On the Run [a.i. au]

28. Paranoid

Thalia's POV

I run my clammy hands against my black dress as I stare up at the judge's seat. She is staring down at the jury with a blank expression, waiting for the verdict to be read aloud. Never have I felt so nervous and scared in my life.

Ashton and Calum are seated a row in front of me beside Annalise, who is whispering to them intensely. I can't hear what is being said, but judging by their body language, it isn't good.

"What is the verdict, Member Number Four?" the judge calls out, dragging my attention to the stand off to the left.

I feel my body begin to shake uncontrollably as I wait for whatever comes next. My hands are sweaty as I fold them together. My knees are jostling in my seat to the point where it feels like I've lost all feeling in them.

"We find the defendants guilty of all charges."

Immediately, I cry out in horror, the tears flowing nonstop. Ashton and Calum stand to embrace each other as I try to reach them, but every time I step closer, they seem to move farther away.

Eventually, I run out of the pew and through the small gate, but Ashton and Calum have only grown farther away. My feet ache as I begin to run as fast as I possibly can.

I watch someone handcuff them, and I run faster. However, they're only drifting farther away from me, from the world. There are so many things I need to say, but now I'll never get the chance.

Suddenly, I'm caught by someone, and I slump to the ground as I scream. I never expected this to take such a severe toll on me. All I wanted was justice for Michael, and he never got it. Now, no one else can give it to him.

"You need to let them go," a soft voice says. My eyes open and meet a familiar blue pair: Luke's. He moves a lock of hair behind my ear and sighs loudly. "Thalia, it's time to let them go."

My eyes open sharply at the sound of a door slamming. My head moves to the headrest behind me, and I gaze out the tinted window, trying to erase my dream from my mind.

"Are you ready?" Luke asks from my left as he places a hand over mine. I turn to him and take my other hand and cover his, trying to ease my shakiness. I don't know what's going to happen today, and I don't know how I will react either way.

I give Luke a short shake of my head as I bite the inside of my cheek, a habit I had as a child when anxiety would get to me. It always helped to keep a grasp on what was happening around me and to steady me, and right now I need that more than ever.

My mother opens my door for me, and I hear the loud wind roaring in my ears. How fitting, that a large storm is brewing in Adelaide today. The angry grey clouds above my head give an ominous presence that makes goosebumps form on my arms and legs.

"Don't worry, Thalia," my mother whispers as she wraps an arm around my waist while we approach the steps leading to the courthouse. Michael and Macie walk in front of us slowly while my father and Luke walk around the other side of the car to meet us. "You're doing the best you can to help them, and that's that. After this is over, you can go home and live your life like a normal person again."

Luke grabs my hand and gives me a smile and nods in agreement with my mother's words, but I know that he knows it won't be that simple. For as long as this case is relevant, we will be remembered as their 'accomplices' or, rather, the one who tried to save their lives, whether our efforts today are successful or not.