Page 148 of Red Flag
There wasn’t silence until we were entering the courtroom. And I let out the deepest breath on seeing my brother there, waiting for me.
I tried to keep it inside, but I could only swallow down the sob as he held me close.
Since we’d landed, I didn’t have the stomach to talk to him. To anyone.
Nix had called him every night, updating him on how I was doing.
Mum had called him last night grovelling, saying David hadn’t meant to say that to the journalist. It just ‘slipped out’. But I was done with her taking his side. Done.
OluchiEkubostood beside my brother and offered a shy smile. She had chosen all-black clothing as if in mourning; even her headscarf was black.
She offered me a dark hand. “I’m so sorry you’re having to do this.”
I nodded and thanked her for being there.
Vinny’swife, SamanthaGarvs, was standing at the front pew talking to someone, but her grave expression found me before looking me up and down, her nose wrinkled.
I sat.
Under the blazer that I put on my lap, Nix held my hand, stroking my skin with his thumb as the opening arguments were given. Then the witnesses started to be called up, oneafter the other.
Adam was methodical in his approach. He was emotionless, factual.
The lawyers on both sides were relatively nice to the witnesses. There were no questions that felt out of place or too hounding.
And then I was called to the stand. I swore upon the bible that I no longer believed in and held my arms tightly at my sides. My brother and Nix gave me reassuring nods before the prosecution asked the questions we had already rehearsed.
Yes,VinnyGarvswas struggling with his mental health. Yes, I was a good judge of character for this as we were friends and he had moved into my apartment for a week or so. I’d seen the mental decline.
Yes, towards the end, there were over twenty articles about him a day. Yes, they were deemed negative, not positive, nor neutral.
Yes, the newspapers in question had deleted the majority of their articles on him since his passing. Yes, the copies I had were untampered with. Yes, these were deleted without a recorded apology from two of the three.
Yes,Vinny’slawyer and I had sent cease-and-desist emails, but no cease-and-desist took place.
Yes, an article about him had been published in the last week or so.
Yes, I knew who had published it.
Yes, I had a following on Instagram. No, I didn’t want any more followers. No, that article had not been published to make anyone the victim.
Yes, the article was about me.I stared at Nix as I choked out the words, and he gave a small nod of reassurance. It was my love for him that strengthened my voice.But I never sent anynegative stories about him to the press while he was alive. I never pressed publish on a article.
When I sat next to Nix, I no longer cared for all of the press sitting amongst us. My whole body was exhausted, my head thumping. I rested my head on his shoulder and he tucked me under his chin, wrapping an arm around me.
He shouldn’t be here with me, let alone touching me.
I was too tired to care.
SamanthaGarvstook the stand and swore on the Bible before sitting down. Her blinks were more frequent than usual, and she fidgeted with the sleeve of her blouse.
The first few questions were similar to mine; how had the trial impacted his life, how drastically had his mental health changed. She answered in a similar fashion to Adam, reserved and factual.
“The negative press started when a picture of MrGarvsand a woman was released in The Running Post, wasn’t it?”
Samantha said, “Yes.”
“And how do you think the newspaper received this image?”
