Memories that Never Fade

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 

It was ten in the morning and Lucia sat in her mother’s silver Slug Bug quietly. Vance had ridden with their dad. He’d been right – Lucia would have to go to court and today was that day.

There was no doubt that Lucia would do one thing – keep her mouth shut. Lucinda had told her that Joshua would be there. This excited her greatly. It’d been nearly a month since she’d seen him last. Just thinking about it gave Lucia butterflies.

Somewhere deep inside, Lucia was angry at Josh and wanted to tell someone about that night…that night when her world ended. Sure, she’d only been fifteen, but there had never been anything that hurt her worse than that time. Lucia instantly pushed away the thought – it had been an accident after all.

The car stopped and Lucia gazed out of the window. There he was his grown hair longer than she remembered it to be. That was all that she could see from where she sat. Lucia’s heart jumped in her chest as thrust the door open.

“Lucia, wait!” Lucinda called, but she didn’t listen. It didn’t matter that there were hundreds of people everywhere, or that they were all surrounding her. The only thing that really mattered was that Joshua was only feet away from her and she had to get to him.

Before she was able to, Lucia felt a hand wrap around her arm. “No,” her father’s voice yelled as she tried to struggle out of his grasp.

“Let go,” she plead, “Joshua! Josh!” She screamed.

Joshua looked over his shoulder and stared at her for a long time before he was forced forward by the officer holding him. Sobs left Lucia’s pink lips as he walked away in his orange prison outfit.

Lucia wrenched her arm from Jon’s grasp and walked into the court house. She quickly wiped away the tears that kept coming against her will. She took a seat in the first row of benches.

The room was the typical court styled room – wood everywhere and people everywhere. Lucia hesitantly stood up and made her way to the large podium. There was a small chair sitting behind it, as well as a microphone attached to the top. Sitting on Lucia’s right was Joshua. He looked tired and upset as he looked at the girl. Lucia knew that her face was pale again; it had been since the moment she’d seen him.

Lucia’s stomach churned as the Judge began to speak. “Joshua Kenneth has been accused of the kidnapping and keeping of Lucia Patton. What does he plead?” The Judge didn’t look too tall, though Lucia couldn’t tell since he was sitting down. He had a bald head and large, brown eyes.

“Not guilty, sir,” Joshua’s lawyer said. He had on a thick, black suit with a silver checkered tie.

“Very well. Proceed,” the man said, gesturing towards Lucia. Her eyes were begging for everyone to stop staring at her and just go away. She took a glance at Josh, tears in her blue eyes. Take me home, Josh, please take me home….

The first person to take the stand was the woman whom had taken Lucia away from Joshua that first day. Her stomach churned once again as she stared at the woman; she looked right back. Her brown hair, the same color as that little girl that she’d had with her the first time Lucia had seen her.

“Calling Diane Ride to the stand,” the Judge said before nodding at Joshua’s lawyer to proceed.

“Miss Ride, is it true that you were snooping and looking into my client’s house?” He asked, tapping a pen against his splotched hand.

“No, it’s not,” Diane said, continuing, “Lucia was looking out of the front window and I happened to be walking by with my little girl. I recognized her but I couldn’t remember from where. Then I realized when I came home and saw the letter with the picture of her.”