A/N: Hey there everyone!!!! Don't kill me don't kill me I know I said that I'd be on the computer all day this summer but….well….i wasn't…oh well. Anyway….here's the next chappie and the next one is in the writing process. This story is almost finished. Maybe 2 or 3 chappies left and that's it! But don't worry I'll write more. Matter of fact, I also wrote a one shot that will be posted after this story is finished so please look out for that. Okay, enough of my rambling….here is chappie 7!
Blondie 24-7 thanks! I'm glad you like it! sadly its true, Jack never gets a break….or does he? Read and find out.
Torilei thanks! I really appreciate everything that you said! and yes I know its evil but….you gotta read on to see what happens…of course I wont kill Jack…lol….
akanii-chan: lol thanks! I love long chapters 2….except I hate typing them lol….im glad you like it….keep on reading!
Masterarcher thanks! yeah my vacation was great thanks for asking! lol I'd love to see the water scene in the movie or something….i'd wanna c them do that….lol….anyway thanks for reading…heres the next chappie 4 u….
RavenclawHermione94 yup i know, i love making things shocking lol! here's the next chappie 4 u!
:-D: here's the update!!!
Selena ShadowDragon I know its sad lol but it'll get better….keep on reading!!
Joralie: here's the next chappie for you!!!!!!!
Smiju no more waiting for you!!!!! here's chappie 7!!!!
DyerFire thank you so much! here is the next chappie 4 ya!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: yeah yeah yeah yeah don't own them….blah blah blah blah
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Chapter 7: Disappearing Hope:
It was the morning after the trial and Jack was getting his stuff together. The social services representative would be arriving soon. He didn't want to go and he had already tried to run away. But Bobby caught him and told him that running wasn't the answer and would only make him look guilty. Jack barely noticed when Bobby walked in.
"Jack?"
Jack spun around; startled out of whatever world he was in.
"Are you all right?." Bobby asked.
He knew it was a stupid question to ask but there was nothing else to say.
Jack's voice was low and filled with sadness. "No. Not really."
Bobby sighed. "Look Jack, it'll be okay."
"Sure," Bobby said sarcastically.
"No, Jack, I mean it." He grabbed Jack and made him sit down. "You listen to me okay? Those bastards won't hurt you. They'll get caught if you come to the trials lookin' like you just got the shit kicked out of you."
Jack scoffed. "There are ways around that, Bobby. You know that. how do you think Todd never got caught? Huh? Sure, my face looked fine but what about the rest of me? You didn't see the way they looked at me in the courtroom. They're going to kill me now that they've got their hands on me. And after I'm convicted of a crime I didn't commit, I'll be sent to live with them. Just don't be surprised when you're visiting my grave. Here lies Jack Mercer; shot to death in his own bed."
He laughed bitterly and Bobby sat stunned for a moment. When he got over his shock, he became angry.
"Don't say that Jack!," he half-screamed. "Don't you fucking say that! I should slap you!"
Bobby immediately regretted saying it after Jack winced; afraid.
"I'm sorry," Bobby said; softer. "You can't think like that, okay? They won't kill you. The only way they can is over my dead body. And we will do what we can to get you out of this. I promise you. Do you understand me, Jackie?"
Jack nodded. The doorbell broke the silence.
"Well, I guess I'm going now," Jack said; voice full of emotion.
Together, the two brothers walked down the stairs where Angel, Jerry, Eveyln and Jack's social worker Daniel Brownestone waited. Jack hated Daniel. He wasn't a very pleasant person.
"We'll be seeing you soon, Jackie," Evelyn said; hugging him.
Jack allowed himself to be led out by Daniel. He didn't look at his brothers because he knew he'd start crying if he did. He almost did when the car pulled away from the house. As they got closer to Roy and George's house, Jack felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. It got stronger when they arrived at the house. Daniel had to drag him to the door.
"Come on, you little brat! Get moving!." he said.
Jack felt sick when Roy and George answered the door. Daniel pushed him in and practically ran to his car. When the door closed and they were alone, Jack felt like fainting.
"Come on in, Jack," Roy said.
"Yes Jack. It'll be plenty of fun," George said.
They closed in on him, making him feel like a caged, cornered animal. A caged, cornered animal who was about to be in a lot of pain.
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The next morning was the first day of the trial. Bobby was nervous as he sat in the crowd; waiting for the trial to start. Evelyn put her hand on his to reassure him that everything would be okay. Bobby started to believe her but all his hopes crashed when he saw Jack walk in. Just the sight of him made Bobby want to cry. His eyes were bloodshot and he was very pale. He also seemed to be in pain. He looked empty like the life had been drained out of him. Bobby felt helpless and could tell by the looks on his brothers faces that they felt the same way too.
"All rise, all rise. Judge A.E. Wilson presiding."
The trial began immediately after the judge came in. There would only be two witnesses for the first day of the trial. The first one was Roy and the second was Jack. Bobby knew Jack was nervous and once again felt helpless and powerless. Jack's lawyer, John Stevenson was the first the question Roy.
"Mr. Freeman, can you please state your relationship to the deceased, Todd Diamond?"
Roy pretended to look saddened. "Roy is----was----my best friend."
"And how long did you know Mr. Diamond?"
"I knew him for a long time. About 20 years or so."
"I see. So then I assume you know Mr. Mercer quite well then? You were giving custody of him which means Mr. Diamond must have trusted you greatly."
Roy smiled and nodded. "Yes. I've known him ever since he was born. Todd trusted me with his life. And Jack's."
Todd gave Jack a cold look when he said that. It made Jack want to sink back into his chair and disappear. In other words, Jack was scared shitless.
"So then," John said. "You're saying that Todd trusted you with his life am I correct?"
"Yes,' Roy replied. "Like I said, we were good friends."
"A good enough friend to help him kidnap Mr. Mercer?"
"Objection!," yelled Paul Stockwell. "That is the assumption of Mr. Stevenson not a fact!"
"Sustained," the judge said. "Please move on to the next question Mr. Stevenson."
"No further questions your honor."
John sat down as Paul Stockwell made his way to the witness stand. Jack knew things were gonna go from bad to worse.
"Good Morning Mr. Freeman," he said.
"Good Morning."
"Is it true that you saw, with your own two eyes, the murder of Todd Diamond?'
"Yes," Roy said.
"Could you please tell the jury who the murderer is?"
"It's him," he said; pointing straight at Jack.
Paul smiled. "Could you now explain to the jury the events that took place on the night of the murder?"
"Certainly. We, Todd, George, and myself, were sitting in Todd's living room. We were having a conversation. It was a very nice, quiet evening. That is, until the Mercer brothers broke into the house. The other three came and George and I and we had no choice but to defend ourselves. Jack went up to Todd and----and----." He stopped for a second to pretend to be saddened. "And he shot him. After that, they all ran out. I called the police right after."
Paul nodded. "Is that all?"
"Yes."
"I have no further questions your honor."
"You may step down Mr. Freeman," the judge said.
Bobby was seething with anger after Roy's testimony. He couldn't believe what was happening. Roy went up there and deliberately lied and everyone believed him. Bobby wanted to shoot Roy right at that second but he tried to suppress his anger when he heard John call Jack to the witness stand. Jack needed him now. The revenge would come later.
Jack was nervous after hearing Roy's testimony. He knew no matter what he said or did, he'd still be truly 100 screwed.
"Mr. Mercer, where you present on the night Todd Diamond was killed?"
"I-I was at his house," Jack said.
"I see, and were your brothers present also?"
Jack nodded. "Yes."
"Could you please explain to the court what happened on that night?"
Jack sighed deeply and then began.
"I was at Todd's house. Roy and George were there too. My brothers broke in. They were there to save me. See, they kidnapped me and brought me there against my will. My brothers were just trying to rescue me. Everyone started fighting and Todd had a gun to my brother Bobby's head. He was going to kill him and I did the first thing to come to mind. The only thing I could think of."
John nodded his head thoughtfully.
"And you say they kidnapped you?"
"Yes."
"How exactly did that happen?"
"Todd told me that I owed him money. Thousands of dollars to pay for everyday he spent in jail because of me. I couldn't pay him so he kidnapped me."
"Thank you," John said. "I have no further questions."
The questions from John were easy but Stockwell was gonna do everything he possibly could to turn it around on Jack. And Jack knew he would succeed.
"Mr. Mercer, you told the jury you were kidnapped, correct?"
Jack's voice shook slightly. "Yes."
"Do you have proof of that?"
Jack was caught of guard. He didn't know what to say.
"No, but----"
"So then we don't know if you were really kidnapped then," Paul said; cutting Jack off.
Jack remained silent.
"Why weren't the police notified of your 'kidnapping'?"
Jack's voice shook terribly. "My brothers could take care of it themselves."
Paul smiled. "I'm sure they could. Now, could you tell the jury why you shot Todd Diamond."
"It was self-defense. I already told you. He was going to kill my brother and he would have if I didn't do anything."
"So, in other words, you had no choice?"
Jack hesitated and then said, "Yes."
"That sounds quite familiar wouldn't you say?"
"What?," Jack said; having been caught off guard.
"I seem to recall you saying the same thing ten years ago. 'I had no choice'. Now, you're saying it for the second time. It makes me wonder if you have murderous intentions."
Jack was struck silent and he could see that both Jerry and Angel had to restrain Bobby from getting up and pounding on Stockwell.
"I have no further questions, your honor," he said before John could object.
The judge announced that the trial would be continued at 9:30AM the next morning. Jack was led away before Bobby could get to him.
"We're gonna fix this," Bobby said to his brothers. "No matter what."
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Roy and George had locked Jack in his room. They started drinking as soon as they got back and after a while, when everything got quiet, Jack knew they had passed out. When he was sure they were really out cold, he ran up to the window and opened it.
"Here goes," he said.
He said a silent prayer and then jumped out on to the roof. He waited a second before climbing down the side of the house. He ran off before anyone could see him.
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Bobby was home alone. Evelyn went back to work as did Jerry and Angel, of course, was with Sofi. He had refused to go anywhere. He was determined to find a way to get Jack out of the big mess he was in. He thought of killing the lawyer Paul Stockwell. Of course that would be personal and he'd end up in jail. He could threaten the judge. But then again, jail would be the result. He was jarred out of his thoughts by the doorbell ringing.
"I'm comin'. I'm comin'."
Bobby was shocked when he opened the front door. He looked as if someone just told him that he was a nice guy.
"Hi Bobby."
"Jack!"
Jack walked past Bobby into the house and Bobby followed him; still confused.
"What the hell are you doing here? How the hell are you doing here? I mean...how did you get here?" Bobby asked.
"Ok, look," Jack said. "I don't have much time. I snuck out so we gotta keep this short. I climbed out of the window."
"Jack, did they...?"
"No. Well, nothing serious. I'll be fine."
There was an awkward silence between them.
"Jack, how did you get here?," Bobby asked. "It's like a two hour walk."
"I--uh--kinda hot-wired a car."
Bobby laughed. "That's my boy!"
Jack sat down; smiling for a brief second.
"Bobby, we need to do something," he said. "I'm gonna get charged and be sent to live with them. They're gonna kill me. They----they----they told me that I'd pay for what I've done. I don't wanna die, Bobby. I don't."
"You won't. Don't worry about it, Jackie. We'll figure something out. But there is one thing you have to do for me."
Jack looked up. "What?"
Bobby sighed. He knew Jack wouldn't like this.
"You need to turn them in."
Jack jumped up; immediately panicked.
"What? No, Bobby. They'll kill me."
"You have to, Jack. It's the only way," Bobby said. "It'll all be okay. Trust me."
Jack nodded. "I have to go now."
Bobby nodded. They walked over to the door together. Bobby hugged Jack and he felt like he didn't ever want to let him go. But a minute later, he watched Jack leave and his heart shattered into a million pieces.
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Jack got back to his room to find it dark and quiet. The door was still locked and there was no sounds coming from downstairs.
"Thank God," he whispered.
He sat on the bed and began to lie back; smiling because he hadn't got caught. But his victory was short lived. The door burst open and George came through; drunk and angry.
"What do you want?" Jack said; jumping up.
George smiled. "I want to talk to you."
Jack took a step back. "About what?"
"About where you went."
Jack was shocked and scared but he struggled not to show it.
"What are you talking about?," he asked.
"You know what I'm talking about," George said; his voice dangerous.
Jack remained silent. He didn't want to say anything that would get him hurt.
"That's right," George said. "I know where you went. Now you're going to tell me everything that was said."
"Or what?" asked Jack.
George smiled evilly. "Or else I will make your life miserable."
Jack remained silent. He didn't know what to say.
"Well? I'm waiting Jack."
Jack looked up at George.
"Nothing. We didn't talk about anything."
George grabbed Jack by the throat and threw him against the wall.
"You're lying to me!"
"No! I swear I'm not!"
"You better not be. If you try anything again, you're gonna end up like your mother."
George dropped Jack and left; locking the door behind him. After a while, Jack got up and lay on his bed. He knew what he had to do. And tomorrow, he was gonna do it.
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Okay! There ya go! Please review!
