It turned out I’d been wandering the streets of Paris for over five hours, and my feet had the proof to show for it. I was barely able to sleep as I waited anxiously for the sentencing. The verdict had come in last night, but none of us knew how long he’d spend behind bars. I woke up early and Aaron rose with me to hear the news. I quickly scrolled through my messages and found the one I’d been waiting for. “He was sentenced to three-hundred and twenty months,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. The maximum sentence for attempted murder in the first. I expected to feel glee and relief, but I think I was still in shock. I handed Aaron the phone, and he read aloud the same words, and it didn’t seem any more real coming from his lips. I’d spent so long not getting my hopes up, that now I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that Derek was going away for a very long time. There was no resolution with his accomplice on the outside, but my hope was that his cousin would plead guilty and get it over with.
