Elysian

Revenge

'I like you Carter.' The words repeat over and over again as I toss and turn on the sofa, unable to sleep.

"Morning," Juliet chirps, strolling into the living room in some pastel pink pyjamas. I groan, just now noticing that the once pitch black night sky has been replaced with a bright morning. 

"Morning," I mumble, sitting up. "How'd you sleep?" She yawns from across the room while pouring a bowl of cereal in the kitchen. 

"Great," I lie, reaching over to grab the remote from the coffee table. I switch on the tv, mindlessly flipping through channels as Juliet makes her way over to me. 

I don't bring up what she said last night, I don't know how. I'm not even sure if she remembers it, she was pretty drunk. Instead I ignore it and pretend it didn't keep me up all night.

"Thanks," I grumble as she hands a bowl to me. We spend the next hour relaxed on the sofa, not moving an inch as we eat our cereal and watch old episodes of Jeremy Kyle. 

Our peace is interrupted by a loud knocking at the door. "I'll get it," I tell Juliet after she attempts to get up.

I open the door, expecting it to be Dex or one of the others but instead it's a short old man in an oversized suit. "Erm hello?" I ask skeptically.

"Is this the residence of Juliet Kingston?" He asks, trying to peer into the dorm. "Who's asking?" I question hostilely, moving my body to block his view.

"Miss Kingston?" He calls out loudly, completely ignoring me. "Yeah?" Juliet appears beside me, looking the man up and down.

Once the man's eyes lay on Juliet he immediately pulls a large brown envelope out of his briefcase. 

"Miss Kingston you have been served with a witness summons for a court case taking place three days from now," He says, his voice being the most monotone one I've ever heard.

"A jury will decide wether Marco Kingston is guilty of assault and the wrongful dismissal of Loraine Windsor and you will have to take the stand as a witness," He elaborates.

"Usually you would have been informed of this at least a week before the trial starts but we were unaware of your location until this morning," He tells Juliet who's just blankly staring at him in shock.

"Alright well everything you need to know is in here," He says, handing her the envelop. Juliet makes no move to take it out of his hand though, still just standing by my side in silence. 

I take it from him before slamming the door in his face.

"You okay?" Carter asks, taking my hand and leading me to the sofa. "Yeah," I stutter, my mouth dry.

"Come on Kingston you know you can talk to me," He says sternly, clearly not believing me. "I'm conflicted," I sigh, slouching back on the sofa. 

My entire life I've been hoping for my dad to change and become a somewhat decent father but I'd never wanted him to actually face legal trouble. I just wanted him to acknowledge all the things he's done to me and actually apologise and maybe even get some help for his substance abuse issues.

"You should testify against him," Carter decides quickly, the hatred towards my dad evident in his voice.

"I'm not sure," I whisper, my voice wobbly. "What are you not sure about? He's an abusive piece of shit and he deserves to spend the rest of his pathetic life rotting in prison," He rants, his fists clenched.

"Plus while he faces some time for whatever he did to that Loraine woman we can get you a lawyer and put together your own case," He nods, a plan forming in his head.

"I can't do that," I say decisively. "Why not? He deserves it," He replies, genuinely confused.

"He's my dad Carter," I scoff, feeling defensive. 

To be honest I don't why I'm having such a hard time making a decision, I know that he deserves to face some consequences for his actions. Literally only a couple of hours ago I would have killed for this opportunity, hellbent on getting revenge for what he did to me but now it feels all too real.

When I think about my dad I don't see that angry man with nothing but hatred in his eyes, I see the man that would tuck me in when I was little and the man who insisted on carrying me on his shoulders whenever I was too tired to walk anywhere.

I hold onto the hope that he's still there deep down and sending him to prison will only eliminate any chances of getting him back.

"I know what you're thinking Kingston," Carter says, looking me in the eye. "I know you want him to change but he won't," He tells me sternly. 

"Even if he did he wouldn't deserve your love," He mutters, tucking a lose strand of hair behind my ear.

"But-" I go to argue but he cuts me off immediately. "Stop trying to rationalise his behaviour, he hurt you and now he needs to pay," He grits angrily, his patience wearing thin.

"Just trust me Juliet I know men like this, my mum spent years with one and I know nothing you do or say will change the way he treats you," He tries to convey level headedly, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself down.

I bite my lip, deep in thought. Carter's right, I know he is but my emotions are outweighing logic right now. "He's the only family I have left," I whisper, tears brimming in my eyes.

"Don't cry," He sighs, pulling me into a hug. "You have me you know," He says after a few moments of silence, pretending to be offended.

"I know," I chuckle, wiping my tear stricken face. 

"And you know what you have to do Kingston," He says softly, his arm still firmly wrapped around me as I nestle into his chest. "I know," I repeat much more solemnly.

"I'll testify."