"The persecution calls Elizabeth Grace Rogers to the stand," her lawyer says.
She walks over to the stand and the bailiff has her place her hand on the Bible.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; so help you God?" The bailiff asks.
"I do," Lizzie says.
She sits down and nervously runs her sweaty palms on her dress.
"Miss. Rogers, can you explain the incident that occurred to you on November 15th?" The lawyer asks.
"My brother Steve was sick so I left early to walk to school," Lizzie says.
"And why did you leave so early?" The lawyer asks.
Elizabeth sighs deeply with her eyes closed. She really doesn't want to tell this story. Steve and Bucky don't even know the full story and she really doesn't want to tell them in front of a judge and jury.
"Throughout the years I was picked on by the defendant. When we were younger, it was just name calling with the occasional hair pulling. It was hurtful but manageable. It wasn't until later that he began to become more physical. He started to push me to the ground a lot and kick me. Then it turned into punches, never on the face but on areas that were usually covered. He only ever bothered me on days when Steve would be at home sick," Lizzie says.
She is trying to hold back tears so she can continue.
"James walks past my house to walk to school so he must have seen me leave home. I decided to walk the long way to school past all the factories just to be extra sure I wouldn't run into the defendant. I wasn't paying a lot of attention and before I knew it, I was being pulled between two buildings. James Royce was the one who grabbed me. He began to punch me in the stomach. I tried to fight back and managed to punch him and scratch his neck. He slapped me and grabbed me by my throat. He slammed me against the wall and I hit my head hard and passed out. The next thing I remember is Mr. Barnes putting his jacket around me and hearing sirens in the distance," Elizabeth concludes.
The lawyer gives her a sad nod.
"Thank you Elizabeth. No further questions your honor," Lizzie's lawyer says.
Lizzie looks at the gallery and makes eye contact with Bucky and he gives her a sad smile. She then looks at Steve and he mouths "I'm here". She loves them so much in that moment.
"Would the defense like to cross examine the witness?" The judge asks.
"We would," the lawyer says.
Her lawyer warned her that the defense would try to question her memory of the events.
"Miss Rogers, would you explain the extent of your injuries?" The lawyer asks.
She gives a rundown of her injuries.
"We have the report from your doctor that claims that is truly extraordinary that you survived your head wound. Would it be fair to assume that a head injury of that caliber could lead you to... misinterpret the events," the lawyer states.
The lawyer is looking at her like a she's a confused little girl. She hates that look so much that anger rapidly replaces her nervousness. She's going to make him regret treating her like a little girl.
"Fantastic, so you have read the doctor's report. As you must be aware, the doctors checked my memory the moment I woke up. I was able to not only retain all of my memories but also all of my cognitive abilities. I have an incredible memory councilor. The first thing I recalled when I awoke was a direct quote from The Great Gatsby. I was also able to immediately continue my class work with no need for relearning as I'm sure my teachers can confirm. I believe that if I can complete advanced algebra without missing a beat and have no lapse in memory recall, it seems logical to conclude that I am incredibly likely to remember the events that led to my debilitation. Do you concur with my analysis councilor?" Lizzie asks condescendingly.
The silence in the courtroom is interrupted by Bucky's loud laughter. His mother hits him in the shoulder to quiet him. He does a poor job at stifling his laughter. A few of the jurors are also smiling and even the judge is fighting to remain straight faced.
"No further questions your honor," the lawyer says.
"Didn't think so," Lizzie mumbles under her breathe.
"You may return to your seat, Miss Rogers," the judge says.
"Thank you, your honor," she says respectfully.
She returns to her seat with her back straight and her head held high.
Her lawyer gives her a sly high-five under the table.
"You'd make a great lawyer one day kid," the lawyer whispers.
"Glad to know I have options," she says with a small wink.
Her lawyer stands up and addresses the room.
"The persecution rests, your honor," her lawyer says.
"The defense may call their first witness," the judge says.
"The defense calls James Andrew Royce to the stand," Royce's lawyer says.
James gets sworn in and spins a narrative where he just ditched school and went to the arcade. He claims that he got the scratch marks from his little brother when they were wrestling in the garage. He sticks to the story that that is also how he got the black eye.
"Is there anyone who could confirm your story?" His lawyer asks.
"Yes, my friend Riley Pearson was with me all day," James says innocently.
That's when Lizzie notices him sitting behind the defense. She is so angry at the moment.
Riley was there that day. He contacted Lizzie shortly after the incident and apologized for his involvement. She excepted because he was trying to persuade James' to leave the whole time. He actually tried to pull him away at one point. She promised she wouldn't mention him in her testimony because she didn't want him to get in trouble. Now he was testifying to defend her abuser. She hated him almost as much as James in that moment.
Lizzie's lawyer cross examines James but he refuses to sway from his story.
"The defense calls Riley Michael Pearson to the stand," James's lawyer says.
Riley gets sworn in and takes a seat.
"Riley, can you explain what you did on November 15th?" The lawyer asks.
Riley glances around nervously.
"Yes, James talked me into skipping school. We went to our local arcade..." Riley trails off.
He looks over and meets Lizzie's accusing eyes. He remembers seeing the bruises covering her body. He remembers how she cried out each time James hit her. He didn't participate but he knows if he continues this lie, he's just as guilty as James.
"I'm sorry, I can't. I don't care if I get in trouble. James was the one who attacked Elizabeth. I was there with him in the alley when he punched her and pushed her into the wall. When she collapsed, we ran. I shouldn't have left her like that but I was so scared. I know I'll probably get in trouble too but she deserves justice. Everything Elizabeth says was the truth," Riley says.
Lizzie can tell that his lawyer is thrown. There's really no way to recover from a confession from an accomplice. He tries to piece together some way to salvage the situation but he knows there's no question he could ask Riley that would absolve James.
"No further questions," James's lawyer says.
Lizzie's lawyer can't believe his luck.
"Would the persecution like to cross examine?" The judge asks.
"Yes!" her lawyer says quickly.
Lizzie's lawyer further flushed out Riley's story and reinforces both Bucky and Lizzie's testimony.
Both lawyers make their closing statements and the jury leaves to deliberate.
The Rogers and Barnes walk out of the courtroom and into the large lobby. The moms talk separately from the excited kids.
Lizzie launches herself into Bucky and Steve's arms.
"Great job guys," Steve says.
Bucky puts his hand on Lizzie's shoulder and smiles at her.
"It was all this one. The lawyer looked like he wanted to cry during your rebuttal," Bucky says.
"Oh, I can almost guarantee he's crying in the bathroom. I can't imagine any of that went the way he wanted to," Lizzie says.
They all fall into silence remembering that there's a large elephant in the room that has yet to be discussed. Bucky decides to bite the bullet.
"Were you ever going to tell us about Riley?" Bucky asks.
She hesitates. She knows her answer but she also knows they aren't going to like it.
"No," she says bluntly.
Both of the boys begin to protest.
"He tried to stop him. He obviously didn't agree and I didn't want him to get punished for something he didn't partake in," Lizzie says.
"He still knew you were injured and did nothing!" Bucky yells.
"He was scared! He's just a kid and he didn't know what to do," she says.
"I'm a kid too and I know I would've helped you no matter how scared I was," Bucky says.
"If you haven't noticed, Jaime, you are a special kind of person. You're braver then any other person I've met. Except for maybe Steve," she says.
Steve looks between them, looking for a way to De-escalate the situation.
"Well I think you're both plenty brave," he says.
Steve is saved from intervening further by the courtroom door opening.
"The jury has reached a decision," a man says.
"That was quick," Bucky notes.
"I dont know if that's a good or bad thing," Lizzie admits.
"Let's hope for the best," Steve says.
Everyone retakes their seats and they wait for the jury to give their verdict. A woman in the front stands with a piece of paper in his hand.
"We, the jury find the defendant guilty of assault and attempted murder," the woman states.
"So say you all?" The judge asks the jury.
They all respond in the affirmative.
The trio quickly hug each other with huge smiles on their faces.
"He can't hurt you now," Steve whispers and squeezes Lizzie's hand.
The judge gestures to Royce.
"Please rise for sentencing," the bailiff says.
Everyone in the courtroom rises to their feet.
"I sentence the accused, James Andrew Royce, to four years at the Brooklyn Juvenile Correction Center. Court is adjourned," the judge says and everyone moves to leave.
"That's it? He's out in four years?" Bucky says.
"That's actually a fairly long sentence for a minor," Lizzie says matter of factly.
"He tried to kill you!" Bucky says.
"Yes, but they're not going to lock up a fourteen year old boy for the rest of his life. I actually would be surprised if he wasn't released early," Lizzie says.
Bucky stops walking and faces Lizzie.
"Early?!" Bucky says loudly.
She shushes him and drags him along.
"That's what happens most of the time. Prisons are overcrowded and they tend to release well behaving criminals as long as the follow parole," Lizzie says sadly.
"How does that not scare you?" Bucky asks.
In truth, it terrifies Lizzie but she can't live in fear for the rest of her life.
"Well I have you and Steve to protect me, don't I? So what's there to be scared of?" Lizzie asks teasingly.
He is still incredibly mad about the information but can't help but smile down at her.
He lets it go because he kicked Royce's butt once, he could take him again.
"Yeah, I got you," Bucky responds.