Treacherous (Andy Barber)

Chapter 39

- 6 months later -

I sat there on the witness stand, a mix of anxiety slowly creeping through my body. The courtroom was hushed and I kept my eyes on Andy's blue ones. The only sound was the sound of rustling papers until the district attorney, Mrs. Hannah Johnson, was ready to begin.

Once she was ready, she stood up, and her voice cut through the silence. "Mrs. Barber, could you please state your full name for the court?"

"Aurora Rose Barber." I said, shifting my gaze from Andy to Mrs. Johnson.

"Thank you, Aurora. Can you tell us in your own words, what happened on the night of June 3rd?" She asked. I glanced over at Andy who gave me an encouraging smile. "It was a typical night. I was working at the bar, my husband..well my boyfriend at the time.. was at a work event. Long story short, the bar was slow and Jim, the owner, sent me home early for the night. So I went back to my apartment, Andy and I had decided to spend the night apart because it would be easier. When I got to the apartment, everything looked normal. The door was locked like I left it but when I went inside, all of the lights were out and wouldn't come on. So I went into my kitchen to light a candle and that's when Nate revealed that he was there." I explained.

"And can you tell me what happened after that?" Mrs. Johnson urged.

"I'm not sure. It's a blur. I woke up later tied up in Mr. Jacob's family cabin." I said, my eyes flicking over to Nate.

"And can you identify the man who kidnapped you in this courtroom today?" She asked me. I nodded slowly and pointed at Nate.

"Thank you, Mrs. Barber. No further questions." She said, going to take her seat. The judge then welcomed Nate's defense lawyer, Mr. Reynolds for his opening questions.

"Mrs. Barber, is it true that you have had a long romantic history with my client, Mr. Jacobs?" He asked, taking a few steps towards the stand. "Yes."

"Can you tell me when you first met Mr. Jacobs?" He asked. I nodded, "Nate and I met in high school." I replied. Mr. Reynolds nodded, "and how long was your relationship?" He asked me. "7 years."

"So it's safe to say you know the defendant well?" He asked. "Yes." I said quietly. "Had he ever displayed any kind of erratic behavior before?" He asked me. "Yes." "Can you elaborate?"

"Nate drank a lot, he did drugs. Towards the end of our relationship he was always on something. Drugs or drunk. But I never thought he would go this far." I said, quietly.

"So you agree this was out of character for him?" The lawyer pressed. My eyes flicked over to Andy and then Mrs. Johnson. "I don't know." I said.

"You said, you never thought he would go this far. So you agree it was out of his character?" He asked again. "Yes, I guess." I said. "And the times where he was violent, he was always under the influence of drugs?" He asked. "Usually." "It's a yes or no question. Was he or was he not?" He pressed. "He was." I snapped.

"So, it's likely that Mr. Jacobs was under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he exhibited erratic behavior?" He asked me. "Yes."

"Objection! Relevance." Mrs. Johnson stood up and looked at the judge. "I assure you, your honor, this is quite relevant to explaining Mr. Jacobs behavior that night. He was under the influence and was not in his right mind."

"Overruled." The judge said. Mrs. Johnson sat down and I looked at Andy who nodded at me encouragingly. He didn't seem worried which calmed me. "No further questions your honor." Mr. Reynolds said and then sat down at his table.

The questioning continued with Mrs. Johnson asking me more in depth details of Nate's mental and physical abuse, as well as his addictions since Mr. Reynolds led me in that direction of revealing just what drugs he would do. Things seemed to be going well though and Mrs. Johnson seemed like this would swing in her favor. Especially when Detective Blake, who testified to his mental and physical abuse over the past few years as well as the stalking, and then Cody and Brian who testified to the drug and alcohol use as well as behavior. Then even Pete testified to Nate hiring him to "watch me" and give him information in exchange for money.

That one was hard to hear because I practically told Pete I'd be alone that night. If I hadn't... then maybe Nate never would have shown up that night... though I still think he would have found another way.

But then, it was Nate's turn to take the stand. Andy took my hand in his and squeezed it gently. "I'm right here." He whispered, kissing the side of my head. I tuned out most of his opening remarks and kept my hand on my stomach until Mrs. Johnson started asking him questions specifically about that night. "Mr. Jacobs, can you please tell the court what happened that night? In your own words?"

Nate looked up from his hands and he glanced at me. "I...um... I don't remember much. Everything is blurry." He said. I had to bite my tongue from yelling liar. He knew exactly what happened. Mrs. Johnson nodded, "Do you recall any urges or impulses that you couldn't control?"

"It's a blur." Nate replied. It was clear Mr. Reynolds coached him on what to say.

"Were you under the influence of any drugs or alcohol?" She asked. "I was."

"Had you had a history of violent behavior prior to this incident?" Mrs. Johnson pressed. "No. Aurora and I had always had a loving relationship." Nate replied. I tried not to roll my eyes and instead squeezed Andy's hand tighter. "So you consider physical abuse almost daily, loving?" She asked him. "No. I- I never meant to hurt her. I loved her."

"But you did hurt her? Didn't you?" Mrs. Johnson pressed. Nate looked at me and his eyes met mine. "I did and I regret it."

"So you were aware of your behavior?"

"I- uh..." He looked back at Mr. Reynolds but he was slightly backed into a corner as Mrs. Johnson kept trying to undermine the defense. "I wasn't always aware." He finally said. "But you knew enough to know you were hurting her?"

"Yes." Nate said.

"So if you were aware enough that you were hurting her, and using the same drugs during the incident, then it's safe to say that you should be aware of what happened when you kidnapped Mrs. Barber. So, I'll ask again, can you tell me what happened that night?"

"I don't remember." Nate snapped. "I think you do. I think you knew exactly what you were doing." She pushed. "I don't." Nate said, sticking to that argument.

"No further questions, your honor." Mrs. Johnson said, and coming back to to the table. The rest of the trial went by in kind of a blur for me, but I focused on Andy mostly. He was my rock and my comfort place. The jury went to deliberate and I leaned against Andy who kissed my head. "I love you." He whispered. "I love you too." I said, playing with his wedding band. It didn't take long for the jury to come back and announce their decision.

The lead juror stood up and held a piece of paper in his hand. "We the jury, find the defendant Nathaniel Jacobs, guilty on all counts."

A weight felt lifted off my shoulders. Like the dark cloud was finally passing. I turned to Andy and he gave me a passionate kiss. I could finally move on with my life, my life with Andy.

A/N: I'm in no way a lawyer or have ever really been to court haha (besides one debate class in high school) so some of this may be inaccurate! I tried my best :D