Chapter 98

                                    

                                          
Giving up on attempting to fall asleep after a few sleepless hours went by, Clay Jensen lied on his back, staring up at the ceiling of the living space that he and Justin shared. The boy's mind was racing with different scenarios of how this whole trial could play out. He couldn't help but think of the possibility of the jury coming to the conclusion that it was a cold blooded murder, sending Clay Jensen back to jail for the rest of his life. That scenario seemed to shine brighter than the few others as going back to jail was all he could think about. Deep down, the 20-year-old hoped that, with the help of everyone who had agreed to testify on his behalf, he would be able to convince 12 strangers that Montgomery's death was simply a result of self defense. 
                          
Soon enough, Clay woke up the next morning, still feeling a little tired as he had only managed to get at least four or five hours of sleep last night. Sitting up in his bed, the Jensen male let out a small yawn as he rubbed his eyes and mentally prepared himself for the day he had ahead of him. Glancing over, Clay met his brother's gaze as Justin had already been looking at him. "You ready for today?" The Foley teen asked as he slowly got out of his bed. "As ready as I'll ever be." The baseball player replied as he got out of his own bed, moving to grab some clothes and a towel before heading over to the main house to take a shower. Since his scheduled visit with his doctor had taken place yesterday, Clay was now stitch-free, and he was also off of his crutches too, since the injury on his leg seemed to be healing fairly quickly and nicely. Since he wasn't required to use crutches to get around anymore, the blue-eyed man found it a bit easier to get from place to place.
                          
After taking his shower and freshening up for the day, Clay was now dressed in a black suit with a white dress shirt underneath and a royal-blue-colored tie, along with a pair of black dress shoes to complete the look. Everyone else was dressed up as well, since they all wanted to attend the trial and support Clay as well as simply be there for him. While everyone ate a small breakfast tother, the room was silent as everyone was most likely caught up in their own thoughts about the trial. 
                          
Before he knew it, everyone had left the Jensen residents together and made their way over to the courthouse for the trial. Once there, Clay and Dennis were sat up front at one of the two rectangular tables while anyone who attended the trial sat behind the barrier, and the jury sat off to the right side of the room. While waiting for Judge Purdy to enter the room and take his seat, the 20-year-old glanced around the room, almost instantly seeing quite a few familiar faces, as well as some people he didn't recognize at first glance. Nora Walker and Olivia and Andy were sitting with Matt, Lainie and Amara while Hannah, Scott, Justin, Ani, Tyler, Mackenzie, Skye, Jessica, Alex, Caleb, Tony, Cyrus, Zach, Charlie, Casey, Robby, and a few other members from HO sat together. 
                          
Once Judge Purdy was seated, the trial was underway, and both sides fought to prove the defendant's guilt or innocence of the crime he had been accused of. To start the long day they had ahead of them, Dennis stood from his chair and moved towards the center of the room. "Defense calls Skye Miller to the stand." The attorney stated, calling up the first person who had agreed to testify on Clay's behalf. After the tattooed girl got sworn under oath and took her seat at the stand, the questioning began. "How long have you been friends with my client, Ms. Miller?" Dennis asked with a small, kind smile. "Objection! Relevance, Your Honor?" The other side's attorney, Jane Dalton said as she stood from her chair. "I just want to establish a background to show the jury what kind of person my client is, Your Honor." Dennis said, explaining his question. "I'll allow it." Judge Purdy said after a few seconds, letting Clay's attorney countinue with the route he was taking with his questions.
                          
"I've known Clay Jensen for many years. When we met, we instantly became really good friends." Skye said, answering the first question. "You two did everything together?" Dennis asked. "We did, yeah. We always ate lunch together at school, played games together, really anything and everything. The two of us were basically the type of friends that are inseperable." The tattooed girl said with a small smile. "How well would you say you know Mr. Jensen? Does he tell you everything? Keep secrets?" Dennis asked, trailing off at the end. "I'd say I know Clay really well. He tells me anything because he knows he can trust me with anything. He's not the type of person to keep secrets from me, or anyone, for that matter." Skye answered truthfully.