Point Of View 2 [*Do not read until you've read the same chapter of ATW]

Chapter 78 Set Me Free

*James*

I can't believe this is what my life has come down to. I don't mean to be so depressing to be around but c'mon! Where is my break in life?

 I have a one-night stand, don't find out I'm going to be a dad till weeks before the girl gives birth then fucking ditches us. I raise a medical child who I fall absolutely in love with, who doesn't survive and dies on Christmas eve.  I have a shit father who tortures his family even as adults. Fall in love and get her ripped away from me by some billionaire, kill a man with my car, go into a coma and come out half a man and now I'm facing time in prison. 

God...I'm trying to be faithful here. I really am. But you've GOT to cut me some slack.

Today is no better. My speech is off, my concentration is off, and my coordination is shit. And I'm supposed to be put together for this meeting with the lawyer on top of it all.

Well, I'm not. 

I'm a nervous wreck is what I am, and it shows.

Addison calmly sips her coffee in Nate's living room while we have a meeting.

"We- as in me and Colton West- had our pretrial conference." Addison says.

"What is a pretrial conference?" I haven't a clue what any of this means.

"It's when the judge meets with the lawyers to evaluate the trial, review evidence and hope to negotiate a settlement. If a settlement is reached, then you wouldn't have to move forward with the trial." She explains. "A settlement wasn't reached so we need to proceed with the scheduled trial. Colton wants to win and his client, Nadine Jones, wants justice for her uncle."

"Justice! James didn't murder the guy. They were involved in a fucking car accident." Nate starts pacing and looks over to me. He can tell I'm about to burst into tears. "So, what exactly happens at a trial?"

"Well," Addison shifts in her seat. "The prosecution and defense present their evidence. The prosecution will show pictures of the accident. It will be hard to look at, James. West will paint a picture of the horrific scene that killed Mr. Jones. Then we call witnesses and make our arguments. My argument will be that you don't belong in prison for this. My evidence will be how you are an honest man who made an honest mistake. A mistake that resulted in a coma and permanent disability. My witnesses will be all the people you love to paint a picture of what an outstanding citizen you are, as well as how medically you cannot physically serve time with the 24/7 care you need."

"Ok..." Nate continues pacing.

"They will say the law is the law. A man died because of reckless driving. And under the law that would be up to two years in prison. Non-gross vehicular manslaughter is a charge that occurs with a driver acts with ordinary negligence, such as inattention or carelessness, and causes a fatal accident. You ran a red light. You were inattentive."

"From working my ass off with back-to-back shifts at the Marriott. I wasn't drinking or anything like that!" I exclaim. The only did I did wrong was try to pay my fucking bills.

"Right. But they are seeking punishment that is equal to the crime. James, they are seeking to cause suffering to the wrongdoer that is equal to the suffering they caused with their actions. In this case, taking the life of Nadine's beloved uncle. I'm going to fight back by asking why, if Nadine was so close to her uncle, did she wait so long to come forward? Why didn't she have a proper service for her uncle? If she loves him so much why in the ten years Malcolm was your driver, did he NEVER mention his niece. There are no social media posts, no pictures of the two of them together, no Happy Birthdays. These are the things you do and say when you are someone's close uncle. If she's just looking for money, great. We'll give her money. But jail time?"