My Aussie Guy - Liz Lovelock Page 0,53

down and close herself off from her friends, and even me. She would come home straight from work and shut herself in her room. She wasn’t there for me like usual, and wouldn’t let me be there for her either. I wanted to, especially when I heard her crying in her room late at night. She would never tell me what was bothering her. It hurt and made me angry how she wouldn’t confide in me.

The day she came to me and said she was planning to leave Jacob, made me super happy. I noticed a change in her during the weeks leading up to the day she was going to leave him. She was happier and brighter than I had seen her in months. But she was unsure how to tell him, she was scared of his reaction. He was the type who flew off the handle, and no one knew what would happen. She started opening up to me before she left, telling me what he was capable of. It gave me chills, sending shivers down my spine, to think of what he might do to her. I told her I was going with her, but she didn’t want me to come. Hurt and afraid, I gave in and let her go alone.

That is why I am to blame for what happened. When she left that night, I never thought it would be the last time I would get to see her. Then she was gone, missing. My world has never been the same again, and my heart is broken, shattered into a million pieces.

We searched for her, put flyers around and even went to the local television stations, but found nothing. The hardest thing was hearing the police say they were now starting an investigation for a missing person since she’d been gone for more than seventy-two hours.

When they interviewed me, I told them about Jacob and how Abby started coming home with bruises and how her personality drastically changed. I informed them of her plan to break up with him the night she disappeared.

Upon searching his place, they found the locket I had given her for her eighteenth birthday in a pool of blood, along with blood-covered towels. He was arrested on the spot and charged with her murder.

Then my two weeks of sitting through hell began.

I’ve been sitting in this courtroom day in and day out, listening to the endless questioning from the lawyers to Abby’s colleagues and friends. How was Abby’s behaviour in weeks before she disappeared? Had anyone met the defendant, Jacob? Did they seem happy? Did she seem afraid of him? Hearing their responses has been excruciating, and I’m surprised to learn of all the things I didn’t notice, such as how she had stopped going to work and had often called off sick. I had no idea because she wasn’t at home much.

What kind of sister am I?

When they call me to the stand, my nerves are all over the place. I’m not sure if I’m going to burst into tears or vomit. After I’m sworn in, the prosecutor is first up with the questioning.

“Miss White, Abby is your sister, correct?” She is an elderly lady with kind, brown eyes that urge me to answer her question.

“Yes,” I respond, my voice cracking.

“Did Abby confide in you about her relationship with the defendant?”

“No. Not about what happened in their relationship. Not long after they started dating, she began shutting me out. She only opened up to me the night she left, telling me how scared she was at how Jacob was going to react.” My heart is pounding in my chest and I’m sure everyone in the courtroom can hear it.

“Why did she shut you out?”

“I questioned her about the bruises she began showing up with.” I look at Jacob, and his heartless, green eyes are staring back at me. I wish I could wipe that smug look off his face.

“How often did she show up with new injuries?”

“I can’t be too sure. I only saw them every now and then, so perhaps once a week, but then she started wearing more clothes and keeping herself covered.”

“Describe Abby’s behaviour in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.”

“Her personality and even her appearance changed. She didn’t seem to care anymore and dropped her normal standard. It was like her happy and caring soul had been taken from her. Seeing it broke my heart.” My voice breaks and tears begin to fall. “Sorry,” I