Sketchbook

Chapter 17

     It's the day. Gabby's trial. Father had to work but Mother took the day off so we could attend. I put a lot of effort into my outfit this time. I looked like I was going to a job interview, but it's all I had that seemed appropriate in my opinion. I went downstairs with Mother where she was waiting. Mother has found a babysitter for Damien while I stay busy looking for a job, so that's where he is at the moment. We thought it'd be best not to have a baby crying every hour during a trial.
     We arrived at the courthouse. There weren't too many people around, but it was still a crowd. I saw people I recognized locally, but nobody I knew personally... except for one person. Charles.
He saw me and approached me. He said he'd been waiting for me for the past 20 minutes. Usually, Charles is always the late one, and I'm waiting for him, but this wasn't chemistry class. This was the murder of his best friend, though, we know the real story. Unfortunately, we can't say anything in the courtroom because all the information we have was based on Gabby's words. That's hearsay, and it's not allowed.
     Anyways, we all went inside and entered the courtroom. We all seated together, watching other people make their way to their seats. A security guard standing by the door, another standing on the other side of the room. We all seated together and waited for a while.
     Not long after, there she was. She walked in with cuffs on her hands. She's followed by security and what seems to be a lawyer. She sat down at the table next to the podium which stood center in front of where the judge sits. After a while the judge comes along.
     "All rise." Says one of the security guards standing by the door, and in comes the judge as he sits in his chair.
     "You may be seated." Says the judge.
     The trial goes on with the lawyers' opening statements, and eventually, Gabby was questioned. She had to answer every question with pure honesty, and I could tell she was uncomfortable. At one point, she locked eyes with me and shed a tear. I mouthed the words "it's okay" with a small smile trying to convince her that everything would be alright. She gave me a smile back while continuing to answer these very personal questions. Everything from her childhood to now. From the way she was treated by Brady, the way he was treated by his mother, them moving out together, and so on. Until she was asked about the night of the accident. She explained everything in the exact same way she explained it to me. It had to be true. If she would have been lying, she would've mixed her words up even the slightest bit, and she didn't. Every answer was crystal clear because, of course, she remembers that night every day.
     The trial lasted about 3 hours. There will be another hearing in two weeks. As we walked outside, a man approached us, specifically Charles.
     "Excuse me, sir, my name is Ben Bridges, I'm a defense attorney for the Denver Law Firm." The man says.
     "Hi," Charles simply says and shakes his hand.
     "I'm working with Gabrielle Hernandez to help her get the justice she deserves, and she mentioned to me that you are very close to her, and not only to her but to the victim, Brady. It's Charles, right?" The man says with a welcoming smile.
"Yes, sir, Charles McCannon."
"If you have a minute, I'd like to speak with you privately. I think you'd be a great character witness in this trial." He wraps his arm around Charles as they both walk away. I contemplated on waiting for Charles, but Mother insisted we leave. She said that Charles can take care of himself, so we left without him.

     Later that day, I received a call from my therapist. She wanted to see me as soon as possible, so we scheduled an appointment for that upcoming Friday at 2:30pm. I kind of missed hearing from my therapist. She was a very loving, charismatic woman. I couldn't wait to see her that Friday.
     Not long after, Charles called. He told me that he's going to be a witness in the next trial. I was nervous for him, but I knew that he would be a big help into getting Gabby out of the mess she's in.
     He even came by the house just to be with me and Damien and stayed the night. We set up a bunch of pillows and blankets in the floor for Charles to sleep on, but after my parents went to sleep, he joined me in my comfy bed. He said how I'm much more comfortable. Personally, I would think anything's more comfortable than the damn floor.