Catching Feelings [bwwm]

Chapter 21- 34 to 1

again, I know nothing about court as I have never been. I'm going off of what I've seen in like law & order so this is probably hella inaccurate but we're just going to act like it isn't

if you can see the gif in the multimedia that is Ashley Greene aka Julianna in case you were wondering

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Liv's POV

I bit into my apple and chewed slowly as I stared out the tinted window.

James' lawyers had called a recess to get their next piece of evidence set up, so Jonathan and I decided to run out to his car for a few minutes to try to relax.

"You know I still can't believe this?" Jonathan said out of the blue.

"Believe what?"

He sighed. "This ridiculousness. It's so hard for me to understand how Julianna could be doing this to everyone."

"Why's it so hard to understand? If Julianna was heartless enough to selfishly leave her own child behind, why do you think she'd feel any remorse for what she's doing right now?"

"It may have been a long time ago, but at one point Julianna and James were in love and made each other happy. I find this entire custody battle a foolish, unnecessary waste of everybody's time, money, and energy."

"So you think James should've just handed Josie back over to Julianna with no fight?"

"Of course not!" He hit his hand lightly against the steering wheel. "Julianna should not be trying to get Josie back! She abandoned her daughter and she abandoned James! Julianna knew about our mother and she knew what leaving James would do to him but she still walked away! After she left, I honestly didn't know if James was going to make it. He was so broken and so... empty. The only reason he made it through was that little girl, and the fact that Julianna is trying to take her away makes me feel sick because I don't want to see my brother like that ever again."

My heart dropped. This whole court case, Jonathan had hidden how he truly felt about it behind jokes and sarcastic comments, so the fact that he was sitting here, telling me his thoughts meant that it was overwhelming him.

Now that I think about it, nobody had ever asked how he was doing the past couple of months. We were all so focused on how this was affecting James and Josie, but Jonathan was apart of this family too. If Julianna won, yes James would lose his daughter, but Jonathan would also be losing his niece. I hadn't even considered how much this was hurting Jonathan until now.

I turned to face him and placed a hand on his. "Jonathan, you don't need to worry. You're never going to have to see your brother in that much pain ever again. Julianna is not going to win this case, so she is not going to get Josie. And as for Mia, we both know she isn't going anywhere either. Even though she hasn't admitted it to herself yet, she is head over heels for James, and he is almost to the point where he worships the ground she walks on."

He sighed. "Yeah, but-"

Grabbing his face, I turned him to look at me directly in my eyes. "Listen to me. Josie is not going anywhere. Mia is not going anywhere. James is going to be okay and you are going to be okay. Alright?"

He nodded. "This will never happen to us, Liv. You will never know the amount of pain Julianna is causing James. I know I've hurt you before, but I would rather die than be the cause of your suffering again. I love you too much to ever put you through this much agony."

Tears welled in my eyes. "I know Jonathan, and I love you just as much."

Don't cry, Liv. You're wearing expensive mascara and you cannot afford to have it running down your face. You are strong. Do not cry.