It's finally the day. The day I've been both anticipating, and dreading. Mr Alvarez has been preparing for this day everyday for 2 weeks.
"Sarah, honey! Hurry up"
Dad yells from downstairs.
After a deep breath, I grab the plain gray purse off my desk and make my way downstairs.
"You're gonna do great sis."
Ace reassures me.
"Yeah... I mean all I have to do is stay calm, not get emotional and say what happened as clearly as possible. I was practically born for this."
"well,it wouldn't hurt to get a little emotional"
Dad joins in.
"What he means is, don't be afraid to get emotional."
Mom corrects after shooting dad a disapproving glare
"Yes, of course that's what I meant."
I don't know how to let myself get emotional but maybe it'll win the jury over. I'll try my best not to be too blunt I guess.
___
We are finally at the courthouse after a nerve wrecking drive and now my anxiety is screeming at me to just book it and save myself.
"Hey guys! Over here!"
Dez's voice grabs my attention. We all start walking towards him and Mr Alvarez and they approach us as well.
"Nervous?"
Mr Alverez asks me once we're close enough that he doesn't have to yell.
"Narrating how a bunch of douches assaulted me In front of a whole crowd? Sounds fun."
Despite my sarcastic tone, everyone remains awkwardly silent
"I'm guessing by your out of pocket sarcasm, you're nervous."
Dez breaks the silence and tension.
"I just want to get this over with."
I admit.
"That makes two of us."
Dalton's voice sounds from behind me. I turn to see him and two other people standing next to him. One of whom looks Strikingly familiar but I don't know why
"Hello Dalton."
Dez says through his teeth.
"Alverez."
Zaccai responds the same way.
"Hello, everyone! My name's Samuel Krov and this is my wife Valarie"
Did he just say Samuel Krov!
I turn to get a clearer view of the man standing beside Zaccai who just introduced himself. My jaw drops as I realize the man standing behind me is not just an action movie star, but a Legend in the dance world. 3 time champion of the Galaxy step dance competition! And he is standing beside me.
Zaccai mumbles something along the lines of 'i see you recognize my uncle' but I don't have time to accurately interpret his words. SAMUEL KROV IS STANDING BEHIND ME.
"You must be Sarah."
He knows my name! And he smiled when he said it!!! Like we are friends.
Still unable to form words, I nod softly as my brain reboots.
"Case 255, we're ready for you"
Someone announces, pulling me back from my starstruck daze.
"That's us!"
Mr Alvarez announces.
"Shall we?"
Zaccai stretches out his hand towards the door that leads to court room 27, where our trial is being held. Right before we enter, we spot Chester, Jax and Alex walking in too. Chester shoots us a smug smile and walks in with his lawyer.
How does he have the confidence to do that while he's still wearing a cast?
We all walk in and take our seats; Zac, Mr Alvarez and I at the plaintiff's desk and Chester, Jax, Alex and their lawyer at the defendants desk. Everyone else sat on the benches behind us.
The doors were shut and everyone settled in their seats. The room has now fallen silent. And so begins, the case of Sarah Gordon and Zaccai Dalton against Chester Wilston, Jax Bensen and Alex Abner.
"All Rise."
___
After roughly 20 minutes of Mr Alvarez and Chester's lawyer pleading their cases with the video evidence the had of each occurrence, Zaccai was called to the stand to give his testimony. He narrated the events from how Chester and his friends assaulted me to how they approached him at the after party and he beat the living daylights out of them for what they did. He was pretty straightforward about it.
"Does the defense wish to question the witness?"
The judge asks.
"Yes, your honor"
Chester's lawyer approaches the stand, as he says, confidently
"Mr Dalton, you are aware that Mr Wilston has filed for a law suit against you, correct?"
"Yes, I am aware."
"And yet you admitted freely to assaulting him at the competition after party"
"I also said he approached me first with a bunch of his friends who were going to beat me up regardless of whether I started it or not. Well, they were going to try to beat me up."
"Do You have anyone who can confirm that is indeed what happened? Did anyone hear them threatening you?"
"I never said he threatened me, I believe I said he provoked me. And of course he was speaking to me directly so why would anyone else have heard what he said to me? Except for his friends who were also going to try and beat me."
"I find that hard to believe Mr. Dalton."
"So you think I just got up and decided to beat his behind because I was in a silly goofy mood?"
At this point it's hard to tell who is being questioned.
"I suppose that is a fair point. So, what exactly did my client say that warrants such brutal punishment, Mr Dalton?"
Zaccai looks at me briefly, as if to apologize.
"He assaulted my friend the previous day... and I had to stop him but as I was helping her he got away. The day of the after party, he came up to me with his two friends and four other guys, thinking I'd be scared or something. He slandered my friend's name, over and over... and so I shut him up."
His unapologetic tone though. I am fighting back so much laughter.
"No further questions, your honor."
He said that with a bit too much confidence for my comfort.
Honestly, I can't believe Chester still wants to sue Zac when he is at risk of being tried as an adult. He could end up in prison for what he did. His confidence either means he is really stupid or his lawyer has something up his sleeve.
___
Chester and his idiot lackeys were questioned after zaccai. They all just talked about how Zaccai attacked them because he was jealous and Chester even cried. Mrs Barlowe give her statement. After a short break, we come back to the courtroom and it's my turn to be questioned. Mr Alverez told me not to worry and that i'd be fine but i can't seem to calm down.
"You got this..."
Zaccai whispers after sneakily locking his hand onto mine.
"Your honor, I'd like to call Sara Gordon to the stand."
Mr Alverez's voice has never sounded so intimidating. Listening to him is usually relaxing. I stand and make my way into the tiny box on the judges left.
I got this.
"Sarah, Do you mind telling the court what happened to you the day before the after party incident?"
I take a deep breath, preparing myself to recite the event I wish to forget the most.
"Sure, I don't mind. Zaccai and I had just finished performing, we left the stage and we were swarmed by a bunch of Zaccai's fan girls. While he was dealing with them, i escaped only to be stopped by Chester, Alex and Jax. They complimented my dancing and Chester asked me on a date. I said I wasn't interested and left to go to the parking lot. They followed me and began harassing me. At first it was just verbal abuse, telling me how I disrespected him and how he wanted to 'teach me a lesson'. He kept moving closer to me, and saying things like how he offers a different kind of 'punishment' for girls who disrespect him. I called him out for being an assaulter and that's when he grabbed my neck. I kicked him in the stomach and ran but they chased me and were very aggressive about it. I fought them off as much as i could but they overpowered me... i dialed Zaccai for help when i escaped a second time, but they caught up to me before he could answer..."
Here comes the part I hate.
"Jax slapped my phone out of my hand and that's when they pinned me to the wall; Alex and Jax held my arms and legs, Chester... held my neck with one hand and sipped his other hand under my shirt. He pressed himself on me and kissed me against my will. I could breathe or move. That's when Zaccai came with Mrs Barlowe. My call had gone through and Zaccai heard what was happening. He saved me before anything else could happen..."
I kept a straight face the entire time I spoke and my tone didn't change. but ... I feel like I'm burning from the inside. like , at any moment, I'll explode.
"Thank you Sarah... no further questions, your honor."
Mr Alvarez nods at me from the plaintiff bench as a form of reassurance, but the mocking footsteps of Chester's lawyer negate any effect it may have had, if any.
"Ms Gordon... you say my client forced himself on you. Were you scared?"
He starts.
What kind of stupid question is that
"Of course I was... I thought I'd die..."
"Really? You don't seem scared to me. You maintained a straight face this whole time, not a hint of fear, trauma or any other symptoms assault victims display."
"What are you trying to say?"
"In the footage of the assault, at first, you're seen fighting them off and then you stopped all of a sudden. When they had you pinned, you didn't move a muscle yet you seemed very determined to push them away before. Then after, you didn't even go to a hospital, according to Mrs Barlowe.. You refused. Maybe that's because you enjoy the pain. You felt ashamed about liking what happened so you decided to report them anyway."
The heck? Is he crazy? Why would i? And why does it feel like the jury is buying this crap story?
"That's not true. I-"
"-You loudly announced where you were going in front of Mr Wilston right after rejecting him in front of Mr Dalton. Sounds like you were telling him where to meet you but didn't want Mr Dalton to get jealous because you knew what he'd do... Right, Mrs Gordon?"
"No..."
"You haven't expressed a single emotion as you told that story. You told it like a robot. How do you expect us to believe you were traumatized when you are so blunt about the situation."
"I didn't want to go to the hospital because I didn't want anyone to touch me or talk to me about what happened, I wanted to forget it. Me announcing where I was going was not an invitation for Chester, Alex and Jax to follow, I was simply telling Mrs Barlowe where I'd be and said it out loud because I didn't expect the three of them to act like maniacs and come after me. I'm not a very expressive person but that doesn't mean I am not affected by what happened. So... for me to seem like a valid victim, you want me to cry? You want me to break down? Huh? So that you can say i am incompetent? Just because I can hold myself together doesn't mean I'm okay with what he did! Just because I froze doesn't mean I let him do what he did to me! Get those facts through your thick skull."
I stare at him blankly. The entire room is silent. I'm trying my very best to hold myself together but I'm sure I'll fall apart the second i'm alone.
"No further questions, your honor..."
He actually looks kind of ashamed. It must suck having to defend a class A jerk like Chester and his idiot friends.
___
The jury need time to come to a unanimous decision. It's been two days since the trial but they finally called us back and have finally made a decision... I'm nervous to hear it.
The court clerk holds up a paper to read the verdict.
"In the case of Sarah Gordon against Chester Wilston, Jax Bensen and Alex Abner, the defendants are found..."
Please please please...
"Guilty"
The whole court is clapping with subtle cheers. The noise dies down as the court clerk continues.
"In the case of Chester Wilston against Zaccai Dalton... the defendant is found..."
Zaccai holds my hand... I can feel him trembling. I can only imagine how hard it must be for him to be in such a situation again considering his past.
"Guilty."
"What!"
I stand and exclaim. I am not the only one either, the majority of the people in court are murmuring and complaining that it's not fair. Chester is clearly the jerk here.
"Order!"
The judge demands after banging his little hammer on his desk. The court is now silent and I sit back down. Zac is staring at the desk, he doesn't look surprised but sad.
"For the three boys found guilty of assault, I sentence them to two years in juvenile detention and then six months of community service. They will not be receiving any compensation form Mr Dalton."
Chester rises from his seat the moment the judge hits the gavel, making the sentence official.
"You can't do this to me! We only did what she asked! It's not fair!"
And his little outburst earned him a ticket out of the courtroom via security. Jax and Alex just sit in silence with their heads down.
"Alright. Settle down..."
The judge starts, hitting the gavel on his desk again.
"As for Zaccai Dalton..."
Zaccai doesn't even look up at the judge. He is no longer gripping my hand like he was but I keep holding his (don't ask me why because i don't know)
"I sentence you to 3 months of community service..."
That's it? Really?
Even Zac is shocked. He's face has shot up and all the colour it had lost is gradually returning.
"Great job guys."
Mr Alverez praises with a smile.
I guess we can call this a win.