A Storm Is Brewing

Emergency

"Mr. Repreece, I think it would be fair to say that your relationship with the accused was one of depth, loyalty, and trust? How deep was that trust? Enough for him to trust you with -"
"Objection! Mr. Repreece is a witness, not the accused." I interrupted, looking to the judge for agreement.
"I will grant -"

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a member of the courtroom making their way towards him. He whispered something in his ear before the judge glanced around the room and cleared his throat.

"This sitting will be adjourned for now. Please await further instructions. Miss Kelly, can you please make your way through that door?" He pointed to a side entrance.

What the fuck?

I assured my client that I would be back as soon as I knew what was going on, gathering my things together as quickly as possible and practically running to the door. I knew from experience that there were two reasons a judge would make the decision to adjourn in the middle of a sentence: one being that they had found evidence to suggest the representatives had committed an offence such as bribery of a witness, and the other being that they had been informed of some kind of emergency. I hadn't committed bribery, so what was the emergency? Sorrow-filled eyes were watching me walk towards them, a comforting arm placed around my shoulder by a woman I hadn't set eyes on before, a gentle whisper in my ear making the noise around me stop.

"Miss Kelly, we have received a call from your fiancé's workplace."
"What? What's wrong? Where's Leah?" I stammered.
"She's on her way to the hospital, she's collapsed. They didn't give any update on her situation; we weren't sure whether to wait to tell you."
"Wait to tell me? Have you waited? How long ago was this call?"
"Around 15 minutes ago. My manager advised that it was best to see how serious it was first."
"Yeah, well, tell your manager that is my decision to make." I snapped as I rushed towards my car.
"Miss Kelly, we need to close court?" A man yelled after me.
"Close it then!" I shouted back, continuing my run.

I ran through the main street to the car park as quickly as I could, not caring how rude I seemed to passersby who were grunting at me as I pushed by them. Fumbling for my keys, I barely had the car door closed before I started it, my hands shaking on the steering wheel as I made my way to - fuck. I don't even know what hospital she's in. I asked my car to call Amanda, straight to voicemail. Thankfully, Kim picked up on the first ring.

"Sophie, I'm so sorry. We wanted to tell you ourselves, but Paula said you were in court." She began explaining.
"What happened? What hospital am I driving to? What happened to her?" I felt my tears beginning to flow.
"North Middlesex."
"That's a big one - is it that bad?"
"We don't know. She was peaky this morning but said she was okay. She felt unwell during training, so they told her to go home. She went to get changed, and when we finished our session, we went back in, and she was lying on the floor of the changing rooms." Kim sighed. I knew she would blame herself for not going with Leah.
"Was she talking?"
"No."
"Breathing?"
"Yes, she was breathing."
"Oh, thank god." I breathed out.
"Amanda got here before the ambulance left; she went with her. You need to be careful driving, Sophie. I know you want to get there quickly, but she needs you there in one piece." Always the mother, Kim.
"I will be. I'm not far away anyway. And Kim?"
"Yeah?"
"Even if one of you had offered to go with her, she would've said no anyway."
"Thanks, Sophie. We all feel awful."
"There is no need. I'll call you when I know more." I reassured her.

The cars surrounding me irritated me; they were all driving too slowly for my liking, but I knew Kim was right. The last thing Leah needed right now was for me to get into an accident. By the time I made it to the hospital, I ran through the doors to reception, seeing Jacob waiting for me.