Hello, friends! It's been a bit of a while. But here's another chapter of JOTN! We're nearing the end. The kids are safe again, the villains are caught, and we're going to see the fates of everyone. Let's see what goes down! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's.
Chapter 17: Trials and Tribulations
"I... think you should go easy on Miss Bella... she may have hurt us all too. But she was being controlled by her husband. He's the real criminal"- Russell
"Miss Bella aided her husband in torturing us, but she's shown remorse... and I think she means it..." - Bill
"I don't think any of us are gonna forget this experience. True, there should be consequences, however, Miss Bella shouldn't be punished harshly. Gabe on the other hand, should."- Harold
"T-T-That man really hurt us bad. A-and the lady, even though she hurt us too, she tried to help us when Russell was in trouble S-S-So d-don't b-be too h-hard o-on her."- Donald
"I think some people deserve another chance. I think Miss Bella can change for the better..." -Bucky
"Missb Bellab wasb sob meanb tob usb beforeb. Butb sheb helpedb saveb Fatb Albertb. Sheb foughtb againstb evilb..." -Mush
"I... have a hard time with this... Miss Bella helped her husband in raping me. She was so malicious in it too. I mean, I guess it's good she has remorse now, but at what cost? What took her so long to realize that? After all of us were broken physically and mentally. So yeah, I need to see some proof that she's changed." - Rudy
"It takes a lot of courage and strength to admit to your mistakes. Not a lot of people are so willing. They're just being cruel for the heck of it. Miss Bella, had a reason for doing what she did, and while it doesn't excuse her actions, all she wanted was someone to love and care for. She's had a rough past, was manipulated by her husband into doing this. I believe after some time, she deserves a chance to redeem herself."- Albert
These were the answers from an interview all the boys did the day after the BO Bridge incident. These answers would be repeated at the trial that occurred weeks later.
Both Albert and Bill made a miraculous recovery from being shot and knocked unconscious respectively. Albert was in the hospital for a while but was discharged in time for the trial. Bill, thankfully, didn't fall into another coma, though he was unconscious for quite some hours, only awakening by dawn.
The trial itself was long and torturous for the boys. They just wanted the criminals to be sentenced so they could go home have this day be over with. One by one, each boy spoke about their experience, trying the best they could for Bella to receive a lighter penalty than Gabe. They all believe (well Rudy to a lesser extent), that she could change her ways.
Soon, the judge made the call. Both Gabe and Bella were found guilty on all charges. Gabe was sentenced to twenty-five years to life in a maximum security prison. Bella would have received the same amount of time if it weren't for the boys vouching for her. She instead received ten years, with hopes of parole, and sessions with a therapist.
The Junkyard Gang couldn't have been more satisfied with these results as they walked out of the courtroom later that evening.
"I'm sure glad that's over..." Harold sighed, "I swear we were in there all day..."
"I'm glad that things might finally be getting back to normal..." Bucky added, "Here's hoping we never see Gabe again. Not even after twenty-five years."
"Yeah... though I'm sure we won't forget him either..." Bill also added.
Russell looked up at his brother, "Do you think Miss Bella will be okay. Ten years is a long time too, you know."
"Yeah. But unlike her husband, she has a chance of parole. Meaning early release for good behavior. Besides, we did all we could to help her out, and in the end, I think it paid off..."
Albert smiled, "Hey, hey, hey. That's the way. Some people are willing to change. Some aren't, and we just have to accept that... I'm happy we got the hard part out of the way. Now, all we have to focus on is the therapy sessions."
As he finished speaking, he noticed that Rudy wasn't paying too much attention to their conversation... or was he? "Rudy, what do you have to say about all of this? You happy with the results?" Albert asked.
The dapper boy turned towards the rest of his face with a glare. It was an expression they had never seen on him, was it anger... or... disappointment.
"Do you guys realize what suck-ups you are?!" He asked, his fist clench, "You all were really in there trying to defend that woman! That BITCH! After what she did to us! After what she did to ME! She is just as guilty as her asshole husband!"
"We know that, Rudy..." Bill replied.
"But she seemed really sorry for what she did," Russell added.
Rudy sneered, "All because she's 'sorry'?! Bullshit! If she was really showing remorse and regret for her actions, why did it take her kidnapping Russell again to realize her actions?! Why didn't she help us sooner?! Don't you think it's a little odd how quickly she 'turned over a new leaf'?!"
Albert moved to put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Rudy. We know Bella's not innocent. She knows it too. The fact that she admitted her mistakes and wanted to help us a few weeks ago... it takes a lot to own up to your mistakes. Not everyone does that. Of all the criminals in the world, there are few who are willing to change... and I believe Miss Bella is one of them-"
The rich boy instantly moved away, "You wanna know one of my problems with you, Fat Albert?! You're ALWAYS trying to see the good things in life! ALWAYS trying to find the positives. Well, I got news for you! There's not ALWAYS a positive side to things! Some stuff is bad for reasons! Such as kidnapping, torturing, and RAPING! That bitch and bastard hurt all of us! And they ENJOYED it! And they were willing to do it all again after we escaped! And you're gonna give the bitch a pass because she's 'SORRY'?! Fucking SORRY?!"
"But we're not giving Miss Bella a pass! We know she did wrong things." Harold spoke up, "But she seemed to feel really bad. Don't you remember how she stood up to Gabe? She even helped a bit when Albert got shot."
"If she wasn't remorseful, do you think she would have done all of that?" Bill asked, "Gabe almost killed Albert and me at the railroad!"
"He almost killed you at the cabin! But did Bella do anything to help you then?!" Rudy asked in outrage, "Did she?!"
"Well... no... but..."
Rudy was started to shake with anger, "So you agree that Gabe should be punished severely, but they should go easy on Bella?!"
"At least Bella showed some kind of humanity!" Russell argued, "Despite all she did, she always spoke to us nicely unless she was mad. You can't deny that between the two of them, she wasn't the nicer one..."
The small child then shrunk a little at the dirty look Rudy gave him, "After you stood up for me against her! Now even you're defending her, shrimp?! Weren't you one of the ones trying not to fall for those people's tricks?!"
"I was... because I thought they were trying to make us respect them. Maybe..."
"Maybe what?!" Rudy growled, "Think before you speak..."
Russell glared at him, "Maybe she was crying for help! It was pretty clear that her husband was controlling her. All of this was his idea obviously. Maybe there was something there, that we didn't notice!"
"Now you're making excuses for her!"
"No, I'm-"
"YES, YOU ARE!"
That outburst caused Russell to back away, as Bill held him and glared at Rudy, "Look, Rudy. We all know that Bella is responsible. About as much as her husband. But people can change!"
"And some people CAN'T!" Rudy argued, "Do you idiots know how easily this can happen again?! You have so much faith that Bella can change... but that doesn't change all that she did! I lost my virginity because of her! Harold could have never walked again because of her! Bill could have DIED because of her! Donald nearly lost all of his blood because of HER!"
He stopped to catch his breath. Albert decided to speak again, "Rudy..."
"NO! I don't wanna hear it! I don't wanna hear any other bullshit excuse you wanna tell me! That bitch is guilty as Hell! She deserves more than ten years in the slammer! If it were up to me, both of them would be getting the FUCKING DEATH PENALTY! So fuck them! And fuck YOU for defending that slut!"
With that, the rich boy stormed off to join his parents. As for the rest of the boys...
"Do you think he has a point...?" Bucky asked softly, "I mean, Bella may be sorry, but she still did bad stuff..."
"We know that..." Bill replied, "We're not letting her off easy. But we've seen that she's shown remorse... maybe... while we don't feel sorry for her... we feel... sympathy... in a way. She has to pay for her crimes, but she'll do it knowing what she's done."
"True..." Albert agreed, "And maybe in a few years if she gets parole... she will have changed for the better. But only time will tell..."
One week later...
All the boys found themselves back in the children's room, sitting at a table, and staring at the journal on said table. All of them were debating on whether or not they wanted to write in it again. They were safe, and their kidnappers were behind bars. Was there really anything else they had to write about...?
Well, perhaps it didn't matter now since their therapy sessions would begin very soon.
"It's hard to believe that despite everything... we're all still here..." Albert spoke after a minute of silence.
"Yeah... we sure are..." Harold responded, "I hope talking to the counselors will help us some more."
"It should... "
Rudy had remained silent for a while. He hadn't really talked to his friends after the argument they had after the trial. To him, it felt like his friends were forgiving Bella for her crimes. But he had a thought. What if they weren't forgiving her... but willing to give her a chance to change. Everyone deserves a second chance, people say. But not every person applies to that. And Bella was rather kind to them... in a rough way.
"Um... dudes. Can I say something...?" He spoke up, getting everyone's attention.
As soon as all eyes were on him, "Uh... I wanna say... I'm sorry for screaming at you dudes last week. I was just so... angry and upset. I thought you guys were letting Miss Bella off easy. I thought you were forgiving her for her crimes. It's just that... I can't forget what she, and her husband did to me. Sexual assault is the worst thing that can happen to a minor. How do you forgive that?"
"Rudy... we haven't forgiven her or her husband." Harold spoke, "At least... we won't forgive Gabe. Bella... she'll have to work for our forgiveness. If she can change like she really wants to..."
"Then maybe we can trust her..." Bucky continued, "As Fat Albert said, some people don't admit to their mistakes as Bella did."
"So don't think we're defending or standing up for her... because we're not..." Bill added, "We made sure they didn't give her such a harsh punishment. She's still getting jail time for her crimes. Ten years or less. That might give her time to get the help she needs."
Rudy nodded, "I guess I understand... doesn't really change my opinion... but I can respect yours... so... we're cool."
Albert smiled, "Yeah. We're cool. We get how you're feeling. You suffered the worst out of everyone, so we get how you see all of this. We were all hurt by the couple. We aren't gonna forget this. But... we... you guys especially, will find peace from this..."
"You really think so?"
"I know this..."
Before another word could be uttered, the door opened to reveal Desiree', "Hey, guys. Mrs. McLaughlin is ready to see you one by one." She announced, "So who wants to go next?"
The boys looked at one another. It was now or never here... time to really express their feelings...
So, it's final. The nasty couple is penalized, and the boys feel safe again. Rudy thinks Bella should have suffered worse, but the others think she can truly change. It goes either way. Next chapter, we'll get another one on one session with the boys and the therapist, much like the talks with Desiree'. That is when we'll get some real raw emotions and thoughts from the boys. Until then, I'll see you guys later, and don't forget to review, please. Thank you!