City of the dead (Ghostface x reader)

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕟

The security guard ushered you up to the witness stand.  Your hand was placed on a bible, and you swore to the court that you'd speak the truth.  You looked around the courtroom, nervous as hell.  The jury looked cold and uninviting, and it scared the hell out of you.  Sidney and Mr. Prescott sat at a table at the front of the room, glaring at the defendant, whom was surrounded by cops and security guards.

Cotton Weary.

Sitting out in the crowd where you had been a moment ago was your entire friend group, and your father.  Casey and Tatum were acting hysterical, constantly nervous, and on the verge of tears.  It was a miracle Stu was managing to keep them both calm.  In all honesty, you thought they were being over dramatic.  Tatum hadn't arrived to the scene till after the body was removed and things had calmed down, and Casey didn't even go.  Sidney was the only one who deserved to be acting like that, and she was holding herself together very well.

"So, can you tell us what you were doing before you went to Ms. Prescott's," Sidney's lawyer asked.

"I was at home, unpacking some things since me and my dad just moved here, and I heard sirens," you answered.

"It says in the statement you gave to the police that you received a disturbing phone call, is that true?"

"Yes ma'am," you replied.

"Can you please tell the jury what you were told on this phone call," she requested.

"I was instructed to stay put when I heard sirens."

"And did you listen?"

"No ma'am.  I heard sirens, looked out the window to see what was going on, and I saw Sid crying," you explained.  "So I ran outside to ask what was going on."

"And what did Sidney tell you," the lawyer interrogated.

"She said her mom was dead, and that Mr. Weary killed her."

"Thank you, that is all," the lawyer said, returning to her seat beside Mr. Prescott.

"So, Mx. (l/n)," Weary's lawyer began, rising from his seat.  "Can you tell me what exactly Sidney said?"

"I just said that her mom was dead, and Mr. Weary did it," I repeated.

"Can you tell me what she said word for word?"

"I don't remember exactly what she said, but she kept repeating that her mom was dead, and gone forever."

"Did she say what she saw Mr. Weary do to her mother?"

"No, but she said she saw him walk out of the house with blood on his coat.  Then she found her mother... ya know..."

"I see.  So she didn't see Mr. Weary doing the deed?"

"Objection," the Prescott lawyer exclaimed.

"Overruled," the judge announced.  "Mr. Peterson, continue."

The lawyer looked back at you, and raised his eyebrows, as if telling you to continue.

"She never specified.  I don't think she did," you told him.

"So what did she tell you?"

"She said that he was leaving their house, and there was blood on his jacket.  Like I said a minute ago."

You saw Billy, Randy, Stu, and Tatum snicker, and Casey seemed shocked that you were willing to get a bit snarky in court.  Sidney was still too upset to really notice or care.

"How sure was she that it was Mr. Weary?"

"Extremely.  She was certain it was him when she was telling me what happened."

"Thank you, that is all," Mr. Peterson told you.

The judge dismissed you to your seat, and one of the courtroom's security guards escorted you.  You returned to your seat in between your dad and Billy.  The next witness was called, and Mr. Peterson brought up Sidney herself.  She re-hashed her police statement as well.  She saw Cotton himself leaving the house, blood on his jacket, and she got confused and went to tell mommy dearest.  Only to find her mangled up on her and Mr. Prescott's bed.

Then Mr. Peterson asked if she had seen his face.  And everyone in your friend group panicked a little as she said no, but she recognized the jacket by heart.  Apparently Mr. Weary and Mrs. Prescott were good friends.  Mr. Peterson proclaimed that it might not have been Cotton, just someone with a similar coat.  It was a far stretch for a defense, but it was something.  And that something was enough to fuck Sidney over mentally, as the people in the room began to doubt her certainty.

But, when the jury returned to the courtroom with the label of guilt, Sidney internally celebrated that she had gotten justice for her mother.  The judge gave Cotton Weary the death penalty, he was set to be euthanized.  As the killer was whisked away by the police, your father held you close.  You were still a bit shaken up by the phone calls, but Sidney was going through much worse.  You couldn't wait till you could make sure we was okay.

You knew she wasn't.  You wanted to make sure that she knew she could lean on you if she wanted to.  You'd be there for her through this.  You knew what it felt like to lose a mother, and you wanted Sidney to know she wasn't going to be alone through it.