Tear In My Heart ✔️

XXXI. Verdicts (edited)

The wait was the hardest part.

As we sat in our assigned room, I found my knees bouncing uncontrollably as my heart slammed in my chest. I knew that our case was amazing compared to theirs but as minutes ticked by, I became more and more worried. What was taking them so long? Shouldn't it be obvious?

But I had to keep myself together for the boy I held in my arms. As soon as we walked in, his brave facade crumbled away piece by piece until he was crying in my arms. I knew it would be hard for him, hard for both of us, but to see him fade from calm and collected to a crying mess...it hurt me and made me even more nervous, especially because they'd been deliberating for almost two hours. Probably over Trey's BS of "oh we were just playing a bit rough" and "boys will be boys" or Mr. Olsen's defense of "panic due to religious reasons". My jaw clenched.

"Calmati. Sono qui. Proprio qui. (Take it easy. I'm here. Right here.)" I comforted as I held him a bit tighter. He'd retired from crying, but his breathing was still uneven. He hadn't said a word since we walked in, though I couldn't blame him. Yeah, I was going against boys on my team that I'd known for a while, but I'd probably forget about them in less than four years. Madison was going against his father. Really the only family he had left. My chest tightened as I kissed his forehead. He buried his head further into my chest.

"What if we don't win, Noah?" Madison asked so softly that I almost missed it. "I don't think I could handle that. I'm so scared and..." He choked on a sob but tried to silence it by biting down on his bottom lip.

"Baby, baby, baby..." I softly cooed as I readjusted myself so that he was eye level with me. "We're going to win, okay? You saw them out there, didn't you? Their defense was held together by gum and spit and our defense was rock solid."

I was trying to reaffirm everything to myself to chase away the hints of doubt that I was feeling.

"But what if they all think the same, eh? That we're abominations o-or we deserved everything that happened? And if my dad gets out, good God, he might try to finish what he started or hurt you or–"

I kissed him gently, stopping him the only way I knew how in order to keep him from falling into a hysteric fit. He pulled away and pressed his forehead to mine. "I'm scared, Noah, and I don't know what to do."

"Me too," I admitted. "But here's what I do know, we have each other. And Connor. And Nonna. But most importantly, each other. We will protect each other and love each other and do whatever we need. You said it'll be hard right? But it's all worth it. I won't let any of those bastard hurt you alright? Never again."

"Alright," he nodded before he closed his eyes and breathed. "Alright."

I hugged him, wrapping a cacoon of my love around him in an effort to protect him from the darkness of the world. There was a low knock on the door before Mr. Daye walked in. "They've reached their verdict, boys," he said, causing my heart to race. But I kept my cool. I looked at Madison, asking him the silent question and he nodded before he climbed off of me and wiped his face, though his eyes were still red. I got up too and wrapped my arm around his waist before we followed Mr. Daye out. No matter what, we were united. No matter what, I loved him and would stand by his side.

We walked down the aisle and returned to our designated place. I tried to read the jury as I walked but they were like statues, emotionless and cold. My blood boiled when I saw Madison's father and my former teammates sitting with cocky grins on their faces, looking like they'd won.

Lord please don't let them win.

After a few tense moments, the judge looked at the jury. "Jury, have you reached your verdict?"