Finding Emily

{Chapter 22}

  There were no trials. Both too plea deals. Brian was given a life sentence, and Jenna got 65 years with the possibility of parole. No one was happy with Jenna's sentence, but it saved them all from having to go through the motions of the trial. Jenna had two amazing, expensive lawyers, and Becca knew they were only doing their jobs, but she hated them. They treated Jenna as if she were a battered woman who had only been following the orders of her abusive, cheating boyfriend. Jenna cried on the way to prison in her orange jumpsuit, and she hid her face in her lawyer's shoulder as she sobbed. Her Mom gave a tearful statement to the press that she would miss her daughter, and she mourned with the Branson's because another life was gone now because of Brian.

  Brian's parents didn't say a word. She heard that only his mother was speaking to him. His Dad and Tasha both refused to see him. She called Becca once, and it was an awkward and slightly tearful conversation that Becca didn't want to repeat. She didn't blame Tasha, but she didn't see how they could ever be friends. Every time she would look at Tasha she would be reminded that it was her twin brother who took her little sister's life, and she would see his eyes and his smile.

  They also faced attempted murder charges and kidnapping. There were no trails for that either. They both seemed as eager to be done with it as everyone else. There were sentencing hearings, and Becca attended even though she didn't want to see either of them, but her Mom wanted her along for support and because she thought it was important for Becca to get 'closure.'

  Becca didn't speak, but Star did. She had a whole speech that had the entire courtroom in tears. Brian too. He cried and cried as she read it, and she hated him even more. He didn't even look like the boy she remembered. His hair was cut so short she could see random little nicks where the sheers had clipped too close, and he was wearing glasses instead of his usual contacts. He looked fatter and scared, and she didn't even know him.

   Jenna didn't cry. She only hid her face in her lawyer's shoulder.

  'Closure' was her Mom's favorite word ever since they started family counseling. They also were in the process of moving houses because Pat thought it might help them. There was a house on the other side of town in a nicer neighborhood –and closer to the university – that they found. They were getting financial help from Becca's Grandfather, and they were almost packed up. 

  They started with Emily's room because they knew it would be the hardest, and it was. They cried the entire day, and they looked through every single little thing even though Becca knew Emily would hate it, but she couldn't help herself. They were going to put it all in the basement of the new house. They kept everything even though a lot of it was just junk that Emily probably would have gotten rid of herself, but they couldn't bear to part with any of it.

  The new house was smaller than their last one, but it did have a one bedroom apartment over the garage that Becca was going use as her own space. It had a small kitchen and it's own bathroom so it was perfect for her. Kyle was going to be moving in with her. She knew he had his heart set on getting their own place, but she told him she couldn't leave her parents just yet. It was too soon. They needed her now more than ever.

  They found some furniture second-hand, and it was almost like having their own place said Kyle, and she knew he was saying it mostly for her benefit and talking himself into it. It was nice, but it still didn't feel like it was their own. It would have to do for now though.

   "At least it's better than my tiny little bedroom back at the old house," she said.

  "I have good memories of that tiny little bedroom," he smirked. "A lot of them actually."