Marriage and Mental Illness (Sequel to Tall Buildings and Pill Bottles)

Without A Doubt

Warning: This chapter is going to contain strong language. A lot of hateful speech is going to be used in this chapter, towards the middle especially. Also I know some of this isn't the most realisitic thing to happen in a courtroom, just roll with it, okay?

John's POV

The trial had been going on for well over a month now, now almost June. Once Maxwell had decided that the defense had run it's course, it was time for Alice to take the stand. 

She was standing in front of the clerk, her hair nearly blending in with her black sweater. Hand on the bible, she repeated the same vow the rest of us had made before sitting at the witness stand. 

Alice's gaze skipped to Sherlock beside me, searching desperately for comfort. He gave a small nod, lips pressed firmly together. 

Maxwell had already gone over the questions with her, but that was no one's worry. The real worry was the way the jury would react. Maxwell himself knew that the case was looking bleak, that nearly the whole jury leaned in Stewart's favor. 

Today could change all of that. Today, the final day before closing statements, could change everything. 

Maxwell moved to stand in front of his table, directly facing Alice. The court's too familiar murmur began to rise as the girl both victim and witness straightened in her seat.

"Alice Truby, the one left in the middle of this mess," Maxwell said, looking towards the ground. "You've been through quite a lot in the past six months, am I wrong?"

"You're quite correct." Her voice was quiet, barely audible from this distance. 

"So much has happened, much of it muddled by outside opinion, that it's become hard to tell what the truth really is. But you," he strided forward, palms towards the ceiling. "You've lived it all. You knew Olivia Bolaji better than anyone in this courtroom did. Who was she?"

Alice's gaze dragged up from her lap, expression not quite readable.

"She was the girl who saved my life. In more ways than one." She fiddled with her bracelet, pursing her lips together.

"Home life was never very good for me." Her small smile was of regret, not joy. "My dad beat my brother and I every day, our mother acted like we weren't there unless we we helping in the shop. I didn't have anyone, not a single friend. I was the bad girl, the girl no one wanted to be friends with. Leather jacket, black lipstick, eyeliner, attitude issues, all that, " she laughed mirthlessly.

"And then one day, this girl with a yellow jumper and floral skirt sat down next to me at lunch. I told her to fuck off, she laughed.

"She asked me what the sign on my t-shirt meant, it was a band. When I told her, she didn't wrinkle her nose or scoff at me. She... smiled. I thought she was pretty cute, so I didn't mind. We ended up talking all of lunch, and she gave me her number." She smiled faintly at the memory.

"We became friends, I guess. Some of her normal friends didn't like me very much, but she didn't care. I thought I didn't stand a chance with her, not a single bit, but one day, she asked me to go to the movies. As a date. Turns out, she thought I was pretty cute too." The courtroom was silent, save for her voice.

 Things were going great, I didn't even stay at my own house most nights. But then I went home. And my dad beat the shit out of me when my brother wasn't home. I had no one else to turn to but her. I was crying so hard I couldn't see by the time I made it to her flat." She shook her head, not wanting to relive those memories. 

"Did you love her?" Maxwell asked quietly. 

"More than anything," Alice breathed.

"Then, what really happened? How did it escalate so quickly?"