Spotlight on the Mirror

Chapter Twenty-Six

Holliday felt nothing but pure hatred for Wanda as she sat on the opposite side of the courtroom. Without all the make-up, weave, and expensive jewelry, she looked like a basic bitch in a grey jumpsuit. Without the facade of money, the years of filth showed on her face. Her outward appearance finally matched the inside. She was ugly in every sense of the word. Wanda displayed a ratchet attitude and kept giving Natasha the stank face.

Her attorney, Kenneth Powers, tried to keep her in check but hoes will always be hoes. The look of disdain was clear on Judge Howard's face. Natasha was asked if she needed to sit in the protective witness room but she declined stating that she wanted to see Wanda face her crimes even though, she never once looked at Wanda. Natasha appeared strong but what no one saw was her nervously twirling her fingers under the table.

The first day of the trial started off with the opening statements. Natasha's attorney was the first to present her case to the judge and jury. Lindy Hemsworth was a middle aged Hispanic woman that combined professionalism with grace. She was highly knowledgeable and used her charisma to achieve the type of reaction that she wanted. Even though Natasha's story was horrible in it's own right, Mrs. Hemsworth made it sound even worse. She worked the room and everyone was engrossed by her words while envisioning the hellish nightmare that Natasha had to endure. It was definitely clear why she was the best at her job because she could convince a mountain to bow to the wind. Mendall's eyes clutched onto Mrs. Hemsworth's every move and she appeared to be enamored. Mrs. Hemsworth finished her opening statement then sat down with poise.

Since it was close to lunchtime by then, Judge Howard stated that the trial would reconvene after a hour for lunch. The jury was escorted out of the courtroom by the bailiff and officers took Wanda to the holding room located under the courthouse. Natasha finally and heavily breathed like she had been holding it in. After searching her face, a small glimmer of weakness could be seen.

"Are you doing ok, Natasha?" Holliday immediately asked when the courtroom was empty.

"It was just weird to see her. For 2 seconds I thought she would jump across the table and attack me. I know she wants to though," Natasha replied in a low voice.

"Fuck her dirty ass!" Madison exclaimed.

Holliday gave Madison the shut the fuck up look and turned back to Natasha. "Wanda can never hurt you again. Ever. You have to believe that because it's the truth."

"I know but I guess there's still that little girl inside of me scared that she's going to take me back with her and punish me for snitching."

"Natasha, reporting abuse isn't snitching. Never think that," Mendall encouragingly said.

"She's right. What happened to you was wrong and a lot people need to pay for that," Holliday added.

Natasha smiled and nodded but it was clear that she had her own battle going on within her mind. Mrs. Hemsworth and the security team escorted them to the protective witness room for lunch. Since the media was camped outside the courthouse, it would be a disaster to leave for lunch. Mendall took lunch requests and went to Quizno's which was right across the street. Holliday wanted to assist Mendall but the media knew her face and would bombard her with questions. Mendall could go out the side door because the media wasn't interested in her just yet.

When she returned with the food, Richard was with her.

"Dad! What are you doing here?" Holliday asked while hugging him.

"I needed to check on my favorite girls. But I especially wanted to make sure that you're ok. How are you doing?" He questioned with concern.

"I'm good. It's already tough enough and the media is making it worse but I'm here to support Natasha no matter what."