Love Makes You Do Crazy Things

Chapter 3. Guilty Or Not Guilty

Author: j_rock873

Rating: PG-13

Summary: The chapter title pretty much says it all.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Reviews: Yes, I would like them.

The courtroom - An hour later

Everyone slowly makes their way into the room as my mother and I await my fate. The expressions on the faces of the judge and the jury are unreadable, in my opinion anyway. My mother is still extremely confident as she has been this entire trial.

She whispers into my ear to ease my nerves, "Don't worry, sweetie. You'll be free very soon."

I look back behind me once again to see everyone smiling back at me with the same confidence.

"Have you reached a decision?"

"We have, your honor."

The woman, who is apparently the head juror, hands the deputy a piece of paper with the decision on it, who then hands it to the judge. I notice a slight smirk on his face even though he's supposed to be impartial. The paper is then passed back to the head juror. Uh oh. I glance at my mother as I become a little bit terrified. Her words once again make me feel better.

"Like I said before, Jessie, don't worry. No matter what happens, we still and will always love you."

"Jessica Sammler, please rise as the jury reads their decision."

I rise to my feet as I feel the grip from the hand of my loving mother.

"We the jury, find the defendant, Jessica Sammler, NOT GUILTY on the grounds of temporary insanity."

The room is full of smiling people as no motions for an appeal are made by the D.A..

"Miss Sammler, you're free to go. The court is dismissed."

I barely make my way out of the courthouse before I'm almost tackled to the ground with hugs from my entire family. Then I'm congratulated by my friends and PFLAG as the entire event is captured by the local news reporters. My family and I feel almost blinded by the flash bulbs going off in our faces. Then come the stupid questions each reporter asks in situations like these.

"Miss Sammler, how does it feel to be cleared of the murder charge?"

"I feel better than I have felt for six months."

"Do you feel that justice has been served?"

"Yes, I do."

"Is there anyone you would like to thank right now?"

"I'd like to thank my family, friends, and everyone else who offered their support. Without them, I would have had a hard time getting through this, and I wouldn't have been able to make bail without them either."

I was tired of answering questions and fighting harder to get in the car to get away from them when one of them asked questions I wasn't ready to answer.

"What do you think Miss Singer would say if she could see you now? Do you think she was watching over you through this entire ordeal?"

With those last questions, I went pale, and there was complete silence. The reporter then was met with glares of disgust from everyone. Even the man behind the video camera looked disgusted at his co-worker.

"NO COMMENT!" my father snarled at him as he helped me into my mother's car, right before we sped off. The rest of my family gathered in another car and followed us home.

Two days later

It had been a hectic two days since the trial. The news we thought that would stay within the Illinois state lines had gone much further with the help of PFLAG. Apparently, some of the leaders of that organization had some pretty famous friends.

"Jessie, come to the door. You got another big order of flowers delivered to you."

"More? This house already looks like a flower shop."

"Who are they from this time?" I asked the delivery man.

"See for yourself," the man said with a smile as I handed him a tip, which he refused, "The reaction when you read the card will be good enough for me."

This caught the attention of every family member. Within seconds, everyone in the house was behind me as I was handed two dozen white gardenias.

"Read the card, Jessie," everyone shouted at me as the delivery man stood there waiting for my response. I read the card silently then fell back to my father's arms in what seemed like the beginning stage of shock.

Lily then inquired, "Who's it from, Rick?"

She was hoping he could read the card still in my hand.

Grace couldn't stand it anymore, so she grabbed the card and read it aloud, "To Jessica Sammler, We're sorry for your loss. If you need anything, just contact us. Love, Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres"

"Have a nice day," the delivery man announced as he made his way to his van and took off.

"Wow! Jessie, that's amazing," Lily stated before anyone else could say anything.

"They're beautiful. Aren't they, Karen?" my father asked my mother, who was glad she chose this time of day to visit her daughter.

"Yes, they really are. Do you know where you're going to put them?"

"I sure do."

Then I gave them a look that said it all.

The local cemetery – 20 minutes later- Katie's grave

I slowly looked at her tombstone. It was made of white marble with an angel on top. I then began to read it slowly with my family behind me at a respectful distance away

Here Lies

Katie Singer

Beloved daughter

Devoted girlfriend

Friend to all

Born: 08/15/85

Died: 04/15/03

I laid the gardenias down in front of her grave. Then I said a few prayers and some final words.

"I love you, Katie. I always have and I always will. I can hardly wait to see you again."

All of a sudden, I got a chill down my spine, followed by a warm feeling in my stomach, and finally what felt like a voice whisper into my ear, "I love you too, Billie." This made me feel a little dizzy, and I began to fall. Eli was the first to notice this and was by my side in a matter of seconds.

"Are you ok, Jessie?" he asked with worry on his face as he held me for a minute.

"Yes, thank you, Eli."

I smiled at him, quickly looked to my left, and smiled once more. Eli saw this and hugged me. We then left the cemetery with his arm around my shoulders. The rest of the family followed us without saying a word. Nothing needed to be said as we were all pretty much thinking the same thing.

The End