*Nate*

The upcoming trial is all over the news and blowing up the internet. All because I was involved. I'm not even the one on trial here. But my name was mentioned and now James's life is on display for all to see.  His life. His family. Everything.

"I'm like some virus and anyone who comes in contact with me gets exposed to the world." I turn towards James. "I'm sorry."

James lets out a sigh and looks away from the TV to me. "It's not your fault, Nate. You are who you are."

We sit and wait for Addison Landry to come by for a meeting. Right now, the only people in my apartment will be Addison, James and myself. Everyone else was told to find another place to be for this meeting so we can concentrate on the case.

James sits on the couch bouncing a knee nervously, I sit next to him as we wait. I tick my head to his cup of coffee on the table in front of us and he nods yes, so I help James hold the cup to take a sip and put it back down. His hands are extra shaky, and coordination has been way off lately due to the stress of this trial.

"Thanks."

The elevator intercom buzzes. "Mr. Hollan? It's Addison Landry." The voice announces from the small speaker. I jolt up and buzz her in so she can come up.

"Here we go, Gallo." I say as we both inhale sharply. We haven't had many meetings with Addison because she was spending time gathering information. Apparently, this is how things work. I don't question because she has yet to lose a case, so we trust her process.

In walks in the lawyer, her hair no longer in dread locks but long soft waves making me think it must be a wig or something. She wears a light grey pants suit with a purple blouse underneath and looks very put together as always.

"Mr. Hollan. Nice to see you again." She throws free hand out for me to shake and then greets James the same way. Unfortunately, James frowns when he puts his hand out. He tries to shake her hand, but his brain won't send the signal correctly and his fingers tremble, unable to grip. It catches Addison off guard for a split second before she takes his hand in both of hers and gives him a pat. "Right. Sorry, James."

 And then, Addison Landry gets right to work. She takes off her suit jacket and points to James while walking towards the living room. "Right. We can use that."

I cock my head, and James furrows his brows as we follow her lead. She sits down across from the couch, nodding to herself and opens her briefcase, setting out multiple folders and papers on the coffee table. Both James and I sit on the couch with the television still muted.

"We can use your disability to our advantage." She says while opening her laptop and making herself at home. "Coffee? Do you have any coffee, Mr. Hollan?"

"Nate, please. And yes." I scramble to my feet and get right on it. I'm fucking serving the lady? Bold. Where the hell is Trisha for this shit? I pour her a cup of coffee and top James's cup off. "Cream, sugar?"

"No. Black is fine." She then observes me grab James's cup and help him take a sip of his coffee like we are some kind of show to watch.

"That. That's what I'm talking about." She waves her pen at us. "James. You were severely injured in this accident, were you not?"

"Yes."

"Ok, this is what I am going to bring up first. You need to go with it ok? Just like we are in court right now." She stands up with her pad of paper and pen and begins pacing around my fucking living room like it's a court room.

"So, you were providing for your family by working extra hours. You got behind the wheel with Trisha Banks, after a long shift. The first thing the prosecutor is going to ask is if you were so tired, why didn't you have Ms. Banks drive?" She pauses and looks at James. "No. sweetheart. You can't pause to think. Not for one second."

"But-"

"Love, look at me. If you pause to think about your answer, it means you are second guessing your answer." Addison sighs patiently.

"But I don't know the answer. I don't know why I was the one to drive. It just happened. I didn't think I was that tired, I guess." James explains.

"You guess? No, you can't say that either." 

"Well, I don't know how this works! I've never been in court!" James becomes easily frustrated and Addison stops pacing.

"You can't have an outburst like that either."

I drop my head in my hands. This is not going to be easy.

*******

*Julia*

"What are you doing here?" I sit in the loveseat next to the window of the empty rec room when Paul comes in. I glance at him and turn back to the window.

"Just thought you could use some company." The bodyguard grumbles. He walks in and sits on the vacant loveseat next to me. "You good, Moretti?"

"I'm fine." I stare out the window but don't focus on anything specific.

"You're not trembling as much, that's a good thing, right?"

"Yup."

"Julia..." Paul leans over and wipes my cheek. I'm crying. I didn't even realize it. I feel so disconnected I didn't even feel emotion literally rolling down my face. "Talk."

He leans back in the chair, keeping his eyes on me.

"There's nothing to talk about, Paulie. There's a whole shitload of shitty shit happening out there in that world and I am stuck here in this world. Battling myself."

"What do you mean battling yourself?"

"Well, that's what this is, isn't it? Being Bipolar. Being crazy. You're literally battling with yourself. No one else. And then..." I sniff and shake my head, but I don't finish my sentence.

"And then...?"

"Nothing."

Paul scratches the stubble on the side of his face. "Julia, what's going on?"

I turn to face Paul now. "When did I start trusting Jeremy again?"

Paul stiffens and straightens up. "Did he do someth-"

"No. But... when did I stop being scared of him? Why?"

"I don't know. One morning you just .... did. It didn't bother you when he walked by anymore. It didn't bother you when he sat next to you anymore. It was weird actually. But you're weird so there's that." Gotta love Paul. I roll my eyes at him.

"It's all an act." I swipe my hair off to one side and begin twisting it while talking. "It's an act so I'll let my guard down. It's an act so he can get what he wants."

 I'm saying too much. Paul squints his eyes at me, and I know I'm saying too much. No one can know the awful thing I've done. No one can know I slept with Jeremy after he hurt me the way he hurt me. Yet I keep talking. 

"He told me it was his diagnosis. He gave me this bullshit medical bunch of crap he was going through, said when he raped me, he wasn't taking his medications. He wasn't getting the help he needed. He told me he is now."

"And you believe that load of shit?" Paul furrows his brows. "To the point you no longer fear him now?"

"Oh, I fear him now. I fear him now more than I've ever have before." I admit. "All I keep thinking of is that time he... I just... He... it wasn't that long ago he threatened me, remember? The time that guy Dante was my bodyguard. And Jeremy..." I don't finish. I don't need to. Paul knows which incident I am talking about. "That wasn't that long ago. What, did he forget to take his pills that day, too?" I'm such an idiot.

"I can't get it out of my head, Paul. He's acting. Which part is the real him? The monster? The nice doctor??"

"Never let your guard down, Moretti." He looks at me- like- she finally gets it- and I do. But it doesn't help me now because every time Jeremy comes near me, I'm back to being petrified of him. I stand up and begin to pace. Jeremy is in complete control of my life. He can easily do whatever he wants whenever he wants.

"I'm scared when he comes near me again. And I don't have a bodyguard to protect me now. No locks on the doors, or the bathrooms. Every time I shower, I think of how he could walk in at any time. Every time I try to sleep at night, I remember what he's done and how easy it would be for him to do it again. I'm sober now and thinking clearly so I'm driving myself crazy. Crazier than I already was, Paul."

Paul stands and puts both hands on my shoulders, so I stop and face him. He looks down at me with empathy. "I haven't given up on you. I submitted all the forms to be your full-time bodyguard here. I'm just waiting for everything to come back."

"I'm not having you do that. You cringe just walking into the building. I'm not having you stick around like that. And full-time?? That means full time. Day in and out. You'd be giving up your life and living here. You don't want that, Paul."

"I knew what I signed up for. My job is my life." Paul surprisingly pulls me in and hugs me. "My life is my job, Moretti. Protecting people. Protecting you."

******

*Nate*

"We are here in front of the Los Angeles County Courtroom where in less than a week, 37-year-old James Gallo has a hearing for reckless driving. As we all know, this tragic car accident involved singer-songwriter Nate Hollan, his longtime assistant, Trisha Banks and the well know, America's Voice winner, Julia Moretti. Mr. Malcolm Jones, Nate Hollan's personal driver for over ten years was killed on impact. His niece, Nadine Jones, from Phoenix Arizona, has come forward seeking retributive justice for the crime committed." One reporter continues the live coverage outside while the screen splits to show another reporter live in the studio.

"Thanks Sophia. So, do you expect celebrity Nate Hollan will accompany Mr. Gallo to the hearing? Word has it the two are friends and it was Nate Hollan who hired Addison Landry to represent James Gallo. Is this the reasoning behind his partial cancellation of Hollan's Around The World tour?"

"Yes Sal, it is believed that Nate Hollan cancelled his tour for this reason alone and will indeed be with James during his trial. We have sufficient security in place and no doubt will have police entail as well for the celebrity's safety. From what we know right now, the two are considered close friends despite a love triangle between the two and America's Voice winner Julia Moretti." 

"Julia Moretti who now resides at the Avalon for, as previously stated, her bipolar and drug abuse."

"Correct. It has been told Hollan and Gallo have overcome that obstacle and since the accident, become close friends. It is said they actually live together and Hollan has hired James, who works under the well-known bodyguard Paul Rossi, as a bodyguard. Rumor has it Nate Hollan has been pay for all of James's medical expenses for not only himself but his ill mother. Nate Hollan hired L.A.'s top celebrity lawyer, Addison Landry, who has yet to lose a case in her fifteen years."

"Well, this might be the case to lose for Ms. Landry. Malcolm Jones's niece, Nadine Jones, has also hired one of L.A. finest lawyers, Colton West. Colton may not be a celebrity lawyer but has only lost two cases in his 15-year career. This isn't a simple traffic violation. Someone's life was taken."

"Let the battles begin. Reporting round the clock live coverage on the Jones vs. Gallo reckless driving Trial. Back to you, Sal."

"Shit." Addison mutters under her breathe and mutes the television again.

"We have our work cut out for us, sir." She expresses her concern.

"She hired Colton West. For someone who says she's tight on money, how the hell is she affording Colton West?" I raise a brow at the lawyer. She bows her head for a moment before responding.

"I have a feeling Colton went to Nadine Jones for this case, not the other way around."

"Why??" James asks.

"Publicity. This is Nate Hollan we're talking about." She answers.

"But 'Nate Hollan' isn't the one on trial." James squints his eyes at her.

"Listen. Colton West has been on my ass for years, ok? We have always butted heads, and he wants this case to break my winning streak."

"Winning streak!! This is my fucking life!" James stands up and begins to pace. "This isn't some damn game."

"To Colton it is, James. And he will do anything to win. The only two trials Colton has lost were trials against me. I was the representative for both of those cases. I won them both and I will win this one." Addison assures James but I now have a pit in my stomach. James is right. 

This isn't a God damn game here. This is his life we are talking about.

"Let's get back to work." Addison continues grooming James for court but it's useless. The man is tired, frustrated and now stressed out more than I've ever seen him. He's stuttering his words more, he's understanding less. His brain has had it for today.

And it's noticed.

"James. Do you want to keep going or are you done for today?" I ask Gallo.

"Nate..." Addison gives me a look.

"James..."I ignore the lawyer and look at James and only James.

The man looks over at me with sad eyes now filled with tears. 

"I'm done."

"Ok." I nod and watch him go to his room.

"Nate, we don't have time for this." Addision throws her arms up.

"You want to use his disability to help your case? Then fucking use it. You see him struggling more and more throughout the meeting, do you not? I don't pay you to push him to the point he'll have another seizure, that's for damn sure. You can see yourself out." I storm away into my bedroom.

Shit. I let my temper get away from me. If Trisha were here, she would have intervened before my outburst. 

I can't afford to screw this up for James. This is his life.

*****