"Defend Me, Attorney." (Law Series #1)

PART TWO: DEFEND ME, ATTORNEY

Crowded people.

Complete nuisance.

Noise coming from every corner I was not comfortable with.

It had been weeks, yet things didn't go well. Weeks, yet things had become much worse than they already were.

I sighed.

"Dito raw nakakulong 'yung binatang pumatay sa sarili n'yang ama?" I heard a woman in her 40's talking to the man in front of her. "Totoo ba?"

"Aba, oo!" a man who was wearing a shirt which reads 'DETAINEE' said

"Napakagandang lalaki. 'Di mo ma-iisip na magagawa n'ya 'yun. Napakatahimik pa pero kung magsalita ma'y halata mong matalino. Sayang nga eh."

I closed my eyes, feeling chest pain crawling inside me. I was inside a detention center and paying a visit and hoping Traise would show up because he never showed up to any visit, not even once, not even if it was me.

Weeks had passed by but things became more tragic than anyone could ever think of. Turned out, he killed his dad. He really did it. He admitted it. Soon as the tragedy happened, he went straight to see me before surrendering himself, which didn't happen because he was apparently caught.

His relatives condemned him, even our neighbors, they did. His mom got traumatized, she got admitted to a nearby hospital by his aunt. She won't talk, she will just sometimes cry saying she saw blood and that someone killed someone, she'll then scream.

To make things worse than worst, his case was being used by political power. His case was a national topic; murdering his dad and making her mom traumatized.

Everyone was mad, enraged, and wanting to kill him themselves. People were protesting outside the Supreme Court saying now is the perfect time to revive the Death Penalty again and let him be the first receiver. They said, people like him, who are monsters who fear no one should all be eliminated in the society by capital punishment. The public is that mad to the point that even my schoolmates and professors who once looked up to him now hated him.

Due to these, politicians started to use him as a great platform for their political agenda since the election was around the corner. Sort of publicity, I must say. Many leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives, in fact, were in discussion of the death penalty bill. The last time I knew, it was at the 2nd reading already. The public wanted it and if they want a guaranteed seat in the government, they'll do what it takes to make it into a law and he might be the first receiver of it.

My mind was in a complex thinking state when it got washed away when he showed up. He was wearing a black shirt and a short. He then sat in front of me, no emotion can be seen on his face.

"You're not wearing a detainee shirt like them," I awkwardly said, trying to flash a smile.

"I'm remanded in custody," he coldly replied as his cold eyes met mine.

Remanded in custody means they are detained but still have the rights with them and they are not considered a detainee yet so they have the right to wear their desired attire until they're proven guilty.

"Mabuti naman nagpakita ka na sa 'kin," I said, trying to smile. "You've been avoiding visits for weeks."

"Because there's no need for a visit," he said, colder than he had ever been.

"But I'm not just anyone," I said, "I'm...I'm your...your..."

He twisted a smile. "Everything between us had ended that night, Courtney," and looked in my eyes. "Forget me."