So I'm warning y'all that basically everything I know about court comes from "God's Not Dead 2", so don't expect me to be completely accurate.

Brianna

I know I'm not ready for today.

I can't so much as touch my breakfast, but this time, Toby doesn't try to get me to. He just hands me some coffee and keeps his hand on my shoulder as we head to the car with

Amanda, Truett, Moses, and Marlee.

As Toby starts the car, Tru gets out his phone, swiftly connecting it to the car speaker and starting a song that I know by heart. A song that's perfect for today.

You're my true north when I'm headed south.

My constant solid ground.

You are my lantern in the night.

When I'm twisted up and shaken,

You're the One I put my faith in.

Yeah, you're the reason I survive.

You keep me steady when the sky is falling.

And I'll keep steady after You.

I'll carry on when my strength is failing.

Take heart, cuz you're with me.

So let the stars drop. Whatever comes, I'll be ready.

You keep me steady.

You keep me steady.

You're a river, You cover me.

When the bombs fall, You're the cavalry, yeah.

Somehow, You're always standing right by my side.

So no matter what I will be facing,

I will not be overtaken.

And You are the only reason why.

You keep me steady when the sky is falling.

And I'll keep steady after You.

I'll carry on when my strength is failing.

Take heart, cuz you're with me.

So let the stars drop. Whatever comes, I'll be ready.

You keep me steady.

You keep me steady.

You're my hiding place, my home.

And fear cannot invade these four walls.

I need you near.

I need you here.

You keep me steady when the sky is falling.

And I'll keep steady after You.

I'll carry on when my strength is failing.

Take heart, cuz you're with me.

So let the stars drop. Whatever comes, I'll be ready.

You keep me steady.

Yeah, You keep me steady.

You keep me steady.

You keep me steady, yeah.

The trial is in Nashville, so it's about a twenty-five minute drive, and Tru fills the entire thing with more songs that are perfect to counter all of the fear and uncertainty I'm feeling about today... that last one, or "Steady", by for KING & COUNTRY, "Right on Time", by Aaron Cole and Toby, "Never Let You Down", by Hawk Nelson, "Fighter", by Jamie Grace, "What Faith Can Do", by Kutless, "Born For This", by Mandisa, and "Never Ever Give Up", by Matthew West. When we're finally at the courthouse, Toby shuts the car off, but no one makes a move to get out, and I know what's coming.

My suspicion is confirmed as he bows his head and starts to pray.

"Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us this day. Thank You for bringing this family to a place where we might finally be able to be officially one. We ask that you give us all strength, peace, and wisdom. Please, be Bri's comfort as she's faced with so many people who have brought her nothing but pain. Please put Your words inside the mouths of Joel, Luke, Becky, Samuel, Jason, me, and everyone else who is testifying today. Please even be in mouths of those defending Lincoln, so that nothing but Your truth is spoken today. And God, I ask that You work this trial in our favor, in the favor of Bri and where she's going to be safe. But above all, I ask that you You work in to the favor of Your plan, which is so much greater than anything that we could have imagined. In the precious Name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

We all softly chorus the last word. And to my surprise, I feel just a litle bit comforted. The feeling goes away almost as soon as I get out of the car.

But Toby's right next to me, and with him there, I somehow find the strength to keep moving forward.

I think that the worst part about this is that it won't be the last time. Even if we do work out Lincoln's trial in one day, which very well could not happen, I'll have my parents' in a few weeks. And that one's going to be even worse. But I can't focus on that right now, because this day is going to be agonizing enough.

We get inside and I take my place in my box, Toby next to me since I'm a minor. The jury is arriving as well, and I feel my stomach work itself into an even tighter knot than before at the sight of the people who literally hold my future in their hands. Mandy, Marlee, Moses, and Truett all take a seat in the front row that they're allowed to. 

A man I don't know walks in, meeting eyes with Toby and smiling. Toby rises, shaking his hand when he crosses the room to stand before us.

"David," Toby greets him. "Thank you so much for coming."

"Of course, it's my job, Man," he replies easily, before his eyes turn to me. "And you must be Brianna."

I nod uncertainly, standing as well just because it feels awkward not to. I hesitantly shake the hand David offers me.

"Bri, this is David Weston," Toby explains as we do. "It was last minute... as in last night... so I didn't get the chance to tell you, but now that you're in my care, I was able to hire a lawyer for you. David's our family's lawyer as well as Gotee's. He's going to serve you well."

"I promise I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that you're never hurt by this boy again," David tells me seriously. "And I'll be doing the same in a few weeks for your dad's trial, okay?"

I nod, looking at the ground. "Okay. Thanks."

He returns the gesture before going to take his own place. Toby and I sit down again as more people start to trickle in. The first of those are Lincoln and his parents. I feel my stomach clench at the sight of him and immediately look away. But I can feel him glaring at me as he and his father sit down in their own box and his mother sits on the opposite side of the room, the same row, as Amanda and the others are.

Toby reaches over ad squeezes my hand gently, and I feel myself relax just a little. Only a minute or two after they arrive, another man, no doubt their lawyer, and just a little after him, Caleb.

It's the first time I've seen him in anything other than his uniform.

They're not really supposed to be talking to me, so he doesn't, but he meets my eyes and smiles encouragingly, and there's comfort sent with the look.

A few minutes after he comes, people start to arrive in earnest... Jace, with people who are obviously his parents, as well as someone who I recognize as Cole, his older brother and the rapper for Capital Kings when it was still a thing. Becky, and I'm surprised to see Tiffany coming in with her. Joel and Luke, with Moriah and Courtney. Samuel and his wife, and Jason. Michael and the rest of the band, them with their wives. 

And then a bunch of people who must be Lincoln's witnesses. A lot of them I recognize from the church, and I feel a pang of guilt wash over me when I realize that Samuel and Jason testifying on my behalf could cause them all to leave. I also see at least one teacher from our school, Lincoln's favorite music teacher. Great. So they have the school backing them, too.

Finally, at exactly eight, the judge walks in, takes a seat, and calls the court to order.

After the Pledge of Alligance, Lincoln's lawyer steps forward to make his opening statement. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury," he begins, that perfect lawyer tone in his voice already, "I come to you on behalf of a young man who has been being villainized and unjustly accused for months now. Because on that day seven months ago, something happened. Romance sparked and two freshman raised in religious homes did what was forbidden for them. Out of fear and cowardliness, Brianna chose to blame the ​sin ​on her best friend, my client, in hopes of getting out of the punishment and shame that would otherwise most certainly befall her. However, as this was obviously not the case, both sets of parents chose to see what happened as what it really was... a sexual act committed equally by Lincoln and Brianna. That's right... ​Brianna's own parents ​didn't believe her half of the story. And Lincoln was Brianna's best friend at the time of the incident. So I ask you this; would the two people who love Brianna most in the world really choose not to believe her side of the story if it had any solid evidence at all? And would her best friend since childhood really rape her out of the blue? I'm sure as you examine the evidence, you'll discover the same as I have; that the answers to both questions are, in fact, ​no​."

He turns to the judge and nods in a signal that he's done and returns to his seat as I feel myself somehow get even more scared. This guy is seriously good.

The judge turns to David. "Mr. Weston, your opening statement, please."

David nods, rising and approaching the stand. "Thank you, your Honor." 

And he turns to the jury.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, all I ask is that you look at this case through unjaded eyes. Look at the evidence without a filter. Look at the change that took place in my client from the moment she stumbled out of Mr. Renthart's room seven months ago. And know that it brings me no joy to come against a fifteen-year-old boy. However, Ms. Kelly needs a someone to stand up for her. She needs someone to keep her safe. After looking at the evidence, I am fully convinced that she's told nothing but the truth about what happened between her and Mr. Renthart. I know that if you do the same, you'll also come to the same conclusion. And all that I ask if that when you do, you stand by me in keeping Ms. Kelly safe, in standing up for her, in allowing her a chance to access the healing that has been denied her for far too long." And he nods at the judge as well, returning to his seat.

So maybe all hope isn't lost. Because David is really good too.

The judge looks at Lincoln's lawyer. "Mr. Saduck, please call your first witness to the stand."

The man nods, rising and walking to the front of the room before looking back the way he came "Lincoln, your witness, please."

I swallow hard, feeling my pulse quicken at the sight of him as he walks up to take his place behind the stand. Like he can read my mind, Toby's hand squeezes my own once more.

"Alright, Lincoln," Suduck begins, "can you start by telling us exactly what happened on August 14 of last year?"

Lincoln swallows hard, and, not for the first time, I feel guilt wash over me. Yeah, he ruined my life, but does that give me the excuse to ruin his?

"So, Bri and I had been best friends since we met in elementary school, and honestly, I'd had a crush on her since we were like twelve. I was pretty sure she felt the same way, and on our first day of high school, it just felt like the right time to finally ask her out. I was insanely nervous, because I knew it'd ruin everything between us if she didn't like me like that, but I had to know. So after our first say at High Point, we walked to my house to watch a movie. We were sitting on my bed in my room, where we'd watched a million movies before, and while the commercials were playing, I told Bri she was beautiful and asked her out. She said yes. I knew she'd never really had very high standards of purity, even though she talked like she did, but I didn't really think anything of it when she kissed me. It seemed like the natural thing to do. But then, things just... got out of hand. Then my parents got home, and Bri freaked and ran to the bathroom. I knew we'd both be in an insane amount of trouble, so I told her we could just keep it  between us. But instead of listening to me, she tore up her clothes in the bathroom, then put them on and ran downstairs, telling my parents I'd raped her."

He shakes his head, actually conjuring up a few tears. 

"You know, I loved her. I just wish that years of friendship didn't have to end like that. But now I see who she really is, so... I guess I just never really knew her in the end."

Suduck nods gravely. "What happened after Brianna lied to your parents?"

Lincoln shrugs ​sadly​. "Well, I came downstairs and asked her why she had to lie about it and told them what really happened. She protested, and they called her parents. In the end, they all knew that they had to believe my story over hers. It was just the only one out of the two that made any sense, and she didn't have any evidence to back hers up. Both my senior pastor and my youth pastor believed her over me, and that hurt, but I moved on. They're just deceived, that's all."

"And that brings us to an important point," Saduck replies. "Both you and Brianna were raised in relgious homes, right?"

"That's right."

"And you were always told that sex is something that should be reserved for marriage, correct?"

"Yes."

"So I expect you got in a lot of trouble over what happened."

"Definitely," Lincoln replies, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was grounded for two months. But I just... I guess I just realized that I had made a mistake, but all I had to do to be forgiven was repent. I admitted everything to the church and asked for their and God's forgiveness for what happened. It was like a weight was lifted off of me, and I had my old friends back, my old family back. It was really cool."

He knows all of the right lines and it makes me sick.

"Did you ever reach out to Bri and try to restore your friendship?"

He nods. "I did. Over and over again, but she always acted scared of me. She was really into her story, and she didn't let the act drop for even a minute, so I eventually gave up and moved on."

"Did you ever bully Brianna in any way?"

"Never. I knew there were some kids at school who gave her some trouble, but I didn't think she'd like it if I tried to stand up to her. And I knew it would be foolish of me to be around in any way while it was happening or else she'd blame it on me. But she did that anyway."

"Right. Now, can you please tell us what happened earlier this week?"

Lincoln sighs. "Well, ever since Bri got all suicidal and depressed, her parents had to drive her everywhere that she used to walk. I knew how inconvenient that would be for her parents. I'd grown up having them as my second family, so I wanted to help them out, and it was one last time that I could try to get Bri to let me be her friend again. So I offered to walk her home from school. Her parents gladly accepted. So we were doing that for the first time, and I asked her one more time if we could be friends again. She said that we could be more than that. Well, I didn't think that I still had feelings for her, but old habits die hard, and I was shocked. I didn't have a girlfriend anyway, so I said yes. Then, she threw herself on me and started kissing me. I kissed her back, but then before I knew what was happening, the cops showed up and started accusing me of sexual harassment. After that, it was all kind of a blur. I don't even know how it happened."

"Were you in trouble for that time as well?"

"My parents had to come pick me up from jail," he replies ryely. "Yeah, I was in pretty big trouble."

"What kind of punishment did they give you?"

"Well, I mostly just got a lecture, and I'm grounded for another month. And they said that if I couldn't control myself, I wasn't allowed to date until I was at least sixteen. But since it's obviously a problem for me to resist temptation when a girl makes the first move, I think that's probably wise."

"So your parents were angry, but they believed you?"

"Yeah. I mean, I've always been a terrible liar. So they knew I wasn't lying."

"Tell me, Lincoln, are you sorry for what happened?"

"Well, I'm sorry for how it's all gone down. I mean, earlier this week we were just kissing. There's nothing wrong with that. I don't know how Bri pulled it off to make it look like I was harassing her. As for seven months ago? I am sorry. I'm sorry we both lost our purity, and I'm sorry I lost my best friend. But I've moved on. I just wish Bri could find it in her to do the same."

Suduck nods, obviously very pleased with himself and his client. He turns to the judge. "No further questions, your Honor."

He returns to his seat, and the judge looks at David.

"Mr. Weston, your cross-examination, please."

"No questions, your Honor." He obviously knows that all Lincoln's gonna do is lie, just like he has been this entire time, not caring that he's on oath not to.

And, suddenly, a horrible realization hits me. It's my turn now.