True Intention

Ch 31- Sarah's situation...

Sarah POV

I wish I could say I lived this beautiful existence free of bitterness.

I don't.

I get angrier every day that my legs don't work. With every sympathetic or pitiful look. The worst part? There was nobody to blame. If I had been religious, I'd probably have had existential arguments with God.

Until now.

Archer Conley, along with Soren Hayes, had sent my family evidence that it was my main bully, Stacy, that had tried to kill me, actually. Her and her nasty piece of work cousin Carla. Soren, another that had tried to help me, sent me information on a lawyer that had put away the cousin's boyfriend, a serial r****t, apparently, and would be glad to consult with us on the best legal counsel to really stick it to these girls.

And fully planned to prosecute them to the fullest extent that the law permitted.

They were dangerous, and they had nearly succeeded. I had been in a coma for months.

It seemed that Soren's current girlfriend had been the cousin's target since middle school. I had a feeling that if I could get Stacy to crack, they'd find that the two had previously tried to end the girl. They were still planning to do bad things to her anyway, but I'd bet everything I had in life on them having made previous attempts. A fire had been lit within me to do what I could. I'd sat back and taken everything, saying nothing, and it had never helped. It was time that I too, stood up to my adversaries.

So many times you get told to turn the other cheek, take the higher road. It was a beautiful sentiment, if it actually worked. In the days when people cared about being thought of as ethical, maybe, but it seemed to me that people cared about such things less and less. Nobody was going to praise me for being a doormat.

The DA indeed got me hooked up with a great lawyer. My parents were regular middle-class working folks, and the lawyer had offered to do the case pro bono, apparently yet another person that had once been bullied. We were going for a few different things. The bullying, of course. We had stacks of evidence on that. Carla's involvement as basically an accessory to r**e, and attempted murder. I was hoping they could get a confession out of Stacy regarding Carla trying to kill Soren's girl. Carla had already admitted it in a video, but not the details, and I, Sarah, was determined to keep these two behind bars.

What happened to me was not acceptable. Allowing it to happen to someone else was even less acceptable. When I thought it was jsut me being affected, it was much easier to do nothing, but I did have a conscience, unlike many, it seemed, and I could not let them have their way with anyone else. They could not be allowed to continue this bullshit behavior. They didn't have rich daddies to bail them out, either. They had simply managed to scare enough people into silence they'd neer gotten caught.

But Soren got them both, and left it to me to pursue.

I sat staring at my computer, going through the frankly massive amount of material Soren had managed to gather. Other than my accident, Carla made Stacy look like an angel.

There was a knock at my door and I sighed. I loved my mom and dad, but my depression made them worry constantly. They weren't wrong to be worried. Many times, the only thing stopping me from finding a permanent exit to life was that I couldn't let them win. If I was gone, then they got what they wanted. I hadn't realized just how close to truth I was all that time, thinking more in general terms. The thought that they would have laughed in victory made my blood boil with anger, yet again.

My mom entered the room followed by a handsome guy in his early twenties, probably close to my age. This wasn't our lawyer, so I wasn't sure what he was doing here. He had smooth dark red hair in an undercut that had been gelled and finger-combed back lightly, with emerald green eyes and a lean swimmer's build. He wore fitted dark jeans and a forest green button up, sleeves rolled to the elbows. In a word, the man was hot. Hotter than I wanted to deal with.

He smiled, more genuine than most I'd seen, not a hint of pity as he took in my wheelchair, long black hair, and green hazel eyes. Was it my imagination, or was he actually... appreciating my appearance? No way, right? Who finds a cripple attractive? I know, the correct term is disabled, but crippled is how I feel emotionally, as well. My surprise must have shown, because a tiny smile quirked one side of his mouth.

"This is Rylan Erickson. He's a friend of Soren Hayes, and he's come here to help us with the case." My mom announced. She turned to Rylan. "This is my daughter, Sarah Emmett." He held out a hand to shake mine, and spurred by a sharp look from my mother, I took it halfheartedly. I fought not to react as energy zipped up my arm at his touch. As if a good-looking guy like this would ever actually be interested in someone broken like me. I cleared my throat and pulled my hand back. He seemed reluctant to let me go, but did so under my mom's watchful gaze. "I'll leave you two to get acquainted. Sarah, let him know what you need help with. I know you were just about to start digging through the socials and messages. I'm sure another pair of eyes couldn't hurt." She said before she walked out of the room.

"So Sarah, I heard from Archer and Soren what they know." Ugh, how embarrassing! His deep, seductive voice wasn't helping either. Who wants a man they find attractive to know they were bullied mercilessly and r***d? That's how bad it got, though I'd not said a thing to my parents about that part. The accident had taken me out of school and away from all of it, anyway.

"I didn't realize they were so liberal with my story." I said stiffly. He shook his head, chuckling.

"They're not. We were roommates for two years in college. I just graduated last year." He said, his eyes searching my face. I couldn't seem to bring myself to make eye contact, my cheeks hot with shame.

"And why is my business something they are even talking about? I told them long ago not to interfere." I softened my tone. "Although I am grateful for all they've done for my case." He had sat down on the padded chest that ran along my bed, just across from where I sat in my wheelchair at my desk. He leaned his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together.

"They told me your story so that I would listen when they tried to help me with my bullies, to heal." He said gently, his eyes meeting and holding mine. Oh. How was someone like this ever bullied? He sighed. "You never know what people will pick on. I was targeted for being two years ahead of everyone and the top student. Add to that red hair, and all the old crap people used to spout about being soulless, s**t like that, makes an ugly appearance. And I wasn't as fit then, you know? Couldn't defend myself at all, and got my ass kicked. It was Soren and the guys that got me into martial arts and exercise." I sighed.

"Why can't they just let people who are different be?" I said despondently. I still wasn't sure exactly why I'd been so hated, other than the fact that I kept to myself. I wasn't interested in socialization, really. School was for learning, and that's what I was there for. Not boys, not friends, not popularity. Maybe it was because I simply refused everyone?

"Because underneath it all, they are either scared or jealous, sometimes both. Now, tell me what we're digging through these socials for." He said with a wide smile, acting excited and rubbing his hands together before whipping out a top of the line laptop. He winked. "I work with Soren's dad and brothers."

"Proof that they planned to kill both me and a girl named Naomi. Soren's girlfriend, apparently." I said, and Rylan's brows shot to his hairline, and he stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"So Soren finally found himself a real girl, hmm?" I blinked at him.

"As opposed to a fake one?" I quipped before I thought about it. Laughter tumbled out of him. I liked his laugh a lot. Maybe too much.

"I'll take the high road on that question." He grinned and I blushed. "But yeah, he dated this one girl and she was a disaster. Cheating, the works. He even had to get tested for STIs because she was having, err, relations with so many other guys. Being his first girlfriend, it really turned him away from dating and such for a long time. I was a little worried he'd be a loner for life." He had pulled up the records on his laptop. "What's wrong with these girls to be so nasty anyway?" He muttered. "I've got Carla's if you've got Stacy's?" I nodded, and we dove into the mountains of text.

My mom brought us sandwiches as we plowed through them. Could my lawyer do all this? Yeah, but I wanted to find it myself. I wanted to see it in black and white, and present it to someone I knew would make sure something was done.

"Anything yet?" I asked Rylan as he stretched, trying not to look at how his muscles bunched. I failed totally. The man was beautiful and built, and I liked what I saw. I didn't want to like it, because crushes are called that for a reason. They can crush your heart.

"Hmm... Not quite... wait!" He paused. "Come look at this!" I wheeled over to him and mashed my face next to his to see better. Sure enough, in black and white, Carla and Stacy talk about not only their future plans, but what they've tried. Naomi was a lucky girl because they had tried hard. In my case, it was just the one time. Stacy had gotten cold feet when Carla suggested burning my house down just to make sure I was done for.

"Wow, just wow." I said as I turned my head to look at Rylan, but was distracted by the fact that his lips were inches from mine. Huh, when had that happened? He just grinned.

"Make sure you stop me if you don't like it, Sarah." He said just as he leaned in to brush his lips across mine.

Why on earth would I stop this delicious man with soft, coaxing lips from exploring mine? He was gentle and careful until he realized I was actively kissing him back, my tongue tentatively touching his. With a groan, his hands plunged into my hair, holding me in place while he made it quite clear he was interested. He somehow adjusted his posture to the wheelchair like it wasn't there, and I was lost in his caresses.

"So..." I said, stunned as his lips released mine. "You think I'm pretty, I guess." He chuckled, stroking my cheek with his long fingers.

"I don't just think you're pretty, Sarah. I admire you heartily, and if you'll have me... I want to date you." He breathed.

All I could do was nod before he covered my lips with his once more.

Thank you, Soren.