Beautiful things - jaylor story (peace book 4)

the courtroom and another step

** Thursday January 3rd 2036**

-taylors Pov-

Ellie, joe and I are going to the courthouse for the trial. It's just after midday and joe has been here all morning watching it and I've been waiting at home with Ellie because she is really not feeling like going there today and I don't blame her. A lot of feelings from the last trial is bobbling in her head.

But eventually we make it there and she clings to my hand as we walk into the courtroom. I know neither one of us want to be here today.

He is sitting in a prison jumpsuit and turn to look at us when we walk in and has this smug look on his face. He has a long beard and doesn't look refined at all, not like the Adam I used to know all those years ago. If you put this Adam and that Adam in the same room, you wouldn't even think they are the same person. This Adam is rough while the old Adam was a prick who didn't like to get dirty.

"Mom, I want to go home" Ellie whispers in my ear as she sits down between me and joe clutching onto my arm. I wish I could take her home; I wish she didn't need to be here, but she does. "I know sweetie. But we are going to do this together and then we are going to go home. We don't need to stay long" I assure her, and she leans her head on my shoulder while joe grabs her other hand.

There are moments like this where you see the damage of what he did to her. Her eyes glass over, and she is clearly struggling. I wish there was something I could do to take all of the pain away from her, but there is nothing I can do. I can't travel back in time and make her not be in that playroom on that particular day. But what I can do is be here for her now and every today moving forward ready to help her move forward.

"Elliana Alwyn" the judge asks for her, and she goes hesitantly up to the witness box and sit down and face the jury. I can see it on her face that she is trying not to panic, and I just hope that this doesn't set her back and make her slip into bad habits as a result of this.

"What is your relationship with the accused" the prosecutor asks her.

-ellies pov-

"He was the man that kidnapped me over nine years ago" I say and try to use clear speech and word myself properly.

He goes on and ask me about facts of that case and it pains me to talk about it. It's bad enough that I remember it all, so I don't want to talk about it ever. But here I am sitting in front of a room filled with lots of people speaking about the hardest week of my life. It seems like time passes by slowly and I keep answering question after question about it.

"And then on the day of the accident. What happened?" he asks. "We were at the prison to make statements in favor of keeping him in prison and not allow him to have parole. He got really mad at the end of it. And then we got in the car, my mom and I was in the back because I was struggling a lot"

My lip starts to tremble, so I stop for a second and wipe under my eyes and take a deep breath. "Then the only thing I can remember Is feeling my body being thrown around and then everything was black. That's all I remember before I woke up in the hospital"

The defense attorney asks me a similar series of questions but doesn't look particularly interested in hearing what I have to say about it and keep interrupting me which I find really rude.

"So don't you think that you making a statement aggravated my client?" she asks me, and I try to not get myself get shaken up and react to what she is saying. I know that she is trying to make me have a reaction or scream at her, and I'm not going to let her get that satisfaction.

"Getting angry is no valid reason to plan a car crash with the intent of killing three people. There is no valid reason to plan that. So maybe he got angry but that doesn't excuse it" I say calmly.