The Obsession

Chapter 15

   My heart beats fast in my chest. A nervous sweat drips down my face. My knees feel weak as if I'm about to fall and pass out.

   I walk into the large courtroom with Max by my side. He holds my hand and squeezes it reassuringly. I give a fake smile at him and look at the room. The people beginning to fill the seats to watch. The jury. The chair where I will sit.

   Everything seems to go by in a blur. Me sitting down. The judge coming out. Me swearing to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. The world comes back into regular timing when the judge pounds her gavel down.

   I see her mouth moving. No words can be heard from them. She calls me to sit at the stand. I follow instructions and sit on the chair. My eyes land on him. He smiles at me, as if we're in deep love. I look away and at Max. His smile gives me more confidence.

   My lawyer stands up. "Ms. Rose, do you mind telling me what happened?" Is the only question I can actually answer without getting tongue twisted.

   "Yes." I take a deep breath and a drink of water. "It started when I was 14. People always made fun of me because I wasn't pretty enough and too smart. Well, my getaway was the internet. I'd go on the internet and talk to complete strangers. One day, I met," My breathing catches in my throat. I take another drink to clear it. "Jonathan. He was gorgeous and sweet." Jonathan looks pleased. "Little did I know, who he actually was. After four years of not seeing him, he returned on my birthday and killed my boyfriend and his family. " Tear start spilling over. "H-he kidnapped me and never let me out of the house. He was abusive, once stabbing me in the calf to keep me from r-running away from him..." I sigh and continue. "After Xander was born, I decided that Xander couldn't be without a father. I was a stupid 18 year old. So I stayed with him. All of those events lead," I gesture my hands to the room. "To this."

   After continuing on and on about what happened between Jonathan and me, including lots of bloody details about the murders, I finally step down from the stand. Now cold tears streak my face as I sit back down on the cold, metal chair. Jonathan is called onto the stand. My body tenses as he looks straight at me. His outfit is a bright orange jumpsuit with the accessory of silver handcuffs.

   "Mr. Ryan, what is your story?" His lawyer asks him.

   "Well, when Isabella was 14, we happened to meet on a random video chatting website. I fell in love with her the second I saw her." My mouth turns sour at his words. "We met and I felt an instant connection to her. I told her that I couldn't see her until she was 18. She agreed and I told her I loved her. She returned the I love you. For the four years I tried to forget her, I got more and more attracted to her. I'd watch her walk home from school or wait at the bus stop. When she grew up, she became even more beautiful. I fell in love with her at first sight."

   "What happened on her 18th birthday?" The lawyer asks.

   "On her 18th birthday, I gave her the best present I could. I killed her cheating boyfriend. He was planning on taking my love's purity and leaving her for some whore. When she came to his house and screamed when she saw my present, I was confused. I thought I'd done her a favor. When she didn't listen, I took her home where she belonged and let her sleep." He went on and on about how we fell in love. I blocked him out until he started talking about our first time. Also only time. "Gosh, she was so beautiful. She is still breathtaking. " I cringe as he looks at me with loving eyes, which I don't return. "She was the best I'd ever had. Her delicate touch, the way she moved, " My stomach starts feeling sick. I cover my ears and close my eyes. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look up to see my lawyer's concerned face. From the couple of times we met, he is already like a father to me.

   "It's alright sweetheart. He finished. " He says while taking my hands off of my ears. I nod and look up at the judge.

   Jonathan finishes his story and sits back down. I am called back up to the stand to talk to his lawyer. "Hello Ms. Rose." He leans against the wooden wall thing. "Did you ever love Jonathan?"

   "Well, not really. When I was 14 I liked him. I didn't really love him. "

   "Why did you stay with Jonathan when you were pregnant? You could've left." I shake my head.

   "No I couldn't of. I wanted Xander to have a father. Jonathan wouldn't of let me leave anyways. He stabbed my calf once so that I couldn't leave him. " My eyes fill with tears. "You don't understand how hard it is to live with an abusive murderer. I thought he'd changed for Xander. I was wrong. One day after I came back from the grocery store, he hit me for visiting with a friend. Not to mention how he almost killed my baby and put me in a coma for a few weeks. " Tears trail down my cheeks.

   The lawyer looks at me with full trust. I feel so happy that somebody actually listens to me instead of just thinking I'm crazy. It's like waking up to your favorite breakfast and then going out with your crush. It makes you smile.

   "I don't have anymore questions. I don't think we even need to finish to know that Jonathan Ryan belongs in prison. " He says the last sentence  to the judge quietly.

   The judge beats the gavel. "Recess. " She and the lawyers go back to her office. A few minutes later, they come back. "As I've been told, Mr, Ryan's lawyer doesn't want to attorney for Mr. Ryan anymore. " Jonathan looks up I'm shock.

   "We are taking the rest of the day for recess until Jonathan is appointed a new lawyer. " She beats the gavel as people start to talk. "Order!" The room falls silent. "We will finish this tomorrow. "

---

   Max holds my hand as we enter the same room as we did the day before. Jonathan and I's story has brought much attention. Big news channels are broadcasting the story. I refuse to talk to the reporters.

   Again, I sit in the same cold, metal chair facing the same judge being afraid for the same reasons. When Jonathan comes into the room, dread rips through me. His presence sends fear into my every bone.

   Jonathan sits in the same place with a different lawyer. This one is a woman. She looks about 50 and wears a pencil skirt and a button up top like mine. Her hair is a dyed black that needs another job done because white hairs poke out the top of her scalp. Her face is wrinkled and caked in make up.

   "All stand!" A guard says. Everybody stands as the judge enters the room. She goes on and on about what this is about. Jonathan is called to the stand with my lawyer.

   Jonathan winks at me as he passes by my table. I look away from him and frown. My lawyer starts as soon as Jonathan sits down. "Hello Mr. Ryan. Let's cut to the chase. Why'd you kidnap Ms. Rose?"

   "Objection!" Jonathan's lawyer cuts in.

   "Dismissed." The judge answers calmly.

   "Well, she wasn't listening. I didn't kidnap her. I took her home. To our home. " Crazy, crazy, crazy. "I thought she loved me, as well."

   "Ahh okay. As I've been told, she doesn't love you."

   "She does love me! She just won't admit it!" Jonathan pounds his fist on the table.

   "Calm down, Mr. Ryan. "

  "No! Isabella! Tell them you love me!" My eyes widen and I start to tremble. Cops start holding him back. They pull him out of the room. "Tell them you love me, Bell!" Tears waterfall down my cheeks.

   "Make him stop." I mutter while covering my ears. The last thing I hear before blacking out is Jonathan screaming for me.

_________________________

   I'm like, super bored with writing this. Should I do a time skip to get past the boring court things? TELLS ME! I NEED TO KNOW ASAP!

   BTW, I know NOTHING about court so excuse me if I'm wrong about the way they do things.

   Thanks for reading!