The Pretend Boyfriend novel Chapter 94

Delilah whimpers, "Y-yes, I do. I met him ... in the lobby of his apartment building."

"When?"

"Around nine p.m., on the night of ------" Delilah gives the date.

"Tell us what happened on that night, Ms Faulkner," Norma coaxes her gently.

Delilah takes a deep breath. She trembles again. Brian clenches his fist under the table.

"Do you need some water?" Norma says in a solicitous tone.

"N-no. I can continue."

Delilah seemingly takes a moment to compose herself, all the while looking like a frail waif who has been victimized. She stares at the jury. Brian seizes them up. Their expressions range from the non-committal to the concerned.

Delilah says, "I was visiting a friend. I brought some pasta. I was walking through the lobby of Mr. Morton's apartment block, when the elevator doors opened beside me. This man, Mr. Morton, steps out and collides into me. The pasta sauce spilled all over the front of my dress. Mr. Morton said he was sorry. I was extremely uncomfortable because he was looking down my dress at that time. He had this ... this look on his face."

"What look?"

"A strange look. His eyes were gleaming, and he looked as if he would like to eat me."

"Objection, your Honor," Karen asserts. "I object to the descriptions used by the plaintiff. It is merely her conjecture and it was dark in the lobby."

"Objection sustained," says the judge. "Stick to the facts of the case, Ms. Faulkner."

"Yes, your Honor. Mr. Morton then invited me up to his penthouse to help get me cleaned up."

"Did you accept his invitation?" Norma says.

"Not at first. I told him I was there to visit a friend, but he insisted. I saw no harm in his invitation at first ... and so I allowed him to persuade me to follow him upstairs."

"Objection. The language used is misleading."

"Sustained. Once again, Ms. Faulkner, I must ask you to stick to the facts."

"Yes, sir."

Norma Hennessey says, "All this can be corroborated in the footage recorded by the security camera in the apartment lobby, your Honor."

The court takes a pause to allow a television screen and VCR to be wheeled in.

"Relax," Karen whispers to Brian.

Easy for you to say, Brian thinks, squirming. He turns to Sam behind him, and she gives him an encouraging smile.

"I-I'm not sure. A T-shirt, I guess. And a pair of jeans. I was sitting on the couch. He sat next to me immediately, and we both drank."

"What was he drinking?"

"I think it was bourbon."

"And what were you drinking?"

"Vodka. But I only had a sip of it. That was when he started to kiss me."

"Kiss you? You were both still sitting on the couch?"

"Yes. He leaned over, grabbed my arms roughly, and started to kiss me." Delilah flashes Brian a look of intense pain. He winces. "At first, I didn't know what to do. He starting grabbing my breasts, my arms, everything. He was quite rough. I started pushing back against his chest, but he was far stronger than me."

"Objection!"

"Overruled. Let the plaintiff continue her testimony, Ms. Sandler."

"He pushed me down against the sofa, and that is when I started to scream and beat him off with my fists. But he was very strong and I ... couldn't fend him off. He started to rip my bathrobe. I struggled out of his grasp and tried to run from the sofa, but he grabbed me by the hair and we both fell onto the coffee table. It broke. I got shards of glass in my palms, my forearms, everywhere.

"I screamed again, but I realized no one could hear me all the way up in this penthouse. Despite my injuries, I tried to escape once more, but Mr. Morton grabbed me again. I hit my head on something, and everything became a bit of a blur."