A Girl with Pursuits

Chapter Thirteen: The Verdict

It had been about two hours when we were called back into the courtroom. It was abnormally quiet. No one spoke. Even the judge looked confused at how quiet it was. When Noah and I had walked in, you could quite literally have been able to hear a pin drop. I walked down that aisle and back to my seat, sat down next to my lawyer, and dried the last of my tears. David had made his way back into the room as well. It was time.

The judge called the court back in session, my red eyes were lost staring into his podium. I felt empty. All I could think about was that this criminal needed to go to prison. It also made me wonder if David wasn't in my life, would I have been closer to my mom? Would things have been different? I couldn't think straight. Finally the judge spoke up.

"After everything that we've heard, the jury has finally reached a verdict." The judge nodded towards a juror who stood up and read the verdict. My heart began beating fast but my body was drained that I sat somewhat slumped in my chair.

"We the jury find the defendant, David Allen Parker, guilty of attempted murder in the first degree and aggravated assault."

The judge nodded in agreement. "Thank you. Now Mr. Parker, what you have done here is extremely wicked. Your crimes are something that we do not tolerate here in the state of California. We always want to ensure the safety of our citizens and you have proven yourself to be a danger to our society. I hereby sentence Mr. Parker to life in prison without possibility of parole."

David stared at the judge in shock. Almost with fear. I had never seen this man scared before. David jumped up as if he were going to say something, but he was mute. 

"This session is now adjourned," the judge said as he pound the gavel.  I looked at my lawyer shocked and tired, confused by how fast this trial had happened. We got up and officers made their way to detain David. As I make my way around to the front of the table, conversing with my lawyer to an officer, I looked over to see David arguing with the guards and his lawyer. His voice grew louder and louder and he head butted one of the officers and kneed the other. Both officers fell to the ground. His lawyer backed up and called for help but it was too late. Everything happened so fast. David turned to look right at me, fire in his eyes, and charged at me like a bull. He grabbed me by the throat and slammed me into the wooden table, breaking beneath as the force was too much for it to bear. I gasped for air but his grip was getting tighter and tighter, cutting off all access to my airways. The courtroom began to get blurrier and blurrier and the screams and shouts became farther and farther away. The thing was, I laughed about this in my head. It was so ironic, the situation. Of course, I finally won, but David still tries to kill me. I just wished it would happen quick. 

Noah jumped over the table and tackled David to the ground. They both wrestled with one another as they had on the beach and officers quickly flooded into the room. They were able to separate the two. My lawyer and a female juror had come to my aid, helping me to sit up as I had laid there, lifeless on the courtroom floor. I sat up and the world spun as I quickly came to. My breathing was shaky and my gasps for air were low growls. My throat was raw and red from David's grip, but the damage was done. Police officers were finally able to detain David and they led him away. Out of the courtroom, and hopefully out of my sight forever.

My lawyer leaned into me and patted my back, trying to help me steady my breathing. He looked at me earnestly and said, "You know we can take actions against him for that." I looked at him and just shook my head. 

"I'm done," I croaked. "I don't want to see him again. I want to be free. This was it." He shook his head understand the urgency in my broken voice. Just then, I looked up and Noah was making his way towards me, pushing through the crowd of people who had gathered. He threw himself on the ground next to me, taking my head in his hands. He was crying. 

"Are you alright?" he questioned. I nodded. "Oh," he sighed. He pulled me into him so tightly, letting the tears run. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry."

I looked up at him and faintly said, "Please.  Don't cry." He shook his head, looking down at me with a sorrowful look, and pulled me tighter. We sat there for God knows how long. 

The weird part was that we had been here before. Many times actually. In this same situation, in each others embrace, with the world seemingly falling apart behind us. I wished that this wasn't our normal, but somehow it had already become that.