Sea You Soon // An Outer Banks Fanfiction

27- Guilty

"JJ, stop arguing with me. You have to wear something nice to wear to court." I said, frustrated.

"Paisley, I'm not going to go shopping with you. I don't need any new fucking clothes," JJ yelled.

"You're so fucking frustrating," I yelled back, walking out of my room and slamming the door behind me.

Kie was sitting on the couch and she raised her eyebrows at me. "Is he being stubborn again?"

"Is that even a real question? He's a stubborn asshole all the time," I responded.

"I can hear you," JJ shouted from my room.

"Good," I yelled back.

I lowered my voice, "He's being impossible. I'm trying to get him to go shopping with me to find something for him to wear, but he refuses. The trial is tomorrow, we're running out of time."

"Why don't you just try to go talk to him again? But try to be more patient," Kie told me.

"I hate it when you're right," I responded, smiling slightly.

I slowly opened the door and softly said, "JJ?"

He was sitting on my bed with his head in his hands. He looked up at me and said, "I'm sorry for losing my temper and yelling at you. I shouldn't have done that."

I laughed lightly and responded, "JJ, it's fine." I sat next to him and started running my hand up and down his back. "I'll go look in John B's closet and see if he has anything that might work. You stay here."

"Okay," he said, moving to lay down on the bed.

I walked into my brother's room and started going through his closet. I found a pair of khaki pants that looked like they might fit JJ. I took them off the hanger and threw them on the bed. I kept rummaging through until I found a light blue button-down shirt. I grabbed it and snatched the pants off the bed, walking back to my room.

"I found something," I said proudly, tossing the clothes to JJ. "Go try them on to see if they work."

JJ rolled his eyes, standing up and pulling his shirt off in one motion. He slipped the blue shirt on and slowly started buttoning it up.

I shook my head and walked out the door.

"You didn't have to leave," JJ said loudly.

Kie and I both busted out laughing.

I couple of minutes later, JJ emerged from my room, shaking his head. "I look like such a fucking idiot," he complained. He had left the shirt untucked and rolled the sleeves up to his elbows.

I stared at him and said, "No you don't."

I stood up and walked over to him. I adjusted his collar and gave him a quick kiss. "You look handsome," I told him. "Do the clothes feel alright?" I stepped back and looked at him closely. "They look like they fit."

"They fit fine, that's not the problem. I just feel stupid wearing this shit," JJ said angrily.

"We all have to dress up so that we fit in, darling," I said, patting his chest. I walked back into my room and stood in front of my closet. "Now I just have to figure out what to wear."

JJ walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck. "You should wear that one blue dress. It's my favorite," JJ told me.

I pulled out the dress that I wore on my first date with Braeden. "This one?"

"Yep," JJ said, nodding his head.

"Okay," I chuckled. "That makes it easy for me."

The next morning, everyone was in a panic. Kie and Pope had stayed the night, and we were all rushing to get ready.

We were finally heading out the door at 8:40, twenty minutes before the trial was going to start. "You better hurry, JJ," I urged. "We can't be late."

"No shit, Paisley," JJ replied, seeming annoyed with me. I didn't blame him for being short. We were all stressed right now.

When we entered the courtroom, we saw John B, Rafe, Ward, Lana, and Barry already sitting there. We took our seats and waited for the trial to begin.

Sarah was asked to testify first, and she got up and recounted all of the events that happened on the runway last summer. She stood up straight and spoke with confidence. I looked over at my brother and I could see a glint of pride in his eyes as he listened to his girlfriend speak.

Once Sarah had taken her seat, Rafe and Ward both took their turns speaking. Even though they were under oath, every sentence they spoke was laced with lies.

When the Camerons took their seats, John B's lawyer stood and began discussing the recording that Sarah had gotten last week. He played it, and the eyes of the jury widened as they heard Rafe confess to what he had done. Rafe's eyes filled with fear. I could see the very moment that he realized his fate. I started to smile smugly.

Barry stood up and told everyone in the room what Rafe has told him last summer. "He said that he killed her. Rafe told me that he killed Sheriff Peterkin." The room was silent. Rafe's eyes filled with fury and his jaw was clenched tightly. Ward's eyes were filled with sadness.

Next, Lana Grubbs shakily stood up. "Last year, Ward Cameron and Big John Routledge went out on one of the Camerons' boats in search of the Royal Merchant. Ward told me that an accident occurred and John was injured badly in the back of the head. Instead of bringing him back to the island and getting him the proper medical attention, Ward dumped John's body in the ocean so that he wouldn't be held responsible for his death."

I put a hand over my mouth and tears started falling down my face. JJ, who was sitting a few seats down from me, made eye contact and mouthed, "Are you okay?"

I wiped my eyes and nodded my head.

The judge turned to Ward's lawyer, asking if he wanted to defend against the accusations that were just presented. The lawyer turned to Ward, but he just shook his head. With that simple head movement, Ward was admitting to everything that Lana had accused him of.

"If that's all of the evidence, we would ask all of you to please stay near while the jury goes to the other room to makes their decision.

As soon as they were out of the room, JJ came over and wrapped his arms around me. I laid my head on his chest and hugged him back.

John B's lawyer walked over to our group and assured us that the jury would make a quick decision and that we would be out of here before noon. His kind reassurance made me smile.

About thirty minutes later, the jury was called back into the courtroom. My hands were quivering with anticipation. There was no way that John B could be proven guilty, right?

JJ took my hand and led me back to where we were sitting before, but this time he sat next to me. He kept a firm grip on my hand as the judge stood to make his final statement.

"I declare John Booker Routledge innocent of all counts against him. He is not guilty of the murder of Sheriff Susan Peterkin. Furthermore, I sentence Ward and Rafe Cameron to life in prison for the murders of Susan Peterkin and John Routledge." He banged his gavel and excused all of us. Shoupe and another officer I didn't recognize stood up and cuffed Rafe and Ward, leading them out of the doors of the courtroom.

I let out a gasp.

JJ shouted, "Hell yeah!" breaking the silence in the room. A huge smile spread across his face. Everyone left in the room burst out in laughter.

JJ stood up, pulling me into a huge hug. He picked me up off the ground and spun me around. When he put me down, he placed a kiss on my forehead.

John B came over to us, and we all shared a big embrace. "Enough of this sappy shit, let's get the hell out of here and go celebrate," my brother said, looking happier than I had seen him look in a long time.