[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to SM
[A/N] I shouldn't be writing at all right now because my hands hurt like crap, but I kind of felt bad for leaving you hanging in the middle of the court scene.
This chapter here is dedicated to all those of you who have been with me from the very start and never stopped encouraging me to continue writing. Your support means more to me than you'll ever know.
**Chapter 100**
"Here, drink that." Jasmine stated, handing me a plastic cup with orange juice.
I took a small sip from the yellowish liquid. It tasted mostly like water and sugar but right now I was much too tensed to care at all what I was drinking.
"She looks white like a ghost." Ali mumbled while she started rubbing circles all over my wrist.
"She should stay here with you until everything is over." Zafrina whispered, flipping through a folder on her lap.
A low growl left my throat before I spoke up again.
"She is here right now and can hear the three of you perfectly."
"Bella, I'm just worried. We're all worried about you."
"That's completely unnecessary."
"You're still not able to lie properly." Jasmine told me, running her fingertips over the exposed skin on Zafrina's neck.
"There is not much I can do about that. Look, I know that I don't look like a day in June right now. That's probably normal concerning all the crap that I have to listen to inside there."
"I know, Bella. It's difficult for you to hear all those things about your ex-husband."
"Can I tell you something weird? I'm kind of angry at myself that he managed to…dazzle me at all. He's truly evil from the deepest corner of his heart. That poor boy he beat up…,"
"Shithead did what?" Jasmine asked curiously wrapping her arms around Zafrina's shoulder from behind.
"Hit a guy unconscious when he was still at school. A lot of people show first signs of aggressive behavior during puberty."
"Did they find out why he did it back then?"
"No, they didn't. Should they? I don't think it really matters." Zafrina mumbled, emptying the cup of coffee in her hands.
"The…victim Royce Kind Jr. moved to South Africa with his family afterwards. I assume that's why Derek wouldn't let him show up in court today. It would have been a pretty good way to influence the jury."
"Royce…Royce…" Ali murmured lost in thought.
"Do you know the guy?"
"Not really. He was dating my older sister Rosalie for a few months but I don't remember a lot about him. It was a long time ago."
"Maybe he did that because he was jealous." Jasmine assumed, taking the empty plastic cup from Zafrina to throw it away.
"Or maybe he was just being an ass."
Zafrina checked the time on her cell and sighed deeply.
"We should go back inside now. Are you sure that you can handle it, Bella? I don't want to be responsible if you faint or something."
I took a deep breath and stood up from the bench I had been sitting on.
"I need to go inside there. Not for me, but for Charlie. It's the last thing that I can do for him.
Ali took my hand in hers and squeezed it so tightly that it was almost painful.
"Kay, I'll stay with you but if I see you starting to tremble or if your face gets just one shade paler I'll carry you out of that damn courtroom myself.
I chuckled slightly. How the hell could I laugh now?
"If you try to carry me, you'll break your spine. I'm probably double your weight right now."
She leaned forward and planted a kiss on my swollen abdomen.
"I love you. Please promise me not to endanger your health. I'm sure that your father wouldn't have wanted that."
I nodded my head and followed Zafrina back into the courtroom.
Someone had obviously opened the windows during the interruption and so the unpleasant scent of disinfection spray had vanished a bit.
The judge entered the room again and told us to sit down. There was the scratching of chairs on the linoleum floor before finally there was nothing to hear but awful silence.
"Case 06-20-1901 the State of Washington against Edward A. M. Cullen. Mr. Hayley…you may call your next witness, please."
"Thanks, your honor."
"The prosecution would like to hear Dr. Carlisle Cullen now."
Dead, he looks as if he's dead although he's still alive, was my first thought when I raised my head to take a quick look at Carlisle. The torture in his face was so visible that I heard Ali swallow hard next to me, trying to keep the tears from falling. It was difficult for her to see him suffer like that and he did suffer so much was obvious.
The sharp, nasal sound of the Judge's voice made me cringe on my seat.
"Please, raise your right hand."
"Dr. Cullen, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
"I swear."
Derek cleared his throat and sipped on a glass of water before he spoke up.
"Dr. Cullen, we've heard your wife before and she seems to be convinced that your son is mentally sick. How do you feel about that?"
"How I feel about my wife thinking that our son is sick?"
"No, what I meant was; do you believe the same concerning his condition? Dr. Cullen, do you believe that your son is…crazy?"
Carlisle took a deep breath through his teeth before he answered and his voice was almost too low to understand him.
"I'm not sure."
"Keep your voice up, please."
"I'm not sure whether he is mentally ill or not."
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, sometimes he shows clear signs of schizophrenia but on the other hand…he seems to be so clear about his actions. How he talked his mother into covering the…murder for him. He knew exactly what buttons to push to…,"
"Shut the hell up! You're just jealous because…,"
"Mr. Mason, compose your client this moment or I'll let him being removed from the courtroom."
"Yes, your honor."
Mr. Mason turned to Edward and mumbled something to him for several moments.
"He'll stay silent from now on, your honor."
"I hope so. We're not going to tolerate this kind of behavior inside these walls."
"Yes, your honor."
"Mr. Hayley, continue questioning your witness."
"Thanks, your honor. Well, Dr. Cullen, so you doubt that your son is mentally sick?"
"Objection, leading,"
"Overruled; Dr. Cullen, answer the question."
"It's very much likely that he's sick and I hope that he gets the help he needs soon. I'm just not sure but that's normal concerning the fact that I'm not a psychiatrist."
"But you suggested professional help for him when he was a child, didn't you."
"Yes, I did. But the situation back then was a different one."
"It was different in which way?"
"When the…incident with that other boy happened and we confronted him afterwards, he didn't show any signs of regret. It was almost as if he was secretly proud of what he had done."
"And that worried you?"
"Of course it did. That's not how I raised my children. I don't want them to handle there conflicts with physical violence."
"So you sent him to an asylum where they would set him straight again."
"I wouldn't call it that. It was more like a…boarding school with a bit of extra psychological advice and medical treatment."
"I see. How long was your son in that special school?"
"We sent him there a week after his fourteen's birthday and he was there for almost an entire year."
"And afterwards?"
"We never spoke of said time again. He was more quiet when he returned home but at least something like that outburst with the King kid never happened again."
"Did your wife tell you that your son killed his former father-in-law?"
"No, she didn't."
"If she had, would you have informed the authorities?"
He nodded his head.
"I would."
"Because you're a shitty father, for crying out loud! One day, you're going to rot in hell for all the wrong you have done to me."
Two uniformed men grabbed Edward by his shoulders and pulled him out of the room while he continued shouting like a complete maniac.
Mr. Mason wiped his sweaty forehead with a tissue and cleared his throat nervously.
"I'm sorry about that. But it shows how sick my client truly is."
"Maybe it just shows how bad his temper is?" Derek stated calmly, taking another sip from his glass of water.
"No further questions,"
"Mr. Mason – your witness."
"Thanks, your honor."
"Dr. Cullen, after what just happened in this room, do you honestly believe that your son is a mentally stable person? Aren't you afraid at all about the terrible things that could happen to him behind bars? Don't you think it would be better for him to spend the next months…,"
"Objection; Mr. Mason is trying to influence the witness."
"Sustained,"
"No further questions."
"Miss Penthes?"
Zafrina stood up from her chair and put a wisp of her dark hair that had escaped the knot at the back of her head behind her ear.
"Dr. Cullen, do you love your children?"
"Yes, I do."
"And your son's…condition worries you, doesn't it?"
"Of course it does."
"Did you try to convince him to get some therapeutic help before this trial?"
"Yes, I did. Several times to tell the truth, but he insisted that it wasn't necessary."
"But now he wants therapy. Do you have any idea why he changed his mind about it?"
"I don't know."
"No further questions."
"Dr. Cullen, you are excused."
"Mr. Hayley?"
"We would like to present the report of the prison psychiatrist now."
When the psychiatrist entered the room I instantly wondered if that man was mentally healthy himself. He had an almost devilish grin on his face when he sat down in the witness stand.
"State your full name for the record, please."
"Dr. Alistair Morgan."
"Raise your right hand."
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
"I swear,"
"Dr. Morgan, you were instructed to do a psychiatric report on the defendant."
"Yes, I was. I've spoken to Mr. Cullen for several times now."
"And to what conclusion did you come during those sessions?"
"Some of his answers show pretty obvious signs of a quite common form of Schizophrenia while others seem to be more…clear."
"Is this normal for someone with a mental condition? That sometimes he seems to be clear about his actions and at other times he isn't."
"No, it isn't. Not with the medication we gave him when he arrived at the jail here."
"Why did you decide to give him tranquilizers?"
"Because he tried to attack a man in his cell block with a piece of broken glass,"
"Hmm, I see. Why do you think that some of his answers show…shall I call it similarity to those of someone who is schizophrenic?"
"I assume he's pretending."
"Objection; the psychiatrist isn't here to assume but to tell us the stated facts."
"Overruled,"
"Dr. Morgan, could you explain to us why you think that the defendant is pretending to be sick?"
"He told me in one of your sessions that he spent some time in a special place as a child. One of the other boys there was very likely schizophrenic. That's probably where he learned about the different symptoms."
"No further question, your honor."
"Mr. Mason?"
"Dr. Morgan, couldn't it be that your diagnosis concerning my client is wrong?"
"It could be. Look, psychiatry isn't an exact science like physics."
"No further questions,"
"Miss Penthes?"
"No further questions."
I tried to blink away a few tears that were burning in the corner of my eyes while I desperately tried to get the trembling in my hands under control again.
Ali wrapped her arms around my middle and pulled me out of the room before I could protest against it.
"That's enough. You're going to stay right here until everything is over."
"No, I want to go back."
"Bella, you don't have to prove how strong you are. Not to me and sure as hell not to your dead father."
I burst out into tears and sobbed against her shoulder until only dry sobs left my throat that made me sound more like an animal in pain.
"I want him back."
"Whom? Charlie?"
"No, I want Edward back."
"You want what?" her crystal voice raised two octaves.
"He turned into such an evil, malicious person and I want the normal Edward back, the one who played piano for me in the living room of your parents' house. I don't want to explain to my little daughter one day how I managed to fall in love with a two faced monster."
"Do you still love him?" She sounded worried now.
"No, I don't. I love you…you and no one else. The only good thing in marrying Edward was that it led me to you. I love you more than words could ever say."
"I love you too." she whispered, putting a wisp of my hair behind my ear in a tender gesture.
I rested my head against her shoulder and sighed deeply while she rubbed up and down my back in an attempt to calm me down again.
It seemed like forever until the door of the courtroom opened again and Zafrina rushed out of it.
She kneeled down next to me and put one arm on my shoulder.
"Are you feeling a bit better? Jeez, I thought that you would faint inside there."
"Is it over now?"
"Not yet. We have to wait for the Jury to make their decision."
"How long will that take?"
"An hour, a day…a week,"
"Is he going to jail?"
"Hopefully,"
She pulled out her cell and typed a quick text into it.
Five minutes later Jasmine showed up with three cans of soda and a few candy bars.
"Am I your personal assistant now?"
"No, you aren't, because if I had one she'd know that they have a lovely cafeteria on the second floor of this building where you can buy sandwiches and other stuff."
Jasmine giggled and planted a kiss on Zafrina's forehead.
"Bella, do you want to eat something?"
"I think that I would throw up if I tried to eat now."
"Are you feeling dizzy?"
"Yes,"
"Do you want me and Jazz to take you to see a doctor?"
I shook my head.
"Please, stop being so terribly stubborn."
"I want to be here when they sentence him. I need to see his face…this last time."
"Bella,"
"I won't faint, I promise."
"Don't make a promise that you can't keep Look, I'm just worried about you and the little one."
"I know."
A uniformed young woman appeared in the doorframe and cleared her throat before he turned to Zafrina.
"We are ready now, Miss Penthes. Is your client going to stay outside or will she…?"
"She's coming with me."
Ali gave her a dirty look but when Zafrina guided me back into the courtroom she took my hand in hers and didn't let go. Not when I sat down on my chair, not when we rose as the judge entered the room. Her fingers stayed interlaced with mine and I hold on to her hand as if it was a life belt.
Edward was back, his shoulders squeezed between two bulky police officers.
The judge turned to him after sipping on the glass of water in front of him.
"Mr. Cullen, do you have anything to say before sentence is imposed?"
"Go to hell. All of you."
His eyes met mine for a split second and their ice cold look sent a shiver of fear down my spine.
"God is the one who decides which of us are going to hell, Mr. Cullen."
The judge cleared his throat before he addressed the Jury directly.
"Have you formed a conjointly decision concerning this case?"
"Yes, your honor, we have."
"And do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?"
"Guilty,"
I gasped for air and when I turned my head to Ali I realized that her eye makeup had left small black trails on her cheeks. When had she started to cry?
"We have come to the conclusion that the mental condition Mr. Cullen's lawyer insists his clients is having is way too implausible."
The man handed the judge a piece of paper and for a long awkward moment I heard nothing but the silent sobbing next to me.
Then finally the judge spoke up again, his voice sharp like a razorblade when the first words left his mouth.
"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, you have been found guilty of first degree murder on the victim Charles Swan. You are going to be send to the federal prison where you are going to serve a lifelong sentence. It is our intent that you're to see a psychiatrist of your own choice to help you deal with your mental problems if you so wish."
"Go to hell! All of you! I don't need any kind of your stupid advices."
He dropped the table in front of him to the floor but was stopped immediately by the iron grip of the two police officers.
When they shoved him out of the room he stopped abruptly when he was directly in front of us. He chuckled slightly, actually chuckled. God, this man was crazy…no matter what the court had decided.
"You think you won, Mary Alice don't you. I want you to remember something. She was mine before she was yours. I was inside her before you and there is nothing that you can change about that. I just regret not having killed you when I had the chance. Would have solved me…,"
With that he was gone and I wrapped my trembling arms around my quivering wife.
"Ali, please, do not listen to the horrible things he said. He just did that to hurt you."
"I know."
"Why are you crying then?"
"You are crying too."
I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand and realized that she was right.
"I love you and I'm glad that everything is over now."
"Is it? It doesn't feel to me as if it is over."
"Maybe not now, but it will."
"I hope so."
I leaned forward and rested my head against her shoulder, inhaling deeply to absorb the familiar scent of vanilla and sweet red apples.
"Can we go home now? I'm pretty exhausted."
She nodded her head and right then I felt that somehow, we were free from the ghosts of the past now.
XOXXOXXOXXOXOXXO
[A/N] I would appreciate it a lot if all you left a little comment on this chapter. Yes, you too. *smile*
I'm relieved that this part of the story is over. There is a lot of lovely fluff to come now and maybe some more drama (not for Bellice but maybe for some of the other characters).