The Plan | l.r.h

sixteen

"Are you okay to continue, Ms. Clifford?" The judge asked me, turning to face me. I nodded, still looking down at my hands in my lap. "Okay. Would the defence like to cross?" He asked Noah's lawyer.

"Yes, your honour." He said, walking up to me. "Ms. Clifford, what was your relationship with Noah Walker prior to the alleged incident?"

"Noah and I were friends." I replied, keeping my eyes and head down.

"Have you and Mr. Walker had sex before?"

"Yes." I said through gritted teeth, looking up to him.

"And was that sex consensual?"

"Yes." I sighed, knowing exactly where he was going with this.

"So what makes this time any different?" He asked, but Mr. Kelly immediately jumped up and yelled, "Objection, counsel is calling for a conclusion!"

"No, I want to answer that." I pipped up, looking over to the judge. He just shrugged and let me continue. "This time was different because I told Noah on the phone before I even got there, that we weren't having sex. And I even tried to leave when I found out he just wanted sex." I argued, raising my voice.

"Are you 100% sure Noah knew you didn't want sex? Maybe he could have misinterpreted what you said?" He suggested, angering me even more.

"Yes, I'm 100% sure he knew I didn't want to have sex." I said, clenching my jaw.

"How do you know?"

"Objection, question calls for speculation!" Mr. Kelly yelled again.

"Sustained. Mr. Mackenzie, you're walking a fine line." The judge warned, making Noah's lawyer sigh.

"Ms. Clifford, you're a pretty strong young lady, right?"

"I guess." I replied, confused on what he was suggesting.

"Don't you think, if someone was attacking you, you could fight them off?" He asked, smirking at me.

"No! Not when they duct tape my mouth and tie me to their bed!" I yelled, getting angry. Tears started to fall from my eyes and I didn't bother to wipe them away.

"Mr. Mackenzie." The judge warned, causing Noah's lawyer to sigh and come closer to me.

"Ryan, were you drunk or high on the night of the incident?"

"No." I firmly stated.

"Is it possible your memory may be a little fuzzy?"

"No." I repeated.

"That will be all your honour." He stated, defeated. I got up from my seat and quickly walked back to my seat on the bench, Luke immediately grabbing my hand to comfort me. I wanted to cry and scream at the same time, but instead I had to sit here and listen to the rest of this trial.

"Would the defence care to call up their witness?" The judge asked.

"Yes, your honour. The defence calls Luke Robert Hemmings to the stand."

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Luke's POV

I was caught of guard and extremely confused. Why was I being called up to the stand? Regardless, I walked up and took the oath before sitting down in the stand.

"Mr. Hemmings, what is your relationship with Ms. Clifford?"

"We're friends." I replied, not showing any emotion.

"And how long have you know Ryan?"

"Um, about a month or two." I said, not knowing the exact time.

"How did you two meet?"

"Through our parents." I wanted to stay as vague as possible, without lying of course.

"What were you doing last Sunday?"

"Ryan and I spent the day at the mall and then I drove her to Noah's house." I said, regret and guilt washing over me.

"Did you know Noah? Have you ever met him before?"

"No." I stated, looking away from the lawyer.

"Now, what kind of person would drive their friend to some random person's house?" He asked, turning to the jury.

"Objection, conspiracy." Mr. Kelly said, standing up.

"Sustained. Change your question, Mr. Mackenzie." The judge intervened.

"Luke, why did you drop Ryan off at someone's house, whom you never met before?"

"Because she asked me to. And we both thought she would be fine. If I had known what was going to happen, I never would have brought her there." I responded, making eye contact with Ryan.

"But how can you be sure what happened, were you there?" I scoffed at his question. How dare he suggest this?

"Because Ryan called me after it happened. When I came to her house, she was a mess. She wouldn't let me come near her because she was so shaken up." I answered, clenching my jaw.

"What was she shaken up from?" The defence asked.

"From Noah raping her," Luke responded, confused where this was going.

"But you weren't there, so you're basing your knowledge of this alleged rape off of what Ryan told you and how she acted towards you?"

"What kind of question is that?" I asked, raising my voice and getting impatient.

"You say Noah raped Ryan, but you weren't there and you are just going off of what Ryan said. Maybe she was shaken up for another reason."

"That wouldn't make sense." I responded, confused.

"Mr. Hemmings, maybe she was shaken up from something you or someone else did, but it was easier to blame an innocent man than blaming someone she truly loves."

"No. She was shaken up from being raped by Noah."

"No further questioning, your honour." The lawyer stopped, defeated.

"Would the prosecution like to cross?" The judge asked.

"Yes, your honour." Mr. Kelly announced, walking up to me. "Mr. Hemmings, do you care about Ryan?" He asked, looking into my eyes.

"Of course."

"If you could go back, and not drop Ryan off at Noah's house, would you?"

"Absolutely, no doubt in my mind." I replied without missing a beat. "I would do anything to take it back. Anything." I sighed, my eyes welling up with tears. I couldn't bare to look at Ryan so I just looked at the ground.

"That'll be all, your honour." Mr. Kelly said and retreated back to his chair. I got up and walked back over to the bench.

"Thank you." Ryan whispered to me, lacing our hands together. Instead of replying, I just kissed the side of her head, catching her and myself off guard a little bit.

We waited five minutes for counsel to regroup and get ready for closing arguments. Before long, Mr. Kelly was called up and began his address to the jury.

"Ladies and gentlemen, sex is supposed to be a beautiful experience that is wanted by both parties. You've seen the evidence and you've heard both statements made by Mr. Hemmings and Ms. Clifford. Give Ryan the justice she deserves and find Noah Walker guilty." He walked back to his chair and sat down, Noah's lawyer walking up to the jury.

"The evidence presented in this trial combined with witness testimony provides reasonable doubt that Noah Walker committed sexual assault against Ryan Walker. Noah Walker is a genuine, kind-hearted man. Don't punish him for the rest of his life for something that may or may not have happened. Thank you." I scoffed at what he said. Noah raped me and that is a fact!

"The jury will now go make a decision." The judge announced, banging his gavel.

"And now we wait." Ryan said, turning to me and wrapping her skinny arms around my waist. I wanted to hug her for the rest of my life and never let go.

All I could hope for was that Noah would go to prison for the rest of his miserable life.

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