𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 [𝟏𝟖+] ✔

49

One hour and ten minutes.

That's how long I've been sitting in this courtroom, Gabriella on one side, Ewan on the other. The judge has discussed the case already with the lawyers and jurors, describing the charges against Toby and Justin. She's named the witnesses as me, Kayla, and the officer who struggled to arrest Justin when he arrived at the scene.

The defence witnesses—Toby's mum and Doctor Blythe.

I flinched when they explained that Toby snapped the poor guard's neck, caught on CCTV, and I averted my eyes when the video was played for the jurors. Apparently, Toby is in denial and refuses to acknowledge that it's him in the footage.

Another red flag, one of the hundreds that I've overlooked in the last few months.

Still no word about Toby's plea for insanity, which baffles the shit out of me. Surely, with the correct professionals evaluating him, they'd pick up his mental condition? I've sent email upon email to the procurator fiscal, explaining my concerns and why I think a psychiatrist needs to evaluate him, only to be ignored.

They both had pled innocent, so it's gone to a full trial with a case built against them. This also means that I need to sit in the witness box, point to Toby when asked, and explain in detail everything he did to me and how I got the information about Kayla's whereabouts.

How do I explain to this room of people that I used my body to get the information? How can I look Ewan in the eye and say those words?

I'm not ready, but I don't think I ever will be. I keep reminding myself that I'm doing this for him, but I know he won't see it that way. I need Toby to understand.

Two people I'm eager to hear speak are Toby's mum and Doctor Blythe, the only people who are here to defend him. Apparently, Doctor Blythe believes that Toby is a victim to his own mind, and that his impulsive behaviours stem from his disconnection from reality.

His mum... well, I'm not sure what she has to say. My own lawyer spoke to me before this commenced, but he only had the statement from Blythe.

"It'll be okay, Aria." Gabriella squeezes my hand, running her palm up my arm in an attempt to comfort my nerves. I smile as best I can, but it doesn't reach my eyes, before facing forward, ready for Toby to be brought out.

"Bring the defendant Tobias Mitchell in," the judge roars, her wig perfectly curled, glasses falling down her nose. "Keep him restrained."

I feel all the blood drain from my face as the door opens, then my hairs rise on the back of my neck when I hear the rattle of the chains. I grip Gabriella's arm as four guards drag Toby out, his hands and feet cuffed, hooked to a leather band around his waist. My nerves betray me, causing my eyes to water at the sight of him being manhandled, men shoving him down by the shoulders so he sits next to his lawyer.

I can hear him grunt, the white t-shirt tight against his back, clicking his head to the side and rolling his shoulders.

Holding my breath, I try to keep my eyes forward as Toby turns to look through the seated crowd. "Where is she?" I hear him ask, making my heart sink as an officer holds his shoulder as he tries to stand. "Let fucking go of me!" he snaps, shrugging the man off him before raising his cuffed hands to point in his lawyer's face. "You said she would be here."

I slouch a little, keeping myself hidden in the sea of heads at the back of the courtroom, the judge silencing Toby with a knock of her hammer on the table.

My eyes drift to the back of Toby's head throughout the next hour, grimacing as Kayla explains that he had managed to lure her to his hotel room from her local pub, before Justin knocked her out by whacking her on the head.