Dear Jason,
The first day of trial went alright.
I didn't know how I'd do, especially since I have been feeling so distracted lately, but when I got up there, I felt good. The words and ideas I was trying to get across came out smoothly. The witnesses I brought up on the stand also had very compelling testimonies, and they seemed to move the jury.
I wish you could have seen it, Jason. It felt like I was on fire, and I felt like I packed a powerful punch. Jason, I could feel you with me, and I believe that's why I did so well. Describing what I felt is hard . . . I felt warm and surrounded, but not in a menacing way. I felt that feeling in my stomach that I got whenever I saw you wake up from a long nap and you'd blink a few times, a small smile stretched out across your face. I felt peace, something that could only come from you. No Yahweh, not my parents, just you.
You'll never guess who showed up to the trial . . .
When I saw Bruce in the crowd, I was shocked. After what happened and after all the lies he told, I didn't think he'd be a part of my life anymore. There he was though, sitting in the crowd with Alfred. I tried to block him out, but it didn't work. I don't want Bruce to be a part of my life, Jason. He's here to stay though because some divinity chose it to be that way. I wish he'd just leave though because every time I think back on what he did, it breaks my heart.
Tomorrow I am going to question Lex. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nervous. He's so fragile right now, so I don't know if he'll crack or not. The last thing I need for him is to start pretending to be okay. I need his honesty. I want him to really discuss everything that has been haunting him. Yes, I need him to do it to sway the jury, but I also need him to be honest with himself and admit he'd crazy.
I don't know what's going to happen. Yes, the last time in court went well, but there is more to come. A lot more. I pray that you'll be watching over me because that is what empowered me before. Please make me strong, Jason. You're the reason I can win this trial and I need to win. I need to win. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't win. This win wouldn't just be for Lex, it would be for me.
Jason, I love you. I fall in love with you a little more each passing moment, Don't let me down. I need you.
Yours,
Hannah
When Hannah walked into the courtroom, she raised her head up high and allowed all the photographers to take pictures of her as she went to the front. The flashes were blinding, and made a headache develop behind her eyes. As she sat down at the front, she opened her bag and pulled out her yellow notepad and several files and papers. She looked up to see Lex being walked in by a guard, his hands cuffed behind his back. This time, he wore a white polo shirt and a pair of khakis. His head appeared to be newly shaved, and the flashes of the camera reflected off of it. He didn't look Hannah in the eye as he sat down, which made Hannah frown.
"How're you feeling?" Hannah whispered, leaning over to her friend.
Lex shrugged, and drummed his finger on the table. His breath seemed raged and shallow.
"When I question you Lex, you need to answer as honestly as you possibly can. It's for your own good, okay?"
"Sure," he replied half-heartedly as he leaned back in the chair.
He looked from side to side, shaking his head slowly. His tongue slid over his bottom lip, and he blinked a couple of times.
Hannah sighed, and aimlessly wrote her name on the top of her notepad. She watched the prosecutors walk in and sit down at their table that was several feet away from there's. One of them nodded curtly at her, which made Hannah's stomach flip.
His name was Stacy Morgan, and he was a popular lawyer that had one most every single case put up against him. The man looked intimidating with his neatly combed hair and clean shaven face. His eyes were narrow and gleamed evilly. He looked like an animal on the hunt, ready to kill its prey.
She felt like a captured animal right now, quivering and bracing itself for the pain to come. Stacy eyes were on her, which made the fear inside of her bubble up even more. A smile played across her lips, almost like a friendly gesture to them man who could easily crush her head. He didn't accept the gesture however for he frowned and shook his head at her.
Hannah looked up at the ceiling briefly, her lips trembling.
Dammit Jason, where are you?
She shivered. The courtroom felt cold, and goosebumps popped up on her arms. She looked back over at Lex, who was also shivering.
"Are you okay?" she asked, gently placing her hand on his hand.
Lex pulled her hand out from under her's and let out a deep sigh. It was just then that Hannah noticed dark circles under his eyes.
"Have you been sleeping well?"
"No."
Hannah frowned. Lex leaned over and placed his forehead on the table. A wave of sympathy washed over Hannah, which tempted her to cry. She thought back to years early when they were cuddled up on the couch, watching movies and talking about their hopes and dreams. She never imagined that they'd be sitting in a courtroom, nervously waiting for the judge to come in and start proceedings that could lead to one of them rotting in jail for the rest of their life.
The judge stalked in, her black robe crackling furiously.
"All rise," a man yelled.
Hannah and Lex jumped to their feet, and watched the judge in awe as she sat down.
"Be seated."
After everyone was settled, the judge started talking, recapping everything that had happened the day before. The excitement in the courthouse cooled down considerably, but the tension could still be sensed by everyone present.
Everything went smoothly. The prosecution got up, and rebutted Hannah's statement about Lex being insane. They tried to discredit the psychiatrist. Hannah nervously eyed the jury. Some of the members of the jury nodded in agreement, while a couple of them had suspicious frowns on their faces.
When the prosecution was done, Hannah took a deep breath as the judge called her up to the stand. She smiled at Lex quickly, threw he head back and strode across the stage. Trying to stop her trembling, she glanced up at the ceiling briefly.
Don't let me down, Jason. Don't let me down.
"To start off today's defense, I would like to call Mr. Alexander Luthor to the stand."
Everyone is the crowd immediately started chattering. The guard escorted Lex to the stand and swore him in.
"So, Mr. Luthor, I have a couple of question I would like to ask you."
"Go ahead," Lex mumbled, looking down at his hands.
"You understand why the prosecution is accusing you of planting a bomb in the Capitol building?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Do you remember the psychiatrists talking to you?"
"Yes."
"Did they treat you fairly?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Luthor, can I be direct with you?"
"Sure."
"Why did you plant a bomb in the Capitol building?"
Hannah licked her lips, and stared directly at her friend. Lex's face twitched.
Convince him to talk, Jason. Please. Don't let me down.
"I—I—"
"Yes?"
"Apocalypse is coming!"
The words tumbled off of Lex's lips, and he started panting when he finished. Hannah resisted the urge to smile.
"When will it come?"
"I—I don't know! It's not a time! It's not a set time!"
"What is Apocalypse?"
"A place!"
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's a place! I don't know how I could be clearer!"
Immediately, Hannah felt Jason's presence surround her. Her heart started beating triumphantly in her chest, and a surge of energy filled her. She stood tall and proud, and faced the judge.
Lex also felt something. He hunched over and put his head into his hands. Everyone could see the man trembling. He looked back up, and when he did, Hannah frowned. Two big tears fell out of Lex's eyes.
That's you Jason, isn't it?
An immeasurable amount of fear was present in his eyes, which made everyone's hearts go out to him, accomplishing the impossible. Nobody would think that they would sympathize for someone who committed such an egregious crime, but the terror in his eyes practically confirmed that he was crazy. People would never feel sorry for a malicious, scheming criminal, but they would for someone who didn't have a hold of his own mind. Most people could never fathom losing their mind and that produces the upmost sympathy.
"How did you find out about this Apocalypse?"
"By the Mother-Box!"
"Mother-Box? What's that?"
"A box –that—I—I—"
Hannah turned towards the jury, a look of confidence on her face. She gestured to Lex, who was still shaking behind him. She then turned back to Lex and continued her questioning.
"So, what does a Mother-Box do?"
"It opens—It shows—It—it—it—"
Lex started to bang on his head, as if he was trying to remember something. Hannah pursed her lips.
"Mr. Luthor?"
"It shows me things! It shows me things—dangerous things!"
"What kind of dangerous things?"
Lex looked up at her, looking like a lost puppy.
"They've seen us!"
"Who's seen us?"
"I—I—I—"
Hannah sighed, and placed her hands on her hips. She then turned to the jury.
"I regret having to say this. I truly do. Unfortunately, you have seen what the psychiatrist described. Mr. Alexander Luthor is clearly insane."
She turned back to Lex. His face had collapsed, and his fingers started banging on the arm rest. Hannah's stomach flipped. She could see the betrayal on his face. Although Lex knew that was what she was going to say, it still hurt him. It hurt him to watch his friend make him seem like a complete lunatic in front of the world.
This is what I have to do . . .
Hannah nodded at him gently, and turned back to the jury.
"Insanity is a difficult thing is decipher. It's actually quite rare that someone gets off for insanity, but I believe that you," Hannah said, pointing at the jury "Have the power to change that. You have the power to change that. You have the power to recognize people that struggle with mental illness. It's not an easy thing to live with. It's hard to treat and it can eat away at you from the inside . . . Imagine that for a few seconds, will you? . . . Watching your mind get eroded away at by something so difficult to grasp . . . Can you imagine that? Think of how horrible and terrifying that must be!"
Hannah paused, looked down at her hands.
Someone could have heard a pin drop in the courtroom . . . Hannah looked out in the audience, searching for familiar faces. She immediately identified her parents, and next to them, Bruce and Alfred. For a brief second, she pictured Jason sitting next to Alfred, smiling and nodding encouragingly. She imagined his black hair falling in his face, his hands constantly pushing it out of the way. She could also see him chewing his lip, and shifting his weight from one side of him to the other.
Hannah smiled.
"Alexander Luthor is not an evil, malicious maniac that the prosecution is cutting him out to be . . . He is someone to sympathize with, not to look down upon . . . You can give him the help he needs! You can give him the opportunity to start on a path that can give him a healthy life! Think on that . . . Think on that please."
She turned to the judge, who nodded at her.
"We are going to have a brief recess. Be back in twenty minutes."
As the guard took Lex down from the witness stand, Hannah headed back to the table she and Lex had been sitting at. She smirked triumphantly at her mother, whose lips were pressed into a thin line.
"Hannah?"
She spun around, immediately recognizing the voice.
"Damian?"
There, standing in front of her, was Damian.
He was tidied up, and was wearing a sports coat, light blue shirt and a navy tie. His dark hair looked as if it had been combed early, but a few strands of it flopped in to his face.
"You're doing well."
"Oh—uh—thank you. What are you doing here, Damian? Did Sarah bring you?"
"No, I came by myself."
"You snuck out?"
"Yes."
His fingers ran up and down his tie, a peculiar action.
"You know how eccentric you are, right?" Hannah asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Excellent word choice."
Hannah sighed.
"Why'd you come?"
"Because you fascinate me, Hannah, and," he said confidently "I wanted to see the trial of the century. You really do have a way with words, don't you?"
"I went to school for this, so I'd better be good at it."
"I thought about being a lawyer at one point."
"But you changed your mind?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Damian cocked his head, and narrowed his eyes. He clinched his jaw for a second.
"I want to be a warrior," he finally said, lifting his chin proudly.
Hannah immediately felt Jason's presence surround her. She twitched uncomfortably. Damian was way too much like Jason. The pride in Damian's eyes was all too familiar, and made tons of memories got pulled out of the back of Hannah's mind.
"What the hell, Jason?"
Both Hannah and Jason looked up from their cards to stare at Bruce, who had just charged through the door. An obvious look of irritation graced across Bruce's face. Jason sighed, and put down his hand of cards.
He'd been trying to teach Hannah how to do magic tricks, which she failed at every single time. Well, it wasn't like they'd been trying much for every few seconds they started kissing, and would get majorly sidetracked.
"What do you want, Bruce?" Jason grumbled, stretching out his hand and putting it behind Hannah's back.
Hannah shifted uncomfortably. Bruce made her feel nervous when he got made like this, which had been happening more often than not lately. For whatever reason, he and Jason were not getting along at all, and Jason wouldn't tell her why. Whenever she asked, Jason would just say that he didn't want to talk about it. Yes, it bothered Hannah, but she just assumed that he'd come around and tell her at some point. After all, they hadn't been together that long . . . Only three months so far.
When Bruce and Jason would start fighting, however, she wished she could sink between the cushions of the sofa and huddle under them until their fighting was done. Alas, that couldn't happen though, so she would just have to do something else.
"I'll leave you two," she mumbled, jumping to her feet.
Jason quickly snatched her wrist though, and pulled her back down.
"No. Stay. Bruce was just leaving."
"Don't give me any of your bullshit, Jason. I—"
"Guys, guys. There's no need to fight. It's—It's stupid. Now, Bruce. What're you mad about? Come on, let's act like adults and—"
Bruce sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Little bits of grey were starting to appear at the roots, making Hannah think that he must be much stressed. Bruce wasn't that old, was he? It seemed like yesterday that he was a young, enthusiastic young adult with a lust for life so big, it could knock someone over.
"Jason left the car unlocked."
"Oh."
Hannah knew he was lying. Surely Bruce Wayne wouldn't be upset over something so trivial. She sighed, and leaned back on Jason. They were probably going to talk about it later, possibly screaming and yelling like little children. For some reason, it was too private to be said in front of her though.
"Jason," she said, turning to face her boyfriend "Apologize."
"What?"
"Apologize for leaving the car unlocked."
Jason frowned, and looked deeply in her eyes. Hannah bit her lip, and resisted the urge to kiss him. His eyes were one of her favorite parts of him. Every time she looked into them, her heart went wild, sending the blood pounding through her veins.
"Jason?"
Her boyfriend lifted his chin up proudly, and turned to stare Bruce in the eyes. He looked stoic, like a warrior who could not be beaten at all. Everything about him reminded her of a dark knight from a fairy tale, enticingly dark and beautiful. A raging storm could be seen in his eyes, one that would not be giving into Bruce any time soon.
Bruce sighed, and shook his head.
"Next time, lock the damn car," he said quietly, crossing his arms over his chest.
With that, he stalked out of the room. Hannah frowned.
"Is it really that hard to apologize?"
"Yes."
"He's your Dad, Jason . . ."
"I know."
He turned back to the cards, and idly flicked a few across the table. Hannah giggled, and repeated what he just did. Suddenly, Jason grabbed her face and planted a kiss on her lips. His thumbs ran up and down her cheek bones, something he did every time he kissed her.
"You're absolutely amazing," he whispered, continuing to run his thumbs across her cheek bones.
She smiled.
"Do I remind you of someone?" Damian asked slowly.
"Uh—um—what?"
"You heard me."
"Yeah. Yeah, you do, and that's one of the reasons I like you so much."
"Was he precocious also?"
"Hah. A little bit. He was proud though . . . Extremely proud. Kind of like you."
"I believe it."
"Excuse me?" a voice called out.
Hannah spun around to see one of her paralegals, Tiffany, standing behind her. In her hand, she held an iPad.
"I'm sorry but we have only fifteen minutes till we're called back, Miss. Hochberg."
"Right, right," Hannah murmured absently.
She turned back to Damian.
"Okay, I have to go Damian. Do me a favor though. Go home. You can't just leave the home without permission like this!"
"You think I'm really going to listen to you?"
"No."
"Then I'll see you around."
With that, he turned around and walked towards the back of the court house.
"Who was that?" Tiffany asked.
"A friend," Hannah replied, as she watched Damian walk to the back and sit down.
"Well, no time to talk to friends. We're making history here."
Hannah sighed, and followed Tiffany to where Lex was. As much as she wanted to think about her strange friend, she had to save Lex's ass from sitting in prison for the rest of his life. She chewed her lip as she tried to pull her mind away from Damian.
Don't let me down, Jason. Don't let me down.
She walked back towards the table where Lex sat, looking like a miserable child, trying to be brave and not cry out in the dark.
"Well, well, well," he said as Hannah approached.
"You knew what I had to do."
"But I didn't think you would."
Hannah shrugged.
"I proved you wrong I guess."
Lex whipped his snotty nose with the back of his hand. He shivered, most likely from the chilly court room.
"You cold?" she asked hesitantly.
"I'm fine."
"Okay. Stay calm. I think we're doing good."
She sat down next to him, and started scribbling questions down on her note pad. Next, she was going to question the prosecution's leading witness, who Lex apparently had asked to create a certain piece of machinery or something like that. He was obviously a crazy drunk, which was probably why Lex chose them. All she had to do is bust him open for being unreliable. How hard could that be?
Don't let me down, Jason. Don't let me down. I need you right now.
A/N:
Hey Guys! Here's the next chapter! It's not my best, I know. I had to deal with a family emergency, so I didn't have a lot of time to edit and perfect it.
For the first time ever, I based this chapter off a song. It's called Don't Let Me Down by Chainsmokers. Most of you have probably heard it . . . It was a big hit.
I won't be responding to reviews today. Sorry. I am super busy.
Thanks for all the love and support! It means the world to me, especially in difficult times like this. 3
Much Love,
gotmoreissuesthanvogue