League of Her Own (Carmichael Series #2)✔️

How Does the Jury Find?

"We find the defendant, Marcus Cavell, not guilty." The woman stated clearly and confidently. Aurora erupted in a sob as she shot out of her seat and made her way towards her brother who was being detained in his orange suit and handcuffs. He was uncuffed seconds before Aurora threw herself at him. I watched as she sobbed violently while he tried to soothe her by running his hand over the back of her head in a loving manner. I hung back by my dad while I gave her and her brother some much needed space. She'd told me that she hasn't seen him, even in pictures or anything, since he left the courtroom two, almost three years ago.

I saw her brother's eyes flitter towards me and my dad before he mumbled something to Aurora, who was still hopelessly crying. She unwrapped herself from around him before they made their way towards us. My dad stuck his hand out to shake Marcus', but he pulled my dad into a tight hug instead, patting him on the back while murmuring multiple thank yous.

"Are you going to officially introduce me?" He asked Aurora with an amused smirk as she was wiping her tears away.

"Marcus, this is my boyfriend, Troy." She said motioning towards me. I nodded my head in recognition before shaking his out stretched hand.

"Oh, shit! Aurora can you run and ask the officer where I'm supposed to go to pick up my things?" He asked her abruptly. Her attitude changed immediately. She nodded before dashing off to complete the task she was given. Marcus watched her until she disappeared before turning to me with a gravely serious look in his eyes.

"Thank you." He began before his voice broke off as he started to choke up. "I don't know what you did, or what special powers you possess, but you've given me my little sister back. When I left her, she looked like she was better off dead. She was barely even a shell of her old self, and now I can tell she's back to normal and even better than before. She has a glow of life I've never seen in her, and for that I will be eternally grateful. To both you and your family. Thank you for looking out for her when I couldn't and when she needed it the most." He said, conveying how genuine his words were with his eyes.

"I love your sister very much and I would do anything for her. If she says jump, I ask how high." I said with a light, playful tone but still meaning every word. He laughed along with me before shaking his head back and forth.

"Marcus?" Aurora's soft voice asked from behind me. She stopped next to me and I greedily took the opportunity to wrap my arm around her waist, missing touching her.

"Yes?" He questioned while searching her face intently. She was sporting her usual look that meant she was over-thinking something.

"You know we aren't really related, don't you?" He said knowingly. She swallowed harshly before nodding.

"This is a conversation we can have later. Can we go get some grub? Prison food is just...horrible to put it nicely." He said with a look of blatant distaste causing us all to laugh.

Piling into the car, we quickly made our way to my families favorite diner before seating ourselves.

"You don't need a menu, just try their biscuits and gravy. It's seriously to die for." Aurora said knowingly while snatching the grimy menu from his hands. I smiled at their antics but I had to refrain from showing my annoyance at not being able to sit next to her. Not touching her was a major issue for me.

"So, how long have you known?" Aurora asked, quickly getting down to business with the issue at hand. Marcus eyed my father and I from under his lashes, probably thinking we didn't really know what was going on and not wanting to broadcast his family issues.

"They were there when I found out, spill." She demanded, obviously understanding the reason for his hesitance.

"I didn't know for the first 9 or so years. I just always thought it was weird that you didn't look anything like mom, dad, or me. I never wanted to ask because I'd seen first hand how upset my mom got whenever someone who wasn't family mentioned the stark difference. I was sixteen at the time and my parents were fighting in the kitchen after dinner. I needed my backpack that I left down there after school to finish up a paper and I made the mistake of going to get it. I hid and listened to their conversation when they started talking about private investigators sniffing around and digging into their personal information. Then, they started talking about moving again and that just further peaked my interest. That's when it all blew up in my face; I'll never forget what my dad said to her. It was the reason why I left you all on your own after they split up months later." He said solemnly while staring intently into his coffee mug with an ashamed expression on his face.