TIFFANY'S POV:
Day 2 of Vaughan's court case came around quicker than anyone wanted it to, and as I sat in the waiting area of the court, waiting to be called to give evidence, the door opened and Justin made his way in…
"You're not meant to be in here…" I sighed as I stood up and walked over to him
"I just wanted to see how you were," he admitted "how're you feeling?"
I smiled at him warmly and pressed my lips against his softly… "I'm okay. Just want to get it over and done with though."
"It'll all be over soon." he assured me, reciprocating my warm smile
"Then it'll be Mum's turn." I replied "I'm not too sure how she's gonna handle it."
"Don't worry about her for now. She's a big girl; she'll be able to cope. Worry about yourself." he informed me
I nodded my head in agreement and inhaled and exhaled a breath… "You need to go!"
"Okay," he replied "good luck. I love you."
"Thank you. I love you too." I mirrored, smiling at him warmly as he walked out of the room
JUSTIN'S POV:
"I now call to the stand, Tiffany Westbrook." the solicitor Allie had hired for the case informed the courtroom. Sitting next to Leo, he, myself, Floyd and Allie watched as Tiffany was led through into the courtroom and to the stand
Smiling at her reassuringly as she looked over in my direction, our solicitor cleared his throat, regaining her attention…
"Miss. Westbrook, how do you know the defendant?" he questioned
"He's my step-dad. He's married to my Mum." she informed him
"And what did you think of him when you first met him?" he asked
"I thought he was a nice enough guy." she replied "He treated my Mum right and for the first time in a long time she was happy and that was all I wanted."
"Before you moved here and was introduced to his sons, did you know anything about his short fuse?" he inquired
"No," she admitted "from what me, my brother and my Mum knew he was a calm, collected man who wanted nothing but to love my Mum and look after us all."
"And then you moved here and everything went belly up, shall we say?" he suggested
"I think it's fair to say my Mum wasn't happy when Justin and Leo moved in," she informed him "but she took them in because she loved Vaughan and they were a part of him. But then things started to go wrong…"
"Can you elaborate for me please, Miss. Westbrook?" he questioned
"Justin wasn't happy that he was living with his Dad again after so long of he and his brother being apart from him, let alone being with a completely new family. His Dad wasn't happy they'd just been dumped on him either." she replied
"And then what happened?" he inquired
"Things were tense," she admitted "Justin thought of my Mum as the home-wrecker. And then the fire happened…"
"Can you tell the court what happened then please?" he asked
TIFFANY'S POV:
I glanced in Justin's direction and he smiled at me warmly. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I began to speak again… "I was hospitalised for three weeks. I had a broken arm and leg, and had to have an operation to stop some internal bleeding."
He nodded his head in understanding… "Going back to yesterday in regards to Mr. Fitzgerald's statement, he stated that his father gave him a black eye due to the nature of his relationship with you, can you tell us more please?"
"Justin riled his Dad one night after he and my Mum had been to visit me in the hospital." I informed him "They'd found me crying, and Justin told his Dad it was because he'd told me that he liked me, kissed me and then left, but he hadn't."
"Why would Mr. Fitzgerald tell his Dad that he'd done that then?" he questioned
"Justin knows his Dad has a temper, and got a kick out of riling him." I replied "Which resulted in the black eye."
JUSTIN'S POV:
"I'm proud of you." I informed Tiffany as I waited outside the courtroom for her, seeing her making her way over to me
"Thanks." she replied "I'm trying to wrack my brains and think if I missed anything out."
"You didn't," I assured her "you told the judge, solicitor and jury everything they needed to know."
She smiled at me warmly… "Can we do something tonight?"
"Like what?" I inquired
"A film and a pizza in bed, just something you and me." she replied "I need to relax!"
"Your wish is my command." I informed her, pressing my lips against hers softly
"Thank you." she stated, sighing contentedly as we pulled apart "Can we go?"
I nodded my head and entwined her hand with mine, leading her from the court, the others following…
Tiffany's given her evidence and it's really shook her up, bless her! At least she has Justin and his support…