Total pages in book: 213
Estimated words: 201920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1010(@200wpm)___ 808(@250wpm)___ 673(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 201920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1010(@200wpm)___ 808(@250wpm)___ 673(@300wpm)
“Help him?”
“To remove your clothes,” he clarifies. I’ve never felt so disgusted and the emotions that swell up inside of me are a mix of raw pain and fear and anger. It’s all of it, all at once.
“I want a lawyer.” My statement is simple and I damn well mean it. My throat is sore and the words raspy, but clear.
“You don’t need one; you haven’t been charged with anything.”
“So I’m free to go then?” My voice is flat, my lips pressed in a thin line.
“We have more questions.”
“I won’t be answering any without a lawyer.” For the first time since I walked in here, I speak with authority.
“Why is that?” Massing asks.
“Do you have something to hide?” Ballinger says with a sneer.
My entire body is tight with a pain neither of these two pricks will ever know.
“You aren’t just questioning me. You’re questioning what I already told you … maybe that’s your job, but mine is to get a lawyer.”
DEAN
So many eyes are on me as I sit here in the hard wooden chair. There’s only one gaze that calls to me, though. One that begs me to look back.
Allison.
She’s so close, yet unreachable. All I can hear as my lawyer and the district attorney go back and forth in front of the judge is my heart racing, begging me to turn to her and ease the worry and pain I know she’s feeling.
She’s staring at me like that day in class when I first got the balls to talk to her. That day she gave into me. I can feel her staring at me like I did her, but I can’t resist her the way she did with me. I never could.
When I turn to face her, I can’t stand the look in her eyes. It’s clear she blames herself. I would give anything to go to her, but I have to rip my gaze away.
I don’t know where we stand. If she hates me. Condemns me. Loves me. Please God, let her love me still. I’d do anything for her.
My throat’s tight, as is the pain in my chest when my lawyer argues in my defense. It’s only an arraignment and my lawyer said the case they have is weak.
A plea of not guilty by reason of temporary insanity is my best bet for surviving this and I don’t object to it.
Judge Hubert is an old man. The years are shown through the wrinkles around his pale blue eyes and the white beard around his scowl.
His gaze lingers on me while the prosecutor reads the statement from the psychologist who examined my initial confession.
It’s more evidence but at least the shrink supports my case. Not that the prosecutor sees it that way. He’s doing his damnedest to make sure this goes to trial. A plea of temporary insanity isn’t applicable, according to him. Every time his hard voice booms in the courtroom, my hands clench into fists. If he were in my position, I can’t imagine he’d do any different.
I just want to get out of here. In my head, I imagine them letting me walk out right now so I can go straight to Allie. So I can finally talk to her.
I don’t know if she’s all right. I know she refused medical help. I know he didn’t get a chance to … I have to clear the lump in my throat at the thought, a chill rolling down my spine and making me that much more tense. I overheard some cops talking about it. For that reason alone, all of this is worth it. Even if it weakens my case.
At least I saved her from that.
Still, I need to hear her say she’s okay. I need to hear it from her.
I’m only able to take a quick glance, just one. As soon as our eyes lock, hers well up with a sadness I hate. With a pain I wish I could take from her. And she apologizes. Again.
“Your honor, our case is strong. There was nothing my client could have done given his mental state when he arrived on the scene.” My lawyer, Nina Abbot, speaks clearly and confidently. As if there’s no greater truth than the words she’s made echo throughout the courtroom. “He was unaware of reality. In that moment, he was not aware of what he was doing. Only his motions, not what they would result in.”
I force my gaze back to the wooden table in front of me. It’s smooth and smells like lemon as if it was just polished before we came out here.
It’s difficult to breathe as she places her hand on my shoulder. “It’s obvious given my client’s testimony and the report just read from Dr. Agostino that given the situation, Mr. Warren was not in his right mind to control his actions.”