Love Song (LGBTQ+) (COMPLETED)

57. Believer

Sitting down to my left, Chris planted his right hand on my leg as his left carefully set down his briefcase in front of him. There was only another few minutes left until the trial was going to finally begin, and to say that I was nervous was the understatement of the century. I was a coin flip away from self-destructing, and if I was being honest, I really didn't have any idea when I was going to implode on myself. Even after so much preparation by the people around me, I was still a nervous, terrified wreck.

Delay after delay came from Devin's side while meeting after meeting was held, holding out until the last minute in hopes that new evidence or information that flipped everything on its head would come, at least that was how Chris put it. Chris took over for Alexis who had to take time off to help her sick mother, and as quickly as he jumped on, everything finally seemed to start making progress. Whether it was his presence that sped everything up or if it was purely coincidence was something I was only left to wonder on.

Chris flatly refused deals of any sort, clearly stating to Devin's lawyers and the judge that he was fully intending on coming after Devin with everything he could. Devin continued to reiterate his innocence at every turn, refusing to acknowledge that he'd committed any wrongdoing even when the evidence was thrown in his face. After hearing that, I was glad hearing that Chris and Jeremy weren't planning on letting up on him. While it really was relatively short, the case seemed to drag on like molasses in the snow. At the end of the day, the only thing I wanted was for everything to be over with, win or loss. Just simple normalcy.

Of course, I wanted Devin to spend his life in prison. Even if it was one of those upper-class rich prisons, it was still a prison and hopefully one that he was never going to see the exit of. If I was being honest, I wanted him to suffer in the same way he made me suffer. I wanted him to be bent over in a cell and have someone else force their pleasure on him, just like he'd done to me. If I was being realistic, there was no way that was going to happen. As much as I wanted him to suffer, he was just going to rot away in some locked up, fluffy bedroom where he'd get fat and drink Pepsi all day long.

"I've already said this, Lynn, but it's going to get harder. From here on out, you're going to have to be as honest and detailed as possible." Chris lifted his hand from my thigh. "Just stay strong like you've been and this'll be over before you know it, okay?"

"He's right." With the sleeves of her bright yellow hoodie hiding both of her hands, Grace took a step forward and brought herself to eye level with me. "Whatever happens, we're still going to be here for you. After this, we can go to Texas and never see have to see Devin again. Ever."

During that late afternoon that Jennifer came forward, Chris took all of us to dinner and spoke on his fathers plans for the future. He started with how his brother was planning on opening another firm in Texas, which slowly rolled itself into who was going to oversee it. Chris convinced his family to let my mom to oversee the firm in Texas, and that was when he focused his attention on me. He wanted Grace and I to be okay with being uprooted and moved to a place we'd never lived in or been to while leaving behind everything we knew in Ely.

If Grace hadn't been living with us already, I would've refused to go if it meant leaving her alone with the scum in Ely. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. What created the hesitation in me was Nathan, who was always there for me. Could I just up and leave Ely after what he did for me? After missing nearly a year of school, he was held back. Yet, even after wasting away a year of his future for him, he never blamed me. Why had someone I treated so cruelly been so caring towards me? No matter how many times he explained it, I just still couldn't understand it. Nathan was fine with me going to Texas when I told him, and even pushed me into going, saying it would've been better for me than staying in Ely.