Rainy Day | Rhea Ripley

Chapter 34

A/N:

I am aware that this is not how an indictment hearing would play out in real life but I had already started writing it when I realized so in my universe, this is how it's done now lmao.

Cross my heart and hope to die

Promise you I'll never leave your side

- Follow You by Bring Me The Horizon

"Stop that, you're making me nervous" Demi put her hand on my right leg to stop it from bouncing up and down.

"Well too bad, I already am nervous" I tried to make it sound like a joke but it came out pathetically shrill. 

"You will be okay Alex" Dominik said from Demis other side.

We were sitting in the hallway of the courthouse on a comedically cliche wooden bench, waiting to be called in individually by Ms. Novak. 

Demi, Finn, Damian and I that was. 

Dominik had actually been called by the defense, which Ms. Novak hadn't really explained to me but it scared me almost as much as the fact that I would have to go in there.

I had only briefly seen Buchanan in the hallway earlier but it had been enough to make me very uncomfortable. He was a big guy, with a red, stern face who looked like he exclusively ate baby bunnies.

Ms. Novak had had her game face on when she had welcomed us earlier and the confidence she was displaying had somewhat helped my nerves for a moment, but now that clerk was poking her head through the door to call me in, the effect of that was gone entirely.

I followed her into the room, trying to ignore the grand jury as I sat in the witness stand. 

Because it was an indictment hearing, Xav wasn't actually here today which was good, because I would have broken down had I seen him.

"Miss Marlowe, I have here, in front of me, the timeline of Events as they transpired. Would you mind going over them again for the grand jury?" Ms. Novak asked.

I swallowed hard. I could see Mr. Buchanan staring daggers at me from the defense table, but I really had no choice but to respond.

"I had been receiving threats from Mr. Thompson for weeks. He had broken into my apartment while I was out of town to scare me, and I had been staying with a friend, Ms. Bennett since then. But I was scared he was going to hurt her or some other mutual friends of ours so I made the decision to return to him in order to keep them safe"

Buchanan made a sarcastic, snorting sound.

"How very noble of you, Miss Marlowe, but why don't you explain to the grand jury what you were doing with him in the first place?"

Ms. Novak responded before I could even open my mouth, with a sharpness in her voice I hadn't heard before.

"Save it for the trial Mr. Buchanan, this is an indictment for Xavier Thompson, not for Miss Marlowe"

He rolled his eyes but gestured me to proceed telling my story.

I did so, with no further interruptions from him which was relieving but at the same time it felt like it was too easy. Like he was planning something neither I nor Ms. Novak knew about. 

I was out of there faster than I thought I would be, and the testimony of the others didn't take too long either.

Dominik came back out of the room with a very annoyed expression, because Ms. Novak hadn't let him testify at all.

"She said that if Buchanan wanted to indict you as well he should file a motion but that there was no reason for me to be there as a witness for the defense" he explained when he saw our inquiring looks "it's not like I wanted to testify for him in the first place but why put me through the stress of sitting here, expecting the worst, when you're just going to end up cutting me out anyway"

I gave him a sympathetic look. I knew what he meant, he had possibly been the most nervous of all of us, since he didn't know what to expect from Buchanan but now it seemed like all of this had only been a scare tactic. 

Surely Buchanan had known Ms. Novak wasn't going to let Dom testify against me in a hearing that was not about me at all.

After what felt like forever, Ms. Novak came out of the room and walked towards us, a triumphant look on her face.

"Good news, the grand jury returned an indictment, we are going to trial

"While it was a relief, this information also sent a new wave of anxiety through my system.

"Is Buchanan gonna push to indict me as well?" I finally asked the question that had been weighing on me since I had been sitting in the witness stand earlier.

"Right now, it's not likely. I think his plan is to use the circumstances to make you seem like you aren't a credible witness and use it as leverage in benefit for his client. I'm aware that that hardly sounds better, but it is something I can work with. I'm just asking you to continue to trust me." She explained.

I nodded slowly. I wasn't known for being the most trusting person in the world, but what choice did I really have.

I felt a soft hand squeeze my shoulder in encouragement and turned around to find Demi, smiling at me reassuringly. 

"Yes of course. Thank you Ms. Novak" I answered the attorney, making sure to convey with my voice that I was actually really thankful for everything she was doing for me.

"Go home now" the ADA adressed all of us "try to relax a little, it will get stressful soon enough. Make sure to stick together, it seems like you need each other" with one last warm smile, she left us in the hallway, leaving in direction of her office.

"I don't know about you guys" Damian broke the silence "but I want a Donut"

We collectively broke out in laughter, because it sounded so absurd right in this moment.

"Come one then, that actually sounds like a good idea" Finn ushered us out of the court building to the car.

"But only if I get one with sprinkles" Demi added.

IMPORTANT A/N:

I have something I feel the need to address after seeing some things on here that made me very uncomfortable.

We, as writers, have a responsibility for what we put out in the world. Even though this is fan fiction, it's important that when you are writing about specific topics you do a minimum amount of research into them to ensure your writings won't inspire people to put themselves or others in danger. 

BDSM is on of the most prevalent ones.

BDSM does not equal abuse, and if you are writing themes of blatant abuse, with no actual negotiation happening and consent either not being given in the first place or being revoked multiple times without the other person stopping and have the nerve to call it BDSM you are furthering the stigma around it. If you then choose to not even add a disclaimer that that is what you are doing it just becomes dangerous, especially on an app like this with many very young and inexperienced people.

I encourage you to take that into consideration when you are writing, and treating the practice of BDSM with respect and caution.

I want to stress that the negotiation in the beginning of my story also doesn't equal the amount of negotiation I would do in real life, but I have found it important to make clear in my story that that is not the way it is supposed to happen.