Second Chance

Chapter 24

"I can't believe I have to wait. There is so much evidence against me! Unless every single person on the jury is both blind and deft, I seriously cannot see how they need more time." I grumbled, leaning my forehead against the bars on the prison cell that was in a separate room in the courthouse.

"They're taking everything into account. They need time to look into everything and make sure all the evidence is correct." Morgan explained calmly, standing on the other side of the bars.

"Do a fucking autopsy on Riley's charred corpse then! I'm sure they can find some pretty clear evidence that he died from an explosion, and I'm the one who made it happen." I shouted, feeling very frustrated.

"Why are you so keen on going to jail, Justin?" She asked quietly.

"There's nothing left for me here. I have no future in the real world, so I might as well just be locked in a cage for the rest of my stupid pointless life." I admitted, glaring at the ground. "How long am I going to be stuck here for, anyway?"

"Not long, the trial will probably pick up again tomorrow morning. You're not the only one who wants this to be over." She answered.

Before I could respond, there was a knock on the door. A moment later, Maria walked in. She gave me a small smile, then gave Morgan an odd look. Somewhere in between confusion and jealousy.

Morgan looked between Maria and I, then said. "I'll give you two your privacy." She backed out of the room and closed the door behind her.

"Who was that?" She asked in a slightly higher voice than she normally used.

"Morgan," I answered, a small smirk growing on my face. "my cousin."

"Oh," She looked relieved, but quickly tried to hide it with a look of curiosity. "I didn't think gingers ran in your bloodline."

"They don't," I explained, still with a half smile on my face. "Jen, Morgan's mom, who's also my attorney, married my uncle, who is my mom's brother."

"Is your mom here?" She asked, glancing at the door behind her.

I shook my head. "Nope. She's dead. She died four years ago. My dad hates me, so he probably doesn't give a shit that I'm getting shipped off to jail soon. I have no siblings, except for Riley who wasn't actually my blood brother, but he was close enough. Really, the only family I have here is Morgan. At least, the only family who actually cares about me."

"I'm sorry." She said quietly. "How did your mother die?"

"A car accident. That was back when my dad was a decent human being. She was by herself though, which kind of sucks that she died alone. If my dad was there with her, they could have died together. Who knows, maybe my life could have been a hell of a lot better that way. Maybe I would be living with Morgan, and not killing off best friends." I said lightly, but it hurt a lot to think about that possibility of a better life that I never got.

"I know that nothing can bring Riley back, but I found something of his when I was cleaning out your motel room." Maria pulled something out of her back pocket and handed it to me through the bars.

I took it, and realized it was a pocket knife. Riley's pocket knife. He sometimes carried it with him, especially if we were going camping or something. I didn't know he brought it with him when we moved in together though. It would have been a good thing to take with him when he got attacked.

"Thank you, Maria." I breathed, holding back the tears that were trying to leak out of my eyes.

She reached through the bars again and took my free hand in hers. "I'm sorry about your past, Justin, but your future can be so much brighter." She then pulled away, and before I could say anything else to her, she whisked out of the room.

It took me a moment to realize it, but while Maria was holding my hand, she slipped something in it. A folded up piece of paper and a pin. I unfolded the paper, and read what was written on it.

Meet me outside by the church once the lights go out.

I read the note over a few times just to make sure what I was reading was correct. I smirked once I realized what Maria wanted to do. She wanted to run away with me.

—-

I fiddled with the lock on the cell door for what felt like hours. I've only picked a few locks in my lifetime, so I'm not very good at it. The pin Maria gave me should work, but I can't find the trigger point for it to unlock. Finally, after wiggling the pin around for a while, I finally heard the satisfying click of the lock opening.

I pushed the cell door open and walked out. The door to the room didn't have a lock on it, so I could easily walk out. The lights were still on though, so I had to wait until they turned off to leave.

I didn't have to wait for too long, only probably about half an hour, before all the lights suddenly went out, submerging me in total darkness. I felt around for the doorknob, and once I found it I opened the door and slipped out into the main court area. It was kind of creepy being here all alone in complete silence and darkness.

I quickly found a side exit to the building and ran outside. I knew the church was across the street from the courthouse, but I had to run to the front of the courthouse to get there. Someone would probably see me, but I didn't care, I just wanted to get to Maria. I ran as fast as I could to the front, and when I reached it I saw the church in the distance. I made it across the street and to the stretch of grass. I was so close, maybe only a minute away.

I kept running, and I was getting closer and closer to the church, until the flashing red and blue lights came up from behind me. Sirens started going off, and a police car drove right in front of me, cutting me off. I stumbled back so I wouldn't crash into it, and ended up falling backwards into the grass.

I was caught. Again. And to make it worse, I saw Maria in the distance. She was standing by the church stairs, giving me a heartbroken look. A moment later she fled, disappearing into the shadows.