Riverside novel Chapter 8

I woke up earlier than I normally did on weekends. Then again, I barely got any sleep last night. I was worrying way too much about the case and that River wouldn't only be stuck in prison after today, but that he would be found guilty even after one court hearing.

I just really hoped both River and Marilyn were going to be able to pull through today.

It took me a while to pick out an outfit for today even though all I had to do was make sure I was wearing a skirt or a dress. When I finally had a dress picked out, I got changed before heading to the washroom and brushing me teeth, then putting my hair in a high ponytail.

I grabbed a pair of shoes and my cell phone before heading down the stairs. I set my shoes by the front door before heading into the kitchen. Both my parents were there, having a cup of coffee. Dad looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Someone's up earlier than usual. The hearing isn't even for another hour."

"I know," I said. "I was hungry and didn't want to hold off eating for any longer."

"That's a first," Dad said. "I know you have a stash of food in your room. You would have just eaten that."

"Yeah, well I'm also a bit tired so I thought I'd get some coffee," I said, going to the coffee maker and making myself a cup of coffee. I wasn't even that hungry, so I really hoped my parents wouldn't notice that I wasn't going to eat anything when I just told them I was hungry.

"You okay, Arden?" Mom asked. "You look....I don't know, not like you."

"I know, I'm just a bit tired," I said. "I was admittedly up on my phone most of the night. I was just watching one video and it led to another and another and before I knew it, it was dawn."

Dad sighed. "One day, we're going to make you leave your cell phone in the hallway during the night."

"No, don't do that," Mom said.

"You spoil her too much," Dad said.

"Of course I do," Mom said. "She's our only child and my daughter. I had no sisters to spoil, so I shall be spoiling my daughter as much as I can."

"Like buying her a duck?" Dad asked.

"Yes."

As if my pet duckling heard its species' name, Genius waddled into the kitchen, quacking away like he normally did. He looked at me, quacked once, then waddled back out of the kitchen.

"I don't get it," Dad said. "I just don't get it."

"It could be worse," I said. "I could have asked for a pet bear. Ooh, Mom, can I have a pet bear?"

"Uh, yeah," Mom said, reaching for her phone. "I'll make some calls."

Dad rested his hand on Mom's hand to prevent her from actually seeing if she could get me a pet bear. "Holly, no."

"You're no fun," Mom said.

The amount of time spent before we had to leave to go to the court hearing felt like hours when in reality, it was less than an hour. Once I got into the car with my parents, my heart was beating faster. I didn't want River to have to stay in prison longer. I really hoped Marilyn was able to make sure they pushed away the sentencing if they didn't have enough evidence.

When we got to the courthouse, I saw Ronnie standing nearby on her phone. She noticed us and walked over. "Hey, Mr. and Mrs. McIntyre," Ronnie said.

"Hi, Ronnie," Mom said. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard Marilyn was River's lawyer and I know how good she is, so I decided I would watch the hearing," she said. "You know, help me with my studies. Mind if I sit with you guys?"

"Of course we don't mind," Mom said.

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