THE STILLNESS OF THE SMALL HOME ON the corner engulfed Drea Cross like a warm hug. She enjoyed the quietness in the home she shared with her son and boyfriend. It was the quietness that first drew Drea to the house all those years ago when she pregnant with their son.

The home was in a perfect location on a corner lot in a nice little neighborhood with a great school for their future child. Everything about it was perfect in Drea's eyes, but unbeknownst to Drea the small perfect home with the quietness she enjoyed so much was about to change forever.

Drea and Danny laid together in their bed with their limbs tangled in one another simply enjoying each other's presence. A smile found its way onto her face as she rubbed a hand over Danny's growing beard.

"That tickles." Danny laughed as Drea continued to rub his beard with her soft hand.

"I guess I'll have to stop then." Drea teased as she pulled her hand away from his face, laughing as a frown immediately replaced the smile on his face.

"I never said you had to stop." He quickly grabbed Drea's hand and placed it back on his bearded face.

A laugh left Drea's lips as she leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips. It had been ten long years for the couple, building a life together and a home. Most people asked why they hadn't gotten married yet, even her father always questioned — "when is that white boy gonna marry you?" Drea would just ignore the comments and questions about it. She didn't need a ring on her finger and a piece of useless paper to know Danny was hers and she was his — nothing could tear them apart.

"Did you hear that?" Drea sat up quickly at the sound of footsteps entering the home.

Danny quickly grabbed his gun that he always kept in the bedside table and took the safety off. Their neighborhood was quiet and it would be unusual for someone to break in, but that didn't mean it couldn't happen — especially with Danny's job.

"Be quiet." The Bryne man whispered as he stood up and walked slowly towards the door.

"What abo—" Drea's question was cut off as her bedroom door was kicked open violently and in came a SWAT team with their guns pointed at Danny and Drea.

"Put the gun down! Now!"

Drea sat silently on the bed, her eyes wide with confusion as she stared at the large gun pointed in her face. No words came from her lips as she watched Danny place the gun down on the hardwood floor before an officer harshly pulled his hands behind his back.

"What is going on?" Drea finally found her voice, her dark eyes staring at an officer clad in his SWAT gear. "What the fuck is going in?" She yelled louder as Danny was pushed from their bedroom.

Drea quickly stood up from the bed, following behind the police not caring that they still had guns pointed at her. Her bare feet stepped outside as she ran towards Danny, his blue eyes looking back at her confused face.

"Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going?" Drea begged as she looked around at the police, hoping for answers from someone.

"Ma'am do you know where your boyfriend was last night?" An officer questioned, placing a heavy hand on Drea's arm, stopping her from following Danny.

"Get your fucking hand off of me." Drea hissed through clenched teeth. "You fucking kick in my door and take my boyfriend out in handcuffs and you want me to answer your questions?" She roughly pushed the man's hand off of her.

"Ma'am don't make this more difficult for yourself. Where was your boyfriend last night?" He questioned again in a demanding tone.

"Fuck you." She spat.

A deep sigh left the cop's mouth as he looked at another officer. "Put her in a car." He ordered the younger cop.

"Don't fucking touch her!" Danny yelled before being pushed roughly into the back of a waiting cop car.

A hand gripped her upper arm before pulling her towards another waiting cop car, the flashing blue and red lights illuminating her face.

Panic set in as the officer pushed her inside the back of the car, the leather seats immediately sticking to her bare legs. "My son is inside! I can't leave him!" She yelled.

A nausea feeling erupted inside of her stomach as she thought about her son waking up scared and confused.

"Ma'am you need to calm down. We will bring your son to the station. You're not under arrest we just need our questions answered." He told her calmly before shutting the door in her face.

Drea blinked a few times as she watched an officer carry her sleepy son towards yet another car. She could see the confusion along with fear in his eyes.

Maybe all of this was a mistake. Maybe the police had the wrong house and it would all be sorted out by the morning, and then Drea would be back in the quietness of her home with Danny and Levi. She knew deep down that wasn't the truth though. Danny would not be coming home for a long time and the quietness of her home would forever be tainted now.

DREA SAT BEHIND DANNY IN THE COURTROOM as she listened to his lawyer argue about why his client was innocent. The dark haired woman felt numb after spending hours at the police station she was let go and allowed to return home with Levi, but Danny was forced to stay there while they continued to question him.

She immediately called a lawyer — one of the finest and expensive in their town — allegedly. Danny had posted bail at ten thousand dollars the next day and was forced on house arrest as they awaited his trial — which took place a few weeks later.

His charges were serious. It wouldn't be easy to prove Danny was innocent nor was it something to shrug about. She didn't know what to do, she felt like a ghost haunting the halls of the home they once shared and trying to assure their son that everything would be fine made Drea's throat close up as she fed the seven year old a lie.

"Daniel Bryne you are a violent, vicious, and charming person. I fear you don't believe what you did was wrong and you need to be off of the streets."

Drea stared at the old judge as he talked, shaking her head at his harsh words. Danny wasn't a bad man — a little morally gray — of course but who wasn't? Everyone in her life blurred the lines of right and wrong, but that didn't mean they were bad people.

"I hereby sentence you to life in prison with the possibility of parole in twenty years." The judge ordered, slamming his gavel down as Danny's lawyer quickly began to argue.

Drea's mouth went dry at the judge's words as a buzzing entered her ears. She couldn't speak or move as she watched Danny get dragged out of the courtroom. She could see his mouth moving as he looked at her but she couldn't hear a thing he was saying.

What was she to do now? Her life had just be turned upside down and she had no fucking clue what to do.

The life she had enjoyed so much with Danny was now over — nothing would ever be the same.

——

an —
This didn't come out like I wanted it too. I kept rewriting it and I'm still not super satisfied with it.