Beautiful things - jaylor story (peace book 4)

statement

** wednesday november 7th 2035**

-taylors Pov- 

We pull up outside the prison and I'm really nervous. Joe, Ellie and I are meeting our lawyer outside the gate and walk in together. The parole meeting has already been going on for three hours, since 8am this morning, and it's almost time for us to make our statements. I'm sweating but trying to keep a level head because of Elliana. If I'm this nervous I can't imagine how bad it is for her. 

When we get out of the car, I grab her hand and our eyes meet but I can't tell what she is thinking. She has this expression on her face that I haven't seen before. She is scared I think but she isn't showing it like she usually does. 

I'm wearing a simple outfit, black jeans with a blouse and minimal makeup. Ellie is wearing jeans and a nice shirt with no makeup and both of us have our hair down. It's hard to know what to dress for something like this before it's not like court where things are formal, but you also want to look nice and put together. 

Our lawyer meets us "hi guys, ready to do this?" he asks, and I say we are, so we make our way through the security checkpoints. It's a maximum-security prison so there are several hurdles to jump through to get inside. Which is a good thing because it means that it's hard to get out and that's what we want. We want him to be locked up somewhere like this. 

We left our phones, bags and anything loose in our pockets in the car because you're not allowed to bring any of that in here. They have lockers but we decided to just leave it in the car. 

Never in my life would I have thought that I would be walking into a place like this, and even further from my mind was that my child would be coming with me. The walls are bare, there are locked doors everywhere and we are taking our shoes and jackets off to go through a metal detector and pat down. They take security seriously here and I appreciate that.

It's been nine years since I've seen Adam and I never thought I would be coming face to face with him again. I really thought that after the trial we could put this part of our past behind us and work on healing, but that's not how the universe works aperently. There is no escaping this, he will always be a part of our lives even though I wish he would fade into oblivion. He will keep doing this, he will keep applying for parole every ten years and we will have to step up and make sure he stays where he is. 

"Mom I don't want to be here. This is really uncomfortable. I'm scared" Ellie says and lean into my side while we wait for joe and our lawyer to get through security too. I went first and Ellie second. "I know, I don't want to be here either. But we are safe, there are tons of officers that will make sure no one lays a hand on any of us. And I will be right next to you and your dad is here. You're not doing this alone sweetie" 

There isn't much I can truly say to comfort her because I'm scared too, but at least I need her to know that I'm right by her side. I don't want her to feel alone because at least that's something I can reassure her that I am. 

I hold her hand and joe hold a hand on her small back, so she is walking between us as we make our way to the little courtroom that is in the prison and that they use for things like this. The door opens and everyone in the room turns to look at us and when my eyes land on Adam my blood runs cold. He has this smug smile on his face and doesn't seem bothered by any of this. He seems confident and I don't like that. 

The three of us along with our lawyer sit in the front row behind the prosecutor and wait for our turn. And when I look to the side, I see Adams mom who is glaring at us with a look that could kill. She blames us for getting her son locked up, she doesn't want to admit that he was in the wrong. I get as a parent that you don't want to see the worst in your child, but her son tortured a child, and I don't understand how anyone can defend that.