The Curse of Your Past // Charlie Gillespie

Chapter 43

"Charlie, how come I've never gotten such good service at your place before?" Ben smirks at me, knowing exactly what the answer to this is. "Ssshh! Don't expose me infront of my girlfriend." I love the relationship the two of them have. To me, Ben doesn't feel like a manager. He feels like part of the family. The way they tease each other.

"Victoria, dinner is delicious, as usual." I can't hide my smile when thinking back to the catastrophe that nearly happened when making it. I can feel Jenny watch me carefully. "Thanks Ben" I say, fighting really hard against the laughter.

"So guys... trail starts at 10am but I suggest you get there at 9am latest." We all nod. Ben has taken over the manager roll now and we all carefully listen. "Seriously, don't worry. You just tell your story. It's the truth and we have plenty of witnesses as well as prove." I feel like all eyes are on me now so I nod.

Charlie gently squeezes my hand and I shoot him a thankful smile. This is a really weird situation. "Well... do you have any questions?" Ben says to no-one in particular. We are still all quiet. "I think we're good. Thank you for coming." Ben smiles at me supportively. "Anytime Victoria, you know that."

"Alright, I guess it's time for me to leave then." I get up with him to walk him to the door. At the door he gently rubs my arm. "It'll all be over soon. You got this Victoria." This small gesture means a lot to me and somehow I feel like it gives me some additional strength for what's to come.

After Ben left we all went to bed, wanting to recharge to today. It was a restless night for me. I kept waking up, checking the time, worried I'll oversleep. Whenever I was up I couldn't fall back asleep because I kept imagining what today would be like. Being at court feels incredibly weird. We met up with Ben outside and he informed us that Evelyn is here too, as well as some friends of Max' and even Kat and Miranda are here.

This is all so weird. Seeing everyone again after so long... I have no idea who's side Kat and Miranda are on. I know they weren't happy when I cut them out of my life after moving in with Max and they believed what he told them after our breakup. A hand is placed on my shoulder and when I turn around I see it's Jenny. "It'll be ok, V. We're here." I smile a weak smile at her before we walk into the courtroom together.

"Ms. Porter on the stand please." I take a deep breath before I get up and walk up to the stand. I can feel Max' eyes piercing into me but I don't flinch for one second. Throughout my whole statement I try to sit straight, trying to appear confident. I don't look over at Max for once. My voice trembles only slightly as I answer some of the questions but overall I think I held up quite well.

I'm really glad when I can finally sit down next to Charlie again. He right away takes my hand and squeezes it slightly, a proud smile on his lips. To my surprise Kat and Miranda's statements support my side. I mean, they can't say too much about what actually happened because they didn't have any contact with me anymore but the fact that I disappeared on them after I moved in with Max aligns with what me and Jenny said.

As Ben already suspected, Evelyn's statement is more in support of me than Max too. Max doesn't stand a chance. Of course his friends are supportive of him but since neither one of them saw anything of what Max told them they don't count for much. When Ben presents the physical evidence from the airport the situation is more than clear.

We all wait outside as Max' verdict is determined. Even though it is almost impossible that he's found not guilty I'm still nervous. "Guys, time to go back inside." Ben's standing in the doors to court, waiting for us. Taking one last breath we step back inside.

As we all thought and hoped Max is found guilty. His verdict is five years on reinforcement and a prohibition from ever entering the United States again. I know this is a reasonable verdict because even though what he did to me was hard on me, in the grand scheme of things it is not too bad.

"I can't believe he's gonna walk." Charlie is much more upset about this than I am. I gently rub his arm. "It's ok. At least he can't ever come back here." Honestly, that's what matters to me most at the moment. No matter what he can't ever come back here again. I'm finally free of him. I can finally live my life without ever having to worry about him showing up again.

"I can't believe I'm finally free" I whisper, more to myself than to anyone else. "V, let's go celebrate!" Jenny is so joyful, I can tell she's fighting hard to not jump around, because that would not really be appropriate for a court setting. Her enthusiasm is jumping over on me as I say "Hell yeah!"

I pull Charlie along to his car. Once we're all inside he says "Where to boss?" A huge smile on my face I say "You know exactly where." A smile, just as huge as mine, on his lips Charlie starts driving. Parking infront of our Mexican restaurant I say "Cocktails for everyone!" as I jump out of the car.

Jenny, Josh and Charlie follow close behind. Ben is parking right next to us. He has Kat and Miranda in his car. During our time waiting for Max' verdict they came up to me and apologized for not taking better care of me. For old times sake I invited them along.