I nod once. “Cleaner than a priest on Sunday.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” No malice or anger is in her tone as she asks the question I've asked myself over and over again.
“I already let you down once," I confess. "I had to make sure I wouldn’t do it again. To make sure I’m someone deserving of your love.”
“And are you?”
My dad calls my name from across the lobby and grabs both our attention. "It's about to start. You've got to get in here."
I put my hand out for Paige to take and feel like I come alive again when she takes it.
“I’ll let you know after this trial.”
We walk into the courtroom with her fingers laced with mine. All eyes turn to me as I walk up to the front of the courtroom. Davianna's parents and her best friend Tyeler sit behind the prosecution, looking just as devastated as I've been since the incident happened. Tye's eyes meet mine for a second, but she looks away, and so do I.
I reach Carter and pass Paige over to him. "Take care of her."
He nods and as she sits down, he wraps an arm around her for comfort.
Finn opens the gate for me to step through and shakes my hand. "You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
I take my seat and look around the room, seeing the jury that will ultimately decide how I spend the rest of my life. Taking a deep breath, I run myself through the drills Dr. Litman has taught me over and over again, only snapping back into the present when the bailiff calls out.
"All rise!"
We all stand up, and the judge walks into the room to take his place in front.
Here goes nothing.
Trial: Day One
The judge announces that court is in session, and it all begins. I watch as the jury sits attentively and listens to the prosecution delivering their opening statement.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to a young woman by the name of Davianna Sorrentino." A picture of a beautiful girl appears on a big screen. "She was an eighteen-year-old student at Florida State University. A dutiful student. A caring friend. A loving daughter. She was supposed to celebrate her twentieth birthday this year, but she didn't even see nineteen. That's because a man she thought of as a friend—someone she trusted and confided in—murdered her before she had the chance to live out the life she deserved.
"Over the next few days, you're going to hear a lot of things and see a lot of evidence. The defense is going to try to tell you that the defendant, Mr. Jace London, is a model citizen who does nothing wrong. They will use his father's wealth and social status in an attempt to convince you that he would never do something like this. What I'm asking is that you look past all that. Look at the evidence that is stacked against him, and you will see that Mr. London is an angry and jealous man. He felt as though his best friend, who was engaged to the victim at the time of the incident, was being taken away from him. And he killed her to get her out of the way, before spending the next few weeks partying in what looks to be a celebration that Miss Sorrentino is no longer in the way.
"This was not an accident, but an act of rage that ended in the death of a beautiful girl with her whole life ahead of her, and we will prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt."
I watch Jace's shoulders sag as he looks down at his lap. The lead prosecutor, with their statement ended, goes back over to their table and sits down. Finn stands up and steps into the middle of the courtroom.
"I know what you're thinking. It's easy to look at a picture of this gorgeous young lady and feel a righteous anger toward my client. After all, that's what the prosecution wants you to do. What they don't want you to know, however, is that the beauty in the victim was only skin deep.
"Davianna Sorrentino was a very troubled girl who never got any help for her issues. With parents who tossed money at her and called it a day, she lacked the love that all children want and need. And when she showed up at Florida State University, she was determined to find that love in my client, his best friend, and anyone else who would give it to her.
"If you were to ask anyone on the campus of Florida State who knew Miss Sorrentino, they would tell you that she was mesmerizing. They'd tell you about the way she could get her way just by batting her eyes and flashing a smile. Some would even classify her as mythical. She got everything she wanted, except for one—to get between my client and his best friend.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, my client did not commit a crime here, nor anywhere else. The prosecution thinks that his wealth is our only play on why he is innocent, but that's not even a subject of discussion that I will be mentioning to you. Instead, I can tell you what I will be mentioning.
"I will be mentioning how Miss Sorrentino was coddled and overindulged to the point where she didn't know how to handle the word no. I will be mentioning how my client and his friend went through hell at the hands of Miss Sorrentino when she didn't get her way. And I will be mentioning how Miss Sorrentino was mentally unstable—to the point of lying about a pregnancy in order to trick my client's best friend, Mr. Carter Trayland, into proposing to her.
"They will try to convince you about what a victim Miss Sorrentino was, but the truth is that she was a victim of her own recklessness."
THE WHOLE DAY IS spent going through different pieces of evidence. Every time the prosecution brings up a new piece of evidence, Finn gets the chance to discredit it. I didn't know what to expect going into this, but no part of me thought it was going to be this hard. Hearing them talk about Jace like he's some kind of monster—it's heartbreaking.
If they knew Jace, they would know he's the most kindhearted person. The kind of person who would never hurt a hair on anyone’s head. The kind who would jump in to protect anyone, even if it meant he was going to get hurt. To hear them paint him as the opposite is just absurd.
When court lets out for the day, we all make our way back to the hotel. It's a giant suite with several bedrooms. As soon as we get in, I stay quiet and walk over to the window that looks over the city.
Waiting for Jace to get back, I curl into a ball and just stare at all of the buildings. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel right now. It's not that I believed anything they said about Jace today, but I also can't help but feel some sympathy for the girl who lost her life. Whether Jace had anything to do with it or not, that doesn't make it any less tragic.
Grayson comes over and takes a seat next to me. "How are you doing?"
I shrug. "I'm okay."
He bends his head down, forcing me to look at him. "You want to try that again?"
An involuntary smile makes its way onto my face, and I can't hold it back no matter how hard I try. Gray knows all about trying to hold in your feelings. I mean, he spent months acting like he wasn't completely head over heels for Savannah, when everyone could see he was. But I don't think I ever expected him to be so warm-hearted.
"I just don't know what to do," I say. "It's like I want to help him, but I can't. I'm completely useless here."
He looks toward the door and then back at me. "I don't think you're useless to him."
My eyes find Jace's as he stands by the door. His dad is saying something to him but he can't be bothered to listen as he tells him to hold on and starts walking straight to us. On his way, he grabs Sav's wrist and drags her with him.
"This is yours," he tells Grayson, and places Savannah in his lap. "This," he reaches down and grabs my hand, pulling me into his arms, "is mine."
Sav laughs while Grayson pretends to pout. "You mean I can't have both?"
"Careful, Hayworth. I'm on trial for murder here. Don't make me actually be guilty of one."
Gray shuts up instantly, and I cuddle closer into Jace's arms. I don't think I realized how badly I needed this until now, with him here—holding me the way he always has.
"Can I talk to you?" he murmurs.
I nod, and the two of us head over to the balcony. It's half the size of the room, and from up here, everything looks incredible. You
can hardly even see the people down below, we're up so high.
Jace comes behind me and puts his hands on their side of the railing as I look out over the distance. "You know you don't have to be there, at the courthouse, right?"
I tilt my head back to look at him, and my brows furrow. "Do you not want me there?"
"No, that's not it," he assures me. "Trust me, that's not it. I've spent too long without you. I want you as close as possible at all times. It's just..."
He pauses, and a nervous look spreads across his face. His lips move like he's counting until he lets out a long exhale, and then continues.
"Part of loving someone is putting their needs before your own, and God, Paige, I love you so fucking much. It's so intense I don't know what to do with it all. You scare the ever-living shit out of me and calm me down all at once. All I want is to make sure you're okay."
Hearing those words, the ones I've wanted to hear come from his lips for as long as I can remember, I feel like I'm going to burst. I spin around in his arms and look into his eyes, seeing the vulnerability and fear that linger in them.
As I reach up and place my hand on his cheek, he leans into my touch. It's then that I know— nothing can ever separate us. Not time. Not distance. Nothing.
"And part of loving someone means being there for them when they need you," I tell him. "And I love you. I always have."
The biggest smile I've ever seen on him stretches across his face, and it looks like all the tension leaves his body. He releases the banister and wraps his arms around me. And finally, after an insanely long six weeks, he presses his lips to mine in a kiss that breathes the life back into me.
This is exactly where I belong.
Trial: Day 2
Court starts out almost the same as yesterday, except for there is no need for opening statements. Throughout the whole time the prosecution talks, Finn scribbles down something on a piece of paper and shows it to Mr. Trayland. For a while, we were considering signing him onto my legal team, but the conflict of interest with Carter being his son was just too much to ignore.
After talking to Paige last night, I feel a lot calmer. She always seems to have that effect on me. Even when I was at my lowest, she somehow managed to pull me back. The truth is I need her, and I don't care who knows it.
The prosecution stands up and announces they are going to call their first witness. "The prosecution would like to call Miss Tyeler Morgan to the witness stand."
My eyes widen, and I whip around to look at Carter, only to see that his are the same.
Tye stands up from beside Davianna's parents and makes her way to the front of the courtroom. Her light pink hair somehow looks classy, paired with a solid black pantsuit, but I've seen that girl at parties. She might look sweet and innocent, but she could drink any man in this place under the table.
She takes her place on the witness stand and the bailiff approaches her. With her right hand on the Bible, she swears in and then sits down. The prosecution stands to examine their witness.
"Can you please state your full name for the record?" he asks.
Tye leans up to the microphone. "Mercedez Tyeler Morgan, but I go by my middle name."
"And Miss Morgan, what was your connection to the victim?"
"Davianna was my best friend."
The lead prosecutor paces around the front of the room. "Did you two know each other long?"
She nods. "Since we were little. Her parents were close with mine before they died. We grew up like sisters."
"So, you two decided to go to college together?"
"That's correct."
"And when was it that you and the victim met the defendant?"
Tye glances over at me but quickly looks away. "It was August of 2018."
"Walk me through that night."
"Davi and I were at a party, just having fun like everyone does the first week of school, and Carter showed up with Jace. Everyone already knew who they were, because two boys don't come to this area and buy a penthouse with it going unnoticed.
"I told Davi to leave them alone. For some reason they just seemed like bad news to me. But she didn't care. She thought Carter was really hot and wanted to talk to him."
The prosecutor listens carefully, even though I'm sure he already knows the answers to his questions. "Did Miss Sorrentino approach Mr. Trayland or was it the other way around?"
"No, she approached him."
"And how was Mr. London during this first encounter?"
She shrugs. "He was fine. Friendly. Didn't really set off any red flags."
Walking over to the desk, he picks up a piece of paper. "But he wasn't always friendly, was he?"
"At first, he was, but after a while no."
He places the page in front of her. "Do you recognize this thread of text messages?"
She swallows. "I do."
"Can you please describe it?"
"It's a text message between Jace and me. He was mad because Davi came over and got Carter to ditch Jace to be with her.”
"And please tell the court what Mr. London said to you about Miss Sorrentino."
I can't help but notice the way Tye looks uncomfortable, and I start to wonder if she was coerced into being on the stand in the first place, but there isn't much we can do about it.
"He said I don't know how you're even friends with that manipulative bitch. She's like a leech that doesn't let go."
I remember that day. I scribble something down on a piece of paper and pass it over to Finn. He reads it and nods.
"And what did you say back?"
"I didn't answer."
"Why not?"
She shrugs. "I didn't feel like it was right. Davi was my best friend. I didn't want to talk behind her back."
"As a good friend would." He takes the paper from her and puts it back on his table. "Did Davianna ever say anything about Jace's relationship with Carter?"
"She used to get upset about it a lot," she explains. "She was dating Carter, but she said it felt like the two of them were always shutting her out."
"Did she say why she felt that way?"
"Just things they used to do, I guess. Like they would go out and not invite her, or she would go to their place and they would ignore her the whole time. It seemed like Jace just always wanted to keep Carter to himself."
The prosecutor frowns. "I'm sure any girl would get upset about that, if her boyfriend wasn't paying any attention to her."
Tye smiles. "Probably."
"Now, and I'm sorry if this is hard for you, but when was the last time you saw Davianna?"
"She was getting ready for a party and asked me to come with her, but I had an assignment due that I really couldn't miss, so I didn't go."
"And was she in good spirits? Did she seem happy to you?"
She tilts her head from side to side. "Yeah. Nothing different than how she normally was."
"So, you don't think she was having any suicidal thoughts or anything like that?"
"Definitely not," she answers without hesitation.
"Thank you, Tyeler. The prosecution rests, your honor."
The judge looks over at Finn. "Your witness, Mr. Bradford."
"Thank you, your honor." He gets up and walks toward Tyeler. "Miss Morgan, you talk about the night that my client referred to the victim as a manipulative expletive, but can you share with the court what happened the night before this day?"
Tye looks over at the prosecutor nervously and they nod. "We were at a club. I wanted to dance, but Davi didn't want to, so Carter said he would dance with me. And when we got back, Jace and Davianna were making out."
"And what happened from there?"
"Carter got angry at both of them and stormed out. I believe Jace followed him, but I didn't leave with them so I can't say for sure."
Finn nods. "Who do you think instigated the kiss between Jace and Davianna?"
"I don't know," she answers. "I wasn't around to see it."
"Did Miss Sorrentino l
ook like an unwilling participant?"
She shakes her head. "No."
"Miss Morgan, please tell the court the position they were in when Mr. Trayland caught his girlfriend with his best friend."
Sighing, she fidgets in her seat. "Davi was straddling Jace's lap."
"She was straddling his lap," Finn repeats. "In your experience as a young woman, who does it sound like initiated the kiss?"
"Objection, your honor," the prosecutor speaks up. "Speculation."
"Sustained."
Finn moves onto the next topic. "Miss Morgan, did Davianna tell you she was pregnant?"
"Yes," she admits.
"And how did she seem about it?"
"Really happy. Davi had always wanted kids."
He nods slowly. "Now, as the autopsy states, there were no signs of an actual pregnancy. Are you aware of that?"
"Yes."
"Did you have any idea she was lying about being pregnant?"
"Not exactly," she answers. "I had no reason to doubt her, but the timeframe in my head didn't line up right. We were always together, so our cycles had synced up, and I knew she had just gotten her period the week before. But I never questioned her on it."
"And what did she say about the pregnancy?"
"That she was excited to start her own little family with Carter."
Finn stands in front of Tye. "Did she say anything about my client at that time?"
She hesitates, but Finn presses her.
"Under oath, Miss Morgan."
Looking down at her lap, she looks so defeated. "She said that she was finally going to get Carter to herself and away from Jace."
"No further questions, your honor."
The rest of the day goes about the same, where the prosecution calls more of Davianna’s friends I barely knew in an attempt to paint their picture of me as a psychopath to the jury. Though the most damning is Tye’s, being as she was her best friend. And unfortunately, I think it’s working.
CARTER PACES ACROSS THE room in what's quickly becoming an angry rage. He throws his hands in the air and talks animatedly as he begs Finn to change his mind.
Change My Game: An Emotional Second Chance Romance (North Haven University Book 2) Page 23
