10

Lexi's POV:

I stand in the bedroom, staring at Mia. I'm sure the look on my face isn't a good one.

"Are you going through my phone?" I ask her.

She bites her cheek, "you got a message from Evan. I just checked it and saw the other messages."

I sigh and shove my hand through my hair. Knowing there is no point in lying, I tell the truth... kind of. "I- okay, I knew Evan years ago. Our relationship was complicated back then, and it didn't end on the best of terms. When I saw her at the school.... we both agreed to just start over on a clean slate. I didn't want my dredge up the past any more than I had to, Mia. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

She eyes me, but eventually gives a slow nod. "You said your relationship was complicated. How?"

"It- we were in very different places in our lives and there were some factors that made things a little tense between us. Evan decided it was better for everyone involved if we just ceased all contact." I explain.

Mia takes a deep breath, "that's... a lot to process. You didn't have to lie about it, Lexi. That's shady. Was your relationship romantic?"

I bite my cheek and nod my head yes, not in any hurry to elaborate. I'd rather not advertise that I was sleeping with a pretty significantly older woman while I was eighteen.

She takes a moment, eyeing me. "This is a stupid question, I know... but there is nothing going on between you two now, right?"

I immediately shake my head and grab Mia's hands, "god, no. Mia I would not do that to you. We're just friends. That's all." I assure her, every ounce of the statement being true.

She nods, believing me. "Okay. Thank you for telling me, though I wish it would have been sooner. I wouldn't have invited the girl to a threesome if I knew that information, Lexi." She growls.

A smirk plays on my lips, "yeah, sorry about that one. It made things a bit tense."

Mia takes a breath, "so Evan is the old friend going through some stuff? What's going on?"

I take the opportunity to ask my original question: "So, Evan is in desperate need of some legal help. She can't afford to hire a lawyer that can stand a chance against her ex's, so I thought maybe you could ask your dad if he would do some pro-bono work for her? I mean, I'd be more than happy to pay him, but I don't have much. No one does. Do you think...?" I ask, hopeful.

Mia makes a face and sighs hard, thinking about it. I know she and her father have a good relationship, I just don't know if it's good enough to ask for free legal representation.

"I..." she pauses and glances at me. "I can ask him, Lexi. I don't know what he'll say, but it won't hurt to ask I guess."

I smile a little and hug Mia tightly, kissing her jaw and neck. "I love you, you know that? Your heart is so good."

She giggles and strokes my back, "I love you too, Lexi. I just- I want to help Evan if that's what you want."

I nod and bite my lip, "it is. She doesn't deserve the shit she has to go through anyway, so I'd like to made it a little easier for her." I explain. "I'm gonna take that shower now."

She winks at me and I return to the bathroom, feeling a little less weighed-down knowing that there is an option on the table.

Mia's dad is a very reputable attorney in the surrounding area, and he's got a hot win-streak going on. He is, by no means, cheap... but that is one of the perks of being with Mia I guess.

I just hope like hell that he'll agree to help Evan. She needs it.

* * *

I wait until I see Evan's car arrive before I get out and start walking into the building for yet another day of teaching.

"Morning." I greet her. She still looks a little down, but better than yesterday.

"Hey, Lex." She sighs. I approach her and hand her a cup identical to mine. "What's this?"

"Something to make your day a little better, hopefully." I tell her, opening the door for her and watching her taste it.

She grins at me and nods, "thank you."

"Of course. And I might have some other good news, but I don't want to say anything until I have something written in stone, okay? So just... don't get too discouraged." I ask of her.

Evan's head nods and we walk towards our rooms together. "This isn't your responsibility, Lex. I hope you know that I don't expect anything from you."

"I know you don't, but we already know how bull-headed I am. So please just let me help and graciously accept the offer." I grin.

She giggles a tiny bit, "we'll see. You're crazy, but thank you... again. Have a good day."

I part ways from Evan and get settled into my room, anxiously awaiting a call from Mia's father, whom I've only had the pleasure of speaking with a handful of times.

Mia reached out last night, and he said he'd consider it but he needed to sleep on it.

Just before the bell, my phone finally rings and I answer quickly.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Alexis. This is Richard, Mia's father." He says.

I nervously bite my thumb, "of course. How are you?"

He sighs, "well, I'm alright. Quite busy, to be honest. Mia tells me that you two are doing well in your new place."

"We are. It's a new chapter, that's for sure." I laugh, nervous. Get on with it. I need an answer.

After a brief pause, he speaks again. "I know you must be busy with work of your own, so I'll get right to the point. I've thought the request over, and I would love to be of some assistance to your friend..."

"That's-" I get excited and smile from ear to ear. Thank god.

"However, due to high demand and scheduling conflicts, I can't offer my services for free." He hits me with a ton of bricks and my smile quickly fades.

"Oh, I see." I pause. Out of curiosity, I ask anyway. "What would you charge?"

He mumbles and sighs, doing some thinking of his own. "Since I do want to help, I'll do your friend a favor. Rather than charging hourly, I can take a flat rate of thirty-five hundred for everything. Sound doable?" He asks.

My eyes widen at the number. That's a lot for a teacher.

"I- okay. I'll have to talk it over with my friend to see if she has the funds, but I'll be sure to get back in touch with you as soon as I hear something! Thank you again, Richard."

"Anytime, Alexis." He speaks.

I end the call and massage my temples. Three thousand and five hundred dollars? I mean, I guess that's better than what his normal rates would be, but it's also not in the "affordable" range for a high-school teacher who has a bills to pay.

This is why I didn't say anything to Evan yet. I don't want to get her hopes up until I have a viable solution. There has got to be a way.

* * *

On my way out of the building, my path crosses with Evan's again.

"How was your day?" I ask her.

She shrugs, "another day in paradise."

"You and I have very different ideas of paradise." I tease, knowing she was joking.

"What about you? Still have those first-year teacher jitters?" Evan asks, nudging my arm.

I nod rapidly, "absolutely. I might throw up during this stupid evaluation. It's so... scary." I admit, feeling overwhelmed by it all.

She puts her hand against my back, "don't do that. Throwing up in the middle of an evaluation is not going to be a good reflection... just pretend the evaluator is one of the students. It's no biggie, really. You've got it." She comforts.

I nod and glance at her, "so I have some news."

Her brows raise, looking nervous.

"Mia's dad is a great lawyer. He handles everything from criminal cases to divorce. I had Mia reach out and ask about providing his services at a discounted rate... and the best he could offer was-" I stop speaking for a moment and do some quick thinking.

The eyes that Evan is looking at me with are enough to make me crumble at her feet. She's desperate, but hopeful. She's hanging on to each word I speak, hoping it's good news. I can't disappoint her.

"He'll do it for free." I spit. Way to go, Lexi.

Her eyes widen even more and she stops walking. "What?"

"He... he's gonna represent you, Ev. You don't have to worry about not being able to fight for them." I say.

She doesn't even speak. She wraps me in the tightest hug and holds me there for what seems like forever. I allow my hands to hold her tight, realizing how perfectly she fits in my arms.

"Lexi, thank you." She speaks.

I stroke her back softly, "I told you we'd figure something out, didn't I?"

She nods and bites her lip, "I- I can't thank you enough for helping me find an attorney, seriously."

I shake my head and brush it off like I didn't just put myself thirty-five hundred dollars in the hole. "You don't need to thank me, just... get those kids back where they belong."

She nods her head and leans over, putting the most delicate kiss on my cheek, "thank you..."

I stand there and watch her walk away from me, her head held higher than it has been all week. I may have had to put myself out and tell a small lie to get it there, but all that matters is that her spirits are up.

Now how the hell do I come up with over three grand before this goes to court? And how the hell do it keep this a secret?