off the table

six

tw ⚠️

"Alright, Mr. Davidson. Ms. Grande, you may start," the judge said.

"Y-Your Honor," I started, "it's true that I had been struggling with my mental health the past year. I have depression, anxiety and PTSD from the attack that happened in my Manchester concert last year. Despite having mental conditions, I am still truthful of my words. He knew about how hard it is for me to talk about my late ex-boyfriend, Malcolm, and how I am still overwhelmed with guilt. He knew that's my weak spot and took advantage of it to emotionally abuse me. Aside from that, he made comments about my body, telling me that I'm too fat and made me starve myself. He would rape and beat me if I failed to obey his commands and threatened to kill me and my family if anyone knows what he did to me. I couldn't remember much about the series of rapes he committed, because I was often drugged."

"She's a liar!" the devil cut off, "She's clearly mentally disturbed."

"Your turn is up, defendant," the judge said sternly, "Ms. Grande, do you have any evidence to prove what you said?"

"Actually, we do," Katherine said, walking to the podium and handing over the folder to the judge, "As you see, Your Honor, I have here Ms. Grande's medical records. These came from the day the report was made and she was examined at the hospital. As you can see, these are pictures of her injuries, consisting of cuts and bruises. According to the doctor's notes, Ms. Grande admitted cutting herself on her arms as a result of her emotional suffering. As for the the bruises, there's no way she did those herself. Here's a picture of one large bruise on her ribs that has a mark of a man's knuckles. There's no way that it's her own, because her fists are smaller than that. There was also a large handprint on the side of her face, meaning she was slapped. The doctor wrote here that her genital was injured as a result of the series of rapes he committed. She also detected a trauma in her uterus, which caused Ms. Grande to miscarry at eight weeks. Her blood work showed that she was malnutritioned, proving that it's true that she had been starving. Her drug test also read positive for GHB, a commonly used date rape drug, meaning it was true that she was drugged."

"I guess that settles everything," the judge said, "unless Mr. Davidson has evidence to prove his innocence. Mr. Davidson, I am asking you for the last time, do you have any evidence to prove your innocence?"

"N-no Sir," he said quietly.

"Therefore, Mr. Davidson is guilty for making threats, domestic violence and rape and is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole and is given a fine of $100,000 along with a probation for five years after release. A bail of two million dollars is set. Ms. Grande and her family are granted a permanent restraining order after release, meaning he will have to stay at least 100 yards away from them, their property and their workplace and is not allowed to contact Ms. Grande or any of her family members in any way," the judge announced and pounded his gavel. I broke down in tears of joy as the verdict was announced. I could finally feel safe again. My family embraced me into a hug and the officers took the devil away.

***

a month later

"Holy shit, Ariana, you're drinking way too much," Courtney said, taking the bottle away from me. I just chugged a whole bottle of champagne, and I was really drunk, it's my only way to drown all the pain.

"Court, give it back," I slurred.

"No, I'm not doing it," she said sternly, "We'll have to get you sorted out right now, you drank way too much."

"Court, please, it's the only thing keeping me going," I begged.

"Ariana, you're drinking way too much," she sighed, "it's not good for you, you're getting dependant on alcohol. Stay here, I'll get your mom to help get you ready for bed, it's getting late."

She left the room and I sighed. I felt my stomach flip followed by a wave of nausea. I must've drank too much. I tried to get up, but my legs felt like jelly. As a result, I threw up all over the floor, just in time for Courtney to return with my mom. The rest was a blur because of how much I drank.

Courtney's pov

Ariana just vomited all over the floor. I immediately went to the bathroom to get a wet towel and help clean her up, while Joan took a clean nightgown out of her closet. We then cleaned her up and helped her change into a clean nightgown then tucked her in her bed since she had fallen asleep.

She had been staying at her mom's house since she was discharged from the hospital, and I stayed here too to help. She's been a mess since Malcolm passed, and the whole Pete situation and losing a child just made everything worse. It breaks my heart seeing my best friend in this state. She's refusing to eat anything and had lost so much weight. She's always having nightmares and would always scream in her sleep. She had turned to alcohol and was drunk most of the time. Whenever she's sober, she would cry most of the time or stay really quiet and blame herself for everything. She had multiple panic attacks and would have episodes of rages. She would also try to hurt herself, saying that she deserves it. She's barely eating or talking. Joan and I had to watch her 24/7 to make sure she wouldn't put herself in danger. She tried to take her own life last week. Thank goodness we caught her quick enough. I couldn't believe someone would have the heart to do that to her. She did nothing to deserve all that. She had the kindest and most beautiful soul, yet she had to be in so much pain. I would never forgive him for what he did to her.

"Court, can I talk to you?" Joan asked, "There's just something I need your opinion on."

"Sure," I answered and quietly closed the door behind me, not wanting to wake Ariana up, as we left her room. We then sat down in the living room.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"Considering her current state, I think we should check her into a mental facility," Joan said quietly.

"I don't want her to hurt herself again, I was really scared when she tried to take her own life last week. I just want her to get better," she added. I could clearly see the pain in her eyes.

"I understand," I said quietly, "I'm also so worried about her. She has turned to alcohol, she's drinking a lot more than what her body can handle. She's barely sober. Even when she is, she's never in a good state. I guess you're right, we'll have to check her into a mental facility."

"She's gonna hate us so much," she sighed, "but it's for her own good."