CORY’S P.O.V.

The past few days had been absolute shit. Sure, the past month was awful, but nothing compared to the events following the Halloween party. I tried to fight Liam and Riley wasn’t speaking to me. I was such an asshole that night. I just didn’t know what to do. I was so upset and overwhelmed that I drank and drank until I couldn’t think for myself anymore. Not thinking seemed like my best option at the time. It was Sunday and I was still at my parents’ house. Liam was leaving the next day, so at least I could go back then. I needed to properly apologize to Riley and I was actually relieved that Piper was coming home. I felt like talking to her would make me feel better. It seemed to help last time. I had no one else to be strong for besides my parents and they weren’t really helpful to talk to. I needed my sister.

“Cory, sweetie, what do you want for dinner?”

“Uh- it doesn’t matter mom.”

She had been trying to make my favorite foods and put on my favorite films to make me happy.
I tried to put on a happy face, but mom always saw through that.

“How about Spaghetti? Is that still your favorite?”

“Only when you cook it. Spaghetti sounds good.”

She grinned and disappeared back into the kitchen. I immediately heard the clanging of pots and pans as she prepared our meal a bit early. My dad was sleeping in his chair and I sat in the adjacent couch, staring blankly at the muted television. I really felt pathetic. I wished I could be happy, but it didn’t seem like an option for me. What seemed to be minutes later, my mom called my dad and I to the table for dinner. We sat down in our usual spots, but something felt off. Maybe it was Piper not being there, or the fact that my mom watched my every move, probably trying to gauge how upset I was. She’d never understand. I just wanted to put on a fake smile so I could be out of there as soon as possible.

“Are you ready to talk about what happened last night, Cory?”

She was choosing her words carefully, trying not to set me off.

“No.”

I didn’t want to be rude to my mom, but I didn’t want to talk about it. She was acting like I was a
five year old who got in trouble.

“It’ll help if you get it out.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, mom!”

I snapped and wished I could take it back immediately. Her expression was flooded in concern.

“Honey, maybe you should go see Dr. Edwards.”

“What the hell? I don’t need to see a shrink. I wasn’t raped.”

Why was I acting like a child? I felt like I needed a retort for everything she said and I couldn’t decide why. I couldn’t believe I brought Piper into this.

“Cory, your mother is trying to help.”

My dad looked angry, but he maintained his composure. Mom wasn’t so calm.

“Why would you bring your sister into this? She’s been through a lot, too, Cory, and she hasn’t once stopped worrying about you. Why don’t you care about her?”

I stood up and my chair flew back, screeching against the wood floor.

“How can you even say that? I care about Piper more than anyone! I HATE myself for what happened to her! I was there, mom! I was in the same dorm as them and didn’t know anything was wrong because I was selfish. Why did I sleep with Riley? If I didn’t, Piper might have been okay and I wouldn’t be sick in love with a girl who loves someone else!”

I was sobbing at that point and my mom rushed to my side. I leaned down and rested my head on her shoulder while she squeezed me tightly. Nothing could be more comforting than my mother’s arms.

“I deserve what happened last night! I’m awful-“

“Cory, stop it. I don’t know what happened last night, but you don’t deserve anything bad to happen to you. You are such a wonderful person. I’m sorry that I accused you of not caring about Piper. I know you do, baby. I was just upset. You are so far from selfish.”

I didn’t have anything else to say. I knew I was right. Mom just always wanted everyone to be happy and it doesn’t work that way.

“I’m going to bed. I want to go to the airport to pick them up, okay?”

“Okay, sweetie. Sleep well. I’ll wake you up early.”

I turned and weakly waved as I sauntered off toward the stairs. I made it to my room and collapsed on my sheets. I desperately wanted relief and considered finding my old hidden razors, but I had to be strong for Piper, especially when her court date was the next day. I scanned my old room, feeling like I had been gone such a long time. I hadn’t, though. That room just flooded so many memories back into my head. I shuffled over to the old bookshelf next to my bed and pulled out a favorite collection of poetry that got me through high school.

________________


My parents and I sat in the car, waiting in the loading lane of the airport. Harry and Piper were supposed to be walking out any moment now. I stared out the window and watched as swarms of people gathered at the sliding doors, snapping pictures and trying to talk to the couple walking toward us. I was shocked by how much they seemed to flock to Piper, and not only Harry. They were dressed nicely, just as we were, ready for court. I scooted over to the left to make room and dad hopped out to help with their luggage. Harry wrapped his arm around Piper’s shoulders, protecting her from the excited crowds. The second the door opened, screams and commotion flooded the car. Finally, they made it to us and dad had their luggage in the trunk. We all strapped our seat belts and dad drove off as quickly as possible.
Mom turned around and tried her best to hug Piper without standing up in the car. Harry smiled at me and nodded a silent hello. Piper turned to me and practically attacked me from the middle seat.

“I’m so glad you guys are back. How was London?”

“It was good. Uh- we weren’t there for vacation, though. I guess now is as good as any time to tell you, but...”

“No, Piper. We can tell them tonight, okay?”

I had no idea what they were hinting at, but it seemed to be good. Mom clutched her chest and
opened her eyes wide.

“Oh, god, don’t tell me you ran off and got married!”

“No!”

Harry and Piper spoke at the same time, reassuringly.

“Whew. Okay, we’ll talk later then.”


PIPER’S P.O.V.


“Piper, are you nervous?”

I was terrified, but I could tell my mother was already anxious.

“A little. I don’t really know what to expect. We’ve been waiting so long and it finally feels like
something is being done. Apart from what Harry’s fists accomplished, of course.”

I rolled my eyes and Harry scoffed proudly. Even though I was scared of this court proceeding, I felt a lot better after our weekend in London. I felt like James had nothing over me anymore since Harry and I had been having sex non-stop since I felt comfortable with it again. We meant to do a lot more sight-seeing, but once we made it into his flat alone, we didn’t leave until we headed to the airport. We had food delivered for every meal and honestly just had gratuitous sex on every surface of his apartment. I couldn’t wait to see what the tabloids had to say about our absence on the streets of London during our short visit.

“Hopefully, things will work out in our favor. Now, you guys...”

Mom points at Harry, dad, and Cory individually.

“...you can’t let your emotions take over. No yelling, punching, or disruptions.”

Harry chuckled and Cory rolled his eyes. Cory definitely seemed off. Something happened while I was away, but mom didn’t tell me over the phone. I called to tell her when we would be arriving and she said Cory would be with them. For some reason, he stayed with them and that made me nervous, since Liam was at our dorm. I wondered if they argued.

“Yes ma’am. I already got my turn with that.”

Harry leaned over and kissed my temple.

“I meant to ask you; do you think that is going to be an issue?”

“Well, if it’s brought up, Harry will have to set up a separate hearing. We’re hoping it’s
considered irrelevant... if he brings it up.”

I was so relieved that the hearing was private. I couldn’t stand the thought of having a large room full of people I didn’t know witnessing such an emotional event. The jury would be sworn in under secrecy, since Harry had any involvement. Riley would be meeting us there and supposedly Liam would meet us for lunch after. He and Harry were flying back to California together late in the evening. I really didn’t want Harry to go.

“We’ll be there soon. We’re not late, right?”

Dad was always so clueless.

“No, we’re about an hour early, dad.”

He chuckled and shook his head, obviously exhausted. We pulled into the parking lot and felt like my stomach was in my throat. I breathed shakily and squeezed Harry’s hand. Cory pulled me into a gentle hug and gave me a tight grin.

“It’ll be alright, sis.”


_______________


HARRY’S P.O.V.

We settled into chairs in the courtroom and began to wait. It was a bit bigger than the one we met in to discuss Andy’s custody and the jury seats were still empty for the time-being. Supposedly, they were being briefed on the case ahead of time. Piper hadn’t let go of my hand since we arrived and I could tell she was much more nervous than she wanted to let off.

“Piper!”

Riley rushed over and all too excitedly wrapped her arms around Piper. My hand still wasn’t
released, but i didn’t mind. Riley hugged me next, far less enthusiastically, her attention still on Piper.

“I’m so glad you’re back. How was the trip?”

She raised her eyebrows, obviously not wanting to give away anything to bystanders. She
probably wanted to know how the case went.

“Much better than expected. Fantastic, really.”

Riley smiled, but as soon as her eyes shifted, her grin faded. The double doors had swung open, revealing the bastard I was hoping to see taken away in handcuffs once this was all over. He was escorted by two police officers, but he was dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and black tie. I snaked my arm around Piper and pulled her closer to me. James had a smug look on his face and had the nerve to look right at us. I placed my other hand on Piper’s arm and pulled her into a hug. She buried her face in my neck and breathed deeply. I held eye contact with him, seemingly longer than he expected. I glared as he slowly made his way down the aisle and he seemed to grow uncomfortable, looking away and adjusting his tie. I kissed the top of Piper’s head and she looked up at me. She wasn’t crying, but I could see fear in her eyes. Not necessarily fear of him, but fear of not seeing justice play out as it should.

“It has to work out, baby.”

She nods her head, unconvinced.

“I love you, Piper. I’ll be right here the whole time.”

Doors opened and a small group of men and women found their seats in the jury section. An officer walked in and stood in a corner, announcing the judge’s presence.

“All rise!”

Everyone present stood and waited as the judge stepped up and sat in her spot. Everyone took their seats as she started to look over papers in front of her. This was going to be a long, agonizing day.


____________


“Now that we’ve heard a statement from the defendant and have gone over the specifics of the case, I would like to call a forensics representative to inform us of any DNA findings.”

This was it. This would squash James’ case once and for all. Science was the one thing he couldn’t lie about and if they were able to find traces of his DNA, this awful thing could all be over. Piper’s hand was shaking and her lawyer turned to her, trying to calm her by demonstrating deep breaths. Piper tried that, but continued to look fearfully around the room. I rested my hand on her knee and felt her body relax a little. She placed her hand on top of mine and squeezed it as a man in khaki pants and a plaid button-down stood before the judge. He held a piece of paper in his hand and stood comfortably, reading the formalities of his credentials.

“-After extensive research of samplings found on the plaintiff’s bedding and clothing, we have found that due to insufficient quantitative DNA findings, we were unable to verifiably test the provided semen sample.”

My heart sank. I cringed as they mentioned James’ semen on my girlfriends items. It made me sick and I immediately planned on purchasing new sheets. This case wasn’t going to be as easily completed as we had all hoped for. I even saw Mr. Bowin’s (Piper’s lawyer) shoulders go slack. Surely, he had some other ways to prove James to be the sick pervert that he is. He had to have something resilient to turn this day around.

Notes

AHHH I FINALLY UPDATED! lol! I'm so sorry if any of you are getting irritated by my delayed updates. I'm really trying. I hope this chapter was satisfactory.
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How do you think this court proceeding will play out? Should Piper be worried? How do you think she feels right now? (I will be doing the next chapter in her POV)

Thank you guys so much for being patient! <3 xx Check out my newest story, "Mistake: A Niall Horan AU Fanfic" if you haven't already. :* ILY guys! Please leave me more comments to read. They always make my day! :)