The day of the trial. Just hell for Hannah. She has to not only face all her family who don't believe her, but she also has to relive all the moments of abuse he caused her. She has to stand up and openly tell everyone what he did. In front of him. And there's nothing I can do to help. Nothing.
I sat at the island in the kitchen slowly sipping at my coffee whilst Mel ate her breakfast. The whole house was silent. It was dark too, even with the lights on, partly because the dark clouds were gathering and partly because we were scared; everything seems darker when your frightened of something.
Suddenly I heard Hannah scream in frustration and a bang. I slowly walked towards the bedroom, quickly followed by a very nosey Mel. She was sitting on the bed staring at the phone on the floor which, remarkably, wasn't smashed. I sat next to her and tried to put my arm around her but she shook it off.
"What's happened?" I asked softly, trying not to make it worse.
"He's still pleading not guilty and I still have to stand up in front of everyone and try to prove him wrong. Nobody's trying to help." She said irritatedly.
"Hannah, they've got all the evidence they need this is just a formality. You'll be fine and he'll be put away for a long time." I tried to reassure her.
"Yeah." She mumbled back.
"Is that what your wearing?" I asked pointing to a black feminine suit on the wardrobe with a white shirt and long black trousers. She nodded.
"It goes well with your suit." She smiled looking me up and down.
I was wearing a dark tweed suit with a navy bow tie and black shiny shoes. My hair was gelled to make it look neater than normal but also keep it curly and different. Fortuné and Paloma were coming to the trial as support to Hannah but that was it. Just the four of us. Mel was going to be looked after by Yasmine.
I walked out into the kitchen again and heard the doorbell.
"I'll get it." I called to Hannah.
"I'll be ready in a minute." She answered back.
Fortuné and Paloma were standing at the door looking very formal. Fortuné was wearing a navy suit with mat black shoes and a white shirt with a green tie whereas Paloma was wearing a grey suit with a skirt just above the knees with a pink shirt. She wore black shiny high heels.
"Hi." She said smiling.
"Is Hannah alright?" Fortuné asked.
"Nervous." I said concerned.
"That's perfectly normal. I hope everything goes ok." Paloma said politely.
"Same." Fortuné agreed as he closed the front door.
We headed into the kitchen where Hannah was waiting.
"I've still stayed away from windows." Paloma said sarcastically.
"Haha! Very funny." Hannah replied equally sarcastic. Fortuné gave her a strong hug.
"You'll be fine. He won't hurt you." He said reassuringly.
"Thanks." Hannah said politely after he stopped hugging her which, took a while.
"We should get going." I pointed out as I checked my watch, then my phone to double check. We all bundled into a taxi quickly, Hannah never letting go of my hand.
Hannah's PoV
The court building itself seemed to be trying to intimidate me before I even entered it. Once I did enter it, the size astounded me. I felt like I was two inches tall. The whole room was covered in wooden panelling including the floor. There were plain benches in the allotted area for the jury, sectioned off by wooden rails. The judge had a huge leather seat made higher than the rest and had a wooden box around it as if we weren't good enough to be in the same room. The defendants box looked very plain and dull when compared to all the engravings on the judges box. The witness box was also quite dull but had more decoration that the defendants box. The public gallery was to the back of the room, away from all the different boxes.
I went and sat in the public gallery whilst the trial started. I saw my mother come in and sit on the opposite side of the gallery, not daring to look at us. Mika sat to my right, tightly holding my hand, Fortuné sat on my left and Paloma sat next to him.
David was escorted to the defendants box quickly. He didn't struggle. He just followed. He behaved. He stood there, hands cuffed in front of him, cold blue eyes scanning the room. They met mothers gaze and seemed to warm a bit. However, when they soon met mine they froze again, hatred boiling up inside of him. I looked away first. I felt his eyes on me even when the judge entered majestically.
Yes, the judge really did have a white curly wig on. She had the curtain size black robes on too. We all stood up whilst she entered and sat down whilst she began to read out the charges.
"David Brown, you stand accused of grievous bodily harm, actual bodily harm along with and including historical abuse and attempted abduction. How do you plead?" Her voice was filled with disgust. I waited anxiously for his response, hoping he'd plead guilty and spare me the torture that awaits.
"Not guilty." He said emotionless, staring at me.
"Will the first witness for the prosecutors please take to the witness box." She commanded.
Mika stood up gently letting go of my hand and walked straight towards the small box, showing no signs of fear.
"Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr, informally Mika Penniman. Can you recall what happened to the victim?" I saw him flinch when I was referred to as the 'victim'.
"The first time was at the album release party. She, um, went outside with David to, I don't know, talk things over maybe. And after a while I saw her discreetly go to the toilets. Then Fortuné followed her. I did too and we saw that he had slapped her, pushed her around, causing grazes on her hands and a cut on her lower lip and finger marks on her arms."
"Mr Penniman, you said this was the first time?" She asked cautiously, as if not to cause offence.
"The first time I've seen it." I responded calmly.
"Can you tell me about any more recent times?" She asked.
"Yes. I came home one day to find David strangling Hannah. I got him off her and he went into the kitchen so I followed him there, he was taunting me and threatening me so I smashed a bottle on his head-"
"Self defence?" The judge asked.
"Yes." He replied quickly.
"That's okay then. Please continue." She confirmed.
"Hannah came in to see what the noise was about and he grabbed her and was asking her if she really loved me, she said yes. And he, um, he made a huge cut along the lower part of her left arm. He threatened to kill her if I moved. Then he carved a D shape into her upper right arm." His voice was shaking, clearly hating every moment of it.
"Is there more?"
"Yes. A different time though. Hannah got a text that freaked her out from David. Fortuné came over because she was really worried. David came in and was demanding to know where Hannah was and we didn't tell him and-"
"Thank you Mr Penniman. We already have a statement about this affair from you both. Calling up the next witness, Hannah Brown."
My whole body started shaking with fear. Public speaking. Public speaking going against my whole family, in a court room. Help. I stood there, shaking.
"We already have detailed accounts of the recent events from you Ms Brown however we need some from the past." I shivered.
"Alright." I said quietly.
"When did Mr Brown first abuse you and how?" She asked, trying to sound friendly.
"Fifteen, I-I was fifteen. He punched me and pushed me around. Quite controlling." I whispered quietly.
"Any other occasions?"
"When I was nineteen. Cigarette burns and a black eye and a sore stomach." I whispered again.
"Thank you Ms Brown. That's all we need." With that I quickly retreated to my seat and tightly gripped Mika's hand.
"Mrs. Brown please come into the witness box for the defendants testimony."
Mother quickly went into the little box, never looking at me.
"My son, David would never hurt anybody. No matter who they are or what they've done." She said, eyeing me up.
"This is clearly just some stupid mistake." She continued strongly.
"H-he's all I've got." She suddenly started to cry.
I felt Mika's eyes on me. I looked up at him and he hugged me comfortingly.
"Thank you Mrs Brown. Now let's break so the jury can decide the fate of Mr Brown."
I quickly got up and ran out, quickly followed by Mika, Fortuné and Paloma. I was half crying, afraid of the outcome. I felt Mika's arms wrap around me and his lips plant a kiss on the top of my head.
"Hannah, you've done so well. I'm so proud of you. He'll definitely go down for this." He said reassuringly.
"Yes he will Hannah. You were so brave." Fortuné agreed as he hugged me too.
"I really couldn't have done that Hannah." Paloma said from behind Fortuné who had just stopped hugging me.
"Thanks guys." I said as I took Mika's hand. He smiled down at me and his hands left mine and went to my waist as he gently pulled me in for a quick kiss. I saw mum out the corner of my eye, watching us, hatred clearly in her eyes.
We waited for an hour, talking, laughing, joking, forgetting all the troubles we'd been through, thinking it'll all be over soon. It will be over soon.
We all headed back into the court room where the judge was waiting to tell us the outcome. We sat in silence as the last few people quietly entered.
"Jury, what is your verdict?" The judge asked coldly.
A long silence followed. I felt Mika squeeze my hand nervously as he continued to stare forward.
"Guilty." The spokesman said triumphantly. I sighed, relieved. Thank god.
"David Brown, I am sentencing you to 5 years in prison for causing grievous bodily harm and attempted abduction." She said dully.
"Five years? Is that it?" I whispered to Mika.
"At least he's been charged Hannah. Five years to get away and be safe. He can't touch us now." He whispered back.
"That's all. You can all go." The judge said as they dragged David off.
"You'll pay for this Hannah!" He yelled at me as Mika took me out of there.
We got outside to the car park.
"It's ok Hannah your safe, we're safe. Alright?" Mika whispered.
"Do you three wanna come to my flat for the evening?" Paloma asked kindly.
"Please. It'd be nice to escape from this mess." I said gratefully.
"Sure. We all need some fun." She said happily.
"Is that invitation extended to me as well?" Fortuné asked.
"Yes!" Paloma almost shouted.
"I agree with Paloma, we all, especially Hannah, need some fun." Mika smiled at her. Then he pulled me into a tight hug as we walked to the taxi point, got in the taxi and headed for Paloma's flat. He never let go of me and I felt safe again, David shut up, and Mika's arms around me, surrounded by his family, my new family.