It's a very very, Mad Marty

Alexithymiaa: (I just realized there was a cell behind the court room.)
Covet: [Yeah that's where they keep Thad until the Trial starts.]
Tsaaq: ((Yes :p))
Alexithymiaa: -Steph sat in the front row of the court room very impatient'y waiting until it was her turn to be called to the stand. She was nervous as fuck, fidgeting uncontrollably and battling back the constant yawns of exhaustion. She moved her hand to close around the pendant that hung from her neck, pursing her lips and bouncing her leg as she stared across the room. // Adam was busy being irritated with Marty's fucking existence still, his eyes looking over to the jury to look them over to try to gauge if any of them were phased by the shit Marty was spinning. Be Barba.-
Covet: Felix had been sitting next to her on the bench  with her. He'd been holding her free hand, doing his best to keep her calm. He knew how tired she was, and after what he'd been updated with on the drive back, he was concerned about how the night was going to go. // Eli was sitting on the bench as well, knowing the pre-trial pep talk plan was to keep their game faces on. He took a deep breath  and prepared himself. // Cadence  walked in making her way to the same bench they'd been sitting in. She felt pretty bad about yesterday still. Forgoing sleep most of the night, between being unable to get comfortable, and her mind running the entire time, she felt sedated running on minimal sleep, hopefully that would help keep her from adding to the damage she'd done yesterday.
Tsaaq: Schmidt stood once the bailiff announced that Judge Federick entered the room. "Remember, short concise answers. Be pleasant, polite and don't get angry on the stand. Or at least don't be appear to be angry. Call Anderson AND Goldsmith sir. Really sell it." He couched Steph quietly before giving her an encouraging pat. "You can do it." // Remy walked in with Cadence and put his hand in hers. "Hey... It's okay. I don't know how many times I can say that and it actually mean something." He whispered. // Hayley's leg bounced as she sat. "This is going way worse that I thought it would." She finally expressed, she stood up. // "Good evening everyone. Ladies and gentleman of the jury." Frederick greeted. "What are we doing? You may be seated." The greying man took his seat. // Anderson stood from his seat and approached the bench. "Prosecution will call another witness for testimony. Today we're calling Stephanie Robinson to the stand." He announced. // "You may proceed then." Frederick said.
Alexithymiaa: -Steph nodded her head to Anderson as he coached her, a little absent minded as she tried her best to listen. Hearing her name called, she gave Felix's hand a squeeze and forced herself to stand up, focusing way too hard on just putting one foot in front of the other as she made her way up to the witness stand, taking a deep steadying breath. // Adam leaned in closer to Hayley, dropping his voice down to a whisper. "I'm not exactly pleased with the way it's going either. Thaddeus' lawyer is so slimey."-
Tsaaq: ((We all fuckin up.))
Tsaaq: ((*Sedrick.)))
Alexithymiaa: (Dammit.)
Covet: "Breathe..." Felix told her as she was called to the stand. He watched her intently and took a deep breath, standing and sitting accordingly for the judge. Not the first court room he'd been in. // Eli looked over at Thad and his lawyer, anticipating the cross examination. // Cadence gave Remy a soft smile. "It does, babe I promise. I'm trying, it's just going to take a while to feel okay." She said then her eyes looked at Steph noticing she didn't look any more well rested then herself.
Alexithymiaa: (If only Cadence and Steph had the same skintone, they could share make up for the bags under their eyes.)
Tsaaq: Sedrick smiled and went to sit down beside Bliss and Eli. "Today is a new day." He said hopefully. // Remy went to smile at her. "See, Sedrick isn't acting like it's the end of the world. And he's done this law stuff way longer than us." // "Yeah he's garbage." Hayley said in an annoyed tone. "But I can't act like I feel that way when I get up there." She frowned. // Bliss looked between Anderson and Judge Frederick. "You're right Uncle Sedrick." She piped up. "I have a good feeling." // "Hello Ms. Robinson." He greeted after she was sworn in on the stand. "I think the easiest thing to start with would be how you know the defendant." Anderson asked of her.
Covet: [XD]
Alexithymiaa: -Steph swore she'd tell the truth and shit, waiting for Anderson to speak before she nodded, speaking gently. "Prior to the incidents, I only knew him by association. He was housemates with my ex-boyfriend, and played on the basketball team with my brother." She quickly shut her mouth, trying to answer only what she was being asked. // "You just be as straight forward and even as humanly possible." Adam instructed Hayley, giving her a gentle pat on the knee.-
Covet: Felix  kept his gaze on Steph, leaning forward on his knees. Giving subtle nods to her as she started off on a good foot. // Eli  looked at Bliss, her smile giving him hope. Eli remembering the old days when Ash was living at the OCH with them and Thad. // Cadence looked down at Sedrick and nodded, forcing her soft smile bigger, "Mhhm. It's going to be fine." Taking a deep breath she looked up at Steph as she spoke.
Tsaaq: "Ah. Alright. Sounds normal enough." Anderson paced before going towards the bench once more. "Please, if you can, recall the events of December twenty ninth, twenty fifteen." He inquired. // "So far so good." He muttered with a shrug. // She frowned as she looked at Adam. "Well... What if I come off as an asshole?" She asked. // "What happened that day?" Bliss asked with a raise of her eyebrow.
Alexithymiaa: "December twenty ninth of two thousand fifteen was the evening that Thaddeus and Devin broke into my apartment at the time I was living with my ex-boyfriend. I don't really know what their intentions were, but they held us both at gunpoint and ended up fatally shooting one of our cats." She set her jaw, her eyes drifting over to look at Thaddeus before darting back to Anderson. // "You won't. You're going to do wonderfully when it's your turn and no one, especially not someone like Thaddeus' lawyer."-
Covet: Felix waited to hear the response. She'd told him a good deal of what'd happened, but this was all about detail now, different than their personal talks, and the confession from Thad. She didn't have a choice but to talk about everything, where he'd made a point to let her talk about what she was comfortable with. // Eli leaned over to hear Bliss's question, " I don't remember." He said then heard the story, "Oh...Jeez.Those two were a class act." //  Cadence was silent as she listened.
Tsaaq: He nodded his head slowly as he listened to her. "So they'd been conspiring since December you'd say? To do harm to others, mostly their peers?" He asked // Remy grumbled as he shook his head. "Who the fuck even does that shit?" He sighed. // She started to smile. "Thank you Abs." She leaned her head on his shoulder as she listened to the trial. // Bliss listened on the edge of her seat.
Alexithymiaa: -She started to nod her head. "Since at least December, yes." She wanted to give opinions, but had Sedrick's voice in the back of her head to answer only what was asked of her. // "Of course." He said with a warm smile, moving his hand to take hers as he listened. He wasnt mad yet because no Marty.-
Covet: Felix nodded his head looking between Steph and Anderson. // Eli was right along with Bliss, not leaning forward, but listening just as intently. // Cadence looked at Remy giving him a silent look that screamed, 'really? did you actually just ask that.' before looking back over at Steph.
Tsaaq: Anderson gave her a confident smile. "I understand." He rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Please tell me everything you remember about being taken on January thirteenth and the duration of the kidnapping?" Anderson requested. // He rolled his eyes a slouched in his seat. "Sorry." Remy sputtered. // She smiled back at him and went back to listen. It was true everything did seem to not suck when he wasn't on the stand.
Alexithymiaa: "Well..." She started, flinching as she thought about it. "It was January twelfth for me. But I was... I was in the kitchen at home on the phone with my brother when someone started beating on the door to the apartment. Once I realized he was trying to get in, and was becoming successful, I locked myself in the bathroom." She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "He broke into the bathroom next... and despite a considerable amount of fighting, he was able to cover my nose and mouth and I passed out. I'm not sure how long it was since I passed out, but I woke up in a cold warehouse with both masked assailants as well as the other girls." She paused, her eyes scanning the audience as she tried to push her words out of her mouth. "I was kicked and beaten repeatedly, bound, with tape over my mouth and my clothes were torn off. They took turns violating us..." // Adam cringed as he listened to Steph's recount, his eyes dropping down to Hayley as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.-
Covet: Listening to Anderson's next request he watched Steph, giving her an 'I love you' sign and a supportive look . Trying not to give her a look of pity as she spoke about it. // Eli put his arm around Bliss, a subconscious subtle move. // Cadence listened to Steph, knowing how hard it was. Cadence didn't talk about it, because she didn't remember. But Steph didnt' talk about it, because she did.
Tsaaq: Anderson began to frown. "I'm so sorry that those things happened to you." He said earnestly. "Those are the facts ladies and gentleman of the jury... The facts. No speculations. No musing. Just what happened." He looked to group of people in the jury box. "I'll send you on your way but before that. I just need you to tell me about how all of this has affected your phsyical and mental and don't spare me the details. We need to know."  Anderson asked. // Remy smiled and turned to Cadence. "Look, this is going great." // Hayley felt the kiss and glanced up at him before turning to watch the court once more.
Alexithymiaa: "Um..." She twisted her hands around in her lap, wringing out her fingers. Her eyes fell on Felix in the audience because it was easier to just pretend she was talking to him. "I've been in and out of hospitals and rehab facilities for an ongoing battle with anorexia. I've been heavily involved in psychological therapy as well as art therapy. I've been medicated for depression and anxiety. I have reoccuring night terrors associated with PTSD and have experimented with outlets of self harm and attempted suicide three times. Every day is a struggle and if anything else happens to come up, I'll be sure to alert the courts." She couldn't help, but be a bit edgy with her last statement. // Adam just shook his head as he listened. Go Barba.-
Covet: Felix watched her knowing her net answer was going to be extensive. He was angry that she'd had to go through this, but he was doing good about not showing his anger, because he knew it wouldn't help Steph.He gave her a nod as she watched him. // Eli gave a soft look and sighed, that was a lot of information to take in. // Cadence knew about all of that, and was impressed she'd mentioned all of that.
Tsaaq: "There you have it ladies and gentleman. An actual war within someone's mind." Anderson said firmly. "Thank you very much Ms. Robinson and thank you for sharing that personal information with us. It was very brave." He nodded his head at her. "The prosecution rests." // Marty sucked his teeth. He got up from his table and went over to the stand where Steph was seated. "Hello." He greeted with a sly smile. "Devin was in attendance to all of the crimes as well, you mentioned that before. Did you not?" He asked hurriedly. "How did you know it was Devin and Thaddeus who broke into your home that December?" He inquired. // "Here goes this fucking guy." Remy muttered. He went to give Anderson and thumbs up as he took his seat. "Look at Marty, he literally has nothing to work with. It's great." He whispered. // Hayley's face fell into a frown when she realized how similar their sufferings had been. The upside was that she didn't feel as abnormal anymore. // Bliss smiled at Steph's testimony. She looked to Sedrick. "That was good. That went well, right?" She whispered then turned to Eli.
Alexithymiaa: -Her eyes followed Marty as he came to stand in front of her, slowly nodding her head. "Yes, they were both in attendance. I knew it was them because they called each other by their names, to which I recognized their voices after that." She spoke firmly, kind of already on the defense because of what Cadence told her about this fucking guy. // Adam sat up a bit straighter when it was Marty's turn, kind of prepared to be angry all over again.-
Covet: Felix felt the hair on his neck rise the minute marty started talking. Remembering him from when he was at the house. He seemed worse in in actual element. // "I think it did. Yeah. Pretty straight forward."  He responded to her. // Cadence grabbed Remy's hand and  gave a hopeful nod.  "For now..."
Tsaaq: "They did? Why did they call each other by their names?" Marty asked with a raise of his eyebrow. //  "No watch. He don't got shit." Remy nodded as he spoke quietly. // Hayley puffed out her cheeks and exhaled with anticpation. // Bliss smiled with triumph. "Great job Stephanie." She cheered under her breath.
Alexithymiaa: "It seemed to be a slip of tongues." She spoke evenly, her eyes staying locked on Marty. "Devin referred to his partner as Thaddeus, and Thaddeus appeared to get upset that he'd given away his identity, and then proceeded to address his partner as Devin. It was clearly a mistake made in a frantic moment." // Adam leaned in, dropping his voice down to Hayley. "I'm not sure where he's really going with this..."-
Covet: Felix smirked, because it was pretty straight forward evidence as far as he was concerned. // Eli couldn't help but give a soft laugh. Hoping it was enough to shut Marty down. // Cadence shook her head, "How do you defend stupidity like that?'
Tsaaq: He nodded his head. "Oh. Okay." Marty whispered and looked away. "Hm." He paused for a moment. "Ms. Robinson... Did anything happen before this incident that would inspire this breaking and entering?" He asked. // Remy sputtered, trying not to laugh at Marty who was literally grasping at straws. // Hayley blinked slowly then looked to Adam. "I don't either." //
Alexithymiaa: -She shifted her arms to cross over her chest, her eyes narrowing on Marty's face. "With all due respect Sir, I'm not quite sure what you're implying could have happened to warrant two people that I had very little to do with to break into my home, hold me at gunpoint, and murder my cat..." She could feel her control over the situation slipping because Marty was pissing her off. // "He's kind of got nothing..." Adam whispered back.-
Covet: Felix grinned seeing Marty flounder. Steph made a good point and he held up is hand because he could see her slipping. She had the upper hand and he didn't want her to lose it. // Eli looked at Marty wondering what his response would be. // Cadence sat up straighter, the motion feeling good on her back, but wasn't helping her feel any more comfortable.
Tsaaq: Marty shrugged his shoulders. "I'm only asking because, Devin was a... Let's say pugnacious person when he was living, according to my client. And my client wasn't a particular joy to be around. I was only asking if you might've had a squabble betwixt either of them. Or both. Something to inspire this desire to harm you?" He asked, shrugging his shoulders. // "Steph no. Stop it." Remy whispered. "Don't get mad." // She started to smirk. "Oh my gosh. You're right!" She said quietly. // Bliss shook her head put her face in her hands at Marty's response.
Alexithymiaa: -She looked over at Felix again in the audience, taking a deep steadying breath before she answered Marty, trying her best to keep herself in check even though he was a douchebag. "Nothing significant enough that I can recall, which would only lead me to believe it's nothing more than any other argument I've ever had with anyone else in my life who did not choose to inflict irrefutable damage on myself and people I care for." She spoke flatly, digging her fingernails into her arms to keep herself grounded. // "I think so, yeah. So long as you can manage a testimony like this, it should be air tight."-
Covet: Felix subtly signed "You're close to the end. Stay strong" to Steph. // Eli wondered if Marty could possibly pull out of this at all, hoping Steph wasn't giving into his prodding. // Cadence bit her lip, praying the same thing that Remy was whispering.
Tsaaq: Marty looked at Steph and inhaled deeply. '"The defense rests, your honor." He said before going towards the table where Thaddeus was sitting. "This can't happen when the Berkoff girl gets on the stand. That's what will determine how the jury decides this case." He murmured angrily at him.  // Thaddeus looked over to Marty and darted his eyes. "Why are you telling me that for?" He asked him in a whisper.Cause he definitely didn't give a fuuuuckk. // Remy secretly fist pumped as he wrapped an arm around Cadence. // Hayley looked over to Adam. "He gave up." She whispered and bounced in her seat. // Judge Frederick pushed his glasses up his nose and sat up. "Well... It that'll be all? Then court is adjourned. We will meet again for the next witness testimony on the seventh of January. Enjoy the rest of your weeks everyone." He declared, banging the gavel.
Alexithymiaa: -The second she was allowed, she bolted up from the chair, stepping quickly down from the stand and making a beeline for the audience. She walked straight into Felix without stopping, throwing her arms around him and burying her head down, her voice muffled. "I want to go home." // "He did." Adam said with a smile, pushing up to his feet and wrapping his arm around Hayley's shoulders. "And he's going to give up on trying to get you to say anything to help his case, too."-
Covet: "I know. You did good up there. He couldn't get anything more than you gave him." Felix said with a smile. "The worst part is over now. Let's get home and we can relax in the bath before bed?" He suggested to her. // Eli looked down at the rest of everyone feeling a lot better about everything today, than how it went down yesterday.  He stood up and looked at Bliss, " Ready to head home?" // Cadence put her hands to her mouth and gave out an exhale like she'd been holding her breath the whole time. "She did it... thank fucking god." She leaned into Remy and felt a little relief.
Tsaaq: "You aren't going anywhere until we have a conversation." Marty stood up. // Thaddeus groaned as he stood as well, looking very annoyed. // "She did great." Remy smiled as he got up and hugged Cadence. "We got this." // Hayley stood up and inhaled deeply. "Yes. Of course. I need to practice though..." She trailed off. "Let's go home." She muttered. // "Yes! Let's head home. Great job everyone." Bliss said as she went to take Eli's hand. // Sedrick went over to Steph and grinned widely. "Great, great job. You did fantastic."
Alexithymiaa: -Steph nodded her head at Felix, exhaling deeply. "Yes, please. And I already have a book picked out that I'd like to start reading." She forced her smile at him before turning to look at Sedrick. "Thank you. He's... kind of a piece of shit." She spoke, her eyes flicking over to Marty before taking Felix's hand so they could start out. // "We can practice if you want to do that." Adam spoke reassuringly, keeping Hayley close to him as they made their way out of the court room.-
Covet: "Thank you Sedrick for giving her the pep talk beforehand." Felix said with a nod then walked out with Steph // Eli agreed with Bliss and then walked out with her, past the media circus. // Cadence hugged Remy back and nodded, "Yeah. It's better. I'm ready to go home. Can I convince a back rub out of you before bed?" She asked him with a soft exhausted look.
Tsaaq: "You don't have to convince me. I'll totally do that for you." Remy said as he led her out of the courthouse to do the thing. // "That would be helpful." Hayley held Adam's hand as they escaped the court and the crazy reporters. / Sedrick nodded, walking out with Bliss and other kid. "That's what I'm here for." He grinned.