How Could This Be Real?

84. The Trial- Part 1

Obviously this trial is about "rape" so if you'd just rather not with all that stuff then skip to part three where I will give you further instructions ;) Otherwise I hope you like it 'cause I spent like over a week on this scene and it was hard and tiring and yeah (but I'm not complaining, it was actually pretty fun haha). Hopefully you appreciate my hard work lol.

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I got to speak to a lawyer a few days later. We talked for a really long time, trying to come up with the best case we could possibly present. He kept reassuring me that everything would be fine, that the judge would take my consent since I was now 16 and all that, but I still had my doubts. I was told that David's trial would be this Sunday and I was nervous the whole week. What if I accidently said something wrong? What if we get a really strict judge who disapproves of large age gaps? What if we're already doomed and David will have to go to prison for who knows how long? I tried really hard not to think about the possibilities, but I just couldn't help it.

The day came up quickly and before I knew it, my parents and I were standing outside of the county courthouse. It was a pretty impressive piece of architecture made of white marble with a large domed roof, similar to most government buildings, yet somehow different in its own way. We walked up the steps and through the large front doors. I didn't really pay attention to the interior, I was too focused on what I had to say. I made my way to my place at the front of the courtroom and sat down, my leg bouncing up and down anxiously. I kept stealing glances at the door, just waiting to see David stride inside.

I felt a hand on my arm and glanced next to me, my gaze landing on my lawyer's kind face. He was a tall, built man who you would probably think is a gym trainer or something if you didn't see him in his suit. His skin was a deep tan and his forest green eyes were looking right into my blue ones confidently.

"There's no reason to be nervous," he said in a strong, calm voice. "David is going to be just fine. Just say what we practiced and everything will turn out."

I attempted a smile and forced my leg to stop shaking, but my eyes refused to stay anywhere but that door for more than a minute. I glanced at the clock which read 1:53. The trial was supposed to officially start at 2:00 and I had a feeling these would be seven of the longest minutes of my life.

My ears suddenly picked up the creak of hinges and my head whipped around to the door again, but I sighed disappointedly when I saw who had walked in. It was the older woman from the hotel whose name I'd been informed is Ms. Gilbert. She'd been called in as a witness since she had been the one that called the police. We had a solid case, but she was our biggest worry. She was convinced that I'd been raped and she was going to do everything in her power to convince the judge of it too. Usually in a rape case one side is trying to prove that they're guilty and the other is pleading innocent, but we were both going for innocence so between the two lawyers, her story should be blown out of the water. Besides, all she has are opinions and assumptions, so it should be easy to get her to slip up. Despite all this, I was still wary of her and what she was going to say.

While I was still turned around, I glanced over all the wooden bench seats that stretched down the long aisle which were used for public trails. Since this was a private case, most of them were empty. The only people here were my parents, Ms. Gilbert, and a bored looking security guard that was leaning against the wall and studying his fingernails intently. I was about to turn back to the front when I saw the door start to open again and I stared at it with hopeful eyes. Again, who walked in wasn't who'd I'd been waiting for, but I wasn't disappointed by their presence either.

My wide eyes followed them down the aisle and he slid onto the bench behind me, a grin on his face. "Hey there," he said, leaning over the railing casually.