I just want all of you AMAZING readers (who have given me the most AMAZING feedback! THANK YOU!) to know that I do not own anything, that the ages are a little jacked up because of the timeline I have started things at, and that I love you all for clicking the link that lead you to this crazy story. Thank all of you that reviewed and/or favorite-ed and/or followed my story.
Important-ish: I know that this chapter is super duper late. The only thing that is good about living with my mom and step-dad has started up again: SOCCER SEASON! And I have either been busy at practice, with homework, or just too tired to write. Sorry, I'll try better.
And I've never been in court before... so I am totally winging it in this chapter.
Chapter 25: Maybe It Was Guilt.
Christian glared at Jaxon Logan as he entered the court room. Wearing the usual bright orange jump suit, his hands and feet cuffed. Briefly his eyes drifted toward his daughter, who was being forced to come here today, her eyes were closed as she rested her head on Ana's arm.
Nicolette's fear of Jaxon Logan only made him hate Logan more.
"All rise for Judge Herron." A voice spoke. Everyone stood, Logan said something to his Lawyer, Marcus Haddock, who nodded.
"All be seated. Lawyers to the stand." The judge demanded as he sat down, everyone sitting down, except for Carrick and Marcus who got up and walked towards the judge's stand.
Judge Herron was an elderly man with no hair, but warm green eyes that seemed to stare through one's soul, he wore the usual judge's gown. Marcus Haddock was the total opposite, with neatly combed black hair and cold blue eyes, he wore a black pinstriped suit and his shoes were very shiny. Carrick was wearing a blue pinstriped suit with even shinier shoes. Suddenly, both lawyers nodded and turned.
"Alright, everyone. This is to determine the accused wants to take the deal, or see how he fairs in a real trial. We will state the evidence, ask questions, and the jury will make a decision, if the accused chooses to not take any of the offered deals." Judge Herron calls out. Everyone nods, Nicolette leaned over to her father.
"Dad, what are the deals that were offered?" Nicolette asked.
"Deal. And your mother and I decide that he should get fifty years in prison, no chance of parole. It's at least a little better than the two life sentences he has chasing after him. Therefore, he might take it just to see the sky again." Christian whispered to his daughter.
"In fifty years, he'd be eighty something." Nicolette said.
"Yeah, and hopefully battling erectile dysfunction." Christian hissed, Nicolette suppressed a giggle, as Ana shook her head.
"There are pills for that you know." Nicolette spoke.
"I know, but how do you know?" Christian glared. Nicolette shook her head and the smile was wiped off her face as she heard Marcus calling her to the witness stand.
Nicolette's POV
I was shaking. Yeah, the funny conversation with mom and dad made me feel better, but I was seriously shaking. And the weird, sadistic, grin Marcus Haddock was giving me was not helping.
I placed my hand on the bible.
"Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?" A man asked me.
"I do." I breathed, searching for Max in the crowd. The dean of the school gave him the day off to be here while this was going down, apparently Max had been playing some of songs the band and I had written, recorded, and produced, when the dean came in to talk to him about his constant asking for days off and Max told him everything. Now the dean is waiting to find my application in the application pile.
"Please be seating Miss Grey." The judge says, I nod and sit.
"Miss Grey is it true that you knew my client while living in Haven, Florida?" Haddock asked me.
"No, it's not." I answer.
"Really, because I have evidence that proves you knew each other." Haddock says, placing a picture- which had obviously had work done- on the stand for Nicolette to see.
"Umm. Last time I checked, I have the same picture. But instead of your client being next to me it's my boyfriend. Though, I do believe that the two different size- and color- of your client's arms are a little troubling, so are the different colored eyes." Nicolette pointed out, the Judge furrowed his brows. As everyone in the court room began murmuring to their neighbors or to someone in front of behind them.
"Please hand me the picture, Miss Grey." The judge demanded. Nicolette shrugged her shoulders and handed the picture to the judge. Who looked at the picture and then looked at Logan, before chuckling.
"I've seen a lot of falsified pictures in my day, but this has to be the most obvious. Court is suspended while I verify that this is actually been tampered with... Which won't take long at all." Judge Herron sighed, banging the gavel on the chunk of wood. Nicolette flinched at the sudden noise, but stood up.
"Miss Grey, my I see the picture on your phone. We will need a print out to compare." Nicolette nodded, she was about to show the Judge when Taylor showed up saying that he'd deal with it, but she needed to go to her parents. Nicolette nodded once again and handed Taylor her phone. She grinned when she saw her family- all with wide smiles.
"You sure put that man in his place Nikks." Elliot laughed, Mia giggled hugging the seventeen year old.
"Haddock will probably be losing his license for this and we will have the jury's favor because they tampered with evidence." Carrick spoke, Christian shook his head and kissed his daughter on her head.
"You OK?" Christian asked. Nicolette gave him a small smile and nodded.
"Yeah."
Thirty Minutes Later
The entire Grey family, plus Max and security, were sitting in the café they had chosen to eat lunch in when Carrick's phone rang.
"Carrick Grey." Everyone watched as the elder Grey's face turned from shocked to glad.
"Really?"
"Thank you, yes. Will I need to bring in my granddaughter to close the deal, or can I send her home with her mother and grandmother?" Carrick asked.
"Alright, yes, I understand. Thank you once more my friend." Carrick hung up and set his phone on the table, he looked at his family with a wide smile.
"Jaxon Logan has decided to take the deal. Evidently the new lawyer- that he has been assigned by the state- told him that it would be easier on him and his family if he took the deal. That'd he'd be in jail for less time if he did take the deal, than he would if he hadn't taken the deal." Carrick announced.
Everyone started clapping and cheering. Nicolette smiled widely and pressed a kiss on Max's cheek.
"Yes!"
"We got him!" Kate and Ana were hugging as Christian and Elliot high fived, Grace and Mia were laughing as Carrick tried to get everyone under control again.
"Now. To finish the deal, we won't need Nicolette there, she's still a minor therefore it is really Christian who is pressing charges. Nikks, you can go home or face him, what do you want to do?" Carrick asked.
A moment of silence passed over the family before Nicolette spoke again.
"I need to face him. I can't live my life in fear of him. I can't live my life, if I let him believe that I allowed myself to cower in his presence. I need to be there." Nicolette spoke. Her body was tense, but she knew what she needed to do. She couldn't allow herself to live in fear of a man that couldn't hurt her.
Not anymore at least.
Carrick sent his granddaughter a grin as both parents began to ask her if she was sure.
Which everyone knew she wasn't, but knew that she needed to do this.
"Let's go." Carrick declared. After ten minutes of fighting between the three male Greys over who was paying the bill, Mia finally handed the her credit card to the very confused waiter, and a five minute drive back to the court house, the Grey family faced their biggest demon yet. Jaxon Logan.
Logan sat with his newest lawyer, Mr. Grayson Smith, his mom, who was sobbing, his unusually stoic father, and brother.
Mia, Grace, Ana and Max sat on the right side of Nicolette, and Carrick, Christian, Elliot and Kate sat on her left. The judge sat in between the families.
"Miss Grey, are you sure you want to allow Mr. Jaxon Logan to take the deal?" The judge asked.
"Yes." Nicolette answered, no hesitation in her voice, her green eyes hard. The judge nodded and passed Carrick some papers, once Carrick and Christian signed the papers Christian passed the papers to Mr. Smith.
"Why?! Why must you accuse my son of the horrid things you have?!" Mrs. Logan shouted in the silence of the room. Everyone looked toward her.
"I'm not ac-" Nicolette started.
"YES! Yes you are accusing my son of those things!" Mrs. Logan shouted again, tears pouring out of her eyes. Nicolette shot up out of her seat- or as best as she could with her ankle brace and cast still on.
"Ma'am, your son did those things! Believe it! Because I have to! I have to get up every morning and slide into the wheelchair that YOUR SON put me in! I have to look in the mirror and cover up bruises that still cover my body! I have no choice, but to live with the fact that your son used me as a play thing! I couldn't fight back most of the time! The other times I was too afraid to do anything or else I'd feel it the next morning! For three months I feared that I wouldn't live to see the next day! WHY? Because YOUR SON, your son scared me. And he scarred me. And there is nothing either of us can do about that." Nicolette started out shouting, but as her rant went on her voice level dropped, as did her posture.
"Nothing we can do. And keeping him out of jail, can only lead to bad things..." Nicolette whispered, sitting back down. Max grabbed her hand as Mrs. Logan started sobbing harder.
And with that out.
Jaxon Logan finished signing the papers.
And an unknown feeling overcame him.
Maybe it was just a virus coming over him.
Or maybe it was guilt.