Adelaide's Point of View

The closest I've ever been to going to court was watching an all day marathon of Law and Order and proudly being able to recite the opening sequence to SVU. But here I am, moments away from entering a real courtroom for the first time in my entire life.

After the hospitalization of Eric and the rumors speculating about how he had gotten so badly injured were spread, the road to the trial was quickened. Almost every person in the town were attending the trial as if it was some sort of tourist attraction. Even Luke and Ashton were making an appearance today.

Calum finally came out of the courthouse's bathroom after several minutes. His sleek back suit hugged him perfectly. It was a shame this suit had to be used for a trial and not for some red carpet event. My hands smoothed out the material on his broad shoulders and fixed his silk tie so it was straight. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"You look extremely handsome," I told him. "Maybe you will win just simply due to the fact that you are so attractive."

Calum's grinned down at me, his big brown eyes seeming to be filled with concern. His hand grasped mine, intertwining our fingers together. "Don't be nervous, okay?"

"I'll try," I mumbled, inhaling a deep breath as he pushed open the heavy door to the courtroom. Heads turned to get a glimpse of us while still continuing their exceptionally loud conversations.

Calum kept leading us through the aisle, his jaw clenched tightly and an emotionless expression plastered over his flawless face. His eyes widened at the sight of an older couple in the third row and he bent down to whisper in my ear. "Ellie's parents are here."

"It's okay," I assured him, squeezing his palm tightly as we approached the front row where I would be sitting in case I needed to be called up to the stand. "Good luck out there, alright? I love you, Calum."

"I love you too," He replied, pecking my lips for not even a second before dashing towards the chair next to his lawyer.

I sighed, sliding down the aisle to the empty spot between Lucy and Luke. Calum's parents were directly behind me, along with the beautiful Mali-koa, and Michael and Ashton were both in the first row as well. I rested my head onto Luke's shoulder as he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me against his body, clad in a sharp suit, in a comforting manner. My nerves were more evident than I wished them to be. Lucy was clinging onto her boyfriend in a similiar fashion to the way Luke and I were positioned which relieved me that I wasn't the only one so distraught.

Calum was called up to the stand after a few minutes of shuffling around and he pressed his hand against a bible, swearing to tell only the truth. The intimidating lawyer of Eric, the bandaged up boy who was currently sitting on the defendant's table, started pacing in front of Calum with his hands folded together.

"Mr. Hood, you were convicted of the murder of Ellie Cunningham three years ago, correct?" The lawyer with wrinkly skin and thick black frames resting against his oversized nose.

"Yes, sir," Calum spoke into the microphone in front of him.

The man raised his eyebrows and due to the impeccible silence that had fell upon the room when the trial began, you could faintly hear the sound of his lips pursing together as well. "So, why are you all of a sudden pleading innocent?"

"I've been pleading innocent since the beginning, Sir. I never killed Ellie. We were hit by a drunk driver that ran off, but there was never enough evidence to prove that. But Eric Cunningham admitted that he was the one who killed her recently."

Gasps echoed throughout the court room and I clutched tighter onto Luke's arm, my teeth chattering with fear as I watched the boy I love have to sit in front of all of these people and make his claims. "I see. Well, we can get back to Eric's apparent confession shortly. In the meantime, Mr. Cunningham is badly injured. Are you the cause of these injuries?"

"No, Sir," Calum stated firmly.

"Were you present when these injuries occured?" The lawyer interrogated.

Calum licked his pouty lips. He seemed genuinely calm up there. Meanwhile, I was sweating like a pig. "Yes, Sir."

"Who caused these injuries, Mr. Hood?" The man asked. Calum's brown eyes flickered over to Michael in the front row who merely nodded in approval. Calum didn't want to throw him under the bus, but it was crucial for his case. "Mr. Hood?"

"Michael Clifford, Sir," Calum blurted out. He composed himself, straightening out his posture and wiggling his butt against the seat. "Michael Clifford is responsible for his wounds."

The lawyer flashed him a smug smile. "Ah, yes. Now, do you have a witness to both this and your claim of Mr. Cunningham's confession? Perhaps the individual who contacted the ambulance?"

"Lucy Keebler," My boyfriend responded timidly.

"I would like to call Lucy Keebler to the stand, Your Honor."

I patted Lucy's back as she wiggled down the row towards the front of the room. Her red hair was glistening under the bright lights and her body swayed carefully as she approached the stand. Calum sent her a reassuring nod, but her nervous façade was still present. She also swore to only tell the truth and my heart pounded even more against my chest as I viewed one of my closest friends have to face such a nervewracking experience that she wasn't even directly involved with. Michael was chewing on his fingernails in anticipation, making me extend my other hand out for him to grip onto.

The lawyer asked her to explain what had happened from her point of view, and she stated the exact same thing, except more in depth.

"And do you remember what Mr. Cunningham had said in his confession? Possibly verbatum?"

She licked her swollen loops before leaning forward into the microphone. "Calum was telling us how he was a hit with a drunk driver and Eric said he was only buzzed, not drunk. Then he said he wasn't try to kill Ellie, he was trying to kill Calum."

A loud chorus of gasps echoed throughout the small courthouse. I curled up even closer to Luke as I was reminded of such spiteful words. Knowing that I had sort of befriended a guy who almost attempted to kill my favorite person in the world made me feel physically sick. Knowing that Eric was the one who ultimately ruined every aspect of Calum's life made my blood boil, and I couldn't even imagine the frightened thoughts racing through my boyfriend's mind.

Lucy returned to her seat and soon enough Calum's lawyer had called up even more witnesses to make their case perfectly obvious. Luke, who claimed of his knowledge of their secret relationship, and Michael, who testified against Eric while admitting to have beaten him up, were amongst the many that had to speak in that scary little booth.

"I'd like to speak with Calum's current girlfriend, Adelaide Winters, if that is alright?"

Shit.

My heart stopped beating and my face went pale as the smug defendant motioned for me to come forward. My friends helped me up, mumbling encouragements to me, as well as the Hood's sitting behind us, and I slowly strolled up to the seat. Calum mouthed "You got this" to me, but I wasn't sure if I truly did.

With a scan of the crowd, their had to be hundreds, maybe thousands, of eyes all staring at me. I could sense their hushed words belittling me. My shoulders were tense and raised up and my tongue was pressed tightly to the roof of my mouth. The tightness in my stomach felt similar to the feeling you get when you go over the big drop in the rollercoaster. If I had to sit here in silence with only my anxious thoughts cluttering my mind, I was going to projectile vomit.

"Miss Winters, I understand you are from America?"

"Y-yes," I stuttered, my breathing becoming so uneven and shaky that I could barely speak properly. "I moved here a few months ago."

"So when you became friends with Calum, you were unaware of his past background, correct?"

"Yes, uh I mean, correct. Yes that's correct," I blurted out, my words blubbering underneath the cold glare of the lawyer. I glimpsed over to Calum, the only one who could calm me down in any situation, and he just gave me one of those million-watt smiles.

"During this time did you notice any fishy behavior? Did you ever feel afraid of Calum?"

"No, sir. I have never been afraid of Calum. He is the sweetest boy I have ever met. I didn't understand why everyone else in this town was afraid of him. If you really got to know him then you would realize everything I'm saying is true. He could never harm anyone, especially not Ellie. If Calum loved her the way he loves me, then I can assure you right here and now that he will never physically hurt someone like that. There is no reason to be afraid of Calum."

The lawyer seemed to scoff at my long answer, one that I miraculously had the courage to talk properly in. Everything spilling out of my mouth was coming directly from my heart. I was so protective over my baby, and I wanted nothing more than to get him out of this lifestyle. "Thank you, ma'am."

I took this as a dismissal and I hurriedly walked back over to my spot, desperately wanting to get out of this limelight. Luke's arm was already ready for my body to clutch onto him again and I could fill the build up of my nerves cause slight tears to form in my eyes. I inhaled deeply in an effort to get rid of them. I needed to be strong for Calum. He was strong for me during the incident at the florist a few weeks ago, despite finding out the mystery of who killed his girlfriend years ago. Now it was time for me to strong for him, and show him that if the scaredy cat, also known as me, could get through this, then he was going to be okay too.

After several minutes of waiting, the finale began to commence. Eric Cunningham finally wobbled up to the stand with crutches balancing his body. He had bruises covering every inch of his skin and bandages surrounding them, along with a cast constricting his foot.

"Mr. Cunningham, I'm just going to get straight to the point here. Did you kill Ellie Cunningham, your cousin, in a car crash that was attempted to kill Calum Hood?" Calum's lawyer asked in his menacing tone.

Eric's eyes were bloodshot and glazed over and he leaned forward, without even a care in the world, a replied with one of the most heartbreaking words in my life. "Yes."

The judge silenced the chaotic courtroom, that seemed to have been mindblown by this information, with the hitting of her gavel. The jury made a rapid conclusion and the news traveled quickly to the judge. She lifted a microphone up to her lips. "Eric Cunningham has been charged with manslaughter of the late Ellie Cunningham. Calum Hood officially has his charges dropped and has been found not guilty."

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Author's note: THE GIF ON THE SIDE IS CALUMS FACE WHEN HE REALIZES HE IS PROVEN INNOCENT

SORRY MY UPDATES HAVE BEEN SLOWER BUT IVE BEEN SUPER BUSY WITH SCHOOL AND I HAD PROM LAST NIGHT WHICH WAS REALLY FUN AND EVENTFUL

THIS ISNT THE END OF THE STORY BTW IDK WHY THIS KIND OF SOUNDS LIKE A LAST CHAPTER

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR READS AND COMMENTS AND SUPPORT I LOVE YOU ALL

ok this is dedicated to the girl who commented saying she loved how i always reply to comments i cant remember her username at the moment though but im going to find it and yes i always try my best to respond cause you guys are literally hilarious and i consider all of u my bffs feel free to message me whenever ok ily