Chapter 37: Chapter 37

ODETTE

It took them only two hours. That couldn’t be good.

“Relax, it could go either way,” Reece tried to reassure me.

“Did you check on Beau?” I asked.

“Yes, he’s being held in contempt of court.”

“I can’t believe he did that,” I mumbled.

“I can. We all wanted to do it, which is why we’re all pitching in for his bond,” Reece said. “You need to eat. We have five minutes before going back in there.”

“I can’t, Reece; it’ll just come back up.”

Reece sighed and kissed my head. “It’ll be over soon. Let’s go.”

We headed back into the courtroom and took our seats. I wished Reece could sit next to me; I needed his support.

We went through the standing motions when the judge came in and waited for the jury to get situated.

“Has the jury reached a verdict?” the judge asked.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

We watched a security guard take a piece of paper from the juror to the judge. The judge quickly read it before addressing the jury again.

“On the charge of attempted murder, how do you find the defendant?”

“Not guilty, Your Honor.”

“On the charge of felony assault. How do you find the defendant?”

“Guilty, Your Honor.”

I didn’t know whether I wanted to cry or yell.

“Hey, this is still good, Odette,” Mr. Rhine stated. “He can still get at least five years.”

The judge banged his gavel.

“The defense requests that we do not delay sentencing. Would anyone like to make a statement before the sentencing?”

Mr. Rhine and I had talked about this, and I told him I would like to make a statement if there was a chance.

“My client would, Your Honor.”

I walked up to the podium instead of the witness stand. The podium was off to the side, facing everyone in the room.

“I never thought I would be strong enough to get away from you. I thought I was going to live my life in fear, but I’m standing here today to tell you I’m not afraid of you. You hurt me more times than I can count, but that doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you hurt my daughter. You tried to kill her, and she deserves so much more than you or me. She deserves to live a carefree life. She deserves to reach for the stars, and she can’t do that if you’re not in jail. She will never be safe with you free.

“So today, Your Honor, I’m asking you to give him the maximum sentence, not for me but for Caroline, the innocent little girl who didn’t have a say about being born early, an innocent baby that makes the world brighter, a baby who deserves justice and to not remember that her father is a monster.”

I was crying by the time I was done. Tyler refused to look at me.

“After reviewing all the evidence and hearing witness testimony, I am sentencing Tyler Johnson to three years for felony assault.”

Three years. He got three years.

The judge went on to impose mandatory AA meetings and supervised probation for a year after his release.

How could he have only gotten three years? He would be out in no time.

“It didn’t work,” I mumbled to Reece.

“It did. He’s convicted. It will follow him wherever he goes. Let’s not think about this right now,” Reece stated.

When we exited the courtroom, my brothers, minus Beau, were waiting for me. They hugged me and comforted me, letting me know they had my back.

***

It didn’t turn out the way I had hoped, but at least it’s all behind us now. I can concentrate on my family and finally give my all to Reece.

“How would you feel about selling this place and finding a home of our own?” Reece asked.

“This is our home,” I told Reece.

“I want a home where we can start fresh as a family of three, leave behind what happened here, and settle into a place that we chose together,” Reece answered.

“Well, when you put it that way, I can’t say no.” I kissed him. It felt great being next to him in bed. It felt like we hadn’t been intimate in a long time. I broke the kiss, pulled the cover back, and swung my legs over him.

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

“Yes, I want you, Reece.”

Reece flipped us over, causing me to let out a squeal.

“Don’t wake up, Caroline,” he teased.

We were like teenagers, frantically taking our clothes off. Neither of us wanted to wait; we needed each other. When Reece sunk into me, I felt complete. It was as if we were restoring a part of our relationship.

I had never known the depth of love one could feel through sex until Reece. I knew then that there would never be another person for me.