73: Back On Track

JAMIE POV

"I now call this court session back in order!" The judge announced as he pounded his gavel. My father was returned to his seat and he looked helplessly at the judge. Anger built up in me.

"Alright. The jury and I have discussed the matter... and we decided that... the accused may be spared from prison under the circumstances and may be directed to a rehab facility for six months." He said. My heart snapped. WHAT?!

My father smirked at me as Jimin, Elizabeth, and I stared with disbelief at the jury.

"Your honor!" I tried to protest. "My father is a very dangerous man! He could have killed the both of us!" I yelled. The judge turned to me.

"Your father has a mental stress that is pushing him to drink. We believe that if he goes to a rehabilitation center, they can correct his drinking habits and he will be a normal man and father again." He said. I couldn't believe my ears.

"So the years of abuse I got was a side effect of some stress on him? Does my instability mean nothing to you?" I argued.

"It means everything, which is why we want your father to be a real father to you." He said.

"That man is not my father! He is not a person! He's a monster! Do you know how many nights I prayed for him to go to jail?!" I asked as I cried and slammed my hands on the table, standing up.

"I'm so sorry for your hard childhood, but this man needs healing too." He said. I almost jumped on him. How dare he. I turned to my father. No. You're going to jail you son of a freaking gun.

I stared intensely at him, then, I suddenly got an idea as I smirked back at him. I slowly approached his table. Jimin grabbed my wrist to try and stop me, but I just shook him off. I proceeded to his table and when I got to it, I put my hands on his table. He looked up at me, looking sad and pitiful. I almost scoffed. His handcuffed hands were in fists, but they were on his lap so that no one but I can see.

"Father." I said.

"Yes Jay?" He asked. T. R. I. G. G. E. R. E. D.

"I am going to drop out of school." I said. His eyes widened.

"What?" He asked.

"I am going to drop out of school and run away with Jimin. I am going to live my life and become a professional dancer. When you're in the rehab center, I am going to take your company's savings and use it to travel. Elizabeth is also coming along to live with me. You are going to get out of that rehab center and be all alone, broke, and pathetic." I said through gritted teeth. His lips quivered as his eyes shot darts at me. I smirked.

"MOM would be proud of me." I said.

"Shut up." He muttered.

"Mom would support me!" I raised my voice.

"Shut up!" He said.

"Maybe it's better that mom left, because if she stayed, she would have had to deal with a stupid, abusive drunkard like you!" I yelled.

*SLAP* *PUNCH*

My head jerked to the side as my cheek started to burned. My stomach ached from the sudden impact. A tear escaped my eyes as I let out a chuckle. The entire court was silent, and everyone's eyes were widened as they stared at my father and I. I quickly wiped the tear as I faced my father. He had widened and angered eyes. He was mad at me and at himself. He just broke in front of everyone.

"Judge." I said, keeping my eyes on my father.

"This man cannot be corrected in six months. He was abusive for so long, drinking isn't the problem anymore. He is sober now, and he is still violent." I finally turned to the judge.

"He needs to be punished for his harm, and if you don't punish him, then all of the people in this court know that this is an unfair trial... and I promise you... you will hear about it from everyone in Korea." I said. I tried my best to hold in my tears. The judge looked at my father angrily.

"I hereby overrule the jury and agree with the victim. This man is to be sent to jail on a 30 year sentence, which is almost double the amount of years this young lady took his violence." He said. I turned back to my father.

"WHAT?! NO! NO! YOU CAN'T THROW ME IN JAIL! I'LL KILL YOU!" He screamed. The judge pounded his gavel three times. "Case closed. Court dismissed."

At that, I watched as the security guards took my father away. My father fought back and screamed, throwing threats at me, the jury, the judge, Jimin, and everyone else. We all watched silently as he was dragged out of the room. When he was finally gone, the tears flowed out as my legs grew weak. I fell to the floor and cried.

A moment later, I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me. I knew it was Jimin. I heard him sniffle.

"It's done. It's over. You're free." He said. I cried into his shoulder. My spirit felt a million times lighter and for the first time, I felt the greatest relief I had ever felt. After a few moments, Jimin raised my chin and examined my face.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he cupped my cheeks. I nodded as I stood. At that, I wiped my tears and turned to the crowd. They were all in tears, especially Elizabeth, Rachel, and Bangtan. I bowed to them.

"Thank you." I said continuously. Then, I turned to the judge.

"Thank you." I said again. You just set me free.

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TWO WEEKS LATER.

"Jamie! Wake up! Get ready for school!" Jimin yelled through the window. I lazily opened my eyes.

"Five more minutes..." I said.

"Come on! It's the first day back after the court trial and everything!" He said excitedly. I laughed as I sat up.

He was right. After the trial, I was sorting out living arrangements and recovering from my injuries. Jimin didn't go to school either. He stayed by my side as he recovered as well.

My life is now arranged in this way: Elizabeth now has full custody over me until I am able to live on my own. My father's company was shut down and sold, and all of his profits and savings are going to me and my future. That is enough money to pay for my college, house, and way more. My father was sent to jail, and it was not hard to block him out of my life. I occasionally have nightmares about the abuse, but I am taking therapy sessions to fix that. Jimin and I worked things out and healed together. Jimin said after all this, he wouldn't leave me. He still loves me and I still love him. Our love is strong. Stronger than ever.

My life is finally back on track. After many long years, I am finally happy again.

"Okay okay I'm up!" I said as I got up. He laughed.

"Go eat breakfast, I'll meet you downstairs." he said as he gave me his adorable eye smile. I smiled back and nodded.

Then, I did as I was told. I got ready, ate breakfast, then grabbed my bag. I smiled to Elizabeth before I left, and she winked in return. Then, I looked at myself in the mirror one last time before heading out of the door.

"Hiiii Jiminie!" I said as I hugged him. He chuckled.

"Hey cutie." He said. I blushed.

"You're looking happy." He said. I smiled.

"You make me happy." I said. He kissed me.

"You make me happy." He said back. At that, we walked hand-in-hand to school.

When we got there, we got the usual stares I was so used to getting. However, this time, they were different. The eyes that looked at me held a surprised look. I guess that's what you get for skipping school for weeks. I suddenly felt a huge burden as the thought of everyone knowing my life crept into view, but in reality, no one knew.

When we made it to class, the class fell silent. I quietly grew irritated as I ignored them and went to my seat next to Rachel, Taehyung, and Jungkook. I sighed as I sat down and the commotion slowly started again.

"Hey guys.." I said, looking down. Jimin hugged me from behind.

"I know it hurts but please just ignore them." He said as he dug his face into my neck. Rachel smiled at me.

"Hey, so how's my best friend this morning?" She asked. I smiled back at her.

"Free." I answered. The four of them winked at me.

"Hey so how about we go on a double date after school today? Get our lives back on track?" Rachel asked. Taehyung, Rachel, Jimin, and I all looked at each other and smirked.

"Sounds fun!" I said.

"How about a triple date?" Jungkook suddenly asked. We all turned to him in surprise.

"Really? You finally want us to meet Katy?!" We all asked. He blushed and shyly nodded. We all cheered and Jungkook laughed.

"Okay! Then it's settled! Let's all go on a date!" Rachel cheered.

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"Picnic at the park?" She asked. We all smiled widely.

"Sounds great." Jimin said. With that, the bell rang, and the boys went to their seats. Meanwhile, I stayed excited for school to end.

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It is now sixth period and Jimin and I are walking hand-in-hand to the dance room. Today is the day we are going to present our choreography to the coach. If we get it accepted, then we will be able to use it for the dance.

We walked up to the coach and smiled confidently.

"Ready to impress me?" The coach asked.

"Ready to be impressed?" I asked back. He laughed and nodded.

"Take it away." He said. At that, Jimin looked back at me, smiled, winked, then walked over to the stereo.

I was so proud of the dance Jimin and I choreographed. It was so beautiful and perfect. It reflected us.

When the music turned on, I took a deep breath. Then, right when I felt Jimin's hand land on my waist, we both started dancing.

Instead of dancing with my eyes closed like usual, Jimin and I locked our eyes. We gazed at each other throughout the whole dance while we did our turns, flips, waves, and more. I felt confident when doing this dance.

Jimin and I danced with passion, and when we finished, everyone in the room stared at us in awe. Soon, the entire room broke out in applause as the coach smiled widely.

"That was amazing guys. I knew I could count on you." He said. Jimin picked me up from behind and spun me around. I laughed as I rested my head back onto his shoulder. He kissed my cheek, then put me down.

"Everyone loved it!" He said excitedly. I giggled and nodded.

"I'm proud of us." I said. He smiled and gave me a quick peck on the lips.

"I love you, partner." He said. I blushed.

"I love you too."

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AUTHOR'S NOTEHELLOOOOOO!! So I know I said that this would be the last chapter, but because I took so long to update, I thought that I would add one more. So... the next one will be the last update! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and like always, thank you so much for all your views, votes, and comments!