Tainted Love | ✓

Chapter Twenty-Seven

in the end,

you were just a sad story

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　-: ✧ :-゜・．

THE DAY WAS FINALLY HERE.

To my side, stood my parents and Toby. While I could see their mouths moving, their voices sounded like they were speaking underwater. I blinked in rapid succession, trying to clear my head so I could focus, but all that I could hear was the increasing sound of my heart pounding. My brain was screaming at me to turn away and run, but I was stuck to the spot; rooted. In the grip of silent panic, my eyes kept flickering up to the clock, watching it tick by. Everything seemed to slow down around me, like I was in some weird, alternate universe.

"Everything will be fine," my dad whispered, his voice suddenly coming through. He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, and gave it a gentle squeeze, "You've got this, sweetheart. We believe in you."

Mother, hobbling closer to me, nodded in agreement with father.

"No matter what happens, just know we love you," she smiled, "And that we're proud of you for doing this."

I strained my vocals but nothing came out. Instead, I settled with a simple nod, and clasped my hands together. However, it didn't matter if he believed in me. I needed the judge to, because if he didn't, or if I stumbled too much, to the point where they thought I was lying, Tyler was going to walk out of here, scot-free. Seeing my conflicted expression, Toby shuffled closer to me, eyes softened in a gentle gaze.

"We're all going to be right here for you," he murmured, leaning closer to whisper in my ear.

But the fear engulfing my conscience, knocked all other thoughts aside. All I could think about was the man I would be forced to face in the next few minutes. While the comfort I received from the people around me, who all loved me, was somewhat consoling, it didn't eliminate the terror that I was also feeling.

"It's time to head in," mother said. I could see the sadness swirling around her eyes and I tried my hardest to muster up a smile for her. Even now, I wanted to show her that I could be strong - even if I wasn't.

My hands trembled and my eyes watered as I reached towards the door knob. Creaking the door open, my breath quickened in sharp pants. Everything was silent as we stepped inside. The room wasn't as big as I thought it would have been - but a part of was terrified of how close Tyler and I would be.

As we were directed to our seats, my eyes gazed around everywhere - taking it all in. The room wasn't as big as I had originally thought it would be. Still, despite the warmth, the hairs on my arms were rising and small goosebumps formed on my skin. I squirmed when we were brought to the very top of the court room, a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead.

Then, before I had even prepared myself for the moment, two doors banged open and a cleanly dressed Tyler was brought out. His black suit was buttoned and ironed to perfection - hair combed and jelled. While his face was settled in a neutral expression, I could almost feel the underlying anger burning in his eyes. All of my skin drained of colour and I was sure I looked nothing short of ghost. Just before he sat down, one corner of his lips quirked up - making me shudder at the sheer maliciousness evident.

Even standing here, there was something unnatural about standing in front of a judge and officers, trying to convict my ex-boyfriend of sexually assaulting me. It was still a hard reality for me to grasp - that someone I had claimed I had loved was now standing in front of me, about to try and prove his innocence.