Playing With Fire || d.h

59. Imprisoned

A/N: I'm pretty sure the whole court thing will be a bit unrealistic, but the closest thing I've seen to a court hearing is legally blonde, so...sorry.

"Hey, sorry I was out all day without telling you how long I was gone, I just need some time to-" Dodie starts, but is immediately cut off when she finally looks up at me. I hadn't expected her to be home by now, otherwise I would've hidden myself. I'm curled into a ball on the cool tile, leaning against the island, bulbous tears running down my cheeks as I try my best to subdue the ugly dry heaving coming from me.

"Oh, my god, what happened?" She asks almost hysterically, leaning down next to me. "Is it Dan or Phil? Are they alright?" She asks hurriedly. I shake my head heavily. "What is it?"

"C-court...PJ..." I stumble, sobbing. Her face creases with sympathy, finally sitting all the way down in front of me.

"When?"

"Next week...F-Friday," I reply.

"That soon?" She exclaims, her eyebrows knitting together. "Do you even have a lawyer?" I shake my head once again.

Suddenly, she stands up with a strong expression on her face, catching me off guard. "I'm gonna help you get through this, if it's the last thing I do. I want to see that bastard burn in Hell, and I'm not letting anything stop that from happening.

I strange noice between a laugh and a sob escaped from my throat. "Thank you," I mutter.

She only shrugs. "I'm just glad we can finally get this over with," she replies.

I hesitate, then blurt out, "what's been wrong the last few days?" As a look of confusion covers her face, I continue, "I mean, you've been kind of isolating. I didn't know if something was actually wrong, or you were just mad at me, or what."

Dodie only chuckles a little. "I guess I didn't really fully grasp that Phil was really leaving until yesterday. Part of me thought if I just didn't address it, it wouldn't even happen," she explains. "So when he did finally leave, it finally all hit me at once, and I just needed a bit of time to finally get over it."

I smile reassuringly. "You know, you could've just told me. You don't have to keep this kind of thing to yourself."

"Yeah, I know, but..." she sighs. "I know I'm always seen as the bubbly, snarky, happy one, and I feel like if I'm not that way all the time, I'm just gonna be letting people down."

I give a sad chuckle. "I don't think there's a way you could let any of us down. Everyone here loves you. You're human, you don't have to hide that."

Dodie gives me a small smile. "Thanks, (Y/n)." She then pulls me up, and claps her hands together enthusiastically. "Now to take this guy down!"

Day 2: Oulu, Finland

Dan had sent me one quick text last night saying that he wouldn't be able to call me, due to the day being exhausting. Of course I understood completely, but that didn't help the disappointment that flooded through me.

However, last night and today I haven't really had a chance to think about him, mainly because Dodie and I were working hard on forming a case around PJ, finding a lawyer, etcetera. Dodie somehow found pictures, and had been able to take out hospital replies from the bruises and cuts PJ had left on me. I spent a good chunk of the night writing out everything I remembered from that time, which was incredibly difficult to the multiple anxiety attacks it caused me. Thank god I had Dodie.

I knew the court would look into my history, and I was almost certain they were planning on using it against me. I had a history of mental illness and drug problems, whereas I'm ninety-nine percent PJ had a clear slate. However, this only motivated me to work harder, as I didn't want there to be a single excuse for not finding him guilty.