Just the two of us (book 2)

Chapter 70 The court

I look at myself in the mirror, I'm literally shaking because I know that in less than three hours I'm gonna face James in court. I can feel my body getting into this uncomfortable stage where I'm sweating, I'm sweating so much that you can see it on my forehead. I really don't wanna go, I don't wanna look at him, I just want all this to disappear. Before a couple a days ago I was more worried about Marshall but now.. Now I'm worried about seeing James, I'm worried that they won't believe me and I'm worried that James isn't gonna get convicted.
"It's gonna be fine." I suddenly hear Marshall's voice. I turn my head to look at him standing in the doorway into the bathroom leaning against the doorframe. I don't know how long he's been standing there.
"I can't do it Marshall." I whisper as I find it hard to find my voice. Marshall walks over to me, he stops right in front on me and he now looks down at me.
"I know that this shit feels really uncomfortable and I get why you think you can't do it, but baby.. You can do it and I know that you're strong enough to handle this. James can't touch you anymore, James is just a little piece of shit and he's nothing. I know that it's gonna be hard to tell all these people what he did to you but look at it this way, when you tell those people what he did to you then the whole world is gonna know how he really is." Marshall tries to comfort me. It's exactly what I'm afraid of, I'm afraid that all people is gonna know what happened to me when I was younger, I don't like that.. I don't like people who I don't know to be that close into my personal life.
"That's exactly what I don't want, I don't want people to know those things about me, I just want justice." I say. Marshall pulls me into him and he hugs me tightly, I lean my head against his chest and this is just the best feeling in the world. I don't care about anything else as long as I have him.
"I feel you baby but if you want justice then you just have to do this." He says softly.
"What if you get convicted?" Concern about him now comes over me. Marshall pulls away from me, grabs my face between his hands and forces me to look at him.
"I'm not going anywhere baby, I promise." He says and I look into his beautiful blue eyes.
"I hope not because I can't bare not to have you with me." I say.
"It's never gonna happen, I'm never gonna leave you." He says and kisses me. His soft lips are moving around on my lips, I open my mouth to allow him to let our tongues connect. He pick up the hint and slip his tongue into my mouth and I can feel my legs turn into jelly. I actually want him badly right now, I always want him, I specially want him today because I need the distraction, but I know the timing is just not right.

We arrive to court and mine and Marshall's lawyer meets us in the hallway, we have each our lawyer because as mentioned we're running like two different cases.
"Hi Amelia." My lawyer Miss Taylor says as she shakes my hand. "How are you feeling?" I like Miss Taylor because she's really sweet and she's concerned.
"I've never been so nervous in my entire life." I admit.
"Babe." Marshall tries to get my attention so I look at him. "We are just gonna go another place to talk." He informs me. I just nod my head and he kisses me.
"We should probably find a place to talk as well." Miss Taylor says and I just follow her into a little office. "Okay just to be clear; you're still going to say that you can't remember a thing from when Marshall arrived into the room and the next thing you remember is being in the hospital. It's how you protect Marshall and if they convict him then they can't convict you for false evidence."
"But Marshall isn't gonna get convicted, is he?" I ask her concerned.
"It's not my client so I can't make any promises but Marshall has a really good lawyer." She says.
"Okay." I almost whisper.
"I want you to be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster in there. James is trying to convince them that you wanted to have sex and he didn't force you, but you don't need to worry about that because it can't explain why he beat you up that badly." She now explains. I get sick in my stomach, sick that he's trying to convince people that I wanted to have sex with him.
"I can't believe him." I roll my eyes. I feel like crying but that's one thing I promised myself not to do here today.
"No one is gonna believe him Amelia, he broke 4 rips on you and caused you major damage, I promise you that the judges are on your side." She tries to comfort me.
Miss Taylor once again informs me how the things are gonna proceed before we head into the court room. Me and my lawyer sit down at one table as Marshall and his lawyer sits down at another table and I know that James can be here any minute too. I look backwards to see Lucas, Tasha and Deshaun to sit there and I know that they're witness, it's 100% for sure that they're gonna use Deshaun as he was there when it all went down.
The judge comes in and introduces the case and then it starts, it starts with that it's only our lawyers who talks and discuss the case. I feel sick and my head is literally spinning as they just stand there and talk about what happened that day, I get even more sick when my lawyer begins to talk about my past with James.
"I would like Amelia Dane for questioning." James' lawyer now says. I knew it would happen but I'm still nervous, I really don't want his lawyer to question me because I know it's not gonna be pretty. I get up from my chair and walk up to the witness chair, each steep feels so heavy.
"Name." The judge asks.
"Amelia Dane." I say.
"Amelia Dane, do you promise to speak the truth and only the truth?" The judge asks and I look at Marshall because that's where I always seek for comfort.
"Yes." I answer and the judge allows James' lawyer to ask me question.
"Miss Dane, why did you come to Mr. Rowland's house?" James' lawyer asks me. Miss Taylor warned me that James had twisted the story.
"I didn't come to James' house, he kidnapped me in his son's apparent building." I say.
"So you have contact with Lucas Rowland?" The lawyer asks me.
"Yes I have." I say honestly.
"Why are you staying in contact with Lucas Rowland if you claim that his father abused you when you were younger?" The lawyer asks.
"Object!" Miss Taylor says. "Miss Dane's relationship with Lucas Rowland has nothing to do with the case."
"It has. Victims in these cases usually stays away from their offender and anything which is related to the offender." James' lawyers says.
"Accepted." The judge says.
"Miss Dane, why would you stay in contact with the son of the man you claimed who abused you?" His lawyer keeps going.
"Lucas has always been a brother to me and it wasn't his fault that his father did those things to me." I say.
"Why didn't you turn him in when you were younger?" He asks.
"I was scared. I knew that James had a lot of friends in the police and that I wouldn't stand a chance." I say.
"Okay miss Dane, what happened when you got to mr. Rowland's house?" He asks in a tone that sounds like he doesn't believe me.
"Is he allowed to talk me like that?" I ask the judge.
"No." The judge says. "Mr. Jackson you need to adjust your tone." Mr. Jackson nods politely. I know he's a cheap lawyer so he's not very smart.
"I woke up in James' house hand cuffed to his bed and then he started blaming me for his and my aunt's divorce and he wanted me to pay for it. When I fought back then he un cuffed me, beat me up and he threatened to punish me like he did when I was a teenager..."
"According to mr. Rowland, the punishing was a part of a little playing you had going on." Mr. Jackson now says. Playing? I'm confused. Is he referring to that I wanted him to punish me? I can't even say anything because I'm shocked and I'm not sure if I understood this so mr. Jackson continues. "You liked to be punished and that's why you provoked him."
"No!" I say with a disgusted tone.
"Object!" Miss Taylor says. "Did you client just confessed a sex games with a minor?"
"No we like to call it discipline and my client never had any sexual activities with miss Dane." Mr. Jackson says.
"We all know that it doesn't make sense because why would my client run from this city, run away from her boyfriend and start a new life in another state if these actions weren't abused? Why could my client not even come back to this city before she got reunited with her old love?" Miss Taylor asks.
"Mr. Jackson you should stick to your questions and not your concussions." The judge now says.
"Of course." Mr. Jackson says. "What happened after your argument with mr. Rowland?" He now asks me.
"Eventually he threw me on the bed and pulled my pants now." My voice shakes now but I refuse to cry in front of all these people. "He was gonna rape me but luckily Marshall came."
"Did he tie you up when he laid you down on the bed?" He asks.
"No." I say.
"According to the information; Marshall Mathers and Deshaun Holton rang the doorbell and James Rowland went out and opened the door. Tell me why you still laid in the bedroom bended over the bed in the same position when Marshall came in?" He asks.
"I was in shock and I was in so much pain that I couldn't move." I say.
"What happened when mr. Mathers came?" He asks.
"I don't know, I just remember him entering the bedroom where I was bend over the bed, next thing I remember is being in the hospital."
"It's a funny coincidence that you suddenly don't remember anything when your boyfriend obviously committed a crime." Mr. Jackson says. He's really annoying and I think that he forgets that I'm the victim here.
"The hospital told me that it often happens to victims in these cases." I justify.
"Mr. Mathers is very jealous, isn't he?" He asks now.
"Not more than any other boyfriend." I say.
"How would Marshall have reacted if he saw you on the bed ready to have sex with another man?" He asks. This is exactly what my lawyer warned me about.
"He would leave me." I say.
"I think that Marshall's temper and past relationship shows us differently." He says now. What is he talking about? Past relationship? Did he hit Kim?
"Marshall would never lay a hand on me." I frown.
"There's some things that doesn't make sense to me. You said that James Rowland handcuffed you to the bed. Why would he un cuff you if he had kidnapped you? That would just be a perfect opportunity for you to run." He says.
"I can't answer on his behalf, I just know that he wanted to use some instruments he used to use and then he un cuffed me." I answer.
"Miss Dane, you were very much a rebel when you were younger, is that true?" Mr. Jackson asks me now.
"I was." I admit.
"How come you provoked James on purpose if you were so scared of him? How could you dare to provoke a man who you knew would punish you if you didn't behave?" He asks.
"Like you said, I was a rebel. I wouldn't let him dictate me like he did so I fought against him." I say honestly.
"I just don't understand why you would do that if you really thought at it as abuse, I would avoid the punishments if it was me so why didn't you do that?" He asks. Omg.. I just answered that question.
"Because then he'd win and I couldn't have that." I say.
"You don't think that you encourage him to do it because you liked it?" He asks and I'm very close to crying right now. I think it's disgusting that he's even referring to that I would do it on purpose.
"I can assure you that I didn't like it. Just because I fought against him then it doesn't mean that I encourage him to do it. His rules was ridiculous and if I had to follow them then I would be a prisoner in my own home. He was the one who was always looking for a way to punish me because he apparently was getting off on it. He forced me to drop all my clothes so he could cane me naked! I'm still traumatized by all the awful things he did to me." I get angry now.
"If you are that then why have you never been to a psychologist?" Mr. Jackson pushes my buttons even more.
"Because a psychologist can't help me, a psychologist can't take the pain away. I've made myself a life even though James put me through shit because I'm a strong girl, but that doesn't mean that I'm not still broken inside and that's just something I have to work on, no one else can fix that but myself." I say. I think that Mr. Jackson is surprised about my strong answer because he's quiet for a moment while he looking down at his notes.
"Then I don't have anymore questions." Mr. Jackson says. I'm literally shaking when the judge allows me to go back to my seat. I just wanna cry because I felt so exposed just up there and I can't believe that James is trying to convince people that I wanted him to punish me when I was younger. I know that the judge is gonna call James to the witness chair next and I can't listen to that.
"Am I done here?" I ask miss Taylor.
"Yes." She says.
"Can I please then get out of here? Can I get exempt for the rest of the court case?" I ask her. Miss Taylor now asks the judge for permission to get me exempt for the rest of the court case and fortunately he allows me.

Damn.. It's been almost a week since I've updated and I'm so so sorry about that! My school is just so crazy lately and I have so many assignments that I barely have a life anymore. I promise it'll be better eventually.
I hope y'all liked the chapter and please comment and vote.