Baby Just Say Yes

"I don't want to go to trial today. I don't know if I can handle it. Today is the day he gets sentenced, or released," Ray said worriedly to Brian the next morning over breakfast.

"It's alright, Ray." Brian told her. "I'll call Alex, and if she says you don't need to come to trial today, we won't."

She smiled thankfully at him, and kissed his cheek when he dialed the defense attorney’s number on his cell phone. "Yeah, Alex....we're fine....uh, yeah...Ray doesn't want to come to trial today; it's stressing her out....really?.....okay.....thanks so much, Alex. We really appreciate all you've done for us....Yep...bye." Brian said, hanging up. He turned to her with a smile. "She said we don't need to go. It'll be on TV if you do want to see it, but we don't need to do that, either."

"Thanks, Brian." She said, getting up and hugging him. They walked to the living room, and she lay on the couch. Brian turned it onto MTV2, where he quickly changed the channel. They were discussing the trial, as was almost every other station. Finally Rayleigh sighed.

"We can watch the trial, Brian. I think it's mostly just being in the same room as him. I just...I don't know. I feel insecure and unsafe around him."

Brian walked over to the couch and wrapped his tattooed arms around her, kissing her cheek reassuringly. "You're safe now, baby," he whispered as he hugged her. She grabbed the remote and put it on Court TV, which had been covering the trial since before CNN and FOX had picked it up. The anchorwoman was a petite brunette, and was very formal about the trial. It was obvious that she, unlike the anchors on the news channels, was not reading from a teleprompter, but rather was seemingly coming up with everything on her own. She was very talented at her job, and Rayleigh couldn't help but admire her. They watched as the camera cut to the courtroom, where her father entered handcuffed by the bailiff.

"Has the jury reached a decision?" The judge asked the jurors.

"The jury came to a unanimous decision, your Honor."

"On the count of attempted rape in the first degree, how do you find the defendant?" The judge asked.

"Guilty,” the juror spoke in a clear, cold voice.

"On five attempted murders, how do you find the defendant?"

"Guilty," the juror said again.
"On the count of hiring a hitman, how do you find the defendant?"

"Guilty."

"On the count of child abuse in the first degree, how do you find the defendant?"

"Guilty."

The judge tapped her gavel, and Nikki took his seat. The judge looked at Coslov, who looked very, very angry at the moment.

"It is my belief that Mr. Richard Coslov is a very dangerous man. It is my recommendation that he not be released from prison for the rest of his life. Sentencing will be arranged next week, Friday at 3 PM. Court is dismissed." The judge said.
Rayleigh sighed with relief, and all the stress she'd kept bottled inside her for the last few weeks released itself in the form of happy tears. Brian hugged her, and as her eyes met the screen, she couldn't help but feel relieved that her father would be in jail for a very long time, if not the rest of his life.