*Nate*

"God my stomach is tied in a knot." Jonah wipes his forehead with a paper towel. None of us have ever been in court never mind cross examined before and it shows. He knocks on the private bathroom door. "Case, you good?"

I turn my attention to James who sits next to me on the couch petting Maggie. He has been silent this whole. Nervous and silent.

"You good, Mate?"

James nods but all the color has drained from his face already. Trisha paces the room making everyone on edge while Addison looks cool as a cucumber.

"So what happens now?" I ask the lawyer.

"Now we get down and dirty." Addison responds.

We are called back into the courtroom and all take the seats we had earlier. Because the prosecution has no one except Nadine Jones, they hold off on the direct examination for dramatic effect.

"Let's have the defense call up some witnesses from the list to talk about James Gallo's character to get a clearer picture. Then we will pass it on to the medical team." The judge says and Addison calls up James's co-worker Al. A man who works at the Marriott in the kitchen. He's old as dirt and takes his time getting up to the stand.

"Tell me a little about Mr. Gallo, sir. " Addison smiles at the old man.

"I think of Jamie like my own. He's got this big ol heart and bends over backwards for everyone around him. He's worked at the Marriott for quite a few years and never misses a day."

"And you work in the kitchen, correct? Can you tell me why James works so hard there?"

"I mean, after he lost his two-year-old son, Carter, from cancer. James buried himself in his job." Al gets a sympathetic look from a few of the jurors from bringing up James's son. "Those medical bills, they add up ma'am. Even after that poor baby died. Jamie worked hard to make ends meet. Then...his mother got sick...." Al pauses and looks at James with a slight frown and a nod. "There were times James would go days without food. His family always came first. Groceries weren't top priority so if we had leftover food at the end of breakfast, I'd pack it up and give it to Jamie. It would get him through for a few meals and I woulda had to throw it away at the end of my shift anyways."

Cheryl is next and she tells the world all the good qualities and characteristics James possesses.

These are the people that won't get cross examined. Unfortunately, Trisha will be the first to experience Colton's West's rath. After she introduces herself as his friend and how she knows James, Colton gets right in there.

"Ms. Banks. Were you aware of the extended amount of hours Mr. Gallo was working at the time?" Colton paces back and forth with his folder but smiles brightly at Trisha in a conniving manner.

"I was. He had been working doubles often. Any chance he could get."

"So you knew he was overtired when he got behind the wheel then..."

"Well.. I didn't think-

"Yes or no, Ms. Banks. Were you or were you not aware that Mr. Gallo was tired after his shift at work." Colton snaps and his true colors shine. Trisha swallows hard.

"Yes. I knew he was tired."

"If you knew he was impaired due to his exhaustion....then-"

"Objection, your honor. Speculation. Ms. Banks never said she was aware he was impaired or exhausted." Addison bites back.

"Sustained. Mr. West, get to your point." Judge Capriotti says.

"Right. Trisha, why did you let James get behind the wheel and not offer to drive if you knew he was tired?"

"I, I'm not sure. I thought he was fine to drive."

"So running a red light is 'fine to drive'?"

"Objection!"

"Sustained. Mr. West......" Capriotti glares at the lawyer now.

"Ms. Banks, at what point did you realize it was not safe to be in the vehicle with James Gallo behind the wheel?" Colton proceeds.

"Never. I felt safe. The crash happened so fast no one had time to think about anything."

"No further questions, your honor." Colton smirks but sits down.

They save the best for last apparently.

"Your honor, defense would like to call up Mr. Nathaniel Hollan to the stand."

All reporters and cameramen get ready to roll though they really aren't going to get much out of me.

"Mr. Hollan, please state how you know Mr. Gallo?" Addison starts.

"We are good friends." I mean, that's kinda true now, right?

"You agree that James is a hard worker. A good man."

"I do. Which is why I opened my home for him to recover in."

"Not only that, James is such a good man, you decided to help him out further, correct? You paid off his mortgage, have hired a full-time nurse for his mother, helped his five sisters out financially, as well as provide two privates nurses to care for Mr. Gallo."

"Correct."

"And James needs these nurses to survive, does he not? Putting him in prison would be detrimental not only to his physical health but his mental stability as well."

"James cannot survive in jail, nor does he deserve to be sentenced to serve time. It was a car accident." I hear my British accent echo through the silent room.

Colton steps up to the plate and the evil look in his eyes makes a shooting pain run through my chest.

"Mr. Hollan. You're a well-known public figure, are you not?"

The judge rolls his eyes at Colton, but I answer the dumbest question of the day regardless.

"Yes sir."

"Your life has been on display for over ten years. Correct?"

"Yes."

"So it's not shocking news that you and Mr. Gallo have not always been the closest of friends. Correct?"

"Your honor." Addison is wondering where Colton is going with this, but the judge allows it.

"Not at first, no."

"As a matter of fact, Mr. Hollan. Mr. Gallo was sexually involved with your fiancé."

Shit.

I squint my eyes at the man.

"Yes or no, Mr. Hollan."

"Yes, James and my fiancé dated before." I furrow my brows but refrain from looking away. If you look away it's a sign of weakness.

"More than just dated. Miss Moretti has frequently gone back and forth between the two of you for almost nine months now, correct?" Colton stops his pacing and raises a brow at me.

"How does this pertain-"I question, and the judge interrupts me.

"Get to the point, Mr. West." Capriotti has had enough games.

"Why was James driving that day? Do you know where he was headed?"

"At the time, no I did not." I answer honestly.

"But you do now."

"I do."

"Enlighten us." He gestures to the jury with his hand.

"He was coming to look for us."

"Us?"

"Me and Julia Moretti."

"Why?"

I shrug. "We had turned off our phones for a weekend getaway. They got nervous when they couldn't get ahold of us so decided to take a ride to the hotel we were staying in."

"If Mr. Gallo was no longer dating Julia Moretti, why would he care if she didn't answer her phone? Or, Mr. Hollan. Perhaps he was mad. Mad that Julia was with you. Maybe so mad he had a bit of road rage?"

"OBJECTION!" Addison shouts out. "Your honor may I approach the bench?" 

She is fuming. Judge Capriotti lets both lawyers up to where he sits so they can have a heated debate that none of us can hear.

"No further questions, your honor." Colton gives me a fucking wink and sits back down. I'm dismissed and there is another fifteen minute break before the medical teams are called up.

This time, it's me that is pacing the small holding room.

"He was trying to make me say James had some kind of road rage! That he did this on purpose! Is he fucking kidding me right now?!" I throw my arms up. James has his head in his hands and Trisha is consoling him.

"He's playing the game, Nate. And he's winning." Addison crosses her arms.

"What? How?! The judge even sustained half his questions."

"But the seed is now planted. He's playing dirty. You can't unhear something. The jurors now know a little of the background between you two. The jurors heard road rage. That is going to stick."

This is NOT how today was supposed to go.

*******

*Julia*

"They're making him out to be some crazy person with road rage!! That's a complete LIE!" I cry out. There's no calming me down now. During the break, on every station, reporters are live talking about this.

"Moretti. Look at me." Paul stops my pacing and puts both hands on my shoulders. "This is what they do. Just like how reporters love to dig into Nate's life, your life. But that doesn't mean he is going to go to prison. It's his disability that they need to focus on."

"He's right." Jeremy chimes in. "We know James caused the crash. The jury will see it was unintentional, not some kind of road rage. What we are fighting for is his freedom. Nate is willing to pay the fines, but James medically will not survive in jail without round the clock care. Once they get to the medical part they will see."

I begin to hyperventilate and Mike glances at Jeremy, now nervous with how I'm reacting.

"She needs to calm down." He looks back over at me with empathy.

"Julia, if you can't control your emotions right now, maybe you shouldn't watch this."

"Fuck you, Jeremy." I point at him. "People like you should be there, not people like James!"

"Julia!" Paul grabs my arm and drags me into my bedroom for his 'can't talk about the incident' speech. He sits me on the bed and runs his hands through his hair.

"Maybe you shouldn't watch..." Paul sits next to me.

"That lawyer made him look like some bad guy!" I am crying ugly now, fully aware my emotions are erratic. "He can't go to jail!"

Paul wraps his arms around me and lets me cry.

James can't go to jail. He just can't.

*******