𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐀━━︎︎L. Dunbar ✓︎

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:
❝︎In A Court Of Law❞︎

IT WAS THE DAY OF THE TRIAL, AND ALASKA WAS NERVOUS AND ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED. She stood in her room, pacing back and forth. She had on a red dress that reached her knees and a pair of sandals. Panic was starting to course through her veins. It dawned on her that she couldn't do this. Tears started to form in her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. At the same time, Stiles knocked on her door and peeked his head inside. Instantly he pushed the door open when he saw her.

     "Hey, hey, hey, are you alright." He placed his hands on either of her shoulders. Alaska shook her head. "What's wrong? Alaska, hey, breathe. You're having a panic attack." He squeezed her shoulder a little tighter, trying his best to keep her grounded. "Alaska, I need you to focus, okay. Can you name three things in the room? Alaska, hey, it's okay. Name three things."

     Alaska struggled to breathe but forced herself to focus as she looked around the room. "Uh, uh, m-my lamp, um th-the mirror, and the, uh, the blanket." Slowly, she caught her breath.

     "Good." Stiles nodded. "Good, that's good." He pulled her into a hug and Alaska hugged him back, letting out a shaky breath. "You're okay. You've got this." He gently pulled away. "Alright?"

     Alaska nodded. "Sorry."

     "Don't apologize."

     Footsteps approached causing them to turn their heads. Noah appeared in the doorway. "You ready?"

      Alaska took in a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be."

They all piled into Noah's car and drove to the courthouse. When they got there they immediately went inside. Stiles and Noah were both forced to depart from her, not without Noah assuring her he would be right there and Stiles reassuring her that she had this. Alaska stood there with two other officers, wringing her wrists as she impatiently waited.

     "Your honor, I would like to call Alaska Waldrop to the stand."

That was her que. Alaska walked in, swearing in before taking to the stand. She sat there, glancing around the court room before her eyes landed on her father. Everything in her froze. His eyes were meeting hers and she was trying so desperately to look away from him but found that she couldn't. Her body was paralyzed in fear and it would have stayed that way had she not noticed the twitch of his lips. The smirk that he was so desperately trying to push away and she snapped out of it. Fear was replaced with anger as she forced herself to look away from him.

The next set of eyes she met was Liam's. Her body seemed to relax under his gaze, a gentle nod coming from him that told her she had this before she looked away and towards the lawyer who had been patiently laying out the foundation for the jury. The lawyer turned to Alaska and Alaska sat up straighter.

     "Miss Waldrop, can you identify that man sitting over there?"

     Alaska nodded. "Trevor Waldrop, my step-father."

     "Miss Waldrop, are you willing to testify in a court of law what happened to you?"

     Alaska swallowed thickly, glancing at Liam for a moment before looking back at the lawyer and nodding. "Yes."

     "Please proceed when you're ready."

Alaska met the eyes of Liam once more, letting her racing heart calm at his presence. She took a deep breath before she began talking. She relived that night, repeating word for word everything that had went down, not daring to leave out a single detail. She explained what led up to it, how it happened. She explained how she had been found by a group of hikers―︎which was the only lie―︎and gave gruesome detail of the damage that had been done to her body, how she had been out for a week, how she had nightmares about that night. She couldn't help the tears that rolled down her face, glancing angrily at the man responsible for this. She stared him down, saying everything to him and watching as his face fell. She watched as the realization dawned on him that he wasn't getting out of this and satisfaction roared in her veins. When she finished telling her story, there were mostly angry faces, and a lot of tears from other people.

She listened as they told him there would be no bail, that he was sentenced to life for two counts for attempted murder and for rape. When the decision was made, Trevor shot up from his seat.

     "You bitch!" He went for her and yet Alaska didn't move. She watched as he was tackled by officers, quickly placed in handcuffs as he was dragged away. Alaska stood and walked out of the room. She was met outside with her friends and Noah. Instantly, Liam pulled her into a hug. Alaska hugged him back, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

     "I'm so proud of you," He softly said. "You did so good." He pulled away from her but kept a hold of her hand.

     "Are you okay?" Scott asked.

     Alaska nodded. "I am. Watching his face turn into realization, knowing he wasn't getting out of it, that made all of it worth it."

     "I say we celebrate." Lydia told them.

     "Not another party," Stiles groaned.

     "Not a party." Lydia corrected. "Just a get together. Just us."

     Alaska pursed her lips as she thought about it. "You know, that doesn't sound like too bad of an idea."

     Lydia smiled. "I knew I liked you."

     Alaska chuckled. Noah walked towards the group. "Come on, let's get you home."

     Alaska nodded before looking at Liam and giving him a small smile. The two exchanged a quick kiss before Alaska softly said, "Thank you."

     Liam frowned. "For what?"

     "For not giving up on me."

     "I'd never give up on you." Liam softly said. Alaska gave him a small smile before walking over to Noah who placed a gentle hand on her back, leading her to the car. She looked over her shoulder at her friends and couldn't help but smile. They were the best friends she could ever ask for, and she'd never take them for granted.