Kiss of A Titan
Chapter 63

Things went bad to worse for Richard when the alarming incident was reported on the daily news and everyone who heard the news were too astonished to phantom that Richard would be caught with illegal hard drugs in his possessions. To heighten his predicament, the discovery had implicated the whole team and the Coach who were questioned regarding the possible collaboration between the male athletes based on the assumption that Richard's friends were also involved in taking the drugs with him.

The case was quite serious and it almost crippled the chances of the team partaking in Nationals when the issue went viral. Upon hearing the news and after taking permission from his father, Ben brought in a lawyer from Australia to help solve the case in the trial court hearing that was held a day after Richard was detained at the precinct and thanks to the efforts of the expatriate, the police were instructed by the Judge to reinvestigate the case since the circumstances surrounding Richard's arrest was seen to have been planned rather than being caught in the act and there was no solid evidence to back up the police's claim that Richard was taking hard drugs in secret.

Aunt and I as well as Chloe, had attended the court hearing alongside few people who knew that Richard was innocent of the charge and were relieved that the judgment was in Richard's favor though he was to remain in police custody before the police can end their second investigation which so far after a week was yielding some substantial results.

Before the first court hearing of the case, I had gone to the precinct twice to see Richard and he was glad to see me regardless of the condition he was facing in detention though he was given a private cell with better accommodation than the few prisoners I came across when I went to see him. I didn't go alone on the third visit before the day of the court hearing. Aunt Sarah had accompanied me there to see how he was doing and he felt energetic by our presence though we met Ben having a chat with the lawyer he invited from Australia and Hilary was there too to share her sympathy with him.

Still the case dragged on and the case wasn't over until hidden truths began to shed light into the case which took a whole new turn for Jefferson but it was favorable for wrongly accused and that was Richard being proven innocent by the same policemen who had wrongly taken him into custody.

According to what was told to Judges and to everyone who were in attendance at the final trial held in Denver of which I was in attendance together Aunt who paid the fare for us to be present to witness the verdict on the case that was a week old, the cops revealed to everyone that they had traced the actual instigator of the case through a fake burner which was confiscated after discovery and shown to everyone that was in court that day including the plaintiff. And it came as a shock to most people including the plaintiff that the whistleblower turned out to be a Judas in the case when his identity was revealed to everyone.

Tyler was the culprit who was believed to have purchased a fake burner from a broker who was also arrested by the cops and detained in police custody. Everyone felt betrayed by the truth, particularly Coach Robbins and the entire team. Unfortunately for the police as well as those who wanted to know the real reason why he had snitched on Richard, he blatantly refused to say the reason even though he was ashamed to face his teammates and the coach who were also present at the trial where he was sentenced to jail for three years.

Apart from the shocking revelation about Tyler, we were deeply relieved that the police and lawyer was able to save Richard from having a criminal record which would have greatly affected his chances of inheriting his father's company and pleasing the board members who were already agitated by the news when Richard was first arrested by the cops. Richard was discharged from the precinct and was brought home to recover from wrongful detention at the police station. He received quite a good number of condolence visits from almost everyone at school, majorly from his teammates and I wasn't exempted from those who went over to his mansion to comfort him.

Following the aftermath of the case, it was rumored that Lori might secretly be involved but her involvement was barely considered to be a new development in the finished case that was concluded with a public statement of apology rendered the masses by the police chief who did so in a press conference that was broadcasted to the public on live media news.

Despite the fiasco that almost publicly severed the long lasting reputation of the school, Houston high was set on schedule to organize its annual theater show for its students before the final exams and the adhoc committee in charge of the planning event with the likes of Maggie and Amanda. Expectedly, all the students at Houston High were mandated to attend and see for themselves the thrilling performances of live characters being demonstrated on stage in the school plays. Over the years, Houston high's dramatic stage performance has been up to par with other schools at least that had been what Amanda told me after she started rehearsing with the other actors who were given roles for the show. Everyone thought that Richard won't come for the show since the Principal had made his participation optional depending on his decision to appear in school after the fiasco but he disappointed those that thought he would miss the school theater for the year by being one of the early arrivals to the theater hall at night the event was to be fixed to take place and by accompanying me to the take our seats at the third row at the forefront near the stage where it took several minutes for the actors to dramatize the play they had chosen since the beginning of the semester to perform right in front of everybody.

The audience and the rest part of the hall was left in total darkness leaving only the lights to shine on the stage for us to see the glamorous costumes the actors wore for the show and I, clinging tightly to Richard while resting my head on his shoulders kept watching the show the very best I could but I was too distracted with the softness of his shoulder as well as the sweater he wore the event and the refreshing warmth I derived from his body while he kept his head straight fixing his eyes on the actors as they thrilled everyone with the scenes they had properly set up to perform at intervals. Richard must have thought I was sleeping on his shoulder without paying attention to the sound of the actors though the audience was way quieter than the dramatist on stage.

"Rosalie...Are you watching this?" he whispered and made noise and he peered down at my face to see if indeed his thoughts had been correct.

"Yes...I am... Is there a problem?",

"Not at all....", he said feeling at ease. "I thought you would have pass out by now", "You thought wrong", "Yep...I guess I did", He said and drifted back into a silent mood. Then he felt me sleeping on his bosom but he woke me up with his shoulder. I frowned at him but he smiled instead and fondled my hair with his phalanges.

"Don't mess my hair", "It feels so soft...", "Like yours too", he giggled and I returned back to rest on his chest.

"I just remembered something", "What's that?", I questioned curiously and looked at him. His eyes were still fixed on those who were performing on the stage.

"I haven't really told you how much I love you",

"Come to think of it....yeah, you haven't even told me you love me despite all the times we have spent together",

"I'm sorry...but I know it's not too late to tell you that...." he said cuddling my chin while his arms were around me.

"Hmm....Go on", "I really love you, Rosalie", he said finally and pecked my forehead with his lips.

"You too", I mumbled and tucked myself further in his hands which felt a lot more cozy and comfortable than the pillow I had in my bedroom.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you that I got a call from Coach", "About what?", I questioned with a little interest in what he was going to say.

"He told me I was picked for the National Olympics", "Really?" I raised my head to face him as soon as I became curious, "Wow, that's great news", "It sure is..." he said, placing his hefty arms around my neck.

"Psst. Lower your voice", Chloe whispered just before we could continue talking and gestured at Richard and me to keep quiet from where she sat beside Ryan who also looked in our direction. Then she returned back to keep on watching the show. Richard ignored him and brought his head closer to mine.

"How did it happen? I mean, why did he change his mind after all?", "He didn't quite state the facts but he said he had pulled some strings to get me a spot", "He really came for you?", "Yeah, He sure did", "I can't believe he chose you after the case with Tyler", "Me neither. I already thought I had lost the chance when I was arrested and not until he told me on the phone that I welcomed the idea of going to Nationals", "I guess you owe him that much for bringing back your dream",

"What can I say, Rosalie? He brought back what I thought I had lost but you are my dream as well",

"Me?" I replied, pretending to be surprised.

"Yes, you are more important than winning a gold medal in the Olympics", he complimented me and my eyes widened at his kind words.

"Am I?" I questioned in doubt.

"I meant it. After I was freed, I thought I had lost everything but you were still there with me",

"Thanks...I was just returning back the favor",

"Don't say that... You really are a good person and always remember this...",

"What?",

"You matter to me much more than winning first place at nationals", he answered and brought his head closer to me ignoring the fact that the show was still ongoing.

Right there, I felt enchanted by his words and felt some kind of comfort in his bluish iris which was fixed on mine. Momentarily, He gave a harsh kiss on the lips and I savored it with every bit of strength I had in my limbs. Then I clung to his head as we kept kissing each other without paying attention to those who were distracted by watching us kissing in our seats whilst the show was going on.