It's Not A Game Of Chance When It Comes To Love

Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven…

It’s going to be okay. It’s all going to be okay.

That’s what I kept telling myself anyway. I didn’t have a clue as to how truthful those words actually were. I was becoming more and more nervous the closer it got to going into the court room.

At the moment, I was sat in our lawyer’s cramped office with my mum and Harry. Harry would be sitting in the audience, so to speak, with me as well, but I imagined he would be in the front row, wanting to give as much support to my mum as possible; whereas I would be sitting at the back, wanting to be as far away from Arthur as I could get.

We were sat in an eerie silence, as if we were just waiting for something to jump out and startle us. There was nothing to be said though. Nothing could make the situation any better, and nothing but a positive outcome could make me any less pessimistic.

I still felt guilty for presuming that my mum had given up and taken drugs when she wasn’t supposed to have, but I tried not to let it play on my conscience. Besides, she’d assumed the worst when it came to many of my situations.

When someone did interrupt our thoughts, it was in the form of the door opening, practically tipping my chair over as our lawyer accidentally barged it into me.

“Sorry!” He cried in apology.

I rolled my eyes, but told him it didn’t matter. This guy was so clumsy, I wondered how he’d even passed his degree. If he could become a lawyer, I was pretty sure anybody could. I would probably do just as good a job at defending myself today as Barry, he’d told us his name, would.

“We’re going to be heading in in a second.” He announced.

I glanced at the clock and realised it was an hour earlier than we were scheduled for and began to panic. “Already?” I checked. “It’s an hour too early.” I pointed out, making sure he hadn’t just made some kind of dumb mistake.

Barry nodded his head, smiling happily at me. “A case that should have been going on now was rescheduled, and so we could be moved forwards.” He informed me, obviously thinking that was a good thing as he grinned his head off. I scowled. Just because he got to cut the day short didn’t mean he needed to be so openly joyful about it.

“Come on sweetie, lets get this over and done with.” My mum prompted me to stand up.

I couldn’t keep the grimace from my face, but moved like she’d suggested.

As soon as we got into the court room, I took my seat at the back. Harry raised an eyebrow, but I just shrugged him off, unwilling to explain my decision to him.

Sitting down in the back row, I pulled my phone out, typing a quick text to Jord, telling about the latest development in the case and asking him if he could still make it. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to stand up and give my speech without his comforting gaze from the benches.

I didn’t bother putting my phone away, content to flip it in my hands, a sign of how nervous I was. Plus, I’d see his reply straight away this way.

I looked up from my hands when I saw the judge begin to speak though. There wasn’t a jury in cases like these, which meant it was just me, my mum, Arthur, the lawyers, Harry, a judge and hopefully Jord.

The judge made my mum and Arthur both take the oath, hand on a bible. “I swear by God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” They repeated after the woman who was holding the bible in front of them.

I knew they wouldn’t make me recite the oath, since what I was saying was only a matter of opinion. I was glad of that, I’d just feel even more silly saying those words.