Adopted by Taylor Swift

chapter 34: the court date

January 22, 2019
(Taylor's Perspective)

Today's the court date and I'm not going to lie, I'm a little anxious. The last time I was in a court room was in 2017 when I had a sexual assault trial against David Mueller (🤮), and fortunately the judge ruled in my favor. But this time it's different. It's not about me, it's about Astrid.

We're going to court to press charges for attempted kidnapping and a few other specifics. I'm pretty certain that everything is going to be ok, especially since we have witnesses; Blake, Ryan, Timothée, and Elijah, but I feel bad that a kid who's not even a teenager has to go to court. We have my incredible legal time and lawyers including; Doug Baldridge, Katherine "Katie" Wright Morrone, and Aaron S. Blynn.
I just hope that Travis (Scott), Astrid's father who abandoned her, which led to her going to an orphanage, gets what he deserves.

"Today's the day." I unexcitedly say to Astrid.
"It is." Astrid unenthusiastically replies.
"Don't worry, you've got this. Remember we're all going to be there, Me, Ryan, Blake, Harry, Elijah, and Timothée." I say reassuring her, making sure she knows we'll be ok.
Elijah walks over to her and puts his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry sis, it'll be ok." Elijah says to Astrid.
"Thanks Elijah." Astrid says, thankful for his support.

I start to make sure that preparations are ready for the case. I politely excuse myself from Astrid and Elijah, before disappearing off to gather papers and any sort of evidence that might be needed for the case. While I'm gathering papers I can hear Timothée talking with Elijah and Astrid, they're talking about the case and Timothée is reminding them not to worry. I check the clock and everyone starts to get ready.

Once we're ready, we get in a waiting SUV, before heading towards the court. I feel very lucky that we've been able to maintain a low profile, especially (because no offense to them) if my fans found out it would add more stress to an already stressful situation.

We mainly talk about making sure that Astrid gets the justice that she deserves. The drive is pretty short, under twenty five minutes. We turn into the court's parking lot and go over everything one more time. We get out of the SUV and head into the court itself where we meet up with my lawyers.

After a brief discussion, we all head into the courtroom. Once we've entered the courtroom, we get situated, me and Astrid sit with my lawyers, while Blake, Ryan, Elijah, and Timotheé sit in the witness chairs. Twenty minutes pass and Astrid's father enters the courtroom alongside his team of lawyers. After his party gets settled, the judge says "order in the court". The judge starts with our side and me, Astrid, and our lawyers explain the situation. After we explain it from our "perspective", Astrid's dad and his lawyers make their own account of the situation that allege that Timotheé and Elijah weren't there, and that Ryan "threatened to beat him" if he touched Astrid.

Our party and the other party go back and forth for hours, trying to expose any inconsistencies or any lies, and of course the other party is failing miserably. They've tried to change who was at the place, when it happened, and tried to justify Astrid's dad's actions.

The judge notices inconsistencies in the other party's made up "recount", including other people and witnesses testifying that it occurred at a different time compared to the other party's. The case is a bit messy and hectic, but after many hours and exposing false proof, the judge rules in our favor.

Astrid's dad has a restraining order within 200m of anyone; including myself, Astrid, Elijah, Timotheé, Blake, and Ryan, and he'll also be on 11 months probation. The judge also declares $45,000 in damages owed to us.

After the case we leave the courtroom, feeling justified and happy that Astrid will be ok and safe. We celebrate the night by going out for dinner and playing board games before Blake and Ryan go home, and the rest of us get ready for bed at my Tribeca duplex. Following a long day in court, everyone heads to our respective bedrooms and I fall asleep late at night in my comfy California king-sized bed.

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Number of words: 733
Chapter 34 is done. ✅

Side note; if anyone has any ideas for the plot, feel free to leave them