A.N. Hey guys, here's the next chapter. Let me know what you think of the story so far :)
The trial had come quicker than any of them would have liked but Maria had prepared them as best she could. Since they were all required at the trial, they had to take Isabella with them; this made Gabriella uneasy but she'd prefer to have her daughter to be with her than away from her. Maria, Troy and Lucille sat at the bench while Gabriella and Isabella sat behind them.
When Jack was brought in, his eyes zoned in on Isabella. "I knew you were sleeping with that sl** Boy."
Isabella covered her ears and Gabriella pulled her to her chest as the guard quietened Jack. Multiple people were called up to the stand until it was Gabriella's turn. She handed Isabella over to Troy and was sworn in, Maria started the questioning.
"So Gabriella, how do you know Troy and Jack Bolton?"
"Well I started tutoring Troy at the start of junior year and then we became friends before we got together. Jack was my gym coach and is Troy's father."
"Have you seen the abuse?"
"That depends on the context, I haven't personally seen Jack physically abuse Troy but I've seen the aftermath when Jack has been around, can I explain?" At Maria's nod, Gabriella continued. "A few months back, my daughter and I had spent the day at Troy's house while his mother was away on business and his father was at a basketball seminar. A few hours after we'd left and Jack was due home, Troy appeared at our door with a black eye. He would always have some form of bruise after being alone with Jack. And although I may not have seen it, the presence of abuse was made obvious. When it came to Troy, he was very sort and controlling."
"Do you believe that Troy is like Jack?"
"Absolutely not, Troy can a closed off person but once he opens up, he is really respectful and gentle guy, he loves his mother, he respects me and all women, and he treats my daughter like a princess."
"No further questions."
Jack's lawyer took to the stand. "So you claim that Troy had bruises after being around my client, where so?"
"Well it depends, sometimes he'd have a black eye or hand marks on his throat. Other times it would be bruises on his head, back, arms or stomach."
"So if you were aware of the abuse, why didn't you speak up."
"I felt that I needed to keep Troy's trust, he was struggling with another issue - one that is not my place to disclose - that I needed to keep his trust in order to help him with, so when he swore me to secrecy, I couldn't tell anyone."
"What could be more important the stopping your boyfriend from being abused?"
Her eyes connected with Troy's and he nodded for her to continue. "Troy would use self-harm as a coping mechanism for the abuse. At the time, I felt it was more important to keep his trust and stop the self-harm as it was the more life threatening of the two."
"Would you say it was fair of Jack to be harsh on Troy because he has a child?"
"Despite Troy playing the role of a father to my daughter, Troy isn't biologically her father so no, it wasn't fair especially since Jack did not know about her."
"So in other words, you were sleeping around?"
"No, I was raped by my ex when I was thirteen before I moved to Albuquerque, and even though that was a traumatic event in my life, I love my daughter infinitely."
"Don't you worry that Troy will hurt her?"
"I don't think Troy is capable of hurting my daughter and anyone who'd watch them interact could see that. Troy loves her and treats her like a princess."
"Well why don't we ask the child?" Isabella walked over to Gabriella and was lifted into her lap when the lawyer spoke. "What's your name?"
Isabella whimpered at the harsh tone and Gabriella narrowed her eyes. "Be gentle, she's only two. You want to tell everyone your name Baby Girl?"
"Isabella Montez."
"Ok Isabella, who is that man sitting over there?"
"Daddy!" The jury 'aww'ed.
"And what does he do with you?"
"Pway toys, wead, tickwes, movies, cuddles, basketbaw, tweehouse."
"Is he nice to you?"
"I wove Daddy, Bella Daddy Angel." She said proudly, showing her necklace, making the jury coo.
"Is he nice to your Mom."
Isabella - not understanding the situation - was getting irritated. "Daddy wove Mommy, Daddy wove Bella."
"No further questions."
The judge spoke, "the court will reconvene in ten minutes."
Gabriella held onto Isabella and Troy took them into his arms. "You did good Baby, you did really good."
"Thanks Wildcat, I love you."
"I love you too Brie, so much Baby." They turned their attention to Isabella. "Daddy's very proud of you Baby Girl."
"Wove Daddy."
"Daddy loves you too Angel, Daddy loves you and Mommy very much." As everyone started coming back into the room, Troy tilted Gabriella's chin and pecked her lips. she cupped his cheek.
"Good luck Baby, you'll do great, it'll all be over soon."
"i can't wait to get home and cuddle with you and Bella."
She hugged him and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "Well that's gotta hold you over for now. I love you so much Wildcat."
"I love you too Brie, so much Beautiful."