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"I herby declare Blake Ernest—not guilty", the judge announces as he looks at me. Everything around me seemed to slow down. I couldn't hear, everything was muffled and I couldn't see as the tears violently came down my face. Uproar broke out around me as my side of the room began to yell out in anger and bewilderment.
I could barely process anything as I repeated the words the judge had said in my head. They were on a loop, torturing me slowly. I failed to breathe properly as my whole world began to spin. Before I knew it I was falling to the ground. Chris wasn't able to catch me in time as I fell to the floor, my eyes closing to be met with complete darkness.
I couldn't feel my body. I couldn't hear anything around me. It was as if everything around me had stopped. I began to panic as I failed to open my eyes. All I saw was pure darkness around me as I desperately tried to move my body. Nothing worked.
I must've passed out from the shock of the news. The news. How could the judge find him not guilty? We had all the proof to back us up and yet again he still won. There was no way this was happening. Something seemed off about all of this. We were specifically assigned a different judge so that the same thing wouldn't happen again, and it did. What were the judges not seeing?
My head began to pound the more I thought of Blake and the fact that he would be roaming around the streets freely. It sickened me, it made me want to scream and cry. It wasn't fair. There was no way he could've won the case, not fairly at least.
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard muffled voices beside me. Yet again my eyes refused to open as I fell into yet another deep dark hole of thoughts. I was afraid. Why couldn't I wake up? Where was I? My thoughts were on a loop and I fought to escape them, but much to my dismay, nothing worked. My heart began to race as I thought that maybe I'd never wake up. What's happening to me?
***
*Chris' point of view*
"Get her off the floor! Somebody help. Anthony call 911!", I panicked as I knelt down beside Ella. Tears stained her pale face as the color slowly began to drain from her beautiful face. "Ella, baby please, wake up. Please, Ella". Tears began to form in my eyes as I looked down at her unconscious body. Her hands were cold in my much warmer ones as I continued to caress her hair, pushing it away from her face.
"They're on their way, they said they'll be here in five minutes", Anthony rushed over as he knelt down beside me. "Elizabeth!", I call out. She rushes over to me and kneels down beside Ella's head. "Elevate her head on your lap", I instruct her as she carefully picks up Ella's head and places it on her lap like I told her to.
"What happened to her?"
"I don't know—I don't know!"
"Chris, it's okay. Everything will be fine", Mark tried to reassure me. I repeatedly shook my head as more tears fell down my face. "No it's not! Nothing is okay and nothing is fine, Mark! She's unconscious and she lost the case! How is that okay? She should've won. We had the evidence, we did our homework! I don't understand", I cried.
The doors burst open as the paramedics rush in with their equipment. They take her away from us as they place a neck brace around her neck, taking the necessary precautions. They slowly pick her up and place her on the stretcher as I follow them to the ambulance. "Seb, take my car, I'm going with Ella", I tell him as I throw him my keys. He catches them and nods as I rush over to the back of ambulance, getting inside. I instantly hold onto Ella's hand as I ask the paramedics questions. "Do you know what could've caused this to happen?"
"It was most likely brought on by shock and stress. Has she been stressed lately?", the paramedic asks me. I sigh as I hold my head in my hands, "Yeah. With the whole court case situation she just hasn't been herself. Is she going to be okay?"
"We're sure she'll be fine but we need to run a few tests to make sure everything is working properly and that nothing was fractured during the fall. Seeing as the floor was tiled instead of carpeted it can make her condition more serious considering the impact of her fall on the tiled floor was more dangerous than if she would've fallen on the carpeted floor"
"Oh god..", I run my hands over my face as I look over at Ella who had yet to wake up. We could never have one moment to rest. Not one moment where we could sit back and be happy for a while without being interrupted. She deserved so much better than this. She deserved so much more.
With everything that I am and with everything that I have, I intend to give her everything she's ever deserved. I intend to give her the life that she deserves, because in my eyes, for all of the good that she's done, for the amazing person that she is and for the big heart that she has, she deserves to be repayed for it all. Because if I don't, no one will.
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PLEASE READ THE AUTHORS NOTE BELOW!
I just wanted to take a moment to address anorexia and abuse. I was hesitant at first to put these two huge subjects in my story because they're not subjects that should be taken lightly. I wasn't sure if I was suitable to write such topics and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to write out these two topics properly...but after some thinking, I decided to write them into my story and make them apart of Ella's story. I decided to bring up the subject of anorexia and abuse because this story isn't all sunshine and rainbows. This story is real and isn't sugarcoated in anyway. This isn't a fairytale or a perfect story about a perfect couple. It's an imperfect story about and imperfect couple with many imperfections..but that's okay! It's okay because nothing in this world is perfect. No relationship, no job, no family, nothing is perfect. We all have our struggles and we all go through things and that's exactly why I implemented these two very important topics into my story.
Anorexia and abuse (physical, and verbal/mental) is something that must be spoken about more. They're real things that sadly happen everyday and affect so many people all around the world. It's scary but it's true. I just want everyone to know that if you or anyone you know is going through any of these things or any other battles besides anorexia and abuse, that you can talk to someone, you can reach out to someone. I know it may seem scary and that you're afraid no one will understand you or listen to you, but please just trust me. You have a voice and don't let anyone ever tell you not to use that voice of yours, because you are so much more than that. You're strong, you're brave and you're beautiful.
Seeking help doesn't make you weak, it shows that you're brave enough to allow people around you to help you heal and help you grow. Please reach out to someone if you're going through something. Don't deal with it all alone and in silence. Reach out to someone whether it be a friend, a family member, a colleague, or a certified professional. They can help you.
If you have scars, embrace them. They make you unique and beautiful. You may not see it that way but your scars have stories to them and as you carry them with you, they show people and they show you that you're a strong person, that you survived and that you're much more than what's happened to you.
If you're still reading up to this point I want you to take a deep breath. In and out. You see that? What you did right there was breathe and do you know what that means? That means that you're alive and healthy. It means that if you're still breathing right now you're meant to live your life, you have purpose, you're worth it! Life is hard, I won't deny it and I won't sugarcoat it for any of you. Life sucks sometimes. Life throws us curve balls when we least expect it. Some may be good and some may be bad, but we're given these curve balls for a reason. Everything in life happens for a reason. Whatever is going on in your life it's happening to you because you're able to handle it and tackle it and get through it.
Every single one of you is so beautiful both inside and out. If you don't believe it then I'm here to tell you that I do. I appreciate you, I admire you, I encourage you, and I love you. You've got this! ~Sabrina 💛