The Supernova Effect

Part four: The Supernova

"The hot glowing surface
expands quickly making
the fireball brighter again.
In a few days it will be 10x
the size of the original star."

Omniscient

The courtroom overflowed with people long before the trial officially began.

Family members.

Friends.

Curious strangers.

News reporters crowded the back rows with cameras, notebooks, and eager expressions, all desperate to capture details from the case the media had obsessively labeled The Lake Michigan Murder.

The atmosphere felt suffocating.

Heavy with anticipation.

Nova sat near the front beside Hana Lee, both women holding onto each other's hands tightly enough to hurt.

Strangely enough, over the past few months, they had grown close.

Not because their differences disappeared.

But because grief had stripped both of them down to the same fragile thing:

Love for Daisuke.

Rita and O'Neil sat beside Nova while Giovanni, Antonio, Andre, Maria, Giselle, and Namaari filled the row behind them.

Across the courtroom sat the Williams family.

Exhausted.

Broken.

Camden sat between his parents quietly, hoping that he will finally get answers for his older brother's death.

Darius sat nearby, arms crossed tightly over his chest.

Part of him wanted Daisuke proven innocent for Nova's sake.

The uglier part of him wanted the opposite.

Because if Daisuke truly was a monster...

Maybe Nova would finally let him go.

The room quieted suddenly as deputies escorted Daisuke inside.

Nova's chest tightened instantly.

Orange.

She hated the color on him.

For years she'd only ever seen him in black, white, or muted colors that somehow made him feel untouchable.

Now the bright orange jumpsuit made him look painfully human.

Vulnerable.

Too thin.

Exhausted.

Their eyes met briefly as he walked past.

And despite everything—

He still searched for her first.

The judge finally entered the courtroom before banging his gavel loudly.