22
For the second time in a handful of days, Bella found herself sitting in a courtroom. As before Alice was sitting right next to her, their hands pressed together, and on her other side was Carlisle, who had his arm around her shoulder. They were waiting for the judge to enter the courtroom, and she was trying very hard not to look at the people sitting at the defendants table, even if they kept looking over at her.
Charlie was standing next to Renee, who looked rough, if Bella were being honest. Her hair was a mess, she wasn't wearing any make-up, which was a very un-Renee thing to do. She had always been about beauty and being perfect, and making sure all the guys wanted to sleep with her. When she wasn't looking at her, Renee was searching the courtroom for Phil, who seemed to have reached his limit and hadn't arrived to support his wife.
On the other side of Charlie was Billy Black and his son Jacob, neither of which were looking back at her the way Charlie and Renee were. Bella tried her hardest not to look at them, though she failed several times. While Renee used her big blue eyes to plead with her to understand why she'd betrayed her, Charlie simply glared at her. He hadn't forgiven her for betraying him by being a lesbian, that much was clear. Not that she wanted or needed his forgiveness. He was a monster.
"Hey," Alice whispered, drawing Bella's attention away the heated glare coming off her father. "You know, I've been thinking. You and me, we need to go on a date. I mean, we already sleep together every night," she snickered, winking at her, "but we should go out. Maybe dinner and a movie, some dancing. There's a great teen club in Port Angeles, or so I've heard anyway. What do you say, beautiful? Will you go on a date with me?"
Bella opened her mouth to respond but before she could, the doors to the courtroom opened and they all looked back, finding a man with the same dark hair and eyes as her waltz into the courtroom, followed by a young woman with long, straight blond hair and a man with dark beady eyes and dirty blond hair. The first man stopped and looked directly at Bella, his lips curving into a smirk before he walked over to Charlie, offering him his hand. The man and woman with him followed and stood next to Charlie and Renee.
Charlie, Renee, and the three new people turned and looked back at her, only Renee showing any type of concern for her. She felt Carlisle tighten his arm around her, drawing her attention away from them as she took a shallow breath, trying to keep from crying. Weakness wasn't an options, she told herself.
Bella looked back at Alice. "A date sounds . . . sounds really nice right now."
Alice smiled, bringing her hand up to her lips. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she whispered, unable to keep from shifting her attention to her parents, both of whom were glaring at her at this point. The man with the dark hair leaned toward Charlie, whispering something that had him tensing before he nodded.
At that moment the door to the judge's chambers opened and the judge — this time a woman named Charlotte Sinclair, who had long black hair — came out and settled in her seat. She inhaled a sharp breath before she called the court to order.
"I want to make something very clear before we begin. We are here today to discuss pleas and bail options only. Am I clear?" she asked, looking between the prosecutor and the defendants. And when they each nodded, she continued. "Let's start with Jacob Black. You are being charged with federal charges of sexual assault, human trafficking, and battery, all pursuant under the Hate Crime stature 18 U.S. Code 249. How do you plead, young man?"
Jacob Black cleared his throat and said, "Not guilty, your honor."
The judge nodded and turned toward his father, "Billy Black, you are also charged with federal charges of sexual assault, human trafficking, and battery, all pursuant under the Hate Crime stature 18 U.S. Code 249. How do you plead, sir?"
Like his son, Billy Black cleared his throat and said, "Not guilty, your honor."
And again, Charlotte nodded and her attention turned to Renee, the friendliness on her face hardening immediately.
"Renee Dwyer, you are being charged with federal charges of sexual assault, human trafficking, and battery, all pursuant under the Hate Crime stature 18 U.S. Code 249. In addition, you are being charged with child endangerment, neglect, and abuse in both Washington State and Arizona. How do you plead?"
Renee shifted her attention to Bella before looking back at the judge and saying, "Not guilty, your honor."
The judge raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything else as she turned from Renee to Charlie. "Charlie Swan, you are being charged with federal charges of sexual assault, human trafficking, and battery, all pursuant under the Hate Crime stature 18 U.S. Code 249. Just like Mrs. Dwyer, you are also being you are being charged with child endangerment, neglect, and abuse. How do you plead?"
Charlie shifted his eyes back to Bella before looking at the man with the dark hair, who subtly nodded toward him. Taking a deep breath, Charlie turned back to the judge and said, "Guilty."
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