CHAPTER TEN
Cat's leg bounced nervously as she held Robbie's hand, her own hand rubbing her stomach. Today was the day. The day Chris got his sentencing. The day she could make or break his life. She loved her brother... but what he did was evil and wrong.
"Calm down," Robbie said, placing a hand on her knee.
"I'm nervous... I feel sick to my stomach, the baby's going insane and won't stop fucking kicking me..." Cat said, laying her head on his shoulder. "I just wanna go home and sleep."
"You slept all day yesterday," Adam said.
"So? I'm tired, I don't feel good. I need to sleep, this baby wears me out."
"That's your own fault."
"Shut the fuck up," she muttered.
"Watch your mouth," Tara said, handing Tabby to Cat. "I'm gonna go ask how much longer it's going to be."
Cat kissed Tabby's cheek and stood her on her thighs, holding onto her waist. "Hi, chubby butt."
"Mama," Tabby said, playing with Cat's necklace.
"Sissy."
"Mama."
"Sissy."
"Mama!" Tabby said, letting out a sudden rack of sobs.
Cat laughed and kissed the baby's cheek, laying her in her arms as she rocked back and forth. "You are the crankiest, chill out," she said, patting her sister's diaper.
"Way to go, piss off the baby," Adam said.
"She's your kid, you could do something about her you know."
"You're the one that pissed her off."
Cat rolled her eyes and looked at Tabby. "Your daddy's a dick."
"Watch yourself, Caterina."
"Stop calling me that."
"It's your name."
"And I hate it," Cat said as she stood up. "Come with me, please. I need air," she said, looking at Robbie.
"Sure," Robbie said as he stood up.
Cat walked over to Tara. "I'm gonna go outside for a few minutes. I need air before I punch your husband in the dick."
"Stop talking like that," Tara said.
"He's pissing me off. I'll be back. Did they say how long it would be?"
"Another ten minutes at least."
"Okay. We'll be back in before that," she said as she started out of the courthouse. As they walked out, Jade was walking up the steps with Beck. "Hey."
"Hi," Jade said, taking Tabby from the redhead. "Hey, fatass. What's up?" she asked, kissing the baby's cheek.
"Be nice to her, she's precious," Beck said, running his hand over the baby's peach fuzz covered head.
"Court starts in about ten minutes," Cat said.
"Why are you out here then?" Jade asked.
"Adam pissed me off."
"Well, let's go inside and we can vent after court. I'm gonna burn."
As Jade walked inside, the other three followed behind and Cat smiled when she saw Sikowitz walking down the hall.
"Daddy," Cat said as she walked to him and hugged him.
"What's he doing here?" Adam asked.
"I wanted him here, that's what."
"Why?"
"Because he's mine and Chris's father. Mind your own business."
"I don't think - "
"I don't care what you think, shut the fuck up."
"Cat," Sikowitz said. "We'll keep our distance, calm down."
"What's wrong now?" Tara asked as she walked up.
"Adam's pissed because Dad's here," Cat said.
"It's fine. He should be here, he's their dad."
"Whatever," Adam said.
"Sikowitz vs. Sikowitz," a bailiff announced.
"That's us," Tara said. "Let's go."
"I'd like to call up Mr. Sikowitz's sister to the stand, Caterina Sikowitz," a lawyer said.
"Go head," the judge said. "But please remember, Mr. Lawson; keep it appropriate. She is still a child."
"Yes, Your Honor."
Can sighed as a bailiff escorted her to the stand and she sat down, staring at the microphone nervously.
"Miss Sikowitz," Mr. Lawson said.
"Valentine," Adam muttered.
"Shh," Tara said, nudging him.
"Could you please state your full name for the court," Mr. Lawson said.
"Caterina Hannah Sikowitz, but I also go by Caterina Valentine," Cat said.
"Why is that?"
"When my mother remarried, they changed my name from Sikowitz to Valentine on some documents, but not all of them."
"Why would you only change your name on some documents?"
"That's something you'll have to ask my mother, sir. I was only three years old."
"Can you explain to the court what went on between you and your brother?"
Cat stayed quiet for a few seconds, clearing her throat. "He uh... he molested me."
"How?"
"With his hands. Orally. There was genital contact, but he was... he was never inside. It was all outside."
"And, Miss Sikowitz, I understand you were asleep? Unless I'm mistaken."
Cat shook her head. "No, that's right. I was asleep at first."
"Have you ever had a sexual relationship with your brother before this?"
"When I was little, it used to happen. Not very often, but I remember it."
"And what did your parents do about it?"
"Nothing. I never told them about it. I was little, I just thought it was something brothers taught their sisters."
"How old were you approximately?"
"Maybe five or six when it started. I was around thirteen when I finally stopped letting him."
"And did he try to touch you between the age of thirteen to when this latest incident happened?"
"He tried, but I locked myself in my room away from him."
"When this latest incident happened, why couldn't you get away from him and lock yourself in your room?"
"He held me down. I was already in my room. He's stronger than me, he held me down to the bed."
"No further questions, Your Honor," Mr. Lawson said as he sat down.
"Mr. Matthews, you're welcome to start," the judge said.
"Miss Sikowitz..." Mr. Matthews said as he stood up. "I understand you're pregnant, correct?"
Cat nodded. "Yes. What does that have anything to do with this?"
"Your Honor, can we please have Miss Sikowitz refrain from questions?"
"I'd like to know what her pregnancy has to do with this case as well, Mr. Matthews," the judge said.
"You said my client's genitals were never inside yours, correct?"
"Yes," Cat said.
"So then, how do you explain your pregnancy?"
"I had sex," she said, furrowing her eyebrows. "You know how babies are made don't you?"
"Miss Sikowitz, if you're so traumatized from this incident, why were you having sex?"
"Because I'm perfectly capable of still having sex."
"Why would you want to have sex if you were sexually abused?"
"It affects everyone differently, Mr. Matthews. Sexual abuse victims usually either have nothing to do with sex, or have a more sexualized personality. My abuse didn't affect me in the way the sex was impossible. I don't understand what any of this has to do with Christopher."
"Well, you claim your brother molested you, but you're still having sexual intercourse. It just seems like if you were traumatized enough that you wouldn't have anything to do with sex at all."
"I just explained to you what sexual abuse does to its victims."
"Are you a psychiatrist, Miss Sikowitz?"
"I'm studying psych and my stepfather is a psychologist. I've learned a bit about psychology."
"How do you know that your baby isn't your brother's baby?"
Cat scoffed. "My baby is my friend's baby. I've never had sex with Christopher, this baby was conceived with my best friend."
"Would you be open to a paternity test?"
"What the fuck for! I didn't have sex with my brother!"
"Miss Sikowitz, please calm down," the judge said. "Mr. Matthews, move on from the subject. Immediately."
"Yes, Your Honor," Mr. Matthews said. "Miss Sikowitz, what do you want to happen to your brother?"
"I want him to get the help he needs."
"So, you don't want him put in prison?"
"Not particularly. He's not mentally stable enough to handle prison. He'll get killed in prison. I don't want that."
"Then why did you have him arrested?"
"You do realize he still committed a crime, right? He molested me. He still deserves a punishment and a treatment."
"His punishment would be prison, you realize that?"
"I do."
"Your Honor, may I cut in here for just a moment?" Mr. Lawson asked.
"Go ahead," the judge said.
"Miss Sikowitz, despite what happened, do you love your brother?"
Cat nodded. "Of course I do. He's my brother."
"How can you love someone that violated you the way he did?"
"Because... it's not his fault. He's sick. He doesn't mean to do those things. When he's lucid, he's the most amazing person... He just... He's sick. I know he didn't mean to hurt me. But he needs help. He needs to get better. I want him to get better."
"Do you want him in prison?"
"No. I want him to get the help he needs. If he wasn't sick, he wouldn't have done it. I just want him to get better. It's not fair to him that he's being controlled by a disease."
"Miss Sikowitz, would you forgive your brother?"
"I already have. I might still get pissed off about it, but I've forgiven him. It's not his fault."
"Would you feel comfortable being around him?"
"Not until he's had treatment. Not unattended."
"It's my understanding that Mr. Sikowitz wasn't on medication at the time of the incident."
"He was prescribed, but our mom and stepfather weren't supervising him take the pills. They trusted him to remember."
"Do you blame your parents for what happened?"
"No. It was still Christopher that did it."
"So your parents deserve no punishment."
"They aren't the ones that molested me, so no."
"What do you hope comes out of this, Miss Sikowitz?"
"I want my brother to get better. His doctors haven't done enough for him. He deserves better. I want him treated."
"I understand you stabbed your brother."
"I did."
"Where did you stab him and with what?"
"I used a nail file and stabbed him in the testicles."
"Why were his genitals the first place you thought of?"
"Because I knew it would slow him down enough for me to get decent enough to leave the house."
"Do you realize that you could have caused major damage to him?"
"Do you realize that he caused major damage to me? He molested me. He forced me to get off with him."
"Do you realize that what you did was a crime, stabbing him?"
"It was in self defense, so no; it wasn't a crime."
"Do you believe you'll do jail time?"
"No. I did nothing wrong."
"No further questions, Your Honor," Mr. Lawson said.
"Mr. Matthews do you have anything else to ask Miss Sikowitz?"
"No, Your Honor," Mr. Matthews said. "I would, however, like to call on Jade West."
Cat and Jade looked at each other, Jade's eyes wide.
"What? Why me?" Jade asked.
"Because of the police report. You're involved in it," Mr. Matthews said.
"Yeah because my parents called them."
"Can we call her up, Your Honor?"
"Just for a few minutes," the judge said. "Miss West, if you'd come up to the stand please."
Jade sighed and passed Tabby to Tara before walking up to the stand and trading places with Cat.
"Would you state your full name for the court, please," Mr. Matthews said.
"Jade West," Jade said.
"Your full name, please."
Jade sighed. "Jadelyn August West."
"Miss West, how long have you known the Sikowitzes?"
"Since I was born."
"How do you know them?"
"Cat's my best friend. Our mothers are best friends so we grew up together."
"Are you close with Mr. Sikowitz?"
"Not so much these days, but I was as a child."
"Have you ever been victimized by Mr. Sikowitz?"
"Not that I can remember."
"So you're saying it's a possibility?"
"I don't know. Maybe before I was old enough to remember, but I don't recall anything going on."
"Have you ever thought Miss Sikowitz was just saying he was touching her to get him into trouble?"
"What? No. Why would she lie about it? Are you stupid?"
"Miss West," the judge warned.
"No. Come on, she came to my house when this happened. She cried in my arms for hours. All night. She was distraught, she was so stressed out and upset about it she was throwing up. She wouldn't fake that."
"Do you think maybe the throwing up could have been morning sickness from her pregnancy?"
"She never got morning sickness."
"Do you think she ever exaggerated?"
"Absolutely not."
"Do you think she went too far stabbing her brother?"
"No. He deserved it. She had to do something to get away."
"Would you have stabbed him?"
"I would have killed him."
"Strike that from the record," the judge said. "Miss West, that's the only free pass I'll give you for saying that."
"I don't need it striked. I would have fucking killed him with my bare hands had I caught him hurting her."
"You've caught him before, haven't you?" Mr. Lawson asked.
"Yeah. We were eleven."
"What did you do?"
"I broke his nose."
"Why was this incident not reported to the police?"
"We convinced him to tell Tara and Adam that we were playing and I got to close to him."
"And they believed you."
"Obviously."
"So you would lie for Miss Sikowitz," Mr. Matthews interrupted.
"I've lied for her before."
"How do we know you're not lying for her right now?"
"Because I'm on the stand, I'm not stupid enough to lie in court."
"Would you lie for her if she did something illegal?"
"No. But I'd try to help her avoid the consequences."
"No more questions, Your Honor."
"Mr. Lawson, do you have any other questions for Miss West?" The judge asked.
"No, Your Honor," Mr. Lawson said.
"You can step down, Miss West."
Jade made her way back to her seat and she sighed. "I hope I didn't fuck anything up for Cat," she whispered.
"You didn't," Tara whispered back.
"Due to the results of an observation that's been held on Mr. Sikowitz since he's been placed in the Briarwood Mental Institution, I can see that Mr. Sikowitz has self control during very stressful times," the judge said. "He's been put through several situations and needed no help in controlling himself. With that being said, Christopher Erwin Sikowitz will be sentenced to life without parole," he said before banging his gavel.
Cat's eyes filled with tears and she looked at Mr. Lawson. "Please let me say goodbye to him. I need to say goodbye."
"Your Honor, Miss Sikowitz would like to say goodbye to her brother," Mr. Lawson said.
"Very well," the judge said.
Cat sniffled and she made her way to Chris, hugging him and letting out a sob. "I'm sorry - I'm so sorry, Chris..."
"It's my own fault," Chris said, kissing her head. "I'm okay today. I wasn't that night. And I'm so sorry that I hurt you," his voice cracked.
"You're sick, it's not your fault."
"I'm the one that did it. I love you, Cat. I love you."
"I love you so, so much," she sobbed. "I'll come see you, I promise. My baby will know how amazing you are. It'll know that you're a good person."
"You're having a baby?"
Cat sniffled and nodded, placing Chris's hand on her stomach where she felt the baby kicking. "Can you feel it?"
Chris nodded. "Yeah... that's amazing. You're growing a person."
Cat laughed and nodded. "Yeah..."
"We have to go, Mr. Sikowitz," a police officer said.
Cat's smile disappeared and tears filled her eyes again. "I love you, Chris," her voice cracked.
"Love you too, kiddo," Chris said before he was escorted out of the room.
Cat let out a sob as she made her way back to the family, immediately hugging Tara. "I'm sorry, Mommy, I so sorry," she sobbed.
"Calm down, baby," Tara said, running her hand through Cat's hair. "It's okay, everything is going to be fine. I promise."
She sobbed and wiped her eyes, turning towards Sikowitz and burying her face in his chest. "I just ruined his life," she said.
"No you didn't," Sikowitz said.
"I did, they just gave him a death sentence, he's going to get killed," she said with a sob.
"He's going to be fine."
Cat sobbed again, muttering things that were unintelligible, but everyone just let her cry to get it out.