Returned to Sender - Scarlett Johansson

Part 46

Scarlett's POV

He's not what I was expecting. Sawyer had never described Cooper or her adoptive father before. But when you hear of the things these men did to her, you start to make a mental picture of the type of monstrous man that could do those things. 

What you don't visualise is a young man in his thirties with puffy-styled hair and a charming smile. 

It made me sick as he stood there making eyes at the women on the jury, most of whom seemed to be smitten with him. He doesn't look anything like the abusive addict I was expecting to see. I couldn't take my eyes off him as he just stood there with a soft, smug smile, waiting for Sawyer to come out.

She didn't look at me, not even once as she spoke. Her eyes met his as soon as she entered the room, and they stayed that way the whole time, not even turning to look at Caroline as she asked questions. I could see her getting frustrated that she had to relive these moments as Caroline asked her questions. 

The look in her eyes as she stood and took her dress off, showing everyone her scars, only this time she explained them. 

She's never told me about how she got the scars before, and I've never wanted to ask. They were her memories to share. But listening to them all, I felt physically sick that this monster had put her through. 

When she explained the brand he had burnt into her, I thought I was going to be sick. I had no idea she had gone through that. Over our time together, I created several scenarios of what she could have been through, but none of them came close to what he did to her that night. I watched her as she looked at him through it all until her eyes flickered to the public gallery; for a moment, I thought she was going to look at me, but she didn't.

 Her eyes flicked over to the group of men sitting closely behind Cooper, giving them a coy look before facing Cooper again with a smirk. As soon as he started yelling, I knew what she had done, and I provoked him into practically confessing in front of everyone. I had to stop myself from throwing up right then as I realised that the men she just looked to were the ones who bought her time.

She didn't move. She didn't say anything. I'm not convinced she could hear anything after Cooper was resentenced. I watched as she wrote something down for Caroline, pointing at the men before she went back to being a zombie. 

Caroline waved me over with a sad smile, obviously realising that Sawyer was out of it. I was over to them quicker than I could even process. The judge gave me a sad nod. 

"You have the strongest person I've met as your daughter, Miss Johansson", she said softly, smiling at Sawyer before leaving as the jury was excused. Running around the witness box, I slowly turn Sawyer's head away from facing the door Cooper left through. 

"Baby, can you hear me? You don't need to say anything. I just need to know if you can hear me?" I asked, looking into her eyes, which seemed to be blank. I just smiled gratefully at Caroline as I rubbed Sawyer's cheek, trying to bring her back to reality. 

"I can not thank you enough for your work on this case; you are amazing." I thank her as she stands there watching us. "It was the very least Sawyer deserved after everything she went through. She is one hell of a girl. I had one of my associates contact your assistant, and he has booked you a flight home in a few hours. I figured you would want out of England as soon as possible," Caroline said back softly, making me smile gratefully.

Sawyer didn't react to me redressing her. Or me carrying her out of the courtroom. Or as we entered the airport. Or when we boarded the plane. Or at all during the flight. Sawyer didn't react to anything after we landed. Not to the trip out of the airport. Not to the drive home. Not to me changing her or putting her to bed. She didn't react to anything the next day either.