Alexia’s heart pounded as she entered the court room.  She could feel as everyone’s eyes pierced her judging her, like tiny pricks of a needle.  She wished so badly to run away, and hide back in her cell.  But, there was no hiding, there was no getting away.  Cameras flashed rapidly as she sat down and whispers sprang from around the room.  She did not dare to look up from her feet, for fear they’d all see that she was guilty.

    “Alexia… “, his voice sounded distant inside her head.  But she could still see his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, and his tan tattoo covered muscles as he handed her a glass of lemonade.  They sat together on the hammock that faced the beautiful beach before them.  They sipped on lemonade as they rocked back and forth watching the waves crash one by one.  She could see him smile out of the corner of her eye as he watched her.  She could almost feel how much he cared for her through his gaze.  She turned and smiled back at him and kissed him on his cheek. 

   Alexia rose from her seat as the judge entered, she felt dizzy maybe from her nerves, or maybe from the heat of her large orange jumpsuit. She jumped as her lawyer laid his strong hand on her shoulder.  She could feel his breathe hot on her ear as whispered into it.  But, she could not make out the words.  She glanced behind her and spotted his family.  His mother looked a lot older and very tired, not half as beautiful as she remembered.  Brady’s father stood next to her, clutching her hand, he seemed to be in another world.  His eyes never left straight in front of him.

    She could make out the house through the cloud of dust kicking up from the tires of Brady’s truck.  “You nervous babe?” he yelled over the roar of the engine and noise from rocks hitting the exterior of the vehicle.   How could she not be nervous, as the giant three story beach front home lay spread out before her?  Her heart pounded, as he came to halt in front of this enormous blue and white home.  On the porch stood his parents, with smiles as wide as the ocean itself.  “Here we go,” he said to her and gave her leg a friendly pat.  She opened her door and was greeted by a beautiful blonde haired green eyed, bombshell.  With her long summer dress flapping in the wind and her tan body looked flawless and her hug was gentle and fragile.  She was an absolute dream.  Her husband looked just like Brady and his hug was strong and he laughed and whispered,”we couldn’t wait to meet you Alexia.”  They were perfect, so far from what she’d grown up with.

    “The defense would like to call Ramon Dimitri to the stand,” the defense lawyer bellowed out.  Alexia’s heart jumped.  Ramon entered through the back of the courtroom.  She hadn’t seen him in nearly a year.  His dark skin and harsh lines on his face seemed even stronger than before.  His presence sent an automatic chill through the room as his large body scuffled down the aisle towards his seat next to the judge.  He looked at her and almost snarled, and all the life went out of her as they stared into each other’s eyes.

    “zZZZZ zZZZZ zZZZZ,” Alexia’s cell phone vibrated from deep within her purse.  She struggled to locate it then noticed the caller ID… Big D.  They hadn’t talked in months since they’d broken up and she was afraid to answer.  But something inside her compelled her to. “How you been baby,” said a deep voice,”I miss you,” he continued.  Alexia paused for a moment, she thought of Brady waiting for her back at their beach cottage.  “We should go get coffee,” slipped from her lips before she could pull them back inside. The second he entered that coffee shop she regretted it, because the butterflies entered her stomach again.  What was it about this man that made her feel this way?  They talked for almost an hour and she left him with a peck on the cheek.  But he didn’t leave her for weeks, she kept thinking about him over and over, and she realized she wanted to meet him again. 

   “… So your saying the defendant, proposed to leave her fiancé so you two could be together again?” The lawyer questioned Ramon.  He nodded, “She said she’d do whatever it takes.”  “I didn’t know that meant stabbing him to death,” he continued.  Alexia’s lawyer shot up and objected to this.  Alexia wanted to break down and cry.  Why was love so complicated she thought.  How could she have loved two men so much?

    “Baby is something wrong,” Brody questioned her as they ate dinner one night.  “I’m fine,” she murmured.  Concern was all over Brady’s face, but he chose not to push the issue.  Alexia had been acting funny for a while and the closer they seemed to get to the wedding the stranger she acted.  They ate slowly then suddenly she thrust her fork across the room and broke out into tears.  “I can’t do this,” she screamed, “I can’t marry you.  You don’t know me you don’t know who I am okay!  You don’t know my past what I’ve been through.  You deserve someone perfect, someone like your mother.”  She dropped to her knees and began to shake.  “I did crack all through middle school and highschool, and my father used to abuse me, and my brother didn’t have a heart attack he overdosed. You don’t know me okay!”   Brady was in shock, why hadn’t she told him this before.  He just wanted to scoop her up in his arms and make all this go away.  Never had he loved her more than right now.  Alexia shook with anger and sadness, why had she told him that.  She stood up and saw his face, his caring eyes and strong arms.  She didn’t deserve him but she wished she did.  He started to walk towards her, and extended his arm.  She knocked it away, he came closer and closer.  She didn’t want him to touch her.  She didn’t want him to make her feel better.  She reached behind her, her hand hit something long and sharp.  She clutched the knife and thought about ending her misery right then.  But, then something inside her something deep within, made her do the exact opposite.  The last thing she remembered was Brady falling to the ground clutching the knife to his chest.

   “We find the defendant guilty,” was the last thing she heard in that courtroom.  She watched as Brady’s parents hugged and cried, she wanted to cry too.  She loved him she really did.  As they pushed her into her cell, she looked at the picture on the wall.  Brady and she looked so happy walking on the beach.  It just goes to show that there is so much more, that lies within a photo.  So much more then meets the eye.