Chapter 22

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A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. I've spent the entire weekend helping my mother move, and I gotta say, I hate moving in summer. It's too hot and humid, and it turns me into a big whiner. Lol. Anyway, a huge thanks to you all for reading/reviewing. Also, a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for being an awesome beta.

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"I can't believe that girl," Dad said fifty some minutes later after he'd taken Tanya's statement and given her a serious lecture. "I think she needs counseling. I told her parents that as well, but who knows if they'll listen to me."

"So what happens now?" I asked him.

"If James ends up going to trial for the burglary charge, we can bring her in to testify as a character witness against him, but since she claims she didn't have any actual knowledge of the break in, there's not much we can do to her."

"Do you think there will be a trial?" Edward asked from behind us, and Dad shook his head.

"The evidence is pretty solid against James, but we'll have to wait until his arraignment hearing tomorrow morning to find out if he pleads guilty or not."

"How long will he get if he's found guilty?" I asked, and Dad told us that James would probably only end up doing anywhere between three to nine months in jail, paying restitution, and maybe ending up with community service.

"That just doesn't seem like enough," Edward muttered, and I agreed with him.

"I know," Dad said, nodding. "But that's the law."

By the time Dad and I arrived home, it was a little after six, and I was exhausted from the events of the day. I still hadn't been able to figure out what the hell Tanya had been thinking or why she'd suddenly had a change of heart, but I was just glad that the drama with her was done and over with. At least, I hoped it was.

I also hoped like hell that the drama with James would be coming to an end. Maybe he'd learn his lesson after being arrested, but I wasn't holding my breath. He'd been arrested before, and that certainly hadn't stopped him from continuing to get into trouble.

I told Dad I was going to my room to try and relax a bit before making dinner.

"I'll just order something for us. Chinese sound good?" he asked, and I nodded, grateful that I wouldn't have to cook. Not that I had to. I enjoyed cooking, but I just wasn't in the mood to do it.

Once I was upstairs in my room, I pulled up my email and wrote my mom, filling her in on everything that had happened. Dad had kept her up-to-date on what had been happening with James and Tanya, so I wanted to fill her in on the latest. I knew she'd be relieved that things seemed to be settling down, but I wondered why I didn't feel all that relieved. I guess my mind was having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that the majority of the drama I'd been dealing with for months had stopped.

.....

"So, he plead guilty?" Angela asked me at lunch the following week, and I nodded my head.

"Yeah, his attorney advised him to since there was substantial evidence tying him to the burglary at our house."

"So, for how long is he in jail?" Ben asked, and they all shared equal looks of disgust when I told them that the judge had only given James six months. My dad had been pissed about it as well and had pretty much told James that if he showed his face around Forks again, he'd lock him up for good. I was fairly certain Dad meant it.

"Oh, and Tanya apologized to Edward and me for all the drama she caused," I commented, and they're mouths dropped open.

I spent a few minutes explaining what she'd said and how Dad had taken her statement, but Angela wasn't convinced that Tanya was on the up and up. Only time would tell.

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