Well, here it is, the first chapter of the sequel to Secrets and Sacrifices, title currently "Love, Loss and Loyalty", but this is a work in progress for now.
The style of this story is going to be a little different to the others, with the time-frame jumping around a little. I'll Indicate if the chapter is set in the present (as this one is) or the past, some of which may be depicted as flash-back kind of things of being described by another person, or as a memory. The longer scenes will have their own chapter, and the smaller ones with feature within a present-day chapter in the way I have in the previous chapters of S&S.
Enjoy. x
Prologue - Early April
If someone had told her she would be wearing a skirt twice in six months back before Nick had come into her life, Max would have told them they were crazy. For her, skirts were reserved for when she needed to look grown-up or to dress up for a party or dinner, and as such instead of owning smart trousers she had a single skirt reserved for such occasions.
Occasion one had been when Angelica, her younger sister, had picked out her outfit when she visited Nick during his bed rest. This wasn't her smart skirt, but she had thoroughly embarrassed herself by bending over at the waist while wearing it; even remembering the incident still brought a blush to her cheeks, and she had sworn she'd never wear a skirt again.
But here she was, on occasion number two, this time in the smart skirt reserved for those important appointments, and this had to be the most important in all of her siblings' lives.
She smoothed the material self-consciously over her thighs, aware that the thing only just covered her knees when she sat down, and straightened the blouse she'd dug out weeks before. In truth she'd been wearing the skirt every other day for the past two months, but she was willing to overlook the days between and class it all as one event. Every occurrence was for the same goal, after all.
Turning her head very slightly, Max searched the scattered onlookers for a familiar face. Most of the attendees of their court case seemed to be random people with nothing better to do with their time; most of them changed every day the court was in session or after a couple of days of proceedings. Amongst them were faces she would send a reassuring smile, to her brother and sister, who would let Iggy know she had sent them a glance, whereupon he would smile and wave in the direction they told him she was in.
How she missed her family.
It always relieved Max to see her siblings within the crowd, but at the same time it would disappoint her when there was no sign of Nick amongst the few people. Her eyes would sweep across the ever-changing faces of the few onlookers, but since he had been taken from her months before there had not been a sign of him at any of the court proceedings. She wondered if he simply didn't want to come, and for that she could not blame him, but to see his face would bring a sense of hope to her current situation.
Her eyes settled on those of a man at the back of the hall. He sat on the aisle seat to the right of the main doors into the courtroom, arms folded neatly in his lap. Despite the turmoil he had brought into her household, he never seemed to even grace the girl with a glance, always with his eyes straight ahead and his back straight, watching the court proceedings as if they were a picture show.
Beside him was the women she knew to be his wife, who seemed to have to actively keep pulling her eyes from the teenager whose life they had turned upside-down, and beside her their son. The boy was apparently a designer baby, born from his father's contribution and a donor egg due to his mother's infertility. The genetics were carefully selected to produce the son they wanted and the result implanted into her womb when it was simply a bundle of cells.
She scanned her eyes over the faces once more, but her heart suffered the same fall as it had a dozen times before. Her shoulders slumped and a little more hope slipped from her. With a heavy sigh Max turned back to the front of the courtroom and allowed herself to slide a little way down her seat, the defeat so evident in her face even her lawyer seemed to slump a little in despair.
I'm going to lose, she thought miserably. I'm going to lose everything.
It took all of her resolve to actually stand when the judge entered the room, and as the short, old woman with the hooked nose made her way to her desk Max wondered if being held in contempt for not standing could delay the court proceedings. But then the woman was hunched over her desk and all but the lawyers returned to their seats, and Max complied, a sense of defeat about her.
Her Honour studied the notes she had taken from previous sessions on this case while holding a pair of spectacles, seemingly so old they had lost everything but the lenses and rims, in front of her eyes. This seemed to do little for her ability to read and eventually the woman discarded them altogether and held the notes at arm's length to read them. The lawyers remained standing while she did this, their folders neatly closed on the desk and their patience seemingly unending.
After what seemed like an eternity, she looked up. "Do any of you have anything new to contribute to the discussion?" Her voice was quiet and scratchy, but easily heard over the silence in the room. When both lawyers shook their heads the old woman sat back in her chair and fixed the young woman before her with a steady gaze, her expression emotionless and cold.
Max felt her heart drop into her shoes. I'm going to lose everything I care about.
"In light of the information given to me," the old woman began, taking her eyes from the teen to focus her gaze at the end of the hall. If it were possible, the air seemed to thicken with silent tension, and Max began to find it hard to breathe. "As well as the details we have gathered here in the last ten sessions, I have come to my decision."
"Maxine Martinez," The sound of her own name made her jump. Her heart skipped a beat and a flush of sickness shot through her stomach as she straightened in her seat, smoothing her skirt into place and addressing the old woman appropriately. Her face was still unreadable. "Please rise."
Her legs felt like jelly and her arms like lead. It was a few seconds before Max managed to pull herself to her feet, a sense of giddiness darting across her head and through her gut. The lawyer beside her had zipped his folder back up and folded his arms on top, his eyes towards the judge but seemingly glazed over. They both know how this was going to end, and it wasn't good for either of them.
"Based on this information, I must rule tha-"
The doors to the courtroom flew open, thrown hard enough to slam into the walls on either side with such force that the bang both stopped the judge in her tracks and sent a jump like a Mexican wave through the few onlookers. Almost everyone turned simultaneously to see who had interrupted such an important part of the case, and all were slightly surprised by who they saw.
Max found herself to be the first to turn around, the adrenaline in her system from her current situation heightening her reaction time, and she couldn't stop the sharp intake of breath that followed when her eyes fell on the young man in the doorway.
He'd come back. Nickolas had come back.
It had been almost two months since she had seen him last; almost two months since what was left of her life had been turned upside-down and her family had been ripped, one by one, from her arms. He had been the first to be taken away from her and, without even a phone number to contact him, she was concerned he didn't even know her case has made it into the courts. A hand reached for the necklace he'd given her and clenched it on instinct, and with her exhale her mouth curved into a slight smile. His eyes fell on hers, and for a moment she thought he had not forgiven her, but then his own lips curved into a matching smile and a weight lifted from Max's over-taxed heart.
"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" The woman's voice lacked some volume over the now whispering crowd. The boy had not been involved in the case before and now, as he strode down the centre aisle with a jacket slung over his shoulder, hair soaking and stuck to his face from the rain, everyone except Max and the home-wrecker at the back of the room were wondering who he was. "Young man, you'd better ha-"
"Your Honour," he interrupted her. Her resulting silence was icy and her face creased in anger, deepening the wrinkles about her mouth and eyebrows. Nick stood tall before the woman's table and ran a hand self-consciously through his soaking hair, glad he'd worn suit trousers and a shirt to come here today. "If I may, I would like to contribute to the case."
The opposing lawyer stood from his seat. "Objection. A verdict had already been reached before he entered the room. Not only that but we've had all of her siblings, her Father Doctor Batchelder and qualified psychiatrists on the stand. I fail to see what he can off-"
"Sir," the young lad's voice was sharp as he addressed the lawyer over his shoulder. "With all due respect, that implies you questioned two young, impressionable children, a blind minor, a man who barely knows the girl and a professional who has never spent a day with the girl she was supposedly analysing for you. This seems hardly fair."
The judge lent forwards on her desk, looking down at the lad before her, interest written in her features. He was just over six foot tall and as such was almost the height of her raised desk, his soaking hair level with the worktop where he'd unintentionally spiked the longer parts moments before. Despite addressing the lawyer he had not looked away from her, and even now he held her gaze as the man, seemingly lost for words, retook his seat at his desk and rested his arms on his folder.
"What is it you wish to offer us, young man?" She asked him in a gentle tone, the quiet room once again taking her voice and channelling it like a megaphone. Behind them, the attendees of the court had slowly begun to settle again, the few who'd stood at the intrusion settling back into their seats. A glance back satisfied Nick that Batchelder was looking increasingly uncomfortable in his expensive suit.
He turned back to the judge. "My name is Nickolas Arnold," he stated, waiting for her to write that down before continuing. "And I'm offering myself for cross-examination as a character witness for Miss. Martinez's defence of her right to continue to care for her siblings as an established emancipated minor. I have first-hand experience of Miss. Martinez's position in her family both before and after her fath- Mr. Martinez's death and wish this to be known to the court before any decisions are made on the future of her and her family."
"And you believe the information you can offer may sway my decision?" The teen nodded, and the old woman allowed herself to fall back into her chair, turning her gaze to the lawyer who had objected to Nick's inclusion in the trial. "We'll have a quick recess, and then you have a character witness to cross-examine."
A sliver of hope allowed itself back into Max's heart, and a new kind of sickness, one associated with happiness, flooded her stomach as the judge's gavel hit the desk and another round of chatter erupted, this time much louder, amongst the people within the court room. Batchelder strode down the middle aisle to talk to his lawyer as Nick glanced over his shoulder to offer the girl a reassuring nod.
As long as we're together, we'll be ok. The promise came back to her, and some confidence returned as she nodded back in defiance from behind her lawyer's table. If they could play this right, there was a fighting chance Max could walk out of this courtroom either today or a few days from now with her family back together.
She gripped the necklace tighter, and allowed herself to hope.