Chapter 29

Note: This fanfiction does not follow the timeline of the TFIL videos or the videos from the channels from the mentioned YouTubers. In this fanfiction, they already live in that big mansion as roommates.---------------------------------------------Colby

Francine refused to go to the hospital after she recovered from her panic attack. In fact, she refused to even talk to anyone of us, especially Kenneth and Julianne. Only one name came out of her mouth and she remained silent until she was alone with him. Levin, her twin brother.

"Aunt Julie, she'll come through. Levin will make her understand." Penny reassured the worried couple who both stared at the closed door that leads to where Francine and Levin were in. "This was a last minute thing that we were not able to brief her about, she'll understand." Penny reached out to Kenneth and Julianne's intertwined hands and placed a comforting hand on top, a gesture of support and reassurance for the couple.

Still as confused as Francine, I gathered up some courage to ask about the issue that caused France to have a panic attack. "What... Exactly happened?" I was a bit hesitant but I wanted to know. "Why were you just letting them spit lies about France?" The couple flinched at my question.

Penny, on the other hand, shot me a glare. "Are you implying that uncle Ken and aunt Julie are not doing their jobs as France's lawyer? Is that what you're asking?" She sounded mad as the thought of me not believing at them to protect their adopted son's biological twin sister.

I flinched and immediately tried to clear my question. "No! It's not like that! I just... Wanted to know why they were not going against those videos that John and Cassidy showed, that's all!"

She narrowed her eyes at me before saying, "That's exactly what you were thinking! You don't believe in them!"

"It's not like that!" I sighed in frustration. Well, everything in this whole situation is frustrating, this argument was just adding to that frustration. Thankfully, before Penny and I could continue our argument, Kenneth sighed and told us both to calm down. With much reluctance, Penny backed down but still kept sending angry glares at my direction while I tried to ignore it.

"While the Lockharts were showing video evidences to prove their statements, we tried our best to reassure Francine that it was alright and that if she reacted harshly on their statements, she would end up looking too defensive and would raise suspicion among the jury and the judge." Kenneth explained in a defeated manner. He sighed once again before continuing his explanation. "We expected something like that to happen just a few days away from the court meeting and we were working on how to prove that those were fakes." He paused then looked at his wife who took it as a cue to continue the explanation.

"When we finally found a way to prove Francine's innocence against those videos, it was already the night before the court trial. We were not able to brief you and her about it because of that." Julianne sadly gazed at the closed door once again. "We thought that she would fully believe in us and just hold her protests but I guess with all the stress and all, it triggered a panic attack. I'm sure that once Levin explains it to her, she will most likely apologize for not trusting us... But the truth is, it is us who should apologize for not explaining to her what we had planned."

I sat in silence as I let the information sink in. It makes sense. They briefed us a week before the trial and focused on keeping France physically and mentally stable for the trial after the brief. Though her psychiatrist recommended to move the trial back a few more days to give her more time to stabilize her mental state, Francine insisted that she could handle the stress and relieving of wounds for a day.

I guess it really was too much for her to handle.

I sighed and leaned back into the couch as we wait for the siblings to emerge from the room. I pulled out my phone to scroll through some of my social media accounts to see what I missed during the trial, only to come across the trending hashtags in twitter.

#FightingFrance#FightAgainstDomecticAbuse#LongLostTwinBrother

There were news articles that contained speculations of what had happened all over the internet and so many people were tagging me on their tweets, asking me about the true story. People managed to make a connection between me and her due to the two TFIL videos that we shot with her, one where we covered her identity as Francine and the other where she let the world know who she was. There were a few people saying that they saw what had happened in the hospital personally and were sharing their experiences. From there, they started coming up with theories of what is going on, some even tagging what I assume as Levin's account due to his recent tweet.

"Oh god, it's all over the internet." I muttered lowly as I continued to scroll through my feed where new tweets and threads were continuously made. Julianne and Kenneth sighed as if they had expected it to happen.

"Penny, dear, could you arrange everything relating to the mass media? Francine would not be able to handle those right now." Julianne requested. Penny's eyes softened and nodded before swiftly pulling out her phone. She got up from the couch and made her way out of the room as she dialed a number. "Even though she's not blood related to the twins, she acts like an older sister when they are involved."

"We're lucky to have her with us, mom." Our heads snapped towards the direction of Levin's voice and found him standing by the door where France was. Behind him, the door was slightly open and Francine's head was popping out from behind. Her red rimmed eyes were slightly puffy from all the crying she did and they glistened with tears as she stared at us apologetically.

Levin held out his hand to her and she took it hesitantly before he pulled her out of the room. Her eyes immediately found Kenneth's and Julianne's and tears came rushing down her cheeks once again. "I'm sorry..." Julianne immediately stood and wrapped her arms around the crying girl. "I'm sorry for doubting you." France cried into Julianne's shoulder as she returned the woman's hug.

Julianne ran her hand soothingly down her back and kissed the crown of her head like a mother would to her child. "Oh, sweetheart, you didn't do anything wrong." Julianne's voice was shaky as she held back her tears. "It was our fault to not explain things to you before it happened." Silently, France shook her head.

The two stayed in each other's embrace for a few moments until Francine managed to calm down. Deciding to explain the plan for the next trial, Levin and Julianne took a seat on the couch with Kenneth while for some reason, Francine sat next to me and decided to curl up against me like a child seeking for warmth. This action of hers caused Julianne and Kenneth's lips curl up slightly in amusement while Levin's eyebrows shot up at his sister's sudden boldness. I, on the other hand, froze in shock as she curled up against me, greedily taking in my warmth. It took me a moment to let her action sink in before I hesitantly wrapped an arm around her shoulder. When she did not push me away, I smiled down at her only to see her bright aquamarine eyes staring at me.

"Uhm... Are you okay? Should I move to a different seat?" I hesitantly asked. Slowly, the edges of her lips curled into a smile, even for just a few seconds, before she shook her head and laid her head on my chest.

"Stay with me."

------------------------------------------------------------------------Hey guys! OwO ehe... Ehehe... Ehehehe... Just a little boldness from our mc this chapter cuz you guys deserve more! I apologize for the long wait and I really want to thank all of those who are still with me even if my updating schedule is whack.

Also, I would like to thank you all for the love and support. It really kept me going during the dark times. To those wanting an update of the issue from last chapter, I moved to a dormitory just a block away from school. I still go back to my dad's place every weekend (it was the deal for the dorm) but since I'm away from him most of the time, I guess that's good enough. Though there are still some troubles with family, I could say that I'm doing better than when I wrote the last chapter, especially with the help of the school guidance counselor, my friends, mom, sisters, and YOU GUYS. Thank you so much!

I'm still not sure when the next update would be so I hope you guys will still stick with me till the end of the book.

I really appreciate your Votes & Comments every chapter! I read every single comment you guys leave and it really lifts up my mood.