Shape of You (+18)

Chapter Sixty-One

▬▬▬▬▬ Marley's POV ▬▬▬▬▬

"Miss Jones, how would you describe the relationship between Joel and Everly Kramer?" Kim asked me as I sat on the witness stand. I couldn't stop my leg from shaking as I sat there, trying to remain focused and careful with my answers. Looking over at Joel, and seeing the war inside of him over the thought of losing his little girl, I told the honest truth.

"I've never seen a love so pure that didn't have to be."

Pausing, Kim thought for a second before prompting, "Explain."

"Most of my life, I've been an orphan, so when it comes to the relationship between a parent and child, I...I look for things. Notice things. I've even pined for that sort of thing, wishing my parents were alive to do them with me. Thankfully, I had a grandmother who loved me enough to take me in, even when she didn't have to, and I'll always be grateful...but she'd raised a child before. She'd lived and experienced youth and life freely."

My eyes naturally fell on Joel again, and his stare was grounding as I continued, "But, Joel? He chose to love Ev like his own daughter, and when everyone else around her made decisions that left her without, he made a choice that gave her everything she could ever need...giving up years many of us spent selfishly, doing what we wanted, having fun, with minimal responsibilities."

"And what have you been able to observe of this family in the time that you've known them?"

Smiling confidently, I answered, "Just what I described. Joel didn't have to—there were other options for guardian—but he chose to parent that little girl. He chose to love her." Turning my head until I was looking the judge straight in his face with a tenacity that dared him to dismiss me, I added, "And to invalidate all the sacrifices he made back then, that have made Everly as happy as she is now, would be absolutely criminal."

"No further questions, Your Honor."

With that signal, the judge turned the questioning over to Marie's lawyer. "Mr. Ackerman. The witness is in your hands."

"Thank you, Your Honor." Standing up, Ackerman took his time walking toward me, with an air around him that screamed arrogance. I'm sure he was very good at his job, Marie wouldn't have hired him if he wasn't, but he walked around like the case was already won. I thought back to what Dom said when he took over watching Everly, and could tell I was about to witness first hand what he meant by it. "Miss Jones, just how long exactly have you known Mr. Kramer?"

"About four months," I answered, sitting up straighter as he got closer.

"And roughly how many of those one hundred and twenty days did you both spend together?"

With a confused expression, I replied, "I-I'm not sure. Um...we make time for each other as much as possible, but I couldn't give you an exact number. I wasn't keeping track."

"That's fine. It's hard to do that when the number you're looking for is that great, I understand. Now, how much of that time together includes Everly?"

"I never said the number was that-"

"Miss Jones, my question is, in the past four month, when you spent time with Mr. Kramer, how often was his niece present?"

Biting the inside of my cheek, recognizing what he tried to do, I corrected him. "Joel's daughter is with us sometimes."

"But most of the time?" One of his eyebrows raised as he waited for my response.

"Well, when we do get together, typically it's while Everly is in school, or she may be with Joel's mother. But when she's not, there are no issues having her with us. In fact, I love spending time with her, and have no reason not to want her around. She's been by house so much she's managed to even grow close with my dog, Spud." Chuckling a little at the memories, I shared, "Sometimes I think he'd rather go home with her."