A/N: Hey guys! OMG I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN SO LONG! I PROMISE I HAVEN'T ABONDENED YOU ALL OR INTENTIONALLY NEGLECTED YOU, I JUST HAVE BEEN EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEMELY BUSY!

I am really truly sorry for my absence. School has started, and I have a jam-packed schedule this year; homework literally takes up most of my nights after school.

Also, I had to have very minor surgery done on my mouth. My pallet expander broke, and my orthodontist had to surgically remove it or it would have impaled the side of my mouth (yeah, it wasn't fun.) So I was down and sick from that for a while.

And, as you may or may not know, my laptop is a piece of shit; I have way too much trouble typing and uploading on this damn thing! It really slows me down.

So basically, I AM SO SORRY FOR BEING GONE FOR SO LONG!

Unfortunately, my updates won't be too frequent for a while because of school. I will update as often as I can, but it may take a while.

Also, I am starting a new story! Yay! I am going to upload the prologue to it ASAP! It is called Inherited, so please be on the lookout for it!

And now, for the moment you have all been waiting for…THE NEXT CHAPTER OF BROKEN! I really hope you enjoy it- I worked super-duper hard on it!

One more thing: PLEASSE REVIEW! I understand if you have forgotten about this story and don't follow it anymore, but reviews are always a good way to motivate me to update sooner. Just saying.

Now, GET READING! HAVE FUN!

I DO NOT OWN HOUSE OF ANUBIS. IF I DID, THERE WOULD BE A SEASON 77 BY NOW.

Have fun! Sibuna!


My stomach is twitching. My muscles are aching. My chest is heaving. My heart is drumming into my ears. My hands are sweating. My pulse is racing.

It's Thursday.

Thursday…as in, the day I have to face Todd and his friends in court, is today. Soon, I will learn if they will be punished or set free; yet I know either way they will still trouble me.

I walk up the gravel stairs leading into the Liverpool Court House with my Mom, Dad, and Mr. Forester ahead of me. KT, Fabian, and Joy are walking alongside me.

The Court House is made of white stone and has several greek-looking pillars; it reminds me of the White House back in America, but much smaller. I sigh, and keep walking.

When we enter the building I almost pass out from nervousness.

We are standing in a long hallway, and at the end of the hall is the court room. Through its open doors I see several prominent looking jurors and judges lining the infamous wooden court desks and tables, talking to one another. To the left of the room, I see Nathan, Jim, Zeke, Mason, and Jerome: no Todd. Weird…

I want to turn around and walk out of this place. I want to go back to Anubis House, shrivel up in my bed and die. I just don't want to be here.

But, I am following my parents and my attorney into the courtroom. My nerves must be showing, because as we are walking Fabian grabs my hand and runs his thumb over my palm.

"It's going to be okay." He whispers.

I nod, but I don't believe him. I just shrug and walk down the aisle with him and the others.

We take our seats on a wooden bench in the front of the room, to the right of the main judge's desk. My Dad sits at the far end next to Mr. Forester and my mom. Next to her is Joy, and beside her is Fabian. I am squeezed between him and KT.

Bile rises in my throat, but I push it back down. I do not want to be here.

I feel an arm stretch around my shoulders and give my elbow a squeeze: my mom. I smile small at her, and let my eyes dart around the room.

I glance anxiously over at…them, on the other side of the room. All of them are here except for Todd.

Where is he? Did he bail? Does he really think the judge is going to convict him?

I stare at Jerome, who looks utterly horrified to see Joy sitting with us. Mason and Nathan look bored, like being here is just an inconvenience to them. Zeke and Jim on the other hand…they look like they're going to shit their pants at any moment.

Someone laces their fingers through mine: KT. I look at her, and she smiles warmly.

"I love you, you know. We're going to get through this." She says.

I smile back at her, and squeeze her hand. "I love you too."

Then, the judge pounds her mallet against her desk. Everyone automatically goes silent, and takes their seats.

"On this day, Thursday the seventh of April, Todd Spartley, Nathan Spartley, Mason Borders, Zeke Gimble, Jim Harding, and Jerome Clarke will be tried against Edison Miller for Physical Assault and Stalking. I now call Mr. Nicholas Forester to the stand."

I watch Mr. Forester as he stands up from our aisle and goes to stand in front of the judge's desk. I bounce my leg anxiously against the ground, trying to prevent myself from having a full blown panic attack. My hands flop helplessly in my lap as they sweat buckets. I do this until Fabian grabs my hand again, and tries to calm me down (with the help of KT).

"You're Honor." Mr. Forester says.

"Nicholas Forester, are you the official attorney at law who will be defending Edison Miller in this case?"

I cringe when my name slides off her tongue, sounding bitter and cold. I really don't want to be here…

"I am."

"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth for the remainder of this meeting?"

"I do."

"You may now take the stand."

Mr. Forester climbs a small set of stairs that lead up to a seat and a desk next to the judge. He sits down, and adjusts the microphone attached to the desk to the height of his mouth.

"I am here to represent and defend the honor of Edison Miller. I am here to hereby defend him and prove that Todd Spartley, Nathan Spartley, Mason Borders, Jerome Clarke, Zeke Gimble, and Jim Harding are all guilty of Physical Assault and Stalking."

Joy tenses at the sound of Jerome's name. With the hand she is not using to hold mine, KT reaches over and squeezes hers. She smiles at us lightly.

"On March 17th, 2014 Edison Miller attempted suicide due to severe physical and cyber bullying. His bullies have been proven to be the Spartley cousins, Mr. Clarke, Mr. Borders, Mr. Gimble, and Mr. Harding. One of the major events that led to Mr. Miller's attempt happened on March 4th, 2014. On this day, these young men physically attacked Mr. Miller while he was walking back to his house (at his boarding school) after a dinner with his Father. I was not present at the time of this event, but I am now going to leave it to Fabian Rutter, a close friend to Edison, to explain what happened on this night."

Fabian lets go of my hand, and leaves our seats. Mr. Forester steps aside from his desk, making space for Fabian. While Fabian is walking, I glance at their side of the room again; Todd still has not showed up. Isn't it illegal to miss a court date?

I watch Fabian as he settles into the seat Mr. Forester was just sitting in, and as his mouth moves so it is almost touching the microphone.

"Hello. My name is Fabian Rutter. I am Edison's roommate and a close friend of his…"

He sounds nervous. Everyone gets nervous, but now is not the time for him to be. He can't mess this up…

"On the night of March 4th 2014, I was eating dinner at Anubis House, my home while I am in school, with most of my housemates. I said most, because Eddie- Edison- wasn't there. We had no idea anything horrific was happening to him as we were chowing down on our food: we all assumed he was safe with his dad and that they were having a nice meal together."

I stare down the aisle at my Dad, who looks like he is about to burst into tears. I want to reach over and hug him, but I cannot reach him.

"As we were finishing up, Eddie returned home. I didn't think much of it, until I saw him. He was battered and bruised beyond belief; at first I thought he had been hit by a car, or maybe even brutally mugged. The flesh on his face was a light shade of purple, and he was walking with a strange gait…he looked disastrous. He said that he had tripped and landed face-first on a rock, but I didn't believe him. I didn't know what else happened; all I knew was that he was lying. I didn't know how to confront him, and I knew if I did he would get mad at me, so I just let it go."

He just let it go. He is right, I probably would have gotten angry with him for questioning me. Or I might not have. Maybe if he had said something, he could have saved me…

"That night, he fell asleep before I did, and as I was tossing and turning, trying to get to sleep, I couldn't help but stare at him. He looked so broken, so bruised. I even considered waking him up because his breathing sounded slightly off, and it looked like he couldn't move his left arm. I was terrified for him, absolutely terrified."

I close my eyes, and think back to that night. Did I really fall asleep before he did? Or was it one of those nights where I pretended to be asleep until he was out-cold, so I could sneak out and go cut? I don't remember. Maybe that's a good thing…

"Several days later…on March 17th…when he tried to take his life…I thought back to that night again. I was so astonished by what he had tried…I was trying to make all sense of everything, and I was struggling…but then I found the video the gentlemen on the left side of the room so graciously videotaped for everyone, and then it made sense."

Everyone turns their attention to them. Mason and Nathan keep their heads down, their lips pursed. Zeke and Jim look mortified. As for Jerome…he's is just sitting still.

"…They had attacked him; they were the reason why he was so bruised and gross looking the night of March 4th. It was all them. Their attack on him, and the video they took of it, drove him to the point where he didn't think his life was worth living anymore. They attacked him. They filmed it so they could show it to him, and the world as a way of physical assault. They broke him-"

"YEAH, I'D LIKE TO SEE THIS GOD DAMN TAPE!" Someone suddenly screams.

I look over my shoulder to see a man on their side of the room standing up, with his hands on his hips. He is a shorter man with brown hair and a mustache and wrinkly skin. I know him- he's one of Todd's uncles…he's probably Nathan's dad.

Fabian looks startled and shaken. Mr. Forester nods knowingly at him, and gestures for him to sit back down with us. Then, Mr. Forester whispers something to the judge, who nods back at him.

Over my shoulder, I see Todd's Uncle still standing, now muttering something to someone sitting beside him. Speaking of Todd, I still don't see him…

Fabian sits down beside me again, and I can't help but sling my arms around him.

"Thank you." I whisper.

He kisses the top of my head, and focuses his attention back to what is going on in front of us; I do the same.

"As you can see, what these young men did to Edison is unacceptable." Mr. Forester starts, "If you don't believe me, you can see for yourself just what happened on that night. Now if you would please turn your attention to the overhead to the left…"

I see a square screen coming down from behind the judge, and a movie projector being brought out by another juror. A lump forms in my throat: he is going to show the video.

I don't want to see it. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to relive that night.

The lights dim. Out of cowardice, I lean my head into Fabian's shoulder and close my eyes; I can't see this.

Someone, who I assume is KT, leans their head against mine, draining out the sound of the video.

"It's okay. No one expects you to watch."

Yeah, it's KT.

After what feels like an eternity, I feel KT move away from me; the video must have finished. I look up from Fabian's shoulder to see people talking quietly amongst themselves.

On the screen is a still of me lying on the ground, curled up in a ball; it makes me nauseous.

Mr. Forester sits down in his chair on the stand again, and begins to speak, "It is clear that the young men attacking Edison in this video were four of the five gentlemen sitting on the left side of this room."

Everyone stares at them, except for me. I don't want to see them right now…

For several more minutes, Mr. Forester talks about how the video proves that they physically assaulted me. Then he begins talking about how they were stalking me by going through my laptop and finding my video diaries, and by creating the Lucy Thompson account.

As he is speaking, the judge cuts him off, "Mr. Forester, can you prove that it was these boys who did all of this?"

He nods, and gestures for Joy and KT to join him. Before she stands up, KT squeezes my hand.

"You've got this." I whisper.

She smiles at me, and follows Joy up to the stand.

They stand on either side of Mr. Forester. "I have physical evidence of how these boys stalked Edison, and that evidence is so personal it will be viewed by the jury's eyes only. For right now, I have two witnesses who will tell you about the hostility these boys are capable of."

He steps away from the girls. KT sits down in the seat where Fabian sat earlier, and clears her throat.

"Hi. My name is Kara Tatiana Rush, and I am a really good friend of Edison's. I am also the ex-girlfriend of Nathan Spartley."

I glance at Nathan, who looks petrified. The sight of him looking so panicked makes me smile.

"Yes, I was dating Nathan while he was bullying and stalking my best friend. It's pathetic, I know. Obviously, I didn't know what he was doing at the time... Anyway, before I dive into how much of a stalking creep Nathan is, let me tell you a little bit about our relationship."

"…Is she allowed to call him out, on the stand like that?" I whisper to Fabian.

He shrugs. "I'm not exactly sure."

KT sighs heavily over the microphone. "When I first met Nathan, he flirted with me the way most guys do: goofily, dorky, you know the, the usual. He was so sweet, and I fell for him. We went out on many dates as most couples do, and we always had fun together. But towards the end of our relationship, Nathan only wanted to do things at my house. We would always do things like lounge in my room and watch a movie, or play board games with the winner having to dare the loser to do something stupid at the end, etc. Well, during one of those movie nights we had, I fell asleep halfway through the film. Later when I woke up, Nathan was nowhere to be seen. I wondered where he went, but then I shrugged it off, thinking he went to the bathroom or something."

I look at Nathan again. Mason is rubbing his shoulder, while Nathan keeps his head down…like he's crying. Is he?

"Don't feel bad, Eddie. He deserves to feel miserable." Fabian whispers.

I nod, and focus my attention back on KT.

"A few days later…my best friend in the entire world attempted suicide. I was so distraught, so shocked…I didn't know what on earth could've possibly made him jump to such an extreme. Some of our other friends searched through his laptop the night of, hoping to find answers as to why he tried to leave us. And they did, which they later showed to me. We saw the horrific video you just watched…and some other personal things that are going to be viewed by the jury only. But through everything that we discovered…I learned that it was Nathan who pushed Eddie over the edge. It made sense. I was always aware of the fact that Nathan was sweet to me, and that he could be hostile to others. I thought back to that movie night, and realized that when I woke up to find he had disappeared, he was probably in Eddie's room, going through his things to come up with ways to torture him. I told the police that, and they discovered that it was true: Nathan had hacked into Eddie's laptop and downloaded everything on it, which he later uploaded to his own. He stalked him. He is a lying, arrogant, stalking, bastard!"

A hushed murmur fills the room; everyone is shocked that she screamed those words, including me.

"Look, the main reason that I am up here right now, is to show you all that Nathan and his friends are cruel, physically assaulting stalkers. I know from my experience of dating Nathan that he is sweet on the outside, but bitter on the inside. When he or his friends testify…they will try to show you his kind side, and they will try to make you feel sorry for them. Do not fall for it like I did. Just…don't. Thank you."

She steps aside from the microphone, allowing Joy to take her place. I glance anxiously at Jerome; he looks petrified.

The microphone creaks as Joy adjusts it. She smiles warmly at the crowd. "Um, Hi. My name is Joy Mercer and I am a friend of Eddie's, and his girlfriends' best friend. I…I-I am also the ex-girlfriend of Jerome Clarke."

I stare at Jerome again. Mason is whispering something into his ear, and Jerome is nodding. Todd still isn't sitting among them…

"…Similarly to KT, I am going to share my history with Jerome, like she did with her history with Nathan. So…I-It's an interesting story how Jerome and I got together. He had been dating one of my friends for a while, and then I discovered that he had been cheating on her with another friend of mine. I discovered this before either of them did. I confronted Jerome, and he begged me not to tell either girl, and he did everything under the sun to make sure neither of them learned what was going on…but eventually they did."

I hear a low-pitched wail on the other side of the room: Jerome.

His cries distract Joy, and she stares at him, dazed.

"Anyway…" she begins again, "These two other girls wanted to get revenge on Jerome. Since I was the one who uncovered the secret, they made me help them. Through a long process of trying to get even with him, and humiliating him for what he had done…I fell in love with him. We got together, and surprisingly enough the other two girls were okay with it."

She sighs. "Before we had started to date, I knew a lot about Jerome, and that he had a dark past. When we were together, more of it unraveled and I learned a lot of new things about him. From it I knew that underneath the sweet, charming, fun-loving guy he was, there was a dark, cheating, selfish, conceited, demon inside, waiting to escape…"

Where is she going with this?

"I know it might seem that I am jumping around a lot, so please bear with me. Anyway, when Eddie tried to commit suicide…I was devastated. Eddie and I aren't like, best friends, but his girlfriend, Patricia, is like a sister to me, therefore I was extremely upset when he attempted. None of us could figure out what made him try what he did, and then what Todd Spartley and his friends did came out…I thought everything was over. But I had a long talk about the situation with Patricia, and she told me there was someone else involved, someone no one knew about."

I can't help but wonder what Patricia told her. Did she tell her about the things she found on my laptop? About my cutting, and why I'm so miserable? I hope she didn't tell her anything too personal…

"After a long investigation, Jerome came clean and told us he was the mystery person who was stalking Eddie. At first I couldn't believe it; I thought Jerome could never do something so low. But then I recalled everything he had told me about his past, and it made sense. When everyone knew what he had done, he came to me and explained everything."

She talks about the Lucy Thompson page, and how Jerome explained the situation to her. Listening to the whole spiel makes me sick to my stomach.

"I know that my word isn't as good as having physical proof to show what Jerome has done…but I swear that I am not making anything up. Jerome hurt Eddie in ways that can never be undone, and he deserves to be punished. From this, I hope you learn that Jerome is capable of evil, and I am one to know that he is. Thank you."

She steps away from the microphone, making space for Mr. Forester. He nods to them, and they start walking back towards the rest of us.

When KT sits down, I grab on to her arm and lean my head on her shoulder.

"Thank you. That was awesome." I whisper.

She kisses my cheek. "Of course. I thought it was pretty great too."

I crane my neck so I can smile at Joy, but she is too busy staring at Jerome to notice me.

Mr. Forester concludes our portion of the meeting by restating everything that has been done to me, and that what they did was wrong and should not go unnoticed. A few people clap for him, and then he makes his way back over to us.

He sits between my Mom and Dad, who smile at him and thank him. I lean away from KT for a moment to give him my thanks as well.

"You're welcome." He says to all of us, "It was my pleasure."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see their attorney make his way up to the stand where Mr. Forester just was. He is a man with red hair and a scraggly beard, freckled skin, blue eyes, and is wearing a black tux.

"Why is he wearing a tux? This is a court meeting, not a wedding!" KT whispers.

I shrug, and lean onto her again. She strokes my shoulder in response.

"Are you the one who will legally be defending Todd Spartley, Nathan Spartley, Mason Borders, Jerome Clarke, Zeke Gimble and Jim Harding?" the judge booms, catching me off guard.

Their attorney nods. "Yes your honor."

"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth for the remainder of this meeting?"

"Yes your honor."

"You may now begin your testimony."

He nods, and leans his mouth against the microphone.

"Good Day! My name is Matthew Lancaster and I am an attorney at law in Olga Jacobson's firm. I am here to defend and protect the reputations, freedoms, and rights of Mason Borders, Jerome Clarke, Zeke Gimble, Jim Harding, Nathan Spartley, and Todd Spartley. Nicholas Forester claims to have proof to show what my clients have done to Edison Miller, but how can we know for sure if he is telling the truth when he won't even show it to us? With that, I will show you that he is wrong, and that my boys are innocent."

Fabian grits his teeth loudly. "I hate that guy." He whispers.

I shrug, because I know what will be coming next: the sob story about how innocent they are and how I'm just a pathetic, depressed, no-good piece of garbage. I don't want to hear it, I don't…

For the rest of Mr. Lancaster's lecture, I zone out; he has said everything I thought he would.

"…as you can see, Mr. Miller's depression has clearly affected him in such a way, that ordinary acts of teasing have offended him in drastic ways."

I go numb. He's criticizing me for being depressed? Is that even allowed?

I feel our bench creak; it is because my dad is standing up.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO RATIONALIZE WHAT YOUR MISCREANTS DID TO MY SON THROUGH HIS SICKNESS!" he yells.

People gasp, including myself. I have never, ever, seen my dad so angry. Clearly My Mom, Fabian, Joy, and KT haven't either; the looks on their faces says so.

Mr. Forester persuades Dad into sitting back down, but the expression on his face remains angry. I reach across Fabian and Joy to squeeze his hand.

"I'm okay. It's alright." I whisper.

He looks at me sadly and nods. I let go of his hand and focus my attention back to that douche bag Lancaster.

"…Anyway, I would now like to bring Mason Borders to the stand to explain his "wrongful doings"."

I purse my lips. This should be interesting…

I watch as Mason, wearing a blue oxford shirt, baggy khaki shorts and sandals, walks up to the stand, carrying a piece of paper. He looks like a typical teenage punk…

Lancaster pats his back, and walks away from him. Mason sighs into the microphone.

"Yo, my name is Mason Borders." He starts.

Fabian scoffs. "Seriously? He started with Yo?"

I shrug.

"…and I'm up here to say that what I and my bros did was not wrong. So basically Todd moved to my school this year and we became real good bros. He told us about this dipshit who had bullied him and harassed him back in the USA, and that he was going to school with us. He said his name was Eddie, and that he wanted to get revenge on him for all he did to him when they were younger."

I stare at him in awe. Bros? Dipshit? Is he for real?!

"Eddie, he sounds like such a moron right now I wouldn't even be offended, if I were you." Fabian murmurs.

I smile slightly. "I'm so used to him calling me those kinds of things, it doesn't really bother me." I reply.

With that, he takes my hand in his, and squeezes it lightly. I gaze at Mason again.

"So, Todd says that back in America in some document or what not that there is a rule that says freedom of speech should be practiced. Apparently we have that here in England too, and it is supposed to be practiced on a regular basis too. That's all we were doing: practicing the freedom of speech. But now, if we says anything about or against some idiot we get in trouble for it. We never said anything that wasn't true, so we shouldn't be punished. Uh, that video that you all see earlier was supposed to be a joke, but Eddie took it too seriously. So, uh, yeah, we didn't do nothing wrong, and we should be freed, thank you."

If I could have access to a camera right now, I would take a picture of the expression on Fabian's face; it would be the next big meme on the internet.

"Is he like, disabled?" he whispers.

I am about to respond when KT taps my shoulder.

"Your mom wants me to tell you that Mr. Forester thinks there is no way in hell they can win with such a weak argument."

I laugh lightly. "No kidding?"

She nods, and squeezes my hand.

I look back to the stand to see Mason walking away from it, back to his seat.

"I wish I could trip him." KT mutters.

"It would be great if you did." I reply.

I watch as Lancaster pulls the microphone back to his face.

"As you can clearly see", he starts, "My clients have done no wrong here. They are not stalkers, and they are not guilty of any physical assault-"

"I'M HERE!"

The sudden scream catches me off guard. I crane my neck, to see Todd standing in the doorway of the room.

I stare at him in awe. He is wearing plaid pajama bottoms, a red T-shirt, and white slippers. …Did he oversleep?

He dashes down the aisle and runs up to Lancaster's side. Lancaster smiles at him, and pats his back.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is my client Todd Spartley, and I believe he has something to show you all."

I freeze. What in god's name is he doing?

I grip Fabian's right hand and KT's left; I am petrified.

Todd clears his throat. "Hello all. My name is Todd, and I am being accused of crimes I did not commit. I apologize for my absence up until this point: I promise I will provide an explanation for that in a moment."

Anxiety builds within me. I am so nervous for what he is about to do, I feel like I am going to pass out. I grip Fabian and KT's hands as hard as I possibly can, to keep myself from going insane.

"So, I wasn't here earlier, but I bet I can guess what happened. Eddie's attorney, and a few of his friends came up here and told you all what cruel human beings my boys and I are, and that what we did was morally wrong. I bet, a certain video was shown to you, too."

"Eddie." KT whispers, "I love you, but if you keep squeezing my hand like that I think it'll break off."

I lighten my grip on her and Fabian's hands.

"Sorry." I whisper.

She nods, and gazes back at Todd, as do I.

"…It is also of my understanding that Mr. Nicholas Forester says he has a lot of evidence of what my friends and I did, but it will only be viewed by the jury because it is all "too personal to show". Well, I too have evidence, but this evidence will prove my innocents, and will show that everyone who are associated with Eddie Miller are guilty crooks. Miss, would you please show this on that projector thingy?"

He hands the judge a flash drive. Crooks? Guilty? What the hell?

I stare down the aisle at my parents and attorney. They are quietly whispering among themselves, concern plastered on their faces.

The overhead screen and projector are placed front and center again, for all to see. The judge hands the flash drive Todd gave her to an assistant, who plugs it into the projector.

"I wasn't here earlier, because I was recovering this!" Todd exclaims.

On the screen appears a still of a door that is wide open. Inside are Mason, Todd, and Nathan. It starts to play.

"Gosh guys, what are we going to do? We didn't do anything, we're innocent!" Todd screams.

"I don't know, I don't know! It's not like we were trying to hurt Eddie…we were trying to help him. Trying to help him understand what it was like for you, Todd, when he bullied you. We weren't trying to push him to this…" Nathan wails.

"And that video…it was just a joke. We didn't actually hurt him…ugh, this is just so messed up!" Mason hisses.

Todd sighs. "I know. As much as he tormented me, I do care about Eddie; I hate seeing him so hurt. I wish things would go back to the way they used to be, when we were, you know together…and in love…"

Bile rises in my throat, and I can't push it back down. Urgently, I grab the hat Mr. Forester is wearing right off of his head, and vomit into it.

I feel KT and Fabian's fingers trace my back as I continue to get sick. This is all too much, too much…

Eventually I stop, and set the puke-filled hat underneath the bench. Even though the video is still playing, everyone in the room is staring at me.

"Love, are you alright?" my Mom whispers.

I shake my head. That…that was too much. He's lying, and trying to get people to pity him. It (literally) makes me sick.

Fabian rubs my back. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

I shrug. "It's fine…"

I focus back on the video. I don't know what I have missed, but I think they are still talking about how "innocent" they are.

"…I think we should just explain to the judges what really happened, and apologize to Eddie for the problems we caused him." Todd says.

Nathan and Mason nod. "That sounds like the mature thing to do." Nathan adds.

They stop talking, and then the camera zooms out. Now visible are the brown-painted walls of the top floor of Isis House…

…and Willow.

Willow.

Crouched down, beside the door, is Willow Jenks.

She is holding a tape recorder in her hands, recording everything they are saying. My jaw drops.

The video stops, and the lights come on again.

"As you can see, we were not the ones who were doing any stalking: we were being stalked. That girl who you just saw, who was recording us, is a girl named Willow Jenks. She is a friend of Eddie's, and is dating one of his best friends. It is to my knowledge that Willow recorded everything we said, and gave it to someone savvy enough with technology to edit our conversation to make it sound like we really said some hideous things. This is the real thing. That other tape will be viewed by the jurors only though…"

"What…" I stammer.

I stare at Fabian. "Did you know about this?"

"No…"

I turn my head towards the others. "Did any of you know about this?!"

No one responds, they just stare at Todd in awe.

"To the jury and the judge: the people who are representing and defending Edison Miller are liars. They are framing me and my friends for something we did not do, and this video proves so. Please take that into consideration. Thank you."

Todd walks away from the stand, smiling proudly to himself.

I don't know what to think. Why did Willow do that? Was she really that dead-set on helping me?

No, Willow would never do something like that on her own. Someone made her do it, and they probably chose her because she used to board at Isis House.

I bet it was Alfie. Or Patricia. Or…who knows…

"Um…we will be taking a thirty minute break now to let the jury decide that fates of the gentlemen in this room, and to take all evidence and testimonies into consideration. Thank you." Says the judge.

Chatter immediately fills the room. I throw my head into my hands and scream.

"Alfie must have put her up to it. She would have never done that on her own." I hear Fabian whisper, confirming my thoughts from before.

"No. It was me." My mom whispers. I look up, and stare at her in horror.

"WHAT?!" I cry.

She sighs; all eyes are on her now. "Yes, I made her record
them. Listen Honey, we didn't have a lot of proof of what they did to you, and we needed something. Anything. Patricia and I made Willow spy on them (we chose her because she used to board at Isis House), and she caught them saying all these horrible things about you. Todd must have changed the video to make it look like the other way around. I'm sorry-"

"Sorry? Lucy, you lied to us! You can't use evidence that you wrongfully took!" Mr. Forester hisses.

She rolls her eyes. "You said yourself we needed more proof! I was doing what you told me to!"

"I never told you to spy on those boys! There were other ways you could've gotten evidence!"

"Enough! Mr. Forester…is there any way we can fix this?" My Dad booms.

He sighs. "I don't know. I mean, we having damning evidence to prove they're guilty…but with what Todd just did…the jury may overlook everything we showed and explained. I don't know, we'll have to wait and see."

"So…you're saying that they might be let off the hook?" I ask shakily.

Mr. Forester sighs. "I don't know. But either way, feel free to yarf in my hat again." He teases.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that-"

"We'll buy you a new one." My dad interrupts.

Mr. Forester nods, and starts snarling at my Mom some more. I shrug, and rest my head in my knees.

I want to break down and cry. I don't want to be here, I don't want to be involved in any of this…

"Eddie, look at me." My mom whispers.

I look up, and stare at her. Her eyes are filled with sorrow and shame.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just…I couldn't stand the thought of them not being taken down…"

I nod to her, and stare down at my feet.

KT runs her fingernails along my back soothingly. As much as it helps, I still can't shake the feeling of wanting to cry, and the want to disappear.


The thirty minutes the judge promised end very quickly. She pounds her mallet against her desk loudly, making everyone take their places.

My stomach is doing summersaults. My heart is racing faster than a marathon runner's would. I am nervous. No, I am petrified.

Fabian and KT interlace their fingers through mine. I breathe heavily, and squeeze them for support.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" the judge booms.

Everyone on the jury stands up, tall and broad. This is it, this is when they will decide the fate of the rest of my life.

One man speaks up, "We have your honor…"

Here it comes…

He clears his throat. "On this day, we the jury find Mason Borders, Jerome Clarke, Zeke Gimble, Jim Harding, Nathan Spartley, and Todd Spartley not guilty of Physical Assault and of Stalking. Gentlemen, you are free to go."