The Stranger / Chris Evans x OC

Chapter 161: Tabloids

AMELIA

"Your honor, the defendant has shown a clear intent to kill, and the fact the defense would even try to get him off on a technicality is laughable." 

I watch Harry get called to the bench along with the defense attorney, who's a total slimeball, and then all we hear are the murmured whispers from Harry, the judge, and the defense attorney. 

I glance around the courtroom briefly before I add a few comments to my notes. 

I'm not feeling my best today. It's been a few days since I couldn't get ahold of Chris all day, and it's made me anxious and on edge ever since. 

Something about it felt off, and it became clear to me he was lying about his phone being turned off pretty quickly after he said it. I never mentioned it, though. I figured he was lying for a reason. Now I'm just scared about what that reason could be. 

I'm so busy with the case and things between us have been rocky ever since I left after thanksgiving, so at this point I'm not even sure I want to know. That way I would have to deal with whatever the outcome is, and I don't know if I'm at a point in my life right now where I can handle that. 

Maybe it's better to stay in denial. But it still feels like a punch in the gut. He's never lied to me before.. 

Well, that's not true. He did, once. In the beginning of our relationship, when he lied about his entire identity, but somehow that feels.. Different. 

Maybe it isn't. 

I'm just overthinking it, but this is the first time in a long time that I'm worried about my relationship. Everything has been going so well, we've been inseparable, but maybe the distance is too m-

"Council, return to your seats. There will not be a mistrial today. Please continue the precedings." 

Harry returns to the table and takes a seat next to me, smirking like a kid who just got the biggest present on Christmas morning. 

I smile back at him, pushing my intruding thoughts to the back of my mind. 

I have nothing to worry about. Chris loves me, he would never do anything to hurt me, and I know that. 

✦✧✦✧

Once they call for recess, I grab my phone and wallet from out of my bag to go get a cup of coffee from the stand outside the courtroom. 

I turn my phone on as I walk, my brows furrowing when my phone starts buzzing uncontrollably. 

And then it's like my heart reaches my throat when I press on a link and it opens up an article. 

21 missed calls from Chris, 15 from Taylor and 11 from Pierre should have already been a clue that something terrible had happened. But I had never for the life of me thought it would be this.

I quickly sifted through the messages I'd received while my phone was off, but Chris' mainly just said Call me! Please! and Pierre had asked if I was okay. Taylor's was the only one containing a link to the article.

I could already feel the tears stinging at the back of my eyes when I read the title. I would have expected them to overflow once I saw the pictures, but they didn't. It's like every emotion just left my body, instead. 

Like I was numb.

I knew it was too good to be true. I fucking knew it.

My eyes move over the title of the article again, just to clarify that I'm not imagining things.