False Modesty

5. Fate

I was awakened the next morning by the sound of my mother's voice. It would have reminded me of the days when she used to wake me up for school, but it didn't. All I heard was the swollen glands speaking after crying for several hours. I proceeded with the other things I would have usually done. I brushed my teeth. I took a shower. I got dressed. I played with my dog. I got in the car. The only thing that was different, aside from the fact that everyone was quiet and on the verge of internally breaking, was the destination. I wasn't heading to school, or to work, or to pay my grandmother a visit. I was on my way to the courthouse to be judged by a judge to determine my 'fate'.

We pulled up in front of the court house a few moments afterwards. The steps were lined with the media. For that one moment, I was a celebrity they all wanted to see. The door of the car was opened for me by some stranger. I got out and almost immediately my dad, who was riding shotgun, got to my side and with his massive hands he tried his best to push the cameras and news reporters away from me. The flashing lights blinded me. I could have barely understood what my father was saying to me with all the shouting and various questions about my trial that were being thrown my way.

"Why did you kill her?"

"What do you think is going to happen today?"

"What are your thoughts?"

"Miss. Stacy! I have a question for you!"

"Caroline, what are you going to do if you are not guilty?"

The questions kept pouring down on me like the rain. With each word I felt my heart beat just a little bit faster and my worries and doubts overwhelmed me. I felt as though I couldn't breathe. I sucked in my last dying breaths before my vision started to blur and the voices around me became muffled. Just as I was about to collapse into the arms of my father he pushed me through the court's massive double doors. The doors closed and the sounds of the anxious mob died away. I felt the oxygen slowly return to my head and within a few minutes I was ready to proceed.

"No matter what happens in there, you will always be my little girl. I love you no matter what," dad whispered more to himself than to me. Mom's figure appeared from behind the doors, together with the voices of the people who were trying to make a living by minding other people's business, and shut them almost immediately, including the media.

I didn't wait for her to say anything; I just hugged her like I never hugged anyone before. She reassured me with her words the way she always did. Monty was the last one to arrive, which was disappointing.

"I'm counting on you," I told him. Sweat was running down the sides of his chubby face. His eyes processed worried looks as I stared into them, waiting for the answer I was hoping for.

"I know you are. You need not worry Caroline. I've found the evidence. I'll make sure you make out of here in one piece," he reinsured me, but his voice was shaking and I could have practically seen the vein just below the surface of the skin on his neck that throbbed uncontrollably.

"You do realize that I'm putting my life literally in your hands, right?"

"Caroline, I told you before, I won't say it again. All the time you spent in that jail cell while I was fixing the matters that surrounded your case was not for nothing. I can promise you that. I would tell you all that I've found, but that would take too long and we only have five more minutes until your trial starts."

Five minutes was all I had to say any last-well, hopefully not last- words to my parents. I didn't see Jacob, so I guessed that the pressure was just too much for him, that was a valid enough excuse for him to not show up. I headed to the back where the criminals are supposed to stay until they are called to their seats. The court room was already filled by the time the two officers escorted me out into the court room itself. It was a dull and silent moment. All eyes were on me. I scanned the crowed and immediately found my parents nested in the middle lane on my side. I recognized a few of Brooky's friends who watched me with menacing glares. Her parents were sat up front; they were part of the trial. They're lawyer had his arms crossed as he too paid attention my entry. The only person who didn't seem to be bothered was Monty who was shuffling through his briefcase and organizing all his important documents in a neat pile on the table. The magistrate strolled in a few seconds after. There was a series of chairs moving as everyone stood from their seats; they're eyes no longer glued to me.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" a guy asked me with a bible in his hand. I touched it before answering.

"I do."

The judge announced the purpose of the case and soon enough it started.

"I would like to ask Miss. Stacy to approach the podium please," the other lawyer said in a confident tone.

"Miss. Stacy." The judge ushered me with a slight wave of his hand to make my way to the podium and I did. I glanced behind my shoulder before sitting down. There he was. In the crowd. Jacob had his hands around his neck as he paid close attention to my every move, I wanted to smile at him and let him know how grateful I was for his presence but something kept me back. A hidden sensation that buried itself deep inside me finally rose. I deep regret. How could I have lived like this? How long could I have lived like this. I communicated with Monty through my eyes. His smile told me that everything would be okay. But I shook my head, indicating otherwise.

~~~~

I didn't understand what was happening around me. Suddenly everything I knew crumbled to the ground like ashes. The world evaporated around me. The sound of the hammer hitting the table repeated over and over in my head as I listened carefully to every word the judge spoke.

"Miss. Caroline Stacy, found guilty and will be charged for the death of Brooky Joey and a lifelong sentence to Maximum County State Prison."

Her parents just cried. They sobbed into each other's shirts as they watched their daughter finally be put to rest. Monty had his head on the table, he deserved to feel defeated, I put him to the test and he did not commit as much as he should have, a lesson he would never forget. My parents just stared into the beyond. Their eyes didn't meet mine. They looked head in disbelieve as reality struck them. As for Jacob, I never saw him again. Even as the officers pulled my hands behind my back and cuffed them and dragged me away from a life I once knew Jacob was absent. He must have left as soon as the hammer came down. I never got the chance to find out.

What more was there to say? How much longer was I expected to lie? I remember the night too well. The way my hands encircled her neck, cutting off her supply of oxygen and seeing her eyes recoil back into her head. I might have reconsidered my actions if I wasn't as high. But I did it. Every last detail. I did the one thing as a child I never thought I would ever do. And so I had to pay the price. The pain I caused on her parents was devastating. They almost wanted me to win my case. Part of them never wanted to find out what really happened. But it was in their best interest that they processed in finding out. And the truth wasn't as delightful as they thought it would have been. As I walked down the halls with the officers to prison I thought hard of all the people I had disappointed but eventually realized that there was no reason to think of it.

What was done was done. There was no changing it then. I had committed my sins and like a good person I admitted to them in the end. I was ready for the ultimate price.

But I have one question for you:

Did you see it coming?

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Author's note. 

Finally the end of the story. I hope you enjoyed it. Please share your views on it. Please vote ans share, if you want. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this short story. I hope it wasn't too boring or cheesy. I had a lot of fun writing it , I must admit, and I'm hella glad that it's completed. THANK YOU AWESOME READERS!!!!!