Sincerely, Red

Chapter Twenty Four

I stared at him in shock. "Don't turn into him," I said, as the judge took his seat and Tim was brought in to the room. "He was full of jealousy, and hatred, and this almost destructive feeling." My voice caught in my throat when Tim looked up, and I hated the fact that I was the first to look away. "I don't want to see you get caught up in all of that. You're better than that. You're better than him."

I looked straight at the judge, aware of both Lucas and David's gaze on me and then towards Tim. Claire walked back through the door and took a seat beside David, who looked as though he was going to combust from nervousness. Even the members of the media were craning their necks and twisting in their seats to get a look at the man who was responsible for the death of three people.

Everything was still for a moment and I could almost hear a beat in my head, demanding to be felt and acknowledged. A rising sense of anticipation, nerves and overall fear became present in my stomach. The sensation travelled from there to my chest and then my throat, where a lump had formed. It was making it harder to breathe and the surroundings were becoming less clear by the second.

Lucas flicked me on the forehead and the temperature in the room cooled, even though it hadn't really risen in the first place. He shot me a questioning look, before motioning to David who was sweating profusely. Then he smirked at Tim, mouthing bye and adding a little wave for emphasis. He stopped when Claire shot him a glare, slumping back into his seat and closing his eyes instead. I wasn't sure but I think he was hoping to just listen, because afterwards the full images would be too much. He could alter everything in his mind if he only had a soundtrack but not if he had a video on replay.

"Not guilty," Tim said clearly, with his words echoing around the room. "I plead not guilty to each of the murders."

People began to whisper and because the voices were all acting at once, the noise became louder and louder. The judge hit the sound block with the gavel and everyone hushed, though it didn't stop a single person from looking around the room. Everyone, really, was waiting for a reaction.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Lucas said, with his eyes wide open now. "How can he even be called human? After he's done so much and-"

"Calm down," Claire hissed, as he came to an abrupt stop. "I know this is difficult. Believe me, I know. But I also know how these things work and if you look weak, the jury will take it as a sign that you think we'll lose this case. You've got to look confident right now, and when the time comes to milk the sympathy out of them, I'll tell you."

"This isn't a game," he whispered back, as the case was introduced. "The law is playing with our lives and it's not fair, no matter how childish that sounds. It's not, like, listening to the evidence and making a decision. It's basing everything off of... of human reactions and I can't-"

He looked as though he was about to bolt, but David reached over me and squished Lucas' hand on to the edge of the seat. "You need to stay right here," he said, tiredly. "I know you think this is unfair and I agree with you, but there's nothing we can do to change that. People are always going to preach about this kind of thing, like you're doing know, but nobody - not a single person - is going to stand up and support it." He took a deep breath, as he tried to collect his next words. "And that's because every individual believes they're the only one supporting the cause. Right now, we can't focus on ethics and morality. We just need to think about this trial and that's it. We can't deal with anything else right now so please just calm down."