Chapter 23
The next morning Lily awoke early. She got up and went out into the living room area. Everyone else was still asleep so she decided to get her shower out of the way. She grabbed her things and went into the bathroom. By the time she emerged from the bathroom, ready for the day, everyone was up.
"Good morning Princess. You're up early." John said.
Lily nodded and tried to give her dad a smile. It was a small one but John understood and was grateful. He knew that today would be hard for his daughter. It would be hard for all of them. He smiled back at his daughter.
"While, I think I will hop in the shower next if you all don't mind." John said.
Everyone nodded as way of telling him to go ahead. As he passed Lily, he patted her on the shoulder. Lily smiled up at her dad. No matter how bad today was, she knew that her dad would be there for her. She just wished that he could wait with her.
While John showered, Randy ordered breakfast. It didn't take John long to shower and soon it was Sam's turn. She and Randy decided to save hot water by showering together. That left John alone with his daughter. At first the two sat in silence, but finally John spoke up.
"Not matter what happens with this trial, I'm not letting anyone hurt you again. You know that right, my little flower?" he said.
Lily nodded and hugged her dad. She was glad she had made the phone call to him on the night Marvin hurt her so badly. As they were hugging, two things happened, Randy and Sam came out of the bathroom and breakfast arrived. They ended the hug and John set out their food. Lily just picked at her food while the others ate. No one said much about it knowing that she was probably too nervous to eat.
Soon it was time to head to the courthouse. Lily made sure to take her iPod and teddy bear with her. She also grabbed a book to read and a pen & paper. She sat quietly during the ride. After they had parked and walked into the courthouse, John hugged Lily and told her he loved her. Randy and Sam did the same. Then Lily was escorted by a court employee to the room that she would be waiting in. Randy and John were taken to a different room by another court employee. Sam went into the court room and took a seat. Everyone stood and the judge entered the courtroom.
Meanwhile, Lily was sitting in the room she had been taken to. She was listening to her iPod and didn't hear the door open or her mother walk in. She jumped when she noticed her standing there.
"What do you want and what are you doing here?" Lily asked her mother angrily.
"Hello darling. I just wanted to see if you had thought any more about what we talked about on the phone." Marissa answered coolly.
Lily glared at her mother. She thought she had made it clear that she would not lie for Marvin. She also wondered how her mother had found her. No one was supposed to be able to bother her here.
"I thought I made it clear already. I am NOT going to lie for Marvin. He hurt me and deserves whatever he gets. You aren't supposed be in here now please leave." Lily told her.
Marissa glared at her daughter for a moment before speaking again. Lily glared back at her waiting for the woman to leave.
"My mother was right all along. You are an ungrateful brat and I shouldn't have had you." Marissa said before turning and storming out of the room.
Lily was so mad and hurt when her mother left that she punched a wall. Unfortunately, her hand hurt afterward. She sat back down and held her right hand in her left while listening to her iPod again. This was not going to be a good day at all.
Meanwhile Cody, Mike, and Anna were still driving to St. Louis. Mike was driving at that point. Cody spotted a shopping mall and insisted the Mike pull in there.
"Come on Miznan. Just pull in and park already. I want to get something for Lily. It will help cheer her up when she gets to Randy's." he insisted.
"Alright, don't get your panties in a bunch Runnels." Mike said.
Anna laughed at the two bickering like brothers. Once they parked they all got out and headed into the mall. Anna spotted a Build-A-Bear store and pointed it out to the others.
"Hey look, there's a Build-A-Bear store. We can each make our own stuffed animal to give to Lilyana." Anna said.
The guys like the idea so they all headed into the store. Once they had each made a new stuffed animal for Lily, the got back on the road. They had several hours to go before they would be in St. Louis.
Back at the courthouse, Randy and John had already testified and Lily was getting ready to give her testimony. She walked up to the stand nervously and placed her hand on the Bible. She was sworn in and took her seat.
"Young lady, please state your full name for the court." The prosecutor told her.
"My name is Lilyana Felicity Antoinette Cena, Sir." She replied meekly.
He continued asking her questions for a while and she answered them truthfully. When it came time for her to tell the jury about the night her dad rescued her, she noticed Marvin and her mother glaring at her. This upset her so she looked over at her dad, Randy and Sam. They all smiled at her encouragingly. Lily cleared her throat and told her story to the courtroom.
By the time she was finished she was shaking and tears were already flowing from her eyes. The prosecuting attorney said he had no further questions and the defense attorney stepped up.
"Miss Cena, did you like your mom dating my client?" he asked her.
"No Sir." Lily replied.
"Would it be fair to say that you would have done just about anything to get your mom to break up with him?" he asked her.
Lily wasn't comfortable with this question but she knew she had to answer it. So she looked the attorney in the eyes and gave her answer.
"Sir, as much as I wanted him out of my life, I would never lie about the things he has done to me." Lily said.
Soon the defense attorney had no more questions and Lily was allowed to go sit with her dad. He hugged her close and she snuggled into his side. She felt safe there. The judge adjourned court for lunch. John, Randy, Sam, and Lily all went to a nearby Subway. They enjoyed their lunch the best they could and then returned to the courthouse. They all took seats next to each other to listen to the closing arguments from both sides.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, you will now deliberate until you have reached a unanimous decision. Court is adjourned until this happens." The judge said.
The group headed out of the courtroom to wait for the call saying that the jury has reached a verdict. Randy and John agreed that they should head back to the hotel for the wait. As Lily reached for the door handle on the car, she let out a quiet whimper. Her hand throbbed a little. It was Randy that heard the whimper.
"Lils, what happened to your hand? Did you hurt it somehow?" he asked her concerned.
"Umm, well…" Lily stumbled.
Randy looked at her questioningly. At this point the conversation has gotten John and Sam's attention as well.
"Lilyana what happened to your hand?" John asked.
Lily sighed and took a deep breath. Then she told them what happened. Randy and John were both out raged to learn that Marissa had been in the room with Lily. They had been led to believe that no one would have access to her.
"So when she left, I was so mad that I punched the wall." Lily told them.
They decided to take her to get it looked at and found out it was sprained but would be fine in a couple days. They wrapped it in an ace bandage and sent them on their way. They headed to an ice cream parlor and got a treat. Lily chose her favorite, Mint Chocolate Chip. They had just finished eating their ice cream when John's cell rang. He looked at the caller ID and answered it right away.
"Hello, this is John Cena." He said.
"Mr. Cena, the jury has reached a verdict. Court will resume in 10 minutes." The man on the other end said.
John thanked the man and then hung up.
"Well, we have to get back. They've reached a verdict." John told the others.
They all got back into the car and headed back to the courtroom. Once there, they took their seats. Lily sat there anxiously. She hoped and prayed that the jury would convict Marvin.
"Would the defendant please rise." The judge said.
Marvin stood for the reading of the verdict. Lily snuggled up to her dad in order to feel safe. The spokesperson for the jury stood, read to give the verdict. The man had dark hair and was dressed in a suit and tie. Lily thought he looked like a teacher or something.
"Marvin Henburge, on the charge of child abuse, we find you guilty." The man said.
Lily hugged her dad happily and Randy patted her shoulder while pulling Sam close to him with his other arm. They were happy that he had been convicted. All that was left was to hear the sentencing.
"Sentencing will be held tomorrow morning in this courtroom. Bailiffs please take the defendant back into custody. Court is adjourned." The judge said slamming his gavel down.
Lily and her family left the courtroom happy. It was now dinner time so John took them all to a nice restaurant to celebrate Marvin's conviction.