Arleen Makem

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• Basic Info

  • Name: Arleen Makem
  • Gender: Female
  • Played by: KingLegolasG

• Text

  Standard Information
  Arleen Catherine Makem
  FC/PB: Jocette Coote / Evangeline Lily
  Sexual Orientation: Bisexual (Straight lean)
  Gender: Female
  DOB: March 10th 1979
  Occupation: Criminal Defense Attorney
  Education: Juris Doctor from UofC: Berkeley
  Residence: Can change for RP, but generally private beachfront property in Malibu
  Marital Status: Divorced

  
  
  Q&A
  
  Part 1: The Basics
  
  What is your full name?
  Arleen Catherine Makem
  
  Where and when were you born?
  Walnut Creek Kaiser, CA, 6:21AM March 10, 1979
  
  Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.)
  Father: Jonathan Ryan Makem Sr., Feb 15th 1950, electrician, laid back, protective, bit of a drunk, ex-military.
  Mother: Eileen Niamh Makem, June 28th 1952, dispatcher, book lover, has a great sense of humor, horrible cook.
  
  Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like?
  Older brother: Jonathan Ryan Makem Jr., May 6th 1975, bar brawler, drunk, drifter, hates work, has a bad temper
  Younger brother: Sean Howard Makem, Sept 10th 1981, DD from Army, unemployed, drug addict, moocher, taken away in mid-teens
  
  Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people.
  In Malibu, CA in a 3 bedroom single story home. No roommates, pets, spouses or children. Home is on the beach, no fences.
  
  What is your occupation?
  Criminal Defense Attorney.
  
  Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks.
  Curly honey colored hair that falls past her shoulder blades, long face, covered in freckles from her forehead to just above her knees and all down her arms. Eyes are a vibrant hazel, always warm and bright. Skin is creamy, pale, with pink undertone. She is bottom heavy, her hips wide, good for child birth. Her breasts are between a B and C cup. She dresses very professionally, often in a three piece skirt suit with heels. Once she is inside her home after work she takes off her suit jacket and rolls up her dress shirt sleeves. She wears charcoal, black, gray, browns, greens, purples, even reds and blues at times, but those are rare. She sleeps in a black silk night gown that is not the most modest thing in this world, with a short length and very thin straps to hold it up. On her cleaning day, Sunday, she wears either house dresses, or a tank top with some yoga pants, and always her hair up in a kerchief. She does not enjoy wearing pants, but she does have a few pairs of jeans for emergencies. Her face is dotted with scars from her physically abusive ex-husband, along with a band of scars around her left wrist, from a hand cuff, again from her abusive ex-husband.
  
  To which social class do you belong?
  She grew up just above poverty level, hovering right at the start of lower middle class. She is upper middle class.
  
  Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses?
  She doesn't have much feeling in the fingers of her left hand thanks to her ex-husband. She is likely to develop leukemia.
  
  Are you right- or left-handed?
  Right
  
  What does your voice sound like?
  Mrs. Brisby from The Secret of NIMH. Singing voice is like Love from Disney's Robin Hood.
  
  What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently?
  "Everyone deserves a second chance." "I'm sorry." "Don't worry." "I'm here." "Everything will be alright."
  
  What do you have in your pockets?
  Her wallet, which has some money, her business cards (which have her home address), drivers license, various cards from other people, her bank, store cards. Her phone, which is a touch screen blackberry that has a lot of her case information on it. Her keys.
  
  Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics?
  She wrinkles up her nose when she is amused or when she is in pain. She squeaks when startled. She gets up early just to watch the sunrise with some coffee. She smiles wide so her crow feet show, which in turn makes her scars more obvious. She plays with her hair, one curl never wants to stay tucked behind her ear, and she braids it some times when she is relaxed. She fiddles with her nails when she gets nervous, and bites her lip when she worries. She never curses unless she is seriously wounded, and even then she often cuts herself off. She is relatively submissive, but thanks to her profession she is good at maintaining eye contact, and having a firm handshake. She doesn't like drugs, cigarettes, or alcohol, though she will indulge wine if her partner does, or if it will pair with her meal.
  
  Part 2: Growing Up
  
  How would you describe your childhood in general?
  White bread and butter. Her parents were both very busy working hard, so she became the mother figure to her brothers, even her older one, and began cooking at a young age. When her little brother got into drugs in his early teens it didn't take long before he was found out, and his public defender didn't try very hard to keep him out of a jail sentence. When he got taken away it pushed her to want to become a lawyer, and she became completely focused on it. Her father would get drunk and tell war horror stories, and thanks to her brothers and her parents she has a deep aversion to drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes.
  
  What is your earliest memory?
  Her mother reading Shakespeare to her when she was very young, around four or five.
  
  How much schooling have you had?
  Enough to get a Juris Doctor
  
  Did you enjoy school?
  As much as one can. Just wanted to get to the end of it.
  
  Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities?
  Picked them up along the way.
  
  While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them.
  Mary Queen of Scots and Lady MacBeth for being powerful women from Scotland.
  
  While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family?
  She was distant, but motherly and loving, to her siblings. She had some serious middle child syndrome and was more content alone working on homework or reading books than she was about interacting with her family.
  
  As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
  A writer. Once her brother went to jail she wanted to be a lawyer to help people get a fair second chance.
  
  As a child, what were your favorite activities?
  Reading, looking at artwork, listening to classical music.
  
  As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display?
  She was fairly rough and tumble thanks to having two brothers. She was reserved and quiet, however, and attempted to keep the peace whenever a fight broke out between anyone in the family.
  
  As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like?
  She wasn't very social, most of her friends were characters in books.
  
  When and with whom was your first kiss?
  Some boy she liked in high school. She couldn't tell you his name if you shoved a gun in her face.
  
  Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity?
  No. She lost her virginity to her future husband on her 19th birthday.
  
  If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today.
  Normal human: Her little brother being taken reshaped her as a person. Her abusive ex-husband further shaped her. She's dedicated to her clients, but skittish around violent men and drunks.
  
  Part 3: Past Influences
  
  What do you consider the most important event of your life so far?
  Either her brother being taken, or her being handcuffed to a soap dish in a bath tub by her ex-husband.
  
  Who has had the most influence on you?
  Her ex-husband.
  
  What do you consider your greatest achievement?
  Getting her J.D.
  
  What is your greatest regret?
  Giving up on her ex-husband.
  
  What is the most evil thing you have ever done?
  Gotten an abortion without consulting her ex-husband.
  
  Do you have a criminal record of any kind?
  No.
  
  When was the time you were the most frightened?
  When her ex-husband handcuffed her to a soap dish in a tub with the water turned as cold as it could go, leaving her alone with no food, unable to sleep, and the only interaction she had was him trying to impregnate her.
  
  What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you?
  Being found by the police when she didn't show up to work for five days, as she had told them if she ever disappeared to call the police and check her home.
  
  If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why?
  Not giving into the pressure of William to get married.
  
  What is your best memory?
  Passing the bar.
  
  What is your worst memory?
  The bath tub incident.
  
  Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions
  
  Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic?
  Optimistic.
  
  What is your greatest fear?
  Confinement, cold water, dogs.
  
  What are your religious views?
  She believes in god, but doesn't go to church or anything of the sort.
  
  What are your political views?
  She's very liberal.
  
  What are your views on sex?
  She herself is vanilla, but she doesn't care what two consenting adults do.
  
  Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable?
  She would kill to defend a spouse or one of her children if there was no other course of action. She will not kill to defend herself. She will hardly fight in defense of herself.
  
  In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do?
  Give up on someone else, or raping a little kid.
  
  Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love?
  No. She believes she can find amazing love, but she doesn't feel it's ever 'true', even if she and her partner can silently communicate completely.
  
  What do you believe makes a successful life?
  Reaching your goals.
  
  How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)?
  She hides her hurt, sadness, and loneliness as best as she can. She tries to pack away her emotions and focus on the emotions of others.
  
  Do you have any biases or prejudices?
  She thinks prosecutors are bad for trying to ruin the lives of people that she sees as victims of circumstance.
  
  Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it?
  Rape. There's no reason to ever do it.
  
  Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)?
  People she loves. She will sacrifice herself for her spouse or children, and she'll kill for those same people.
  
  Part 5: Relationships With Others
  
  In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how?
  She is extremely polite, and she considers it one of the most important things in life. She tries to be as helpful as possible, offering food to others if they need it, or a place to stay. The only person she gets remotely rude towards is a prosecutor named Thomas Fletcher, who is constantly saying sexual things to her, and speaks ill of her clients.
  
  Who is the most important person in your life, and why?
  No one until she finds a spouse or has children. If she is alone it's client to client, making them her focus and doing her best for them.
  
  Who is the person you respect the most, and why?
  Arabella Mansfield, the first female lawyer in the United States
  
  Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people.
  An afro-mexican cop named Charlie is the closest friend she has in the Greater Los Angeles Area. He calls her when there's a case he knows she'll want to go after, and she is a cruiser chaser at it's finest. She spends time with him outside of work some times, and knows she can call him at any time for help.
  
  Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person.
  No.
  
  Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened.
  She loved her ex-husband. He liked books like she did, and he was an assistant at the library on campus, so they spoke there while she was gathering books. He started going to her work where she was a waitress at a bar, and they got to know one another better. He asked her out and she decided to take a chance. He was intelligent, and kind, but after a few years it turned sour.
  
  What do you look for in a potential lover?
  Protective, intelligent, strong, ability to fight, able to enjoy culture, likes her cooking, able to sit in silence and enjoy it with her.
  
  How close are you to your family?
  She was distant as a child, and this grew when she went headlong into her studies. She saw them at her wedding, but shortly there after most contact dried up, unless it was one of her brothers asking for money. When she moved to Malibu she didn't let anyone in her family, or the friends she had held in Northern California know, so she could disappear and start a new life. She misses her father in particular, but her pride keeps her from admitting her marriage fell through.
  
  Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not?
  No. She didn't want to until she found herself over thirty and alone. She loves her career, and is very married to it so having children would be hard for her. She doesn't go out of her way to look for a husband, or to try for children, but if she connects with a man she sure won't fight it. But she was also told by the doctors after the bath tub incident that she likely would be unable to have children, which further makes her not interested in looking for someone.
  
  Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help?
  Charlie, or Timothy.
  
  Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why?
  Charlie. He'd show up guns blazing if he heard Arleen was in trouble.
  
  If you died or went missing, who would miss you?
  Work. She goes in six days out of the week, and shows up even when she has the flu. She would have to be dead or captured to not show up and not call in.
  
  Who is the person you despise the most, and why?
  Thomas Fletcher. He tries to make sexual advances, jokes about her abusive ex-husband, and whenever he gets a case against her he tries his hardest to make her client look like a complete villain.
  
  Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict?
  She's a lawyer, she argues a lot. In a romantic relationship she will put her foot down about some issues, but if she can tell it is important to her partner she often caves.
  
  Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations?
  Absolutely. If she sees a car crash she'll stop and do anything and everything she can to help, calling paramedics, getting people out of harms way, and gets bystanders to stop just standing there and assist.
  
  Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not?
  She prefers small conversations. When she goes to parties hosted by old clients she generally just chats with a few people until it's a polite time to head home.
  
  Do you care what others think of you?
  Generally she does, but she feels a great amount of shame for the nickname Miss Second Chance Makem that was given to her for standing next to her husband while he continued to beat her.
  
  Part 6: Likes And Dislikes
  
  What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes?
  Reading, cooking, cleaning, going to art galleries, operas, plays, ballets.
  
  What is your most treasured possession?
  A copy of Macbeth that her ex-husband gave her on her birthday back when they were still dating. He ripped it apart once and she put it back together, and she got blood on it a few times. At one point it was thrown into the ocean by her ex-husband, and a fire, but she managed to get it both times. It was her solace during tough times. She has practiced a small recital on the off chance she manages to speak before she dies, as she wants it to be her final words.
  
  What is your favorite color?
  Purples or greens.
  
  What is your favorite food?
  Fish and chips.
  
  What, if anything, do you like to read?
  Shakespeare's Macbeth is her favorite, but she loves most of the classics.
  
  What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)?
  She doesn't care much for movies, but classical music, classical art, and most books are great entertainment for her. But she finds pleasure and entertainment in watching the sun rise each morning.
  
  Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit?
  She hates all of those things and refuses to get near any of them, except for wine paired with a good meal or a glass of wine with her partner, should they enjoy that.
  
  How do you spend a typical Saturday night?
  She works on her case files and gets to bed a little earlier than normal so she can be full of energy for cleaning her house on Sunday.
  
  What makes you laugh?
  Lots of different things, she finds humor in many places.
  
  What, if anything, shocks or offends you?
  Treating criminals like lesser citizens.
  
  What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself?
  She generally has insomnia. She sits up and works on her cases until she's tired enough to sleep.
  
  How do you deal with stress?
  She doesn't. She just pushes herself deeper into her work.
  
  Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan?
  She prefers to have a plan at all times, and can generally take something that might look spontaneous and turn it into something decently thought out.
  
  What are your pet peeves?
  Rudeness, sexism, treating others as if they're less than.
  
  Part 7: Self Images And Etc.
  
  Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted?
  She wakes/gets up before the sun is up, prepares her coffee, sits out with her first cup and watches the sun rise. After that she showers, dresses, fills a thermos with coffee, gathers her things, heads out the door. She stops at a cafe or bakery to get some type of breakfast treat. Doughnuts, scones, muffins, croissants, and other such meals. She works until about an hour after when she should have gotten lunch. She goes to one of the nearby restaurants to sit down, eat, and work on her work. Some times she simply goes to another cafe to get another coffee and something else small and easy to eat. She always gets something she can take with her without issue. Burritos, sandwiches, bagels, or the above mentioned are common lunches for her. She goes back to work and keeps eating. She goes home after the sun is down, generally the last one out of the firm, and heads home. She'll finish her lunch and if she's still hungry she'll eat some leftovers. On Friday she goes to the store to get more food for her home. On Sundays she cleans her entire house, cleaning sheets, towels, floors, dusts, anything and everything she can to keep her house looking clean and neat. She also generally cooks a large pot roast or pot of stew, and saves the rest of it for the week, should she get hungry but not want to cook anything. If this schedule is interrupted she does get rather fussy, particularly if she is disturbed in a way that ruins the way she wakes up.
  
  What is your greatest strength as a person?
  Her forgiveness or her intelligence. She can find loopholes in an instant.
  
  What is your greatest weakness?
  Her forgiveness.
  
  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
  She would make herself a better lawyer, though she's already very good.
  
  Are you generally introverted or extroverted?
  She's fairly social, and doesn't shy from it remotely, but she greatly values her by herself time. So, more like an ambivert.
  
  Are you generally organized or messy?
  Extremely organized. She will clean up random things, particularly when stressed.
  
  Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at.
  Finding loopholes, practicing law, cooking. Giving up, facing her fears, anything having to do with medical knowledge.
  
  Do you like yourself?
  She likes herself well enough, but always feels she can do more.
  
  What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons...)
  Not exactly applicable. I've mentioned her reasons for her work as a lawyer, and yes her reasons are the same ones she tells people if they ask.
  
  What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime?
  Help everyone she interacts with.
  
  Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
  In the same place she's in now, more or less. Still working law, following her routines, helping others.
  
  If you could choose, how would you want to die?
  Peacefully, or allowed to say what she wants for her final words.
  
  If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left.
  Donate everything she had, and all her money, make sure all her clients were in good hands, and then spend the rest of the time on the beach, reading Macbeth with her feet in the water.
  
  What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death?
  Helping others.
  
  What three words best describe your personality?
  Helpful, kind, sharp.
  
  What three words would others probably use to describe you?
  Motherly, demure, kind.
  
  If you could, what advice would you, the player, give to your character? (You might even want to speak as if he or she were sitting right here in front of you, and use proper tone so he or she might heed your advice...)
  Jesus Christ, woman, be selfish once in a while.
  

  Simple Summary

  Arleen is a mental powerhouse of an attorney who can spot a loophole as soon as she is faced with a situation. She can be tough as nails or soft as kittens fur. Those she loves and are kind to her will gain her undying loyalty, to the point of foolishness. Those who dare to harm those in her good graces may find themselves in a world of hurt.
  
  She's a petite, pale, fragile looking creature, and true her physical strength is not even something that should be considered a threat in most instances. She's submissive, particularly towards men who are acting very angry, but if you push her buttons she'll throw herself at you with anything she can grab. She is easily overpowered, as she has no training for fighting, and if a man moves just wrong she'll instantly flinch and curl in order to protect herself, though more often than not her hands will tuck down, training from her ex-husband.
  
  
  She wears skirt suits and dresses, her favorite thing to wear being her tailored three piece suit. She generally wears charcoals, purples, browns and greens. Her hair is a bright honey color that when it behaves lays is beautiful curls that fall past her shoulder blades. When it doesn't behave it's a tangled, knotted up mess.
  
  She wears minimal makeup (if any), always leaves her hair down, and holds herself with confidence. Her handshake is firm, her voice is soothing and gentle, and her hands are the type that should be checking for fevers and applying band-aids. In fact, most things about her seem very motherly in nature, from her cooking style to the way she interacts with most people.
  
  She hardly scrapes five and a half feet, but her heels add height which makes her not appear as small and vulnerable. Outside of her home Arleen walks with a long, professional gate, her features sharpen and she seems stiff. Inside of a comfortable area she is a complete 180 and everything about her instantly becomes gentle.
  
  She's content with her lonely life, at least she mainly is. Sometimes she gets upset at being all alone, but she manages to push it off with some Chopin and Shakespeare. She devotes all of her time to her clients and lives on a mantra of 'Everyone deserves a second chance'. The beach calms her down, she doesn't like anything that can be addictive (except for coffee), and she stays up for a very long time in order to focus on her cases.
  
  When she does sleep she sleeps like a brick, and even someone hovering over her won't wake her up. She easily loses track of time and thus often times she will consider sleep just a few moments before her alarm goes off.
  
  She doesn't keep in contact with her two brothers or her parents out of bruised pride and stubbornness on both ends. She has a scar around her left wrist that appears to be from a handcuff, but as she only has it on one side she clearly was shackled to something. She doesn't freely discuss her divorce, or even the fact she was once married, unless she's directly asked. She doesn't like to lie about anything, though she will twist and warp the truth if it suits her in the court room.
  
  She doesn't like cold weather and will complain about it unless well bundled and tucked near something warm. Cold water in her face will easily freak her out, to the point where she might fall into a panic. A tattered copy of Macbeth is her most prized possession and if given the chance to save one single thing in her entire house that would be it.
  Detailed Backstory
  Arleen enjoyed a very simple childhood, though her family was not a well off family. In fact, they were barely scraping the bottom rung of lower middle class. The middle child with two brothers she was a fairly rough and tumble child. She would hide under the guise of being a proper woman, waiting for a weakness in whatever brother was teasing her and then she would strike, tackling and wrestling enough to best even her elder brother, John.
  
  
  She gained a bond with books at a young age, particularly books by Shakespeare. What had started as mandatory reading for school quickly became a passion. She tried to find out more about Shakespeare, and it led her to other outlets such as art, opera, classical music, and so on. Thankfully, the San Francisco Bay Area had a lot of places for her to get her fill, and she enjoyed school field trips a bit more than most of her classmates, who seemed just happy to be away from school for a day.
  
  
  Her life was as average as you could get. Her father was a Vietnam War vet who drank to ease the pain, but he was never violent towards her or her brothers. He would cry, and she remembers it vividly. She also remembers how some of the stories would scare her, but Arleen would never consider it anything other than tragic for her father.
  
  
  Both of her parents worked hard to support their three children, and as a result Arleen took on a motherly role. This was made worse by both of her brothers being complete trouble makers. Her younger brother dabbled in drugs and alcohol at an early age, and her older brother did poorly in school in addition to fighting constantly. Their mother was stressed, and she also had to deal with her husband, and this left Arleen trying to wrangle her brothers into semi-decent behavior.
  
  
  As they grew, so did their personalities. Arleen became more invested in the things she found beautiful, and began collecting books as best she could, her older brother John was constantly being suspended for fighting, and her younger brother Sean was quickly heading down a bad path with his drug consumption. It didn't take long into middle school for Sean to be caught with drugs in his possession.
  
  
  Struggling already the family couldn't afford a lawyer, so they had to deal with a public defender who was merely trying to get through each case as quickly as possible. The judge really threw the book at Sean, and his lawyer did nothing to try and stop it. Arleen demanded to know why the lawyer had given up so quickly, and he dismissively informed her that "He blew his chance to be a good kid." She asked about second chances, and he scoffed and said "Kids like that don't deserve a second chance."
  
  
  Arleen there and then vowed that everyone deserved a second chance, no matter what. With her brother set to be away for the next few years Arleen became dedicated to becoming a lawyer as well. It wasn't fair that someone could dismiss her brother so completely, and she knew that other people were being dismissed in the same fashion. She started taking community college classes to get as many units as she could while she remained in high school.
  
  
  She worked summer jobs for the next two years, and seasonal jobs during the fall, saving it all up so she could move out as soon as she got accepted to a college. She was lucky enough to get into Berkeley, and began working towards her Juris Doctor. She quickly became enamored with the student librarian of the school, who shared many of her same loves. They chatted about books, composers, great artists, and everything Arleen could think of as a proper topic of conversation.
  
  
  She worked as a waitress in a bar to help pay for housing, and though they both disliked bars he would go there and have a beer just to enjoy her presence. Eventually they began dating, and as he came from a well to do family he attempted to help her with food and rent. She eventually gave in enough to let him take her out to eat at times, but he preferred to cook for him.
  
  
  She celebrated her 19th birthday with him with a good meal and losing her virginity. He gave her a copy of Macbeth, her favorite of Shakespeare's works. It was beautifully leather bound with gold edged pages and the word 'Macbeth' stamped into the leather and filled with gold. It became her most treasured item, and she fell even deeper in love with her boyfriend William.
  
  
  The closer she got to the bar, the more tense she became. William managed to convince her that moving in together was probably a good idea. Arleen had hardly been sleeping with her two jobs and her 15 credit semesters. She realized it was likely the best idea when she ran off early to work and he woke up to a fire in the kitchen thanks to her leaving a piece of bread in a pan on a live burner.
  
  
  They moved in together shortly there after, and he began asking for her to marry him. She told him to wait until after she passed the bar, as her career was far more important to her than a wedding. Despite her wanting to continue to focus on her career, after passing her bar she had no other way to stall, and agreed. She found herself pregnant a few months later, right as she got put onto a good case, and got an abortion without telling her husband.
  
  
  After she had won the case, about a year later, she decided to come clean to William about the abortion, and he responded very poorly. He began drinking heavily, though with her higher salary and commission they were able to afford a house together, and they began fighting constantly. She was high strung due to a heavy case load, and he was furious at her taking away his chance to be a father.
  
  
  The fighting progressed until he began beating her, but true to her motto she gave him chance after chance after chance. He tried constantly to break her down, and kept trying to get her pregnant, though his beatings often caused her to miscarry as soon as she did conceive. He quickly grew paranoid as she detached emotionally from him, and accused her of cheating.
  
  
  This continued, him ripping apart things she cared about like her books, and him killing a kitten she had taken in for something to love and care for, and his paranoia grew worse until one day he handcuffed her to the soap dish in their second bathroom. He left her in the dark, with the water turned on cold, nothing to eat and unable to sleep, for five days.
  
  
  It was this that finally pushed her to leave him, and to move down to Malibu, wanting to get far away from him but wishing to remain by the ocean, one of the few things to calm her. Darkness and cold water, particularly to her face scare her now, and can send her into a panic, as will too strong a grip to the scar tissue around her wrist.
  
  
  She fears her husband returning, but she is too trusting of others to really attempt to hide herself too well, her business card baring her home address in addition to her work and other professional contact information.