I was true about the morning. I woke up seeing the sun shine through the curtains and even heard a few birds chirp there sweet morning song. It was the day of my father's sentencing so I made sure to get up early so I could take a long hot shower. Instead of wearing the same outfit twice Rose got me a sky blue skirt and a white button up to match. I've never worn such fancy clothes so I made sure to handle the items with much care while I got dressed. After I was done David, Rose and I ate a quick breakfast of eggs, orange juice, and toast, and then they took me back to the courtroom.
Walking back into the court made my heart literally skip a few beats. So this was it. Finally after ten years it's come to an end. I sat back down at the table next to Taylor and David and Rose and folded my hands together, placing them in my lap. Sensing my nervousness They brought in my father dressed in orange with shackles in his wrists and ankles. They sat him down at his table next to his lawyer. I remember the judge entering and everyone went quiet. Finally she began to speak, "David Felix you are sentenced to jail for 15 years for domestic abuse against your daughter, Maxine Felix and five years for rape against your ex-wife, Julia Lovett. Maxine if you want you may take the stand."
David quickly whispered over to me, "Maxine, you don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable."
I shook my head, "No, I want to."
I got up and walked over to the stand trying to speak clearly, I didn't have a speech prepared, but I don't I would have any trouble coming up with one on the spot, I spoke looking directly at him, "You put me through hell for 10 years and you didn't have any regrets. I did everything for you and I didn't even get a 'thank you' or 'I love you' in return. When mom died you didn't even as much as shed a tear for her. You didn't care. You've never cared about me or mom or anything but yourself!" I looked into the audience, "Now I know what I want to do. I want to warn girls like myself about domestic abuse and help them because no one ever helped me until I called someone and was about to die," I looked back at him, "I hope you rot and jail and burn in hell! Because as of right now you are nothing to me," I stopped talking, thanked the judge for her time and walked back over to the table sitting down. Rose gave me a tight side hug and told me I did a good job over and over again while I sobbed quietly. My tears were blurring my vision but I was still able to see a bunch of police men take my father away in chains. When he walked by my table I could have sworn he had a tear in his eye but he put his head down to fast so I couldn't look him in the face.
I left the courthouse feeling drained, hungry, and tired. David and Rose said I could spend as much time as I needed at their house which I agreed to. I remember being driven to their house in their car with my head resting on Roses shoulder in the back seat. I must have fallen asleep because Rose woke me up and told me that we were there. I grabbed my backpack and they lead me into their house. It was two stories and very nice. They gave me a tour until they reached a guest room which they told me that's where I was going to stay. We walked past one room with a closed door and I wondered why they didn't show me that room.
After the tour I found out that the house had four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a dining room, a study, a sunroom, a movie room, and a room where I didn't know what it was. I kept asking myself why they had so many rooms, it was only the two of them, but maybe they had a lot of guests. David wished me a goodnight and Rose led me back to the guest room. She gave me a pair of pajamas to wear, told me I was very brave today, kissed my forehead, and wished me goodnight, closing the door behind her. I laid in the bed and covered myself with the duvet making a little cave around me. It took me a long time to fall asleep because a million thoughts were running through my head, but around four a.m. sleep finally consumed me, and I didn't dream of anything just a blank canvas waiting me to paint my future.