Sunday, April 14 – Dawsonville, Georgia – 10 weeks old
Sarina fluffs out the bottom of her dress, glancing around, before letting out a sigh.
“I feel I overdressed for this…” She lets out as she leans back against the tree as Chase immediately shakes his head no.
“I think you absolutely look perfect,” he replies as she just rolls her eyes with a glance at him.
“You’d say that even if I was wearing a paper bag.” He then chuckles, with a shrug of the shoulders. That wasn’t far from the truth, though.
“Sorry, but no matter what you’re wearing, you’re beautiful.” She lets out another sigh as she glances around. “Hold that pose right there, please…” She was intrigued by the request, but does it, hearing the shutter of the camera in the distance.
“We’re supposed to be doing Easter photos – not model images of me for you stare at later.” Chase glances over the images on the camera, as Cindy looks over his shoulder.
“Actually, I think you’re going to like this image as well,” she comments. “You look beautiful, sweetheart.” Sarina felt a bit of hope in hearing the compliments from Cindy, though wondered if they were both trying to warm her up. “But I agree with Chase – you certainly didn’t undress. You wearing that pink gown, combined with the cute pink fluffy dress that you picked out for Abigail is going to be perfectly adorable.”
“Just trust the process,” Chase comments as he takes Abigail out of the stroller, bringing her over to Sarina. “I love you, so please trust me…” She slowly nods her head as she watches him walk away.
“Now, we just need to set this perfectly…” she then watches Cindy bring a couple Easter eggs, placing them on either side of Sarina. “Now sit between the eggs, it’ll be perfect.”
“I trust you more than I am going to trust him about that,” Sarina comments as she follows the instructions, with Chase simply sticking his tongue out.
“That is absolutely perfect!” Cindy then takes a couple different images, as Chase watches on closely. “Alright, get in there Dad.” Chase easily follows instructions, sitting alongside Sarina. “Give me those cute family poses, lean on each other a little…”
They then go through the series of instructions that she was offering, allowing her to take the series of images that she wanted to take. She then allowed both of them to get changed, along with Abigail, into something more comfortable, before doing some more generic family photos as they had originally talked about.
“Has anybody told you that you make the most adorable family?” Bill questions as he walks over to Cindy, after having walked Max around the park. “Those images are going to be perfect. It helps to have a photographer in the family.”
“Thank you so much for doing these,” Sarina comments once they are done, glancing through a couple of them. “They look absolutely amazing!”
“I am willing to do photos of my granddaughter anytime, as that means just more images for me,” Cindy comments, smiling as she looks over at Abigail giggling in Chase’s arms. “It seems now that you have a daughter of your own, you’re beginning to understand why I took so many photos of you.”
“I still say that you went overboard a couple times,” Chase replies, earning a simple eye roll from Cindy.
“I’ll make sure to get these to you both in the next couple of days, so you can do what you want for Easter. There’s still one image that you have to make sure gets done this wee-”
“Don’t worry, Abigail has a day picked out already for a bunny visit,” Sarina interrupts, already having planned that out. “I think she beat how cute Max was with the bunny last year.”
“That’s still one of my favorite photos of him,” Cindy admits as she glances over at him, seeing him chewing his toy underneath the tree.
Monday, April 15 – Dawsonville, Georgia – 10 weeks old
With knowing the rest of the week was pretty scheduled with a variety of different things – good and bad, they had made the decision to let Abigail visit the Easter bunny on Monday. After checking with friends and places, they had found a spot that was doing photos of children for Easter through the whole weekend.
“It’s Monday…” Sarina starts as they make their way through the mall. “How are there so many people here on a Monday to see the Easter Bunny?” Chase initially chuckled, though froze upon seeing the line.
“They have a busy schedule like us?” He offers, earning him a simple eye roll in return.
“Shouldn’t half of these children be in school right now?” Chase checks the time, shaking his head as it was after three in the afternoon. Obviously, the shop meetings through the morning and early afternoon, plus the flights back and forth, took longer than Sarina initially thought.
“Look, everybody wants to get the photos done as soon as possible so they can get them printed and set-up how they want for family and the weekend.” He glances down in the stroller, seeing that Abigail was still napping in the carrier. “Considering you’re not wanting to be patient and stand in lin-”
“I didn’t say tha-”
“Your frustration is already showing, though. So why don’t you go look around? I know you mentioned having to grab a couple of things so go do that, and I’ll text you when we’re close to the front.” She was easily ready to accept, knowing that she’d be bored if she had to stand there waiting. However, she didn’t feel totally comfortable in leaving Chase and Abigail alone in line.
“And you promise that you’ll text me in time and not see the Easter bunny without me, right?” Chase nods his head. “And what are you going to do waiting?”
“I have a cutie to keep an eye on, and my phone.” She then rolls his eyes, knowing that meant texting Kevin Coleman some more. She already heard about their plan for Wednesday, which sent an immediate series of nerves through her immediately.
“Don’t get anymore crazy ideas with Kevin. I already don’t know what to think.” He just smirks back in response, feeling the opposite of her as he was actually excited to get along further with the plan that they had in mind. Everything about flying enticed him, and learning to fly inverted was certainly the next step.
“What else can we think of? Fighter jets upside down, inverted loops?” He watches the color immediately escape her face. “I’m sorry…”
“I feel like slapping you, but that wouldn’t be the best public look. Text me.” He then watches her walk off, rolling his eyes about her response as he glances over his phone.
He began by checking on how Jimmie made out with the Boston Marathon, seeing that he had just missed the three hour mark he wanted – but not by much, having clocked in at three minutes, eight seconds. He quickly sends a message of congratulations for good measure.
Switching feeds, he went through various sports team updates, along with a couple other fun videos, glancing in the carrier at different times to make sure that Abigail was still sleeping.
As promised, he sent her a text when he was close to the front of the line, in which she returned immediately upon receiving the message. As she glanced in the carrier to get Abigail out, Chase could only stare at the amount of bags.
“You were gone for a half hour,” he starts, counting them over once again as he tries to peak in. “How much shopping can you fit in during that time?”
“I told you that I needed some stuff – and well, Blue Notes was having a sale and you know that I can’t pass on a good pair of jeans or two, or more,” she replies, only to earn a eye roll in response from him. “What? You’re the same way when it comes to shoes, and your certain shirts. Do you want to do a closet comparison tonight, boy?”
“Half an hour, and this is what you come back with…” She nods her head.
“You’ll love for me, I know it, because you just love how my ass looks in a good pair of jeans.” He couldn’t help but bite his lip with that thought in mind, knowing that he always had his eyes locked on her in those moments. “Mind out of gutter, Chase. You can’t do any bunny hops here.”
The time spent was enough as they were able to get up the front, getting an image taken of all three of them with the Easter bunny. They then allowed the bunny to hold Abigail for an image, chuckling when she began to fuss a little. They could only imagine her reactions to come when it was time for Santa, and more Easter images.
“Even fussing, she’s adorable,” Chase comments as he looks over the images once printed out and paid for. Sarina looks over it, smiling as you could see Abigail’s cheeks puffing out about to scream.
“I thought she’d cuddle up with him being so soft,” Sarina replies and Chase shakes his head no.
“Sorry, but that’s just reserved for Daddy.” He then gives her a little kiss, before cuddling her close to him. Sarina easily accepted the cue, throwing the bags into the stroller, pushing it through the mall as Chase carried Abigail in his arms.
“I swear she’s going to be able to get away with anything when she’s older, all because of you. You won’t be able to say no to her.”
Tuesday, April 16 –Phoenix, Arizona – 10 weeks old
“What are you smiling at?” Sarina asks as she and Chase walk in the court room together.
“Look at this photo,” Chase answers, handing his phone to her. The same smile he just had on his face formed in hers as Brittney had sent an image of her son falling asleep with Abigail on the floor. “She said they were playing together, and he fell asleep first. Abigail kept kicking a little bit longer, and then passed out.”
“They’re such good playmates.” Chase nods his head in agreement, before locking his phone and shoving it in his pocket. “I’m glad, because it’s giving you an opportunity to get closer to your sister. Is Starr coming for Easter dinner this weekend?”
“Yep, she said that she’s coming and bringing her daughter. Dad is absolutely excited about having all three grandchildren at the house together, and Mom has already made a promise that photos are taken of everybody together.” Sarina wasn’t surprised, knowing how much Cindy loved having her images to capture the moment. However, she couldn’t argue as it was nice to see everybody together.
“Cherish those moments. Family is special when everything goes your way…” Chase wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, as he knew the comments had certainly hit a cord with everything that she’d gone through.
“I know it’s tough sometimes, but be thankful for the friendship that you’ve grown with Lindsay, and know that your dad is always with you.” She nods her head, as she takes a deep breath, calming herself down.
“Sometimes I wish things were different, and then other times I am thankful for how it played out. I wouldn’t have gotten the form the family of my own that I’ve formed. I’ve got you and Abigail. I’ve got a crazy brother in Christopher, and big brother and sister with Kyle and Samantha. Heck, Rudy and Marcus were almost like uncles at times.”
“So does that make Justin the annoying cousin?” Sarina chuckles, knowing the interesting teammate dynamic that she’d grown with Justin Allgaier already. They could be completely honest with each other, with him telling her straight up what she was doing wrong, while offering the best advice possible. However, he also knew how to absolutely pick and annoy on her to drive her crazy when warranted.
“It’s time…” Alycia Burrows comments as she walks into the court room, giving Chase a quick tap on the shoulder as she walks by. Chase leans in, giving Sarina a quick kiss on the lips, before following her to take his seat at the front.
“All rise!” The baliff states, as everyone stands up in the court room. “Presenting the Honorable Judge Jackson Pruitt.” Chase watches the judge walk in, focusing his eyes on him through the whole process. He hoped that they had to only meet a couple more times before everything would be dealt with and over.
“You may be seated,” the judge instructs, in which everyone follows suit in the room. “May the prosecution please call upon the third witness.”
“We actually have some things to take care before then,” District Attorney Kyle Gates comments, catching everyone’s attention by surprise. The last time someone stated a comment like that, it involved an argument against the terms of Chase’s bail. He didn’t want to have argue about that again as he had been co-operating fully thus far. “We are waving the testimony from Mr. Christopher Bell as we believe the grounds have been established by the testimony given by Mr. Chase Elliott and Mrs. Sarina Elliott. We are doing this in order to speed things along.”
“Motion accepted.” Chase lets out a nod of approval himself, knowing the less days they had to sit and listen to people talk, the better.
“We also want to make it clear that the guilty pleas from Sasha Kraus and Steve Lane have been entered into evidence for the jury to understand their connection to the case, as discussed in previous testimonies.” Chase was fine with that as well, as again it brought less time spent in the court room.
“I should be given the ability to cross-examine the witnesses,” Carter’s attorney Nellie Martin contests, causing Chase to roll his eyes immediately. Nothing was ever easy in the court system. “I mean, their credibility certainly should be questioned, as they are known drug dealers.”
“With all due respect, that is included in the plea as they explain that is why Carter Williams allegedly reached out to them for their help in this situation. The jury can see the credibility that the defense is speaking of with the papers that they’ve been given, as that is included with the pleas as well as their criminal record. It is up to the jury to judge whether Mr. Williams is guilty based on the testimonies all put together.” Chase could only bite his lip as he hoped that didn’t hinder the case. He didn’t want to see Carter get off with anything. However, the lack of physical evidence across the board wasn’t showing much promise.
“Motion accepted,” Judge Jackson Pruitt allows, as Chase tries to erase the nerves that he was feeling about the situation.
“It was also stated that Ms. Alison Reynolds referenced Mr. Williams in her sessions as being someone she worked with,” Kyle Gates continued, causing Chase’s breath to hitch in his throat. He was fine with anything here, except for seeing her face ever again. If they had to bring her into testify, he knew that Sarina wouldn’t be the only person who threw up in this court room. “Given her security risk and mental state, we would not want to put her on the stand – but rather enter the psychologist’s notes as evidence.”
“Again, where’s the ability to cross-examine the witness to question credibility?” Nellie Martin contests once again, causing the bubble in Chase’s throat to grow bigger.
“Ms. Reynolds’ credibility or possible lack thereof was displayed in relation to her attacks against my client, Mr. Elliott. I understand it simply being seen as a way to torment him once again, or stick in one more dig. But recall she has no access to the outside world information so she came to that conclusio-”
“And where’s the ability to cross-examine? It’s a continued injustice to disallow that!” Chase could already see this going downhill from here, with an appearance from Alison happening.
“In the interest of time with the credibility timeline already being established, the motion is accepted,” Judge Jackson Pruitt rules, causing a couple confused glances in the room. It was nice to see that for time and not seeing Alison, but it also brought forth many questions. “The jury can judge whether to find her credible with the prosecution not allowing cross-examination, and with Ms. Reynolds’ past history in the courts with Mr. Elliott. Can we move on councilor, please?”
“That’s all my motions for today, as I am ready to call my third and final witness to the stand,” the district attorney Kyle Gates reveals.
Chase already knew the name that was going to be called, remembering the series of events that transpired.
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