Second time lucky

7

Trial day-

The day I had been dreading was here. I hadn't heard from Riley at all and I was fairly certain that he wasn't coming. His parents hadn't mentioned anything, neither had Brett or Ava.

They were still here though, Brett and Ava, and they had come over a few times with Kyle to check on me, even letting me know that they wouldn't tell Riley anything about the baby but encouraging me to do so as soon as possible.

Easier said than done when that person is a ghost.

The trial starts at ten and as much as I was absolutely terrified, I was also the tiniest bit relieved that after today everything would be done with one way or the other. I just hoped it wouldn't be the option where I had to live in hiding forever.

It was seven thirty now and as I opened the bedroom curtains it was strangely comforting to see how the weather mirrored my mood. Gloomy with a small drizzle of rain, perfect for the overwhelming anxiety I felt throughout my entire body.

After my shower I picked out a loose fitting black dress with a matching long black cardigan. Since it was raining I didn't bother to do much with my hair, throwing the top half in a pony tail and leaving the underside to cover my shoulders.

I brushed my bangs to the side and put on some light makeup, nothing heavy or super covering since the rain would just make it blotchy, but enough to look like I had slept more than two hours in the last week.

I forced down some toast for breakfast. I had felt the baby moving around, almost like a weird flutter, and it always happened if I forgot to eat. It was almost as if he or she was telling me they were hungry.

The tv was already on the news which for some reason had decided to cover this trial. Apparently there was a lot of complaints from parents to the school about how well they protected students from this kind of thing.

Of course the school couldn't be legally liable since the assault took place off school grounds, but the outrage had led to enough publicity that everyone was interested in the result.

Times like this made me glad I had disabled my social media accounts. I didn't want to see the long list of comments of people who had no idea what actually happened.

My parents and Levi showed up soon after and wrangled me to the car. This was really happening and no matter how many words they used to reassure me, my gut was turning quicker than the spin cycle on a washing machine.

Kyle was waiting for me with Ava, Brett, and Riley's family when we arrived. I didn't see Riley and no one brought up his absence even though I had prayed he would be here, I guess I wasn't lucky enough for the universe to be on my side for once.

As we walked up the vast courthouse steps and into the main doors I tried to take in the open and simple decor. A couple of potted plants and wooden benches but not much else.

It didn't take long for them to call us into the court room, at which time I was escorted to a separate room with Kyle until we had testified. I wanted to hear what was said, but I was also grateful that I had a little while longer without having to see the face that lived so vividly in my nightmares.

Kyle was called away to testify first.

"I'll be waiting when you get done! Just remember Britt, you're the only person who can stop him." He shot a half smile before the clerk escorted him out of the room.

I was about to turn my phone off when it rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Britt,"