#bash07

[lilywhittaker]

closed starter for @bashlandry​ location: a courtroom 

The defense would like to call Lilian Whittaker to the stand. 

Even though every fiber of her being was quaking, Lily kept her head held high as she looked forward, gracefully walking through the aisle of the courtroom and avoiding eye contact with her parents, the Landry family, and Bash himself. Let’s just get this over with, she thought as she made her way to the bench in order to go through the normal procedures. A perfectly manicured hand rested on a Bible, with the other one raised as she swore to be truthful in her testimony. The direct examination by the defense attorney was what Lily had expected, simply wanting to know the events that had transpired on the night that Bash had allegedly stolen the jewelry. What time he’d arrived by her, whether he wore the jacket the whole time, what they did, if she had left his side at all during his time there. Thanks to the security camera footage, the defense was able to prove that Lily’s details of the events corroborated the evidence as well as Bash’s own statements. She knew that the security camera footage showed her and Bash disappearing behind a closed door for an extended period of time, and it didn’t take a genius to know what they’d been up to. Blushing as it came up, Lily’s face remained otherwise cool and collected - she was ready to have her own reputation questioned in exchange for Bash’s case strengthening. She didn’t exactly know why people still cared about who women had sex with in 2020, yet that was simply how society was. 

The direct examination by the defense was a breeze, but Lily knew that it was the calm before the storm. She hardly had any time to breathe before the prosecutor approached the bench for a cross-examination, the brunette’s muscles tensing as the other woman’s eyes implored her. Focus on Sanem. That was what Lily reminded herself, brown eyes seeking out those of her best friend seated near to the back of the courtroom. The questions started off simple, simply asking Lily to recall the events of that day while Bash was on the property with her as well as what they had been up to in the three hours they’d vanished for. “We went to get coffee at Brews Brothers, stopped by my office for me to intercept a dress delivery for a bride-to-be, then got pizza.” It wasn’t a super thrilling day, but it was the truth as to what had occurred. “No, he did not have his jacket during that time. You can probably see from the camera footage that he wasn’t wearing it, he left it at my place,” she answered the follow up question, trying to maintain even breathing and eye contact with the jury even though her palms were sweating in her lap. 

At what she believed was the ending of her testimony, the prosecuting attorney’s questioning took a different turn - one that Lily had expected, but still wasn’t prepared for. She didn’t know if she would ever be. 

Miss Whittaker, can you describe your relationship with Mr. Landry? An easy enough question. “A friend of mine since high school. We got closer once I returned to town earlier this year, we’ve hung out regularly since,” she responded with a small smile. The small faltered when the prosecutor pressed on, asking if their relationship was strictly platonic. When Lily hesitated to respond, the woman’s smirk became more apparent as she clarified. 

Has your relationship with Mr. Landry ever been sexual? That was the moment that Lily had been dreading since this entire ordeal began, exposing them to the entire town. She could’ve lied, saved her reputation and made it seem like she was simply doing her due diligence as a witness. But as she had told Bash, her lying wasn’t going to help him out of this. “Yes, it has been,” she responded, releasing a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding as the people in the courtroom began murmuring before the judge ordered them to remain quiet. That was all, right? She waited for a moment, expecting that she’d be dismissed but the imposing attorney came at Lily with an even more difficult question to answer.

Do you have any sort of romantic feelings for the defendant? A momentary relief when Bash’s attorney objected to the question dissipated when the judge overruled her concerns about it being irrelevant to the case. None of this was supposed to have happened, she was supposed to have told him directly without a court case looming overhead when she was sure of her feelings. She wasn’t supposed to have witnesses to this moment, this wasn’t The Bachelorette. But legally, this was the moment and she had no choice. For the first time since she’d been called to the stand, Lily focused on Bash instead of anyone else and made eye contact with him before responding, “Yes, I do.” The process of the judge ordering those in the courtroom to remain silent after her confession repeated itself, and Lily’s eyes drifted from Bash. As soon as she heard the prosecutor say that she had no further questions, Lily was excused from the courtroom and stalked to the exit, pushing the wooden doors open and trying to catch her breath once they’d closed behind her. 

Her plan had been to let Bash go after all was said and done. This wasn’t part of the plan. Then again, none of it had been.