savannah's pov

one month later...

i stood in the large mirror, adding the finishing touches of mascara to my lashes and smoothed down my outfit.

it's the day of jack's trial, and i've been avoiding any sort of conversation about this day for over a week. but now that it's finally here, my overflow of anxiety feels like it about to explode any minute now.

i never expected things to get this far. max told me that he wouldn't press charges, but then a week later, he suddenly changed his mind and i caught the police walking out of his hospital room.

i tied my long hair up into a high ponytail, as the stress of today was making me feel really lightheaded. i lightly fanned myself as i sat down on my bed and began fixing on the straps of my heels.

"are you ready to go?" andrea appeared in the doorway of my room and asked.

my little sister was scheduled to come down to visit months ago, but she happened to come at perfect timing since i really needed her company and comfort right now.

i nodded my head to respond, then stood back up once my shoes were on. i stared at my reflection, examining my outfit to knock out my anxious thoughts, before i glanced at my bedside.

my throat quickly dried up as i stared at the picture of jack and i sat in a frame.

"i-i don't think i can do this, andrea" i confessed, continuing to look at the photo. "i can't face him".

she came closer and placed her hand on my shoulder, "hey, i'll be right by your side, savannah. you'll feel better knowing that you went than regretting that you didn't".

i took a deep breathe, listening to her words then nodded my head to agree.

the sooner i get this done, the better.

once we arrived at the court house, andrea pulled on the handle to open the large, wooden doors, where the trail was being held.

we walked over to the public gallery to take our seats behind johnson and sammy, who also flew in from la after they heard what happened.

i briefly scanned the room and saw max sat at the prosecutor table - his arm was still held in a cast and he was talking away to his attorney.

after the charges were pressed, i never really felt as comfortable being around him anymore, so i've only really been seeing him to make sure that he gets better.

max suddenly held his conversation and looked at me with a smile. i lightly smiled back, tucking my hair behind my ear as i tried to hide the fact that i was shaking with nerves right now.

a female judge soon entered the room, before an officer announced for everyone to rise for her. we did as told until the same door opened again and two officers came in with jack in between them.

he was dressed in an orange jumpsuit with his hands cuffed in front of him, his hair messy and stubble growing across his face.

my throat instantly dried up again as they sat jack down by his attorney, on the desk near max.

once the officers stood back, he glanced around the room before his eyes settled on me. i could barely breathe as he stared at me with an expression that i could hardly read.

i haven't seen him in almost a month.

after our break up, he came back to our place to collect more of his things, but we didn't even speak a word to one another through the entire process.

then max spoke to the police and they went to arrest him, and he's been held in jail for two weeks so far until the judge finally sentences him today or not.

i finally caught my breath and looked away from him, helping me notice that  andrea was tugging on my arm to sit back down like everyone else.

"are you okay?" she took my hand, leaning over to whisper.

i quickly nodded and held my sister's hand even tighter, as i prepared myself for however this trial would turn out.

+

"so mr. gilinsky, is it true that you remember conversing with mr preston on the night of the attack?" max's attorney, mr. richards questioned jack, who stood at the stand.

"yes" he replied with his hands still locked in front of him.

"and would you specify this as a casual conversation or perhaps, a hostile conversation?".

jack shrugged, "both".

"and why's that?".

"i was tired because i had just worked until late and it...it had been a stressful week".

mr. richards raised his brows, "stressful? anything that involved mr. preston?".

"no, it was just relationship stuff with my girlfriend" he answered. "well now, ex-girlfriend".

the attorney began reading from the papers in his hand, "oh, savannah brooks, is it?".

i sat up a little at the mention of my name.

"yes" jack briefly looked at me.

"she's a good friend of mr. preston, isn't she? i mean, before the accident, you and miss brooks ended your relationship and then she spent an awful lot of time taking care of him".

jack narrowed his eyes at the older man in front of him, "what does this have to do with—".

"so would you, yourself say that mr. preston and miss brooks are close?" mr. richards continued to question.

"yes" he reluctantly replied.

"just recently or for quite a while?".

jack clenched his jaw, rested his hands on the wooden stand, "i don't know".

"i think you do, mr. gilinsky".

"...okay, fine. for a while".

the attorney began pacing up and down, "and you could almost assume that their relationship developed so much that you become jealous?".

"i am not jealous of him" jack told through gritted teeth.

"but you and miss brooks have been together for over a year, been friends since you were children - mr. preston entering her life must have had some sort of impact on you".

"no" jack licked his lips at the constant interrogation and shook his head, as i could easily tell that he was becoming annoyed.

"the sort of impact that made you cautious whenever they were left alone together, the sort of impact that made you paranoid whenever miss brooks—".

"mr. richards, could we please stay more on the topic of today's trail?" the judge interrupted and he gave in by raising his hands.

"of course, your honour. but mr. gilinsky, let's just finally say that it was perhaps the sort of impact that made your blood boil so much, that you would do anything to get rid of him".

"i said no!" jack snapped. "savannah was my girlfriend, i felt no sort of competition against max because i knew that she would always be mine".

mr. richards took off his glasses with a smirk, gesturing them towards jack, "you seem to be very possessive, mr. gilinsky. is it a matter of whoever touches what's yours has to pay?".

"i never even said that" he growled.

"so mr. preston got a little too close to your girlfriend, even though you warned him countless times, so you felt the need to take matter into your own hands and attack him on the night of june 12th".

"no, that's not what happened!" jack began to exclaim. "i just punched him and—".

"so you admit that you caused some type of bodily harm to mr. preston?".

"yes, but that's it. i was—".

"in fact, here, it states that you were once married. is that correct?" mr. richards inquired as i began listening closely.

"yeah, so?" jack creased his eyebrows.

"it also states that you had an affair behind your wife's back. is that correct?".

he stared at the attorney and then at me. i swallowed a large lump in throat as he slowly nodded his head.

"so you could say that you're quite familiar with lying, keeping secrets or holding back information to protect others?" the attorney told and sauntered closer to the stand.

"so perhaps, you did attack mr. preston and you're either not admitting it, because you're just that good of a liar or because you can't bare to see your ex-girlfriend's face, when it's confirmed that you were the one who could do such a thing" he added.

jack clenched his jaw much tighter and kept quiet. for this particular question he didn't have response, and that's what scared me the most.

"so which one is it, mr. gilinsky?" the attorney inquired, although jack wasn't pushing for a reply. "thank you, your honour".

he returned to his seat next to max and the judge gestured for the police officers to help jack return to his. but jack's attorney stood up.

"your honour, can i have a word?" he asked and the judge agreed. "that interrogation to my client was completely unnecessary, there is not a single piece of evidence to say that he has committed any sort of criminal act".

"i understand that, mr. garland—".

"there are no eye witnesses, no previous criminal records, just accusations made from his past and his lack of friendship with the opponent" mr. garland interrupted.

"once again, i understand that mr. garland but the trial is not over. now, please sit down and allow it to proceed?" the judge ordered and jack's attorney followed as told, letting the case finally continue.

after a while of mr.garland interrogating max, who said no comment to almost every question, the doors suddenly opened as caleb entered the room.

his awkwardly smoothed down his tie and straightened his suit jacket, as almost everyone's attention was on his sudden entrance.

"your honour," max's attorney eventually rose from his seat. "i would like to bring caleb sharman to the stand".

the judge sighed and gestured towards him, "the court recognises mr. caleb sharman".

"thank you" mr. richards said as caleb got up from the chair that he just sat in, and made his way to the front of the court room with nerves evident on his face.

"isn't that one of jack's friends?" andrea asked me.

"yeah" i replied, narrowing my eyes and wondering what caleb would have to say.

-

this reminds me of #freegilinsky loool how tf did he accidentally steal a jumper he's actually such a lovable idiot

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