“I’m not scared of him,” I said, even though my stomach was in knots. Ginette had just got off the phone with the barrister. The judge had ruled that I could give evidence again, that I could stand up in that witness box and face Megan Walsh one more time. Everyone kept asking if I was sure, if I could handle it, and I kept saying yes, because the truth was the only thing that could put her away.
But the truth was also the thing that had floored me the first time. I walked into the hospital waiting room, trying to steady myself, and Jody was there with a couple of magazines. Science, astronomy, things I might like. She was trying so hard to make everything normal, but it wasn’t normal.
Nothing about this was normal. “You’re still angry at us, aren’t you? ” she said softly. “Because we didn’t tell you the truth about the trial.
”
“It’s not just about the trial,” I said. “I’m tired of being lied to by you and everyone else. ”
Her face dropped. “What do you mean, everyone else?
”
“Liam was supposed to visit me yesterday. She never showed up. She said she was going to come. ”
“Maybe something came up,” Jody said, but even she didn’t sound convinced.
“Something more important, you mean. ”
She promised to call Liam, to get her to come and talk to me, and I said maybe I’d hear her out. Maybe. I didn’t know what I believed anymore.
Down the corridor, the trial was stalled. A delay in proceedings, the usher said. We sat there, waiting, everyone checking their phones, and I tried not to think about how many times I’d waited for someone to believe me. Will had already given his evidence once, before the jury.
Now he was going to do it again, in the hopes it would be enough to make a difference. His dad’s voice came through the phone, steady, quiet. “Whatever happens, son, I’m proud of you for doing this. ”
“I shouldn’t have lied in the first place.
”
“Don’t be daft. You were scared. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. ”
I wanted to believe that.
I really did. Later, the courtroom filled up. The judge announced that the Crown’s application to reopen the case had been allowed, and Will was recalled to the witness box. He spoke clearly this time.
He told the court that his relationship with Megan Walsh was real, that she had threatened him into keeping it secret, that she said she’d lose her job, go to prison, tell everyone he was lying if he spoke up. Ms. Lambert pressed him gently, and he answered every question without wavering. Afterward, outside the courtroom, I watched him breathe out like a man who had finally let go of a weight he’d been carrying for years.
“You told the truth,” I said. “Yeah, but I’m a liar as well,” he said. “I lied to you and everyone else for so long. What if I’ve left it too late?
What if they don’t believe me? ”
“We believe you. The jury will, too. ”
I handed him a small present, something to hold onto.
He managed a brief smile. Not long after, the lawyers gave their closing statements. The judge said it was up to the jury now. We would have to wait and see what they decided.
But in the waiting room, the mood shifted. There was a small victory in Will’s testimony, and everyone holding onto the hope that it might be enough. Then Steve walked in, pale and sharp. “I found Leon with Jody,” he said to me, his voice tight.
“In a hotel room. He was with her all day, buying champagne and room service, and he turned her phone on silent so she’d miss the calls when Sam was waiting for her. ”
My heart dropped. That’s why she hadn’t shown up.
That’s why Sam was left wondering, abandoned again. “She was pretty upset when she told me Sam wasn’t well,” Steve admitted, “but she was with that man while his family was falling apart. ”
“Don’t,” I said, not knowing who I was angrier at. Later, I asked Will how he was holding up.
He said he wasn’t. He wanted the jury to come back. He wanted Megan to pay. “You did everything you could,” his father said, putting a steady hand on his shoulder.
“You told the truth. The hard part is over now. ”
“I’m not sure it is,” Will said quietly. “If they find her not guilty, he’s going to be gutted.
If they find her guilty, he’s going to blame himself. ”
“Then we do what we’ve always done,” his father said. “We look out for each other. We stick by each other.
We get through this together. ”
There was a moment of quiet, and then a face appeared in the corridor. Megan Walsh, her hair tied back, a hard smile on her lips. “Here he is,” she said.
“The big man. The brave little boy who stood up and told everyone his lies. ”
Will’s hands clenched. “You get off me,” he said.
“You think you’re a big man now? ” she said, stepping closer. “You’re a pathetic little boy, just like the first time I met you. That’s the only reason I gave you the time of day, because I felt sorry for you.
Well, not anymore. ”
Her voice was low, venomous. “After what you did today, you are finished. There’s no way that jury is going to find me guilty.
So if I were you, I’d enjoy your little run while it lasts. ”
She looked at him like he was nothing, then turned and walked away, the click of her heels echoing down the corridor. Will stood there, frozen, the breath knocked out of him. But something had changed in his eyes.
He wasn’t the scared boy she remembered. He had told the truth in public, in front of everyone, and now he was waiting for the verdict. He just had to hold on until the jury came back.
