They have this nickname for me at the courthouse. Well, they have several, but this one has stuck the longest. They call me Second Chance Makem. I'm criminal defense and I give these murderers and rapists and every thing this benefit of the doubt, innocent until proven guilty type of deal. Though I first got the nickname because of my ex-husband, but that is another story. She said, not sure why she was being so open with him.
He flinched a bit, reflexively, at the word "rapists", but he didn't speak until she was finished, sitting in silence for a moment. "Okay," he said quietly. "I'm going to try...to get rid of him on my own, I'm going to do my best, but..." He looked at her again and nodded.
"I can see how hard it is on you." She said, fighting the urge to give him a hug, he looked like he was teetering.
He took a deep breath, pushing the empty can away from him. "I got in too deep. Made it too real for myself. I needed something like this to make me realize it. I just wish it could have been something else. Anything else." He folded his arms and stared at the table. "How is she?" he asked very quietly.
"She was terrified for a few days. Wouldn't even let Tim get near her. But she calmed down after that. She seems fine now.." She said, flexing her hands under the table to keep herself at bay.
"Thank god," he whispered. "She...she won't have to see me, will she? At hearings, or anything? I can't imagine she'd want to, and I don't want to put her through that if it's not necessary." He still wasn't looking at her.
"Unfortunately, yes, she will. I can't just show up and be full representation. It really isn't that bad. I was tense the first few hearings, but he tried to tie everything up in court. But then you realize that you're in a room full of people and if he started for you someone would stop it before he got to you." She doesn't fully realize who she is speaking to, or how much she is exposing, falling back and remembering how scary the first hearing was, how it was so scary she almost went back with him just to save herself that glare he kept shooting at her, like he would blow her head off if he had half a chance.
He turned back to her then, looking worried. "I knew you were divorced, Mary told me, but..." He put a hand over hers again. "She didn't tell me anything - anything else. Are you all right?" He was looking at the expression on her face, the echo of fear from that time.
She locks her eyes on his hand over hers and blushes a bit, raising her gaze to his. "They call me Second Chance Makem because he would beat me and I would just keep coming back for more." She mumbled, trying to explain it better cause she can tell by the look in his eye that he is naturally curious even if he is too polite to ask. And it helps her to speak about it. "My brother forced the whole divorce. And even with him at my side I wasn't sure it was the right move to make. I'm glad I did now, but at the time I figured I was just a bad wife." She thinks for a moment on his question. "I am now, though I sometimes can't help looking over my shoulder."
He was silent a moment. "I'm...I never knew that. I'm surprised you're willing to, to come here. By yourself." He met her eyes again, smiling. "Thank you," he said softly. "It means even more to me, now, that you're willing to do that."
"You're not him. And you didn't hurt me, so I have no reason to run from you." She said with a weak shrug of her shoulders. But it was hard, she knew any man could turn, and the man sitting next to her had a better chance of it than others just because he had done so before. She didn't say anything about this, just nodded to him and his thanks.
He smiled and bit his lip again as he glanced at the clock. "Well, I suppose I've kept you here long enough for one day," he said quietly, pulling his hand away from hers. "I should let you get home." He nodded at the CD. "Let me know what you think, will you? I'd like feedback from someone who isn't a record exec or a paid critic."
She laughed a bit. "Alright. I'll e-mail you my extensive review of each song." She said, relaxed and smiling. She stood and checked to make sure she had everything, leaving the document she had brought over with him so he had his own copy, and told him to have a good night. She decided to wait until she was able to review the music to listen to the CD and just listened to her radio, her ipod was dead, which made her curse and she flipped through the channels until she found something that didn't make her head hurt with static and then headed off.
"...the new single from an unexpected source, Josh Copeland, am I saying that right? Copeland? The single from his first album, 'Dawning', being released on the 20th, here's 'Can't Stop'." The music started, a sharp dance beat, and the lyrics. "All alone in my room, think of you at a rate that is truly alarming...I keep looping my mem'ries of you in my head, I pretend that you want me...and I fall asleep and dream of alternate realities, and I put myself at ease by pre-tend-ing that she still loves me." The chorus began, "And I can't stop thinkin' about you, and I can't stop thinkin' about you, you never call, what do I do? I can't stop thinkin' about you."
She blinked and turned it up, listening to the words as best she could. She's not vain, she doesn't think the song is about her, but a small voice in the back of her head sparks the worry that it is. She just kept listening, grumbling "Christ" a few times. She echoes several lines in her head, and is home soon enough, still playing it over and over in her head. Was that about her? Was the CD in her briefcase some attempt at getting her to see him? She numbly unlocked her front door