Beautiful Tragedy ✔️

epilogue;

The prosecuting lawyer delivers her statement, appealing to the jury with both facts and emotion. She paints me as an "unsuspecting victim." I can't tell which is worse. Being called a liar or weak. I know both lawyers are just trying to do their jobs, but it fills me with a sense of self-loathing.

"Court is in recess while the jury is out," the judge says. She slams the gavel down and then exits the podium.

I follow Hazel and Lizzie back out into the hall and grab a Pepsi from a nearby vending machine.

"They're going to put him away, don't you worry," Hazel says as she sits on a nearby bench.

I rub the place where my scar is on my abdomen, feeling the thick scar tissue even through my blouse. It's morbid, but touching it reminds me that I'm still here.

"I hate seeing him," I whisper, sitting down next to her. I twist off the cap to my soda and take a drink. The carbonation burns my too dry throat on the way down.

Hazel pats my hair, pulling it over my shoulder. "I know, babe. This should be the last time though."

Lizzie pops back into view with her cellphone in hand. "Alex is here."

Her words bring much needed relief and I feel my spine loosen as my body relaxes. As if on cue, Alex bursts through the doors down the hall. He's dressed in a dark blue bottom down shirt with the tie I got him for his birthday over the summer. It's black with the planets of the solar system and he usually wears it when he has to do a presentation for the eighth grade science class he's been sitting in on this semester. He moves through the crowd quickly, towering over most so he's easy to spot. He doesn't stop until he reaches me, and when he does he gently pulls me to my feet and into his arms.

I hug him back tightly, my arms wrapping around his mid-section as he burrows his face in my hair. His woodsy smelling aftershave tickles my nose, the scent so familiar and alluring.

"Did I miss much?" Alex asks softly.

I shake my head, not wanting to tell him the way both lawyers each used me as a pawn. It would only upset him.

I untangle myself from his embrace, stepping back a few paces and sitting back down. "How was school?"

He shrugs and takes the Pepsi from my hands to steal a drink. "Fine, I guess. I was so distracted though. I wanted to be here with you instead of locked up in a classroom with a broken heater."

"Is this going to be some kind of metaphor?" Lizzie asks dryly. "Some shit about 'the only place that feels warm enough for my soul is with you'?"

Alex narrows his eyes at her. "You sound like Luke. Been hanging around him much since you moved?"

Her cheeks burn. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Quit your fighting," Hazel snaps. Her blue eyes narrow as they dart between the two siblings. "I swear, I can't take you two anywhere."

Alex and Lizzie both duck their heads, yielding to Hazel's cold stare. I almost wish that she hadn't interfered. Watching Alex and Lizzie bickering was eating up time, but now I'm left to focus on the fact that we're waiting for the conclusion of the trial.

"Look," Alex says, pointing a finger down the hall to our courtroom. "People are heading back inside."

I swallow harshly, my fingernails digging into the outer sides of my legs. "It's barely been a half hour."

Alex stands, holding one hand out towards me to help me up. I stare at him like he's grown a second head.

I don't want to go inside.