MATILDA , jj maybank

37

MATILDA! CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN:
COURT DAY
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"John Booker Routledge pursuant to the North Carolina statute section 14, you are charged with murder in the first degree with aggravated circumstances If convicted, the maximum sentence would be the death penalty." The judge stated striking her gavel making Lizzes mouth drop. She felt her heart once quicken and she looked over to Ward Cameron, who had a calm look on his face. Why was he even here? It was him and his son who did this. Liz felt tears swell up in her eyes.

"Your Honor, he's 17." JJ exclaimed as he jumped up, and Liz was quick to try and stop him from going any further.

"JJ stop" she told him and he looked down to see her broken expression.

"Quiet" the judge ordered and Liz turned to see John B being taken from the courtroom in cuffs. Her eyes widened slightly.

"He's 17! Are you kidding me?" JJ went on and Liz pryed through the crowd towards her brother with Sarah holding onto her arm.

"John B!" She exclaimed, trying to get passed the guard but he didn't let her and he grabbed and Sarah's arms, just before Kie came and she pulled her out of the man's grasp.

"Stop! Don't touch them!" Kie exclaimed at the guard "Let's go. Let's get out of here." Kie told him, running one of her hands through Liz's hair as they approached JJ who took Liz hand, pulling her closer to him, placing a kiss on her forehead. As Liz walked out she felt eyes on her, and heard whispers around the courtyard. She felt like everything around her was fuzzy.

"Justice is served"

"He had it coming."

"Is this a joke? Like, are we in hell or..?" Kie questioned

"I should have never come home" Sarah muttered

"They're gonna kill him, guys. I know it" JJ stated and Liz looked up at him for a moment

"JJ, stop" she told him before she stated to hear another conversation that made her blood rise.

"—Sorry for what you and your family have gone through. Thank God the system works" the man said towards The Cameron Parents.

"Can you please shut up?" Liz stepped forwards to the four adults with fire in her eyes "Of course you think the system worked, because it was made to protect you rich assholes with no morals" she spat towards them, JJ still holding onto her hand lightly.

"He'll have his day in court A jury will decide." The man told her "the Bates must be disappointed in you, the way you act it's a discrasce to that lovely couple"

"He shouldn't even be in court! You should, cause you're a murderer." Liz went on, Pointing her finger at Ward "You have a lot of nerve showing up to court Your a liar!"

"I know you're upset I understand you're upset, okay?" Ward stepped towards her, trying to calm her

"Upset?" She asked

"I know he's got you fooled. He's got you all fooled."

"No, I'm not just upset!" liz yelled, before going forwards to jump at Ward, before officers grabbed her to hold her back and she struggled against their grasp. She was quickly taken out of it, by JJ and Pope who pulled her back and JJ stood in a protective position. Sarah wrapped her arm around Liz with Kie in front of them.

"Show some respect!" Kie yelled at the officers

"Muzzle your goddamned dog!" JJ pointed

"Get off her!"

"Why don't you take the Kooks down for a change?" JJ asked

"You wanna qt arrested? Get out! You need to go" shoupe told them

"This is bullshit."

"Come on. Look, it's not worth it." Sarah told them, as they started to walk away

"It's not a coincidence that your daughters are sitting with us" Kie called back to the Cameron's

Liz and the others had gone back to the Chateau. It was pouring rain now. She sat on the couch playing with the string on her sweater.

"I'm gonna testify under oath. I was there. I just need to get a hold of my sister." Sarah said

"Sister?" JJ asked

"Kie, do you have your phone?" Sarah's asked "Wheezie is the only other person that knows Rafe wasn't home that day"

"Wheezie?"

"J, just give her a chance" Liz told the boy

"I don't know what else to do. I got us into this mess I'm gonna do my best to get us out."

"wheezie? Yeah, that will work. she's right about one thing. We gotta do something. Our boy is a PO-dub right now, okay? He's held captive by the enemy right now, maybe even scheduled for execution—Are we just gonna sit here?" JJ asked

"What's the plan? We kidnap Shoupe?" Liz exclaimed

"Maybe, like, that's not the worst idea actually."

"Oh, it's not?"

"No!"

"That is actually the worst idea I've ever heard"

"It's pretty bad."

"You know? Please, just stay out of this, Okay, Pope,
look, we've been doing everything your way, and how has that been working out?"

"Okay, okay, so what's your plan? You gonna storm a jail, guns a-blazing?"

"Look, Pope, all I'm trying to get you to understand is they got our boy. Are we just gonna sit here and do nothing? No! We're gonna go get his ass. We're gonna do something about it!"

"J, we're not storming a jail It's not happening." Pope shut down JJs horrible idea

"No, fine, man Sit in your comfy chair. Do nothing. I'm gonna see what I can do. Make something happen, even if I have to do it by myself" JJ said before storming out of the sunroom before Liz could even say anyhting.

"I uh... I'm gonna go see what's up with him" Liz said, quickly following after the boy who was fiddling with his bike to start it.

"J" she exclaimed, her voice slightly cracking as she jogged towards the boy "your just gonna leave without me?" She half joked

"I'm just gonna go see him Liz" JJ muttered, without making eye contact with her

"I know when your lying, Maybank" Liz told him, knowing better than to believe the boy was simply going to visit him.

"It's fine, I'm just gonna go pop in and see what I can do, I can go alone" JJ said making Liz squish her eyebrows together slightly

"Oh... okay yeah. I should probably, uh go home and check in anyways so... I'll see you later?" She asked and the blonde looked up to her and nodded

"Of course Princess"