Page 12 of Stella’s Manster

When all of this is over and Darren is proven innocent, I want to begin a real relationship with Ace. Of anyone I’ve ever met, I see Ace in my future. There’s an unspoken feeling that I refuse to ignore. I’ve fallen in love with him so quickly, but I can’t wait to tell him.

“Mr. Gold, you may take the stand,” the judge says to Darren.

Darren nods and walks slowly to the single chair beside the judge. Lifting his hand as high as he can with the cuffs on, Darren swears to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The judge nods and motions for Ace to begin his questioning.

I place a hand over my stomach and watch as Ace stands up and moves closer to Darren. Ace appears confident as ever, moving in his power suit with poise.

“Mr. Gold,” Ace starts, “can you walk us through everything that happened on the day of your arrest?”

Darren leans forward and speaks softly into the microphone. “Yes, sir. I ate breakfast at home in the morning, ran a few errands, saw some old friends, and then went to a Halloween party with my sister.” He fidgets nervously on the stand.

“Can you elaborate on these errands you did and friends you saw?” Ace inquires.

Darren replies without hesitation. “I picked up some exercise equipment at the sporting goods store,” he shrugs. “I figured it would help keep me busy and get me healthy in my new free life.” Darren’s voice remains unshaken. “As for my friends… I went to have coffee with old high school buddies, then uh, I had to make a pitstop to talk to some guys I used to hang out with,” Darren begins to stumble through his response.

I swallow hard when I listen to Darren’s statement.

He better not be talking about the guys that got him into the bad habits in the first place. I thought he cut them off and out of his life.

“What did you do with these guys you saw?” Ace asks.

“Objection,” Darren’s lawyer says. “Your Honor, these questions are irrelevant.”

“I’ll allow it,” the judge replies. “Darren, answer the question.”

Darren takes in a deep breath before speaking. “These guys wanted me to hang out with them again like old times. I told them no but they threatened to go after my sister if I didn’t meet their demands.” A clear knot forms in Darren’s throat and he immediately tries to defend himself. “I would’ve just left it alone but they threatened my sister, you know?” he says with passion. “I’m done wasting time and ruining my life. So, I went down there to settle things with them. They got upset with me, calling me weak and spineless but I left just before the situation turned violent,” Darren tells the court.

I watch the tension in the jury’s shoulders drop slightly.

This is good! The jury is feeling sorry for my brother.

“So, is it safe to assume these were the men you did drugs with in the past?” Ace asks Darren, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.

Widening my eyes, I stare at Ace.What is he doing? He’s making Darren sound like a drug addict.

Suddenly, I hear the mutters behind me in the audience and note the tension that once again, washes over the jury.

“Yes,” Darren speaks into the microphone with furrowed brows. “But I went to the rehab available in prison to get clean, and now, I am clean. I’ll never fall back into that lifestyle.”

A nice save by my brother, but for some reason, Ace doesn’t let up. “And this group of old friends… would you say they possess a lot of drugs? Enough to sell?” Ace presses on.

Darren’s mouth opens as if he’s going to say something but he pauses. Beads of sweat gleam on his forehead. “Yes,” Darren answers, “but as I mentioned before, I’m not involved with this group anymore.”

Ace stares at Darren for a moment before looking over at the judge. “I have no further questions,” he says then takes his seat.

The jury is left looking unsure and the murmuring audience doesn’t help Darren’s case.

Feeling heated, my eyes burn as I glare in Ace’s direction. He better have some method to this madness or he just lied to me. In my opinion, Ace made Darren look like a foolish relapsing drug addict in front of everyone.

What was Ace thinking?

I’m angry, yet devastated at the same time. After everything we talked about and the time we spent together, I would’ve bet anything that Ace was trustworthy. I believed in him to fulfill his promise. But now what, am I sleeping with the enemy?

Darren’s lawyer scrambles through his paperwork and tries to do some damage control, but it doesn’t appear to sway the jury. A few more discussions between the judges and lawyers before the judge hits his gavel on his desk and ends this hearing. The next hearing has already been scheduled.

Darren turns around to me and I have just a moment long enough to try and give him some hope before they guide him into the backroom. As he shuffles through the door, he wears a look of hopelessness on his face.

Darren thinks he’s going to be locked up. If a miracle doesn’t happen, hewill belocked up and who knows how long the sentence would be this time.

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