88

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

I sighed in utter boredom as the judge talked about the most simple law shit ever. It was the start of the court hearing, and I wasn't involved so just sat to the side like everyone else.

Chance was the only one who wasn't sitting with us, he sat near our lawyer.

Alex was being super annoying, just tapping his foot and humming to himself as he sat next to me.

I gave him a look once he got to a particularly loud part of his song and he smiled at me sheepishly.

He then looked past me and pulled his tongue out at Nate who was sat to the other side of me.

Do they have to be here?

"Mrs Brookston, please have your case ready to put forward in five minutes." The judge spoke louder than usual across the room to our hired lawyer, and she nodded.

"Great." I commented and Hunter sighed from the bench higher up behind me.

"I could be sleeping right now." He complained.

"You didn't have to be here." Luca's voice replied as I stared aimlessly in front of me.

I frowned when I caught Matias's eyes from across the room, he was staring at me, with an arrogant smirk on his face.

What is he smirking about?

I glared back at him, but he didn't break eye contact, making me eventually just look away.

Creep.

"Hey, what's the probability we're going to lose this?" Nate asked curiously and I sighed.

"50-50, depending on whether they have something we don't know about or not." Chester answered.

"Then what if they do?"

"Depends on what it is."

"What could it be though?"

"Nate."

"Mrs Brookston, we're ready for your case please."

The small brunette lady stood up immediately, putting on a confident and serious face as she stepped forward.

I just sighed and sat further down into my seat. Do I really have to be here? Can't I just be sat in my room hoping for the best?

All this does is make me self conscious and anxious.

"Well, we're here to discuss who is the best guardian for Riley Stevens right?"
I pulled my tongue out in discomfort at the foreign surname and Alex snickered. "Surely, the best guardian is the one he's had his whole life? Despite their separation, the father, Charlie Marston, has never made an effort to make contact with his son. So his mother, Clarisse Piscarra, has always had custody of him, so why would it change now? The purpose of this court hearing is to put the child into custody of whichever parent is in his best interest. If custody changes, he will have to move country, he'll have to move school , he'll have to change his name and family again, for a parent who never really looked after him, and spends approximately two thirds of his time at work. I see the obvious conclusion of this case already. Case closed." She ranted and I blinked.

"Whoah."  Hunter commented and Alex smirked.

The judge just raised a brow and looked to the opposing lawyer. He stood slowly, seeming composed and relaxed, with a smug smirk on his face.

What? I tilted my head in confusion, becoming even more anxious.

"Indeed, Clarisse Piscarra won the original custody battle, and has therefore been the legal guardian of Riley for the past few years. However, back in the time of the original custody battle, the court favoured mother's to get custody more, and the fact that Charlie Marston was in a homosexual relationship was used against him. I'd like to think those prejudice, no longer affect the outcome?" He paused staring down the judge who gulped with a stiff face.

Ah, homophobic.

"This previous inequality allowed the mother to gain parental rights, ignoring the fact that she was indeed, unfit. And the time the child spent in her care after that has only proven that that is the case. Firstly, she moved her child out of the country imediately, removing him from his childhood home and away from his previous home schooling teachers. She also insured it would be almost impossible for the father to fight for custody again, depsite the atrocities she was committing. Originally, the records show she was unemployed, staying in run down parts of the city unfit for raising a child. Then, she received a somewhat disgraceful criminal record, it is an utter miracle she wasn't deported. After that, she has seemed to have gotten a job, in which she took double shifts, ensuring that she left her child alone nearly twenty four hours a day, and there are NO records of her entering her child into the public school system, nor properly giving evidence of home schooling him. She was also reported even being out of the country when she had her child leaving in Texas, on his own in a cheap motel room for ten months. And that is without even considering the worst parenting atrocities she committed while her child was in California."

What? I lived in a pretty good condition in California, as far as the law knows...

The judge narrowed his eyes, pressing the lawyer to continue. He stood even further upright, tapping the papers in his hand against the table before putting on a serious face.

"It took some digging, but, I do believe we have found evidence of CHILD ABUSE while they took residents in San Francisco."

I sat upright in my seat, completely taken by surprise.

"Fuck."

The judge looked over to me, taking note of my reaction before looking back over to the lawyer.

"Go on."

Our lawyer looked pale, obviously she hasn't found this out when she did her own research.

I didn't dare look over at the bothers as the male lawyer coughed ready to speak again.

"There was a rather neglected and ignored police report, made by a Sara Parker. Who worked as a housekeeper at the time."

I bit my lip and sank down into my seat. Fuck, the maid.

"She submitted a report saying she had seen several bruises and lacerations on the child, hand marks and cuff burns as well as various other injuries, and a giant deep cut on the back of his neck, which he would have needed to go to hospital for, and there were only reports of him going to the hospital by himself, with no parental guardian with him, around 30 separate occasions. Whether it was the mother itself that committed these atrocities or not, it was still child neglect to ignore these signs of abuse."

My mother didn't even know, she wasn't in the state, he's obviously letting that detail slip. Not like it'd make much of a difference anyway.

I sighed and looked down at one of my wrists. There was hardly anything to be seen, but I still remembered how red and sore they were, how much it hurt to move them. It's amazing how skin can heal so well.

The judge just blinked at him.

"Well, obviously it wasn't well believed, if they never even investigated." The lady made an effort to reply and looked to the judge.

They all remained silent, waiting for him to speak.

"Well, even if it is an unconfirmed report, this case has now gotten a lot more serious. This session is adjourned. And we'll be conducting a thorough investigation." He stomped his strange hammer on his desk making me jump.

"Well shit." I commented, not because of the fact I'm probably going the have to live with Charlie now, but because of the fact they just had to drag up that part of my past.

If I have to even see Finn's face ever again I'm going to go insane.

I'm going to have to at least look at the others now aren't I...

I just sat there and glared at the opposing lawyer as the room erupted into chatter. The jury were talking the most, probably happy about the fact the boring case they were sitting in on became a lot more interesting.

The brothers didn't say anything, and I was too caught off guard to make any witty comments.

"Ugh." I eventually said as Chance stormed over to us. He stared down at me with crossed arms, his expression switching between annoyed and upset.

"Well, that went well." Alex eventually broke the silence and Chester sighed.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Chance asked, probably referring to him and the lawyer.

"To be quite honest with you, I didn't think it would come up." I replied and he frowned.

"Let's just talk about this outside, okay." Chester suggested as he stood up, making everyone else stand up as well.

I gave Matias and Charlie one last hostile stare before standing as well.

So Charlie knew what happened, but didn't even care enough to talk to me about it? Wow.

I breathed a sigh of relief once we got outside into the foyer, and immediately squeaked in surprise when Aaron pulled down the back of my top's collar.

"Ow? What are you doing?" I asked as he stared at the back of my neck. "Oh, there isn't a scar if that's what you're looking for."

"Yes there is, there is a long line of discoloration." He replied and I frowned.

"What really? How come no one ever notices it?"

"Why would someone be noticing something on your back?" He questioned seriously, completely oblivious.

"...Good point." I bit my lip and turned away from him, awkward.

He then grabbed my wrist, looking at it intensely before glancing back at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes I'd ever seen. I blinked at him, not knowing what to do.

"Wait, so is it true?" Nate asked with a frown.

"Um, no."

"There's no point in lying Riley." Luca commented, he looked super put out, despite the fact he already knew about it.

I guess he didn't think it was that bad.

"I don't see what this has to do with my mother, she was never even there, if she saw she would have done something about it, trust me she isn't THAT bad. I mean she wanted custody of me in the first place for a reason." I complained, trying to pull my wrist away from Aaron as he was still holding onto it.

"The damage is done." Chance commented after sighing. "We'll need to find something super fucking convincing if we're going to win this case now."

"Sorry." I apologised and he just ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"If it wasn't your mother, who was it?" Caleb spoke for the first time in a long while, his face was slightly red and he was frowning aggressively.

Knowing Caleb's condition, he probably suffered a similar situation in his past.

I just shook my head, not willing to answer.

They were all just staring at me with frown's on their faces, even Alex and Zac looked seriously unhappy. I sighed, feeling slightly claustrophobic in the circle of people.

"Right, let's just get back, expect a visit from the police soon aswell, we need to rework our case." Chance explained, ushering everyone towards the exit.

I let all of them walk past me, not wanting to be stared at sympathetically anymore.

I jumped slightly when I felt a hand pushing me forwards, and looked to see Luca staring down at me sadly with Aaron beside him.

I smiled at them, trying to convince them that I was alright.

"You don't have to look at me like that, it was so long ago, I don't give a single shit anymore." I reassured and Luca just sighed.

"I think you do." He commented quietly and I frowned at him.

Is he pshycoanalysing me? Please don't.

I really don't want this right now. Damnit.

-

The way back was awkward, and so was arriving. I quickly made my way inside, escaping from everyone.

I heard some of them arguing downstairs as I sat on a windowsill on one of the landings, aimlessly staring out of the window.

Charlie and Matias had only just got back, and I was determined to talk to him.

I was waiting to see Matias go out of the office so I could talk to my father alone, but he didn't seem like he was going to do it for a while.

I wasn't going to use that as an excuse this time however.

I sighed before making my way down the stairs again, avoiding the room where Luca, Chester and Chance were having some kind of argument and going straight for the hallway with my father's office in.

The door was open, and they were seeming to have a very relaxed conversation,  opposite to most other people in this house right now.

I stood in the doorway with my arms crossed, and it took only a few moments for Matias to notice me. He just stared at me, making me glare at him quickly before Charlie turned around.

"Riley, would you like something?" He asked and I froze.

How the fuck do I go about asking this?

"Um, well, I have something to ask, a favour kind of." I said and he frowned, standing up straight and crossing his arms.

"Oh really? What?"

Okay, he'll never just give me the money. I have to think of something.

"How about a deal, you do something for me, and I'll do something for you." I said, stepping into the office slightly and looking around.

"Okay, keep on going. What would you do for me?"

"How about, I stay in England with you, and testify so you definitely get custody of me?" I said, and he blinked, surprised.

"Er, okay, what could you possibly want in exchange for that?"

"Well, I have a sick friend back in the states, if you fund for his medical expenses, I'll stay here with you willingly." I said, and Matias just raised a brow with an amused grin.

Ugh, god.

"Want to sacrifice yourself for your boyfriend huh? How valiant." He commented and I grit my teeth.

"He's not really my boyfriend, I owe it to him. He's a good friend, and he's really sick, so. I have to do something."

"Hmm." He stroked his chin like he was thinking, but had an infuriatingly amused grin on his face. "Now, why would I make a deal like that, when I'm winning the custody battle anyway?" He asked and I scoffed.

"Are you serious? Just because you'd win custody, doesn't mean I'd stay here, I'd move out."

Wow, he really doesn't have a fucking conscience.

"And lose all your inheritance? End up an unemployed homeless person? I doubt that."

"Don't you sometimes feel like helping people in need? I mean you at least outwardly want to seem like a decent human being, right?" I spat and he chuckled.

"The world's a cruel place Riley, if you spend your time caring for other people you'll having nothing for yourself, to run a good business you need to know that."

"I won't be running any business any time soon, you should know that for sure."

"Well, yes maybe not you, but as long as the person is related to me by at least marriage, I'd die happy." He said and I glared at him.

"WHAT? You expect me to marry someone, are you insane?"

"You're my son, family do things for each other right?" He said with a smile and I raised a brow at him, unsure if he was joking or going senile. "Besides, unless you want to live out on the streets, which probably wouldn't be a pleasant experience for someone who looks like you, you'd do as I say. As your custodial parent."

I stood there for a few moments, unable to comprehend the situation.

I then scoffed, before taking a few steps towards him.

"Never, not in a million years would I ever do anything for the likes of you, okay? I'd rather live on the streets and get sexually assaulted everyday, then murdered and chopped into pieces, do you understand?" I explained quietly and he just smirked.

"We'll see." He brushed me off and I glared at him furiously.

"FUCK YOU. Fucking twathead." I growled as I turned around, storming out of his office and trying to take deep calming breaths.

God, I am so angry.

This has got to be some kind of fucking joke?

UGH.

Right, time for plan B. I'm getting that money tonight.



o-o' oh dear. What a fuckface huh.

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net