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“You came," I breathe.
She tilts her head, slightly surprised. “You’re sober.”
I nod once. “Cleaner than a priest on Sunday.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” No malice or anger is in her tone as she asks the question I've asked myself over and over again.
“I already let you down once," I confess. "I had to make sure I wouldn’t do it again. To make sure I’m someone deserving of your love.”
“And are you?”
My dad calls my name from across the lobby and grabs both our attention. "It's about to start. You've got to get in here."
I put my hand out for Paige to take and feel like I come alive again when she takes it.
“I’ll let you know after this trial.”
We walk into the courtroom with her fingers laced with mine. All eyes turn to me as I walk up to the front of the courtroom. Davianna's parents and her best friend Tyeler sit behind the prosecution, looking just as devastated as I've been since the incident happened. Tye's eyes meet mine for a second, but she looks away, and so do I.
I reach Carter and pass Paige over to him. "Take care of her."
He nods and as she sits down, he wraps an arm around her for comfort.
Finn opens the gate for me to step through and shakes my hand. "You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
I take my seat and look around the room, seeing the jury that will ultimately decide how I spend the rest of my life. Taking a deep breath, I run myself through the drills Dr. Litman has taught me over and over again, only snapping back into the present when the bailiff calls out.
"All rise!"
We all stand up, and the judge walks into the room to take his place in front.
Here goes nothing.
Trial: Day One
The judge announces that court is in session, and it all begins. I watch as the jury sits attentively and listens to the prosecution delivering their opening statement.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to a young woman by the name of Davianna Sorrentino." A picture of a beautiful girl appears on a big screen. "She was an eighteen-year-old student at Florida State University. A dutiful student. A caring friend. A loving daughter. She was supposed to celebrate her twentieth birthday this year, but she didn't even see nineteen. That's because a man she thought of as a friend—someone she trusted and confided in—murdered her before she had the chance to live out the life she deserved.
"Over the next few days, you're going to hear a lot of things and see a lot of evidence. The defense is going to try to tell you that the defendant, Mr. Jace London, is a model citizen who does nothing wrong. They will use his father's wealth and social status in an attempt to convince you that he would never do something like this. What I'm asking is that you look past all that. Look at the evidence that is stacked against him, and you will see that Mr. London is an angry and jealous man. He felt as though his best friend, who was engaged to the victim at the time of the incident, was being taken away from him. And he killed her to get her out of the way, before spending the next few weeks partying in what looks to be a celebration that Miss Sorrentino is no longer in the way.
"This was not an accident, but an act of rage that ended in the death of a beautiful girl with her whole life ahead of her, and we will prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt."
I watch Jace's shoulders sag as he looks down at his lap. The lead prosecutor, with their statement ended, goes back over to their table and sits down. Finn stands up and steps into the middle of the courtroom.
"I know what you're thinking. It's easy to look at a picture of this gorgeous young lady and feel a righteous anger toward my client. After all, that's what the prosecution wants you to do. What they don't want you to know, however, is that the beauty in the victim was only skin deep.
"Davianna Sorrentino was a very troubled girl who never got any help for her issues. With parents who tossed money at her and called it a day, she lacked the love that all children want and need. And when she showed up at Florida State University, she was determined to find that love in my client, his best friend, and anyone else who would give it to her.
"If you were to ask anyone on the campus of Florida State who knew Miss Sorrentino, they would tell you that she was mesmerizing. They'd tell you about the way she could get her way just by batting her eyes and flashing a smile. Some would even classify her as mythical. She got everything she wanted, except for one—to get between my client and his best friend.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, my client did not commit a crime here, nor anywhere else. The prosecution thinks that his wealth is our only play on why he is innocent, but that's not even a subject of discussion that I will be mentioning to you. Instead, I can tell you what I will be mentioning.
"I will be mentioning how Miss Sorrentino was coddled and overindulged to the point where she didn't know how to handle the word no. I will be mentioning how my client and his friend went through hell at the hands of Miss Sorrentino when she didn't get her way. And I will be mentioning how Miss Sorrentino was mentally unstable—to the point of lying about a pregnancy in order to trick my client's best friend, Mr. Carter Trayland, into proposing to her.
"They will try to convince you about what a victim Miss Sorrentino was, but the truth is that she was a victim of her own recklessness."
