After I get frustrated with the piano, I go lie on my camp bed and listen to the iPod Brandon gave me. I end up falling asleep listening to some songs by a weird indie artist I've never heard of. Later, Lena comes and wakes me up, holding some clothes for me to put on.
"Come on, sweetie, it's time." I get up, pull the headphones out, and get dressed. I follow her and Stef out to the car. I'm nervous again, more nervous than yesterday. The jury will make their decision today. I wonder if Rae will be there again. The drive goes way too fast for my liking. It's all going too fast.
I walk in and my eyes are drawn to John. He has a black eye and a fat lip.
"What happened to him?" I ask my Janice as we sit down.
"He was attacked in his cell last night; it happens when some of the inmates find out why people are there." She says. Even criminals agree that what John did was twisted.
The trial starts back up and it's mostly just the judge asking each of us questions, I answer in complete and honest detail. When I tell her exactly what happened, I hear some of the jury's gasps, they can't even look at me. I start to zone out when my lawyer asks John all these questions. I can't face hearing his version of the story. Things run around my mind, what if he gets out? What if he comes to find me and he does something again? Something worse. I can't do this all over again. What if he tries to kill me?
"Okay, I've heard all I need to for today, is the Jury ready to deliberate?" The judge asks. It's happening.
"We are your honor." One of them stands.
"We'll meet back here in half an hour." The Judge calls a recess, and everyone leaves. Stef and Lena lead me outside to the hall. I look around for Rachel and her mom but they're not here.
"Are you okay? You looked a little freaked out in there," Stef asks.
"I just kind of left my body; I didn't want to listen. Do you think it went well?" I panic
"I think your chances are a mile better than his." Lena puts her arm around me.
"More than a mile, we did good in there, kid." Janice comes over to us. She looks pretty pleased with herself. We sit in silence for half an hour, which goes slowly this time. Until the bailiff calls everyone back in.
"Has the jury made their decision?" The Judge asks. I start to shake; my heartbeat speeds up. This is the moment that changes everything.
"Yes, your honor."
The world stops turning for a moment. And everyone around me disappears, except for John. We're standing alone in the courtroom. He's looking at me, fury in his eyes. From across the room, I swear I can see my reflection in his eyes, a timid little girl. This is what he has made me.
"The jury finds the defendant..." I snap back into reality. I close my eyes and clench my fists. "Guilty." I take a huge sigh of relief and turn to Stef and Lena; they're smiling from cheek to cheek. He's guilty, I won.
"This is ridiculous!" John shouts. The judge sentences him right then and there. He gives him to 35 years. He'll be almost 80 when he's released. He's being handcuffed. He kicks and screams as they drag him away, I get to see him as scared as he made me. I run straight into Stef and Lena's arms.
"We did it," I whisper. I'm still in disbelief.
"You did it, Gracie, you were incredible," Lena says. She and Stef hug me. I make sure to thank Janice and the bailiff. Before we leave. My foster mothers hold my hands. Strangers congratulate me as we leave the building. When I get outside, I see her, Rachel. She's sitting on a bench across the street.
"Can I meet you at the car?" I say to Stef and Lena, crossing the road before waiting for a response. "We did it, he's going to jail," I say to her. She wasn't in the courtroom today.
"Good."
"Where's your mom?" I ask as I sit down next to her.
"She went to stay with my aunt, she finally realized that she married a monster."
"So, where are you staying?"
"At home. On my own."
"Are you gonna be okay? You're just a kid."
"I'll be fine, I've been home alone plenty of times. Might be nice to have the place to myself for a while. But are you gonna be okay? Stuff like this doesn't go away when the bad guy goes to jail." She's right, I'll be dealing with this for the rest of my life.
"I'll get through it. As soon as I figure out where I'm going."
"You're not staying with that family?" I look over to Stef and Lena's car.
"I was only supposed to be staying there throughout the trial, but it's over now. So, I guess I'm going back into the system. I should go, but could we stay in touch?" I get up. I don't want her to be alone.
"Sure." We switch phones and put each other's numbers in our phones and switch back. "Well, I'm glad you won the trial. See you around." She gets up and walks away. I hope she'll be okay.
I text Sophia as soon as I get in the car, she's so happy for me. We pull up outside the house, I don't move. Now I have to figure out what's going to happen to me.
"You alright, Gracie?" Stef asks.
"So, you're gonna send me to a group home or something now the trial is over? Right, I mean that's what you said." My words come out a little sharper than I intended.
"Honey, we don't want you going back into the system right away, not after all you've been through. So, we're happy for you to stay with us until you're through this, no matter how long it takes. If that's what you want," Lena says. I let out a sigh of relief. I'm still safe for now.
"But we're not in a position to foster you permanently," Stef adds. I can tell she feels bad about it. "So, all the rules and boundaries we've set for the other kids apply to you, so no repeats of last night."
"Okay."
"What happened last night?" Lena asks. I guess Stef kept it to herself.
"Gracie, you go inside we'll be there in a minute." I get out of the car and leave them to talk about my wild night. When I get inside Callie, Mariana and Jesus are sat at the table. They all look at me and I immediately feel guilty.
"I'm so sorry about last night, I'm not your responsibility but I'm so grateful you all took care of me. I promise I'll never be that stupid again."
"It's fine, Gracie we're just glad you're okay," Mariana says.
"Yeah, we totally get why you just wanted to let loose, with the trial and everything it can't be easy." Jesus gets up and leads me to the table.
"So, you're not mad?" I sit down.
"No, we're not mad, Gracie, just don't do it again." Callie takes my hand. "Now, how was it today?"
"We won." They all break it in beaming smiles, hugging and congratulating me.
Jude gets home, and I tell him the news, he hugs me and tells me how happy he is for me. They all truly care about me. Stef and Lena come inside.
"So, last night," Lena says.
"Okay, it was my fault, the others didn't know how drunk I was, I'm so sorry, please don't punish them for my mistake!" I beg.
"Gracie, calm down, none of you are in trouble," Stef laughs at me. "We understand it was a difficult day for you and we know it won't happen again. And as for you two." She turns to Callie and Mariana. "Thank you for taking care of Gracie, you did the right thing bringing her home when you did. But if I find out you're at a party with alcohol again, you're all grounded until college." The others all sigh with relief, and we all get started on dinner together.
I can just make the most of the time I have here. I'll go to school, hang out with the family, do my homework, and tutoring with Mariana and Jude and I can pretend to be a normal teenager, just for a little while.
After dinner, Jude and I go up to his room to do some math tutoring. It's probably my worst subject but Jude shows me the equations in a way to make it easier, he shows me all these little tips and tricks that aren't too hard to remember. After an hour of that, I go to Mariana's room for Physics, also not one of my strongest subjects. She gives me her old flashcards from when she was in my grade and all of her old study notes. I don't feel so hopeless now, I may actually be able to pass this year. We have half an hour until lights out, so I do some homework before bed. I feel good, about the future. I have a future.
