Diary Of An Unrequited Love

By: Richey

Edited by: Danny & Riley

***

Chapter Five

"I don't know if I can do this." I looked over at Kevin as he pulled his truck into an empty parking space of the parking lot. "I don't think I can be in the same room as her without wanting to jump across the table and wrap my hands around her neck."

I clenched my teeth, closed my eyes. I needed to compose myself before I went into the courtroom.

Kevin reached over and squeezed my hand.

"You can do it. You are the bigger person."

He leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"No judge nor jury is going to find her not guilty."

I shrugged my shoulder

"I hope so."

The dreaded day had finally come. It was Friday, September 7^th, the day of my aunt's murder trial.

Kevin had received a subpoena also. He had received his while he was at work on the Monday after I had received mine.

I however, didn't find out that he had received a subpoena until that morning. Apparently he had been instructed to not let me know so we couldn't get together and correlate our stories together.

I mean what the crap. Why would we do that? She murdered my family in cold blood; there was no way she could be found innocent.

"I love you." I looked over at Kevin.

"I love you too." He looked at me. "You ready?"

I looked around the court house lobby, and nervously smiled and nodded my head that I was ready as I was going to be.

I wasn't really ready, but it was one of those now or never things. I mean who would ever be ready to face the person that murdered their entire family.

Kevin got out of his truck and locked the door. I followed him.

I could feel my heart beating a million miles an hour as we approached the courthouse.

The courthouse lawn was filled with news reporters, both newspaper and television. They saw me headed towards the courthouse and immediately tried to start asking me questions.

Kevin just pushed through them and led me into the courthouse.

"Are you okay?" He asked me once we were inside away from the reporters.

"I'll be fine." I replied nervously.

I leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths to try to calm my nerves.

"Ryan!"

I turned and looked in the direction of the voice.

It was my Aunt Faye.

The clicking of her black heels echoed off the walls of the courthouse as she made her way towards us.

She immediately grabbed me and pulled me into a warm embrace.

"Are you going to be okay?" She looked me in the eyes, not breaking her hug.

"I'm as fine as anyone could be after everything that has happened." I replied

I closed my eyes and shook my head. That's when the dam burst and the tears couldn't be held back any longer.

"I miss them Aunt Faye." I sobbed into her shoulder. "How could she? My dad was her brother, my brother's had barely lived their lives. Why?"

"I wish I could answer that question Ryan." She said solemnly. "I wish I could."

"I hope she gets the max sentence possible."

I felt Kevin wrap his arms around us from my right side.

"We'll get you through this."

I nodded my head.

"I know."

I looked at my Aunt Faye. She had the same dark brown hair, and the same brown eyes as my mom. They shared the same nose.

Even though my aunt was eight years older than my mom, they could pass for twin sisters.

I pulled away from her.

"You look just like my mom."

She kissed me on the forehead and looked at her watch.

"It's almost nine. We should go in."

"Ok." I agreed meekly."

Kevin reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and placed it in my hand.

"I thought you might need this." He smiled at me. "It was my dad's."

I wiped my face with it, drying up all of my tears.

"Thank you."

Kevin and I walked inside the courtroom. My Aunt Faye was already sitting down near the middle of the courtroom on the right side. We walked over to where she was sitting at and sat down. I sat next to her and Kevin sat to my left

I scanned the courtroom.

It was set up just like on television. The judge's bench was front and center and was higher up than the rest of the courtroom. To the right side of the judge's bench was the witness stand, which was empty at the moment. Just the idea of getting up there on the witness stand and having to relive everything made me uneasy.

To the left of the judge's bench was a woman sitting at a desk with something that looked like a typewriter. In the middle of the courtroom was a table for the court clerk who was already sitting there shuffling through papers. The jury was to the far right of the court room. The prosecuting attorney sat in the front of the right of the courtroom. The far left was where the defense attorney was at.

I cringed as I saw my grandmother sitting on the left side, which I assumed was for the people that were there for the defense and for reporters.

She had her silver hair pulled up in a bun. She wore a pink dress and had painted her lips the brightest red I had ever seen. Next to my grandmother sat my cousins Elly and August, two of Cynthia's three children. I am sure Austin would have been there also if he wasn't spending time in prison. I was no longer going to call that murderer my aunt.

I just had two aunts left and a couple of uncles.

My heart broke even more as I saw my Aunts Linda and Candice sitting behind my grandmother with my Uncles David and Brian.

They all looked as if they didn't have a care in the world.

All I could ask myself was "Why?" Why would they be there sitting all smug? Why would they think it was okay for their sister to murder their brother, his wife and three kids?

I felt my Aunt Faye rub my back.

"Relax and we will get you through this."

Kevin looked over at me and smiled reassuringly.

I tried to relax, but I couldn't. I watched as Cynthia was brought in. She was wearing an orange jump suit and escorted to the left side of the room and sat down at the defense table.

She stared straight ahead.

I heard doors closing and everyone got quiet as the jury came out of the jury chambers and made their way one by one to the jury stand.

The bailiff stepped forward from his post to the left of the judge's bench.

"All rise. The Court of the State of Arkansas is now in session, the Honorable Judge

Mary Kathryn Davis presiding."

Everyone stood up as the judge came out of her chambers and sat down at the judge's bench.

The judge was a very stern looking lady. She was African-American, with short black hair. She had red plastic framed glasses that she wore on the edge of her nose. Her sitting up there made her seem even more intimidating.

The judge looked at the bailiff.

"What is next on the docket?"

Her voice was very even and calming. She sounded nothing like what I thought she would have sounded.

"Your Honor, today's case is The State of Arkansas vs. Cynthia Loraine Wilson Boyd."

The bailiff stepped back to where he had been standing at behind the judge.

The Judge looked over at the prosecutor. "Are you ready to begin the trial?"

"Yes your honor."

She then looked at the defense attorney. "Are you ready to begin the trial?"

"Yes your honor."

The prosecuting attorney then got up from his table and walked to the front and center of the courtroom he looked at both the judge and the spectators as he was talking.

"May it please the court and ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my name is Christopher Taylor, counsel for state in this action." He looked from the judge to the jury and then to the spectators. "Why would someone kill their brother, his wife, two young teenage children and attempt to kill their other nephew?" He turned and looked at the defense attorney and Cynthia. "That is what we are here to find out today." He looked at the jury then the judge and spectators. "I want everyone to close their eyes."

I watched as everyone jury, judge, everyone that was sitting on the prosecutor's side and some of the ones sitting on the defense side. I closed my eyes also.

"Two young boys thirteen and fifteen sitting in front of the television peacefully playing video games. Their older brother sitting on the couch enjoying a novel by his favorite author, their parents sitting there listening to the joyful noise of their children's laughter echoing off the walls, watching them." The sound of him knocking on something, I assumed it was a table echoed off the quiet walls of the courtroom. "Loud knocking at the door, the dad gets up to open it. His sister comes barging in yelling at his wife. She points a gun at one of the boys in front of the television. Their mom tries to stop her. Bang! She shoots her. She aims the gun at the back of the youngest son's head. The sound of the gun echoes off the walls. She then points the gun at the back of the middle son's head. Bang! She aims at the dad, who happens to be her brother, pulls the trigger. He's dead. The oldest son is left sitting on the couch paralyzed in fear, fearing for his life after watching his entire family being murdered in cold blood. She aims the gun at him and her aim is a little off. She hits him in the stomach. This wasn't enough for her. She wanted him dead so she aims at his head. She then leaves the house. This wasn't enough. She tried to kill her nephew while he was in ICU. There weren't supposed to be any witnesses left. Please open your eyes."

I opened my eyes. I saw several people throughout the court room with wet eyes. I looked at my grandmother, aunts and uncles on my dad's side. They all had the same emotionless expressions plastered across their faces.

Christopher, the prosecuting attorney, looked around the courtroom.

"Today my friends we are here to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Cynthia Loraine Wilson Boyd is guilty of four accounts of first degree murder and two accounts of attempted murder. Thank you."

After he had finished his opening statement, he walked back over to his table and sat down.

I watched as my grandmother stood. She looked right at the judge.

"My daughter would never kill anyone!"

The judge slammed her gavel down.

"No one talks." She said sternly. "You talk only if a question is directed at you and seeing how you are out there miss, I highly doubt any of us will be speaking to you."

The judge has a smug look on her face. My grandmother sat down.

The defense attorney walked to the center of the courtroom and stood in the exact spot where Christopher had stood.

She had shoulder length blond hair. She wore a black suit.

"May it please the court and ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my name is Madison Horrowitz counsel for defense in this action." She looked at the jury. "Why on God's green earth would anyone want to kill their own brother in cold blood? We have a mother and a nurse. She has spent the past twenty-five years working to save the lives of those that needed it. Within the past year, she has been betrayed by a husband that had multiple affairs on her. She has had to deal with the loss of a child being put behind bars for a crime that she believes he didn't commit. During her divorce, she suffered from major depression and anxiety. Why would anyone who had spent time as an ER nurse, an ICU nurse, a hospice nurse and now a clinic nurse want to kill anyone? Well my friends today we are here to set the story straight and prove that my client Cynthia is beyond a reasonable doubt not guilty by reason of insanity."

Madison walked back over to the defense table and sat down next to Cynthia. Madison leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

I looked over at Kevin. I felt him squeeze my knee reassuring me that everything would be okay.

Christopher walked back to the center of the courtroom, standing where he could be seen by the judge, the spectators and the jury.

He looked at the judge.

"Your honor I would like to call forth the first witness for the prosecution. Ryan Chad Wilson to the stand."

I took a deep breath.

The moment that I had been dreading the most was there.

I stood up from the safety of my seat between my Aunt Faye and Kevin. Kevin squeezed my hand as I walked past him to make my way up to the witness stand.

It felt like the walk took forever.

I glanced out of the corner of my eye and could see my grandmother, aunts and uncles giving me a cold glare as I walked by them.

My heart was beating ninety to nothing. My stomach was fluttering.

I walked up to the witness stand and sat down. I could see everyone that was there. There were several different reporters sitting in the back of the courtroom.

Cynthia glared at me as I looked out into the courtroom.

The bailiff walked over to the witness stand, stood there and looked at me.

"Please raise your right hand." He instructed.

I did as he instructed and raised my right hand.

"Do you affirm that the evidence you shall give to the court and jury in this trial, between the State and the prisoner at the bar, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"Yes." I replied meekly into the microphone placed in front of me.

Christopher walked over to the witness stand and stood in front of me. He looked at me then looked at a paper in his hand.

"Please state your full name and occupation."

"Uh, Ryan Chad Wilson and I'm a cashier at The Bargain Basket."

The questions were beginning. There are no words to describe how nervous I was during that time.

"Who do you live with Ryan?"

"I live with my best friend Kevin."

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. The questions so far seemed simple enough. If I could just tell what happened on that treacherous day, then it would be over with.

"Why do you live with your friend Kevin?" Christopher asked me.

I gulped and took a deep breath.

"I live with him because his mom is letting us stay there because my family was killed."

"Okay."

He walked over to his table and whispered something to his assistant. She nodded her head. He then walked back over to me and looked me in the eyes.

He was somewhat intimidating standing there looking at me like that.

"Where were you at 4:00 P.M. on Friday June 16?"

"I was at home with my mom and dad and two little brothers."

"What were you doing?" He asked.

"Reading a book by Christopher Rice." I replied.

"So you like to read, are you a good student?"

"I would like to think so." I replied. "I am a student at Ozark University and plan on majoring in journalism."

"How is Cynthia Boyd related to you?"

I hated being asked all these questions. I could feel my face growing red. It felt like everyone was looking at me.

"She is my dad's sister."

"How would you describe your mom's relationship with the said defendant Mrs. Boyd?" Christopher questioned me.

Madison stood up from her seat at the defense table.

"I object your honor!"

Judge Davis looked at Madison.

"On what grounds do you object?"

"We are not here to put the relationship between my client and the witness' mother on trial today. We are here to prove that my client is not guilty."

Judge Davis looked at Madison very sternly, then picked her gavel up and slammed it down.

"Motion overruled, now please sit down Ms. Horrowitz ." After Madison had sat down, Judge Davis turned and looked at me. "Please continue and answer the question Mr. Wilson."

I just wished that it was over. I hated being up there in front of everyone. It made me so nervous and I was sure the reporters in the back of the room were snapping my picture like crazy.

"Well, she was my dad's sister. She and my mom got along pretty well up until February or March when my cousin Austin got into trouble and my mom turned him in. After that all hell broke loose, Cynthia would try to come between my parents and get them to divorce. When that didn't work she just went mad."

I was trying so hard to keep my cool. I honestly wanted to reach over, grab the judge's gavel hop over the witness stand and beat Cynthia in the face with it.

"Okay." Christopher placed his right arm on the witness stand, while having his back turned to the jury and looked at me. "Please describe to me the events that happened that day Mr. Wilson."

I closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and opened them. This was going to be hard. Talking about the death of my family always took an emotional toll on me.

"I was sitting in the living room on the couch reading a book Moon Light Earth by Christopher Rice. My two little brothers, who were thirteen and fifteen, were sitting on the living room floor in front of the television playing a racing game on their Playstation. My mom was sitting in a chair folding laundry and my dad was sitting in the chair next to my mom reading the newspaper. I had just flipped the page when I heard a loud banging noise at the door."

I looked down and wiped my eyes. I then looked back up.

"I'm sorry this is just really hard for me to talk about. Please bear with me."

I wiped some more tears that were starting to form from my eyes.

"My dad got up, looked out the window on the door then opened it. Cynthia didn't even bother to be invited in, she pushed her way into the living room and looked around."

I took another deep breath and wiped some more tears from my eyes.

"Cynthia then made the comment I am glad you are all here. She then looked at my mom and told her she was going to show her how it was to lose a kid. She then reached into her purse and pulled out a gun. My mom stood up she was going to stop her. She waved the gun at my mom and yelled "Sit Bitch!" forcing my mom to sit back down. She pointed the gun at the back of my thirteen year old brother's head. My dad picked up a lamp off the end table and smashed it over her head. It didn't faze her one bit. She just turned around, pointed the gun at my dad and shot him in the head. Everyone screamed. I was frozen in fear I didn't know what I could do to help. My mom was a fighter, always had been. She always stood up for what she believed in and her family was important to her. My mom got up and charged at Cynthia. She had barely made it across the living room before she was shot in the head."

I was sniffling loudly. I didn't care what people thought. I loved my family. I missed them so badly. Talking about it was making me hurt.

"My youngest brother then turned around hit her as hard as he could in the kneecap with his video game controller. She reacted to the pain by grabbing her knee, turning around and shooting my baby brother in the head. She then shot my other brother in the head. I watched it all I couldn't move. I don't know if it was shock or what it was, but I couldn't get up. She looked at me, laughed and said she figured she would save me for last. She pointed the gun at me, pulled the trigger. I could fell and explosion into my stomach. I looked down and my shirt that I was wearing was slowly being stained red. I grabbed my stomach. She wanted me dead though. She just missed her initial target. She aimed the gun at me again and pulled the trigger. It felt like my head exploded and the next thing I know I am waking up in the hospital."

The microphone at the witness stand was amplifying my sobbing greatly. I couldn't hold it back anymore.

I could see Cynthia looking at me coldly.

"Do you know the motive behind Cynthia's actions?"

"Her son Austin robbed a convenience store. He shot the clerk while doing so and went into hiding. My mom saw it on the news and did the right thing. She turned him in and he went to jail for possession of drugs, armed robbery and attempted murder. She blamed my mom for taking her son away from her."

"You are lying! You are a liar."

I focused enough to see my grandmother standing up again and having another one of her angry outburst.

Judge Davis slammed her gavel down and looked at my grandmother.

"I don't care how old you are. If you have another outburst like that I will hold you in contempt of court."

My grandmother sat back down, folding her arms across her chest.

Christopher picked up a remote off the judge's bench and pointed it to a large projection screen hanging down from the ceiling.

I gasped as I saw the picture of the gun. It made it all seem like it was happening all over again.

"Do you recognize this picture Mr. Wilson?"

I nodded my head.

"Yes."

"And where have you seen this at before?"

"It was the gun that she used to murder my family with."

Christopher turned and looked at the judge.

"I have no further questions your honor."

He walked back over to the prosecution table and sat down next to his assistant.

Judge Davis looked at Madison.

"Do you have any questions for the witness Ms. Horrowitz?"

Madison got up from her table, picked up a legal pad and approached the witness stand. She stood in the same spot where Christopher was standing just moments earlier.

She looked at me, giving me her most intimidating look.

"Have you ever shot a gun before?"

I had no idea what me shooting a gun had to do with anything.

"Yes."

"Tell me this then. How do we know that you didn't actually shoot your family yourself then shoot yourself and blame it on your aunt?"

Christopher stood up and looked at the judge.

"I object your honor. We are not here to try the witness or anyone else but Cynthia Boyd today."

"Sustained." Judge Davis looked at Madison. "Please ask another question. We are not here to put the witness on trial. Every court case you have represented under me, you have asked frivolous questions and they are most of the time misleading and pointless. You try to take the blame off of your client and put it on the witness. I don't have time for that nonsense."

"Yes your honor." Madison looked at me. "Well, I have no further questions your honor."

Madison walked over to her seat and sat back down.

Judge Davis looked at me. I was still crying. She reached under her bench, pulled out a box of Kleenexes and handed them to me.

"Here you go. You can go have a seat."

I got up and walked back to my seat between Kevin and Aunt Faye. Aunt Faye hugged me, and Kevin squeezed my shoulders, both to comfort me.

Judge Davis looked at Christopher.

"Please call your next witness."

Christopher got up and walked to the front center of the courtroom.

"My next witness is Kevin Coleman Sawyer."

Kevin stood up and walked to the witness stand.

I watched as everyone on my dad's side of the family gave him dirty looks.

Once he sat down, the bailiff walked up to the witness stand and looked at Kevin.

"Please raise your right hand."

Kevin raised his right hand.

"Do you affirm that the evidence you shall give to the court and jury in this trial, between the State and the prisoner at the bar, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"Yes." Kevin replied.

The bailiff walked back over to his post and stood.

"Please state your name and occupation for the records." Christopher instructed.

"Kevin Coleman Sawyer. I work as a clerk part time at Baughman's Dry Cleaners and I go to Ozark University full time."

"How do you know the victims?"

"They are my best friend Ryan's family."

"Where were you at 4:00 PM on Friday June 16?"

Kevin didn't seem anywhere near as nervous and fidgety as I was when I was up there.

"I was at home until about 4:15. It just so happened that I was bored, so I turned on my dad's old police scanner and heard Ryan's address and murder. That was enough for me right there. I jumped into my truck and raced to his house. When I got to his house, there were cops and ambulances. I saw them pushing Ryan out on stretcher. I ran over to him and grabbed his hand and told him that he couldn't leave."

Kevin looked like he was about to cry up there. He was usually one of the most composed people that I know. This must have been harder on him than I thought.

"Cynthia was there also. She seemed very nervous. I knew that she and his mom hadn't been getting along and it seemed kinda odd that she was there so soon. I saw her lean down and whisper something in Ryan's ear. Next thing you know she placed her hand on his stomach and pushed down on it hard. He started going into convulsions. They rushed him to the hospital and I stayed with him pretty much the whole time. His family was gone and I was all he had. Cynthia had been questioned in the murder and had been let go. It wasn't until I went out of his room to get a snack from the vending machine and walked back in the room to see Cynthia holding a pillow over his face trying to smother him that she was arrested. He was the only one that knew what she had done and she wanted to get rid of the only witness."

"I have no further questions for the witness your honor." Christopher told Judge Davis.

He walked over to the prosecution table and sat back down.

She looked at Madison.

"Do you have any questions for the witness Ms. Horrowitz?" She asked.

Madison stood up.

"Well of course your honor." She said very arrogantly.

"How long have you known Mr. Wilson?" Madison asked.

"We've gone to school together since kindergarten, but we didn't really become friends until we were about ten years old."

"Would you do anything for him?"

"As long as it was legal and wouldn't get me into any trouble, yes ma'am I would most certainly so."

Madison walked over to her table, picked up some papers and walked back over to the witness stand. She handed one of them to Kevin.

"Do you recognize this paper?"

"Yes."

She placed another paper up on the witness stand for Kevin to look at.

"What about this one?"

"Yes."

"Do you recognize the person's name at the top of the page?"

"I do."

Kevin was growing nervous. He was blinking rapidly as he spoke.

"Who is Daniel Hendricks?"

Christopher stood up and looked at the judge.

"Objection your honor." He interrupted Madison. "This trial is not about Daniel Hendricks. It is about Cynthia Boyd. I don't see the relevance of the question."

Judge Davis nodded her head.

"I don't see the point of your question either Ms. Horrowitz. The relevance of Daniel Hendricks to this court case has no bearings what so ever. Sustained."

She brought down her gavel.

"Please ask only questions only related to the case Ms. Horrowitz."

"Yes your honor." Madison handed two more papers to Kevin. "Here are two more one with your name and the other with the same guy's name at the top. What do the comments down below the papers mean? "See" is written on the bottom of yours and "Me" is written on his. There is no grade on the paper."

Kevin was growing nervous.

I knew what the four papers were that she had and I knew what she was getting at by bring them up. She was trying to get Kevin discredited as a witness.

"Why is there no grade on the paper?"

"My teacher didn't give one."

"Why not Mr. Sawyer? Most teachers put the grade at the top of the page. Why didn't she give you a grade? Is it because you cheated?"

Kevin just looked around the court room nervously. He looked at me. I could see the disappointment in his face. He was thinking that he was letting me down.

Judge Davis looked over at Kevin.

"Please answer the question."

Kevin nodded his head.

"Yes." He replied. "I cheated. We were in the tenth grade and we cheated it was stupid and I learned from my mistake."

"What about this one?" She pointed at the other two papers. "You and the same guy. This one was plagiarized in your English class."

"It was all within the same week.

"If you lied and were dishonest only three years ago even got caught, then how do we know that you are telling the truth right now?"

"I was a stupid teenager. I made a mistake."

Kevin was starting to get defensive. I think partly because he was being accused of lying on the stand and the other part he felt like if he didn't get to testify then he would be letting me down and wouldn't be able to protect me.

"He's lying!" My grandmother jumped up from her chair. "I can see it in his face! That boy is just trying to get my daughter sent to prison!"

Judge Davis slammed her gavel down.

"Order!" She turned and looked at the bailiff. "Take her out of here. She's being held in contempt." She looked back over at my grandmother. "I told you one more outburst and I would hold you in contempt."

I watched as the bailiff walked over to my grandmother and grabbed her arm. She jerked it away from me.

"Don't touch me you big idiot!" She looked at the judge. "I have a lawyer in my back pocket and I'm going to sue you!"

"Come on miss." The bailiff grabbed my grandmother's arm and escorted her out of the room.

Madison looked at the judge then looked at Kevin.

"I don't think he is a reliable source of a witness given his past devious and dishonest behavior. How do we know he is telling truth today your honor? I don't think he is a credible witness and I would like to ask that any testimony that he has given be ignored."

I looked at Kevin. He looked like he was about to burst into tears.

I couldn't believe this was happening. I knew about the math homework. He and Daniel cheated off each other. They both got a failing grade for it.

The same week, during a team writing assignment in English class they were partnered together. Instead of asking for help when they didn't understand what they were doing, they cut and pasted the paper off the internet and turned it in.

They both got suspended for that and a failing grade.

I just couldn't believe that at this very moment, the past transgressions of my two best friends (well, I guess now it would be my boy friend and my best friend) were coming back like this.

Well, sorry for leaving you all in suspense. Please look forward to the next chapter.

Thanks for reading any questions or comments please email me rwill161@att.net