Twisting Tides

Chapter 20 - Shia

*1 Year Later*

Shia sat on the bench outside the court room, wringing her hands together before undoing them and wringing them together again. It was the last day of the trail and the lawyers had given their closing statements earlier that morning. The jury went to deliberate at 10am and it was currently 2:30pm.

Shia had no recollection of what happened that night after Xavier knocked her unconscious. The last thing she remembered was trying to get him off her and scratching his cheek so deep that she drew blood. Her next memory was waking up in the hospital hooked up to an IV with her head bandaged.

Jalen had sprang from his seat and rushed out of the room, coming back minutes later with a doctor and a nurse. The nurse checked her vitals and IV fluids while the doctor asked her a million and one questions on how she was feeling. After informing her that the police will be coming soon to get her side of the story now that she was awake, he left, leaving her in the room with Jalen and Kiana.

She had never seen her mom or Jalen cry so hard in her life. Jalen told her that Xavier had hit her hard enough to cause a concussion and open a gash on her head that needed stitches. She asked him what happened to Tia and she could see the reluctance in his eyes to tell her. After heavy convincing, he finally did and she bolted from her bed down the hall, naked in her hospital gown and IV still attached. When she saw the state that Tia was in, she broke down crying.

Tia had a dislocated shoulder, 2 fractured ribs, a split lip, a skull fracture and more bruises than anyone could count. Kaylen and Zion were in the room when she rushed in and it took them, along with Tia and Jalen, to calm her down.

Although she had succeeded in stopping her sobbing, the tears had refused to stop. She felt immense guilt that she couldn't do anything to protect her little sister and no amount of reassurance from Tia was going to change that anytime soon.

Tia's doctor came to the room while Shia was still in tears and she immediately bombarded him with questions on how Tia was recovering. The doctor informed her that all of Tia's tests showed she was in no imminent danger and was recovering well. If she remained stable with no signs of deteriorating, she would be discharged within the next 2 weeks, 10 days being the earliest.

The next few days were a blur of blood draws, police questioning and constant visits. She learned that her mom had used all of her PTO and her friends involved were granted time off from school. Her mom was there during the day, alternating between her and Tia's room, and Jalen was with her at night. Zion, Kaylen, Adora and Navea also visited every day, though Kaylen mainly stayed next to Tia.

Shia was discharged earlier than Tia and Kalel told Kiana she would stay with them so Kiana didn't have to worry about Shia being home by herself while she tended to Tia.

Tia was discharged with no issues and the sisters got an update on the charges they filed against Xavier, Aaron and Crystal after Shia woke up.

Their ordeal had become a high-profile case because of the positions that Aaron's and Crystals dads held in the local government. Xavier and Aaron received a public defender because their dads wanted nothing to do with them, but Crystal's dad paid for a top notch lawyer. He was adamant in the notion that Crystal was a good girl and would never willingly participate in a crime so heinous. His continuous denial prompted Lacy's mom to volunteer to be the sisters' lawyer, with the only stipulation being to pay her court fees.

Crystal's dad posted her bail, but Xavier and Aaron didn't, being carted to and from the nearby holding facility every court date.

The three of them were slammed with felonies, Crystal getting off the easiest. She was charged with Party to a Crime for 15 years. Aaron was charged with Abduction and Aggravated Assault, totaling 30 years. Xavier was hit the hardest. He was charged with Abduction, Aggravated Assault, and Sexual Battery, coming out to a whooping 55 years.