Chapter Ten- The meaning of Family
I was lying in bed early the next morning, it was still dark outside. I rolled over and saw Iggy's sleeping face. He was snoring slightly but there was a gentle smile on his face. His hand was reached out towards me, like he had fallen asleep holding my hand. I reached out to fluff up his hair and then I lay there watching him sleep.
"You're watching me sleep." He muttered suddenly without opening his eyes. It made me jump slightly. Iggy smiled and opened his eyes. "Do you know that makes you a creepy stalker?"
"I'm not a creepy stalker." I defended myself. Iggy leaned over to kiss me on the forehead. I rested my head on his chest.
"So today..." He trailed off.
"Mmm." I sighed. I really didn't want to talk about this. Iggy noticed and we just lay in silence holding onto each other. Around half an hour later a blonde head peeked around the door, when Lily saw that we were both awake, she ran into the room and jumped up on Iggy's side of the bed.
"Morning." She yawned, her face illuminated by the first few rays of sunlight. She snuggled into Iggy's other side. "It's really early isn't it?"
"Yeah, a bit too early for you to be awake." Iggy responded.
"You guys are awake." Iggy laughed quietly.
"I suppose you both want breakfast."
"Yes, we do." Lily and I answered in unison. Iggy got out of bed and Lily crawled up next to me, as he left the room.
"I love you Mummy." She said hugging my arm. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Stupid hormones.
"Love you too baby. No matter what." Lily saw that I was crying and looked worried. Her brow furrowed.
"What's wrong Mummy? Why are you crying?"
"No reason, Mummy and Daddy just have a big day today. I need you to be a very good girl for Uncle Jacob and Aunty Ally today."
"I will Mummy. I always am a good girl."
"I know. Come on lets go see what Daddy's doing for breakfast." We both got out of bed. Lily grabbed my hand as we walked down to the dining room. We both sat at the table side by side as Iggy came out with our breakfast and his own. As we ate together, I enjoyed the family time, Lily and Iggy being happy. After we'd finished eating Lily went off to dress her dolls and brush their hair. Iggy and I took the plates into the kitchen. As he loaded them into the dishwasher I sat on one of the breakfast bar stools.
"I guess you're not looking forward to today?" Iggy asked quietly.
"No, not in the slightest." I sighed, resting my head on the bench top.
"Neither am I, but no matter the result today I will make sure that they leave us alone. I'll do whatever it takes." I got off the stool and went across the room as fast as I could. I grabbed Iggy behind the neck and pulled him down so I could kiss him. He seemed surprised but he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me as close as he could.
"I thought there was no mushy stuff in your kitchen." Jacob said from behind us. We broke apart and saw he and Ally standing in the doorway.
"Exactly, it's my kitchen. I can do what I like in it." Iggy said smugly. He had his hands resting on my stomach and as the baby kicked, his smile grew. I couldn't watch it without wanting to cry.
"I should start getting ready." I mumbled quietly, leaving the room. Iggy followed me. We both had a shower and got dressed. I wore a short, black, sleeveless dress with a pleat over the (extremely large) stomach. When I came out of the bathroom after doing my hair and makeup, Iggy was doing up his tie.
"Here let me." I went over to him and did it up for him. I straightened the jacket of his suit too.
"Thanks dear." He kissed the top of my head. "Are you ready for this?" he asked gently.
"No." I whimpered. I was crying again.
"Hey, it's okay, shh." Iggy pulled me into a hug. "We're going to be fine. I'll always protect you." I knew he always would, but there were things that even Iggy's safe arms couldn't protect me from, I knew that now. I started crying even harder.
"I just can't s-s-seem to stop crying. It's h-h-horrible" I sobbed, it was the truth but there were reasons behind it.
"I know, but we've been going through some real bad crap lately so I think you're allowed. Plus all your hormones."
"Yeah, I guess."
"We'd better get going then." I didn't want to leave home and this sort of peace that I had here. But I nodded because it was what I had to do.
"I need to go to the bathroom. We'll leave after that." I started walking towards our bathroom.
"Violet." Iggy said. I turned around.
"Yeah?"
"You look beautiful." I smiled at him and went into our ensuite. When I finished in the bathroom I went into the lounge to find all the others sitting on the couches with Lily sitting on Iggy's knee. I sat beside them.
"Daddy, did you know that Mummy was crying this morning. She seemed sad. Poor mummy." Lily said as she patted my shoulder.
"Mummy's okay princess. Don't worry." Iggy told her. But from the concerned look he gave me he thought differently.
"We'll be back tonight. You'll be okay right?" She nodded.
"I will."
"Good girl, well we need to head off now so goodbye baby. Love you." Iggy said hugging Lily and kissing her head. She hugged him back.
"Love you too daddy. And you Mummy." She crawled on to my lap and hugged me. I hugged her tightly.
"Goodbye darling, I love you. I'll call you if I can." I put her down on the couch and stood up with great effort. Iggy got up too. Ally came over and hugged me awkwardly because of my big stomach.
"It'll be okay." She said. All I could do was nod because I didn't know if she was right. Iggy held my hand as we walked out the door and into the car.
"Are you okay? You look pale." He asked as he started driving. We were going to my mom's house to change cars and get security.
"I'm fine. I'm just scared."
"Of what?"
"If they don't do anything. About the paparazzi. I'm not raising my daughter and son in a place where there every move is watched. It's not right. It isn't fair to them. We'll have to leave, go somewhere, where they won't find us. For good this time. I don't want to leave because I've been happier than ever here. But when it comes to my children, there's nothing I won't do to keep them safe." The baby kicked to accentuate my point. I rubbed the spot lightly.
"Okay, I'm with you, no matter what." He said. I smiled at him. He smiled back. I rested my head against his shoulder. "We're going to be okay."
"I'm okay if I've got you."
*~*~*~*~*~*
We were in the back of a dark limousine that had tinted windows, with my mom and my step-dad. Iggy was holding my hand tightly. There were two security guards as well.
"Are you guys all clear on the plan." The first bodyguard, Norman, inquired. We nodded. The car slowed to a halt; through the tinted windows I could see the flashing lights of cameras.
"Ready to go Mrs Ride." The second body guard, Kyle, asked me.
"Let's get this over with." I sighed. Norman opened the door.
"Move, get out of the way!" he yelled at the reporters jostling them way. Iggy went next and I followed. Kyle was behind me and my Mum and Peter behind them.
"Hey Violet, boy or girl?" one of the reporters asked my grabbing my arm. Iggy spun around.
"Keep your dirty hands off my wife!" He growled and pushed him off me. After that he kept to the side of me and got Kyle to be on the other side. Norman was in front, they formed a tight circle around me. We pushed and shoved our way through them. After what seemed like a mile we made our way up the stairs and into a little atrium.
"Vultures." Iggy snarled looking back out the glass door.
"Okay should we head down to the courtroom?" Peter said.
"I guess. Do you want to Violet?" Iggy asked.
"Bathroom first." I muttered
"Again? That must be like the third time this morning." Iggy exclaimed. I glared at him. "Let's go." I got led down a long corridor to the bathroom. I ducked inside quickly while the others waited outside.
"Better?" Iggy asked as I emerged.
"Yes for now." I said. He put an arm around my waist and we walked to the courtroom. Iggy's arm tightened around me as we walked in. I saw his parents talking to a lawyer who had his back to us. Peter beckoned to us from a table.
"You two are sitting at that table up those stairs. Supposedly it's to keep you safe but I'm guessing it's just so the TV crew can film you better. I'll be down here with your other lawyers and Ara will be in the gallery. There will be security at the bottom of the stairs." He told us.
"Okay." Iggy said hesitantly. My Mum hugged us both.
"Good luck. I'll talk to you at the recess. I've gotta go get a seat." She sat on a bench near the front. Then the Griffiths's lawyer turned around. It was my father. I stared open mouthed. Iggy had a similar expression. The three of them saw us and walked over.
"Violet, James, how are you?" Reginald greeted us with a smarmy smile. He made me sick. I just glared back.
"It's Iggy." Iggy said through gritted teeth. He ignored this.
"All of this is silly isn't it? This stress can't be good for my grandchild. Why don't we make an out of court settlement and maybe discuss the possibility of a few interviews. It could make you a lot of money. A few photos and you will earn millions." I gave him my best are you kidding me look and turned on my heel. I angrily strode up stairs.
"I can't believe him!" I ranted.
"I can. If he got us to do that and convinced us to let him handle everything, he'd get a cut of the money." Iggy said sullenly.
"All rise for the honourable Judge Purell." The bailiff called. Everyone in the court stood as the judge walked in. She took her seat at judge's bench.
"Please be seated. Bailiff is that our first case?"
"Yes your honour. Our first case is Ride Vs Griffiths and the Media."
"Very well is the prosecution ready?"
"Yes your honour." Peter said.
"Is the defence ready?"
"Yes your honour." Reginald smirked.
"Very well, the prosecution may begin their opening statements." Peter stood up and walked out into the centre of the room.
"Ladies, and gentlemen of the jury, I want you to consider exactly what the defence wants. They want to pretty much let a small girl, who is only two years old and a child who is not even born yet to have their entire lives displayed for the world to see. Who in the world would want that? Mr and Mrs Ride want their children to have the most normal life as possible, the life that neither of them had.
"Iggy Ride was taken from his parents at four and half months old and taken to a branch of Itexicon, a company that genetically modifies living creatures. Iggy had Avian DNA grafted into him within weeks after being taken from his family. He was kept in captivity for ten years during which time he had terrible torture inflicted on him by the scientists at the school including the total loss of his vision in an experiment." And so on. The rest of the speech talked about our lives and how we had been affected by the media intruding on our life. I really wasn't paying all that much attention.
My father's speech was a complete load of crap comparing us to celebrities. Then it was time for the witnesses, our team came up with Dr Lodani and other people we knew. Iggy was the last witness before we took a break for lunch.
"I would now like to call Iggy James Ride to the stand." Iggy stood up and walked down the stairs. He sat down at the witness desk. I saw him flick a worried glance up to where I was sitting. I gave him a small smile back, which he returned.
"Mr Ride do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" The bailiff asked him.
"I do." Iggy replied. The bailiff sat down and Peter stood up and started pacing in front of Iggy.
"Mr Ride, your daughter was first put in the media spotlight a year and a half ago is that right?"
"Yeah, she was three months old."
"What kind of effect did it have on you, your wife and daughter?"
"We left our home for a few months because we were afraid of people knowing us where ever we went. Violet was afraid to take Lily out in public because people would take photos of her and stuff like that."
"And how about this time? When the more recent photo's started appearing?"
"It was worse because they were all taken within our own property. I mean there are people taking photos of my family in our own home. It was a complete invasion of privacy. We couldn't do anything without the whole world knowing."
"I can imagine, how do you think it would affect your family if it continued?"
"I don't like to think about that, because it would change our whole lives. But eventually it would mean us having us to move and going into hiding. It would mean us leaving our family and friends."
"What health affects has it had?"
"It's stressing us out. Violet is pregnant and I know that it can't be helping her and the baby." I looked down at my stomach and put my hand on it. No it wasn't helping. Peter asked Iggy a few more questions before saying he had no more questions. Then it was Reginald's turn.
"Mr Ride is it true that you found your parents when you were fourteen." He asked Iggy with a fake smile.
"Yes." Iggy said through gritted teeth.
"And then you left your loving parents just a few days later. Leaving them heart-broken."
"Yes, but they were trying to make money out of me."
"Really? Do you think they were only trying to make money to support your future?"
"No, they wanted the money for their own purposes."
"Did you ever ask them this?"
"No, but..."
"So are you saying you just assumed that they were using you?"
"Look, I knew that they were doing it. I overheard them talking about how they were going to buy a beach house in Florida with the money. I know that when I became a father all I ever wanted for my daughter to be safe and happy. I want her to have a proper childhood like Violet and I never had. She became my world and to see her being shown to the world as some sort of freak show, makes me think that maybe I'm not protecting her enough." His speech was so moving. I didn't know he was going to say anything like that. It brought tears to my eyes. Reginald look taken aback for the first time, be paused for a minute before grinning sinisterly. He obviously had something awful planned next.
"Very touching. So your daughter was born on the seventh of September."
"Yes..." Iggy said unsurely. I was worried about this too.
"And you and Violet got married on the twentieth of July of the same year?"
"We did."
"So therefore your daughter was conceived out of wed-lock. And from what I've been hearing, it was an unplanned pregnancy. A mistake." my mouth fell open with shock. Iggy had a look of horror and anger on his face.
"My daughter is not a mistake. Sure she may not have been planned but Violet and I have never ever regretted having her!" He said obviously seething with anger.
"So you had shot gun wedding. You only married for Lily's sake."
"No. I love Violet. We wouldn't have gotten married if we weren't ready to. It just seemed like the right time to do it."
"No further questions." Reginald smirked sitting down. Iggy came back up to where I was sitting.
"I hate your father." He said sitting down. I reached over and grabbed his hand.
"I know me too." the court was dismissed and we went into a private room for a catered lunch. I didn't feel like eating. I picked at a sandwich.
"Honey, you need to eat." Iggy said pushing more food over to me.
"I'm not hungry." I mumbled.
"Are you okay?" he said sounding troubled.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need some air."
"Okay, I'll come with you."
"No, stay and have lunch. I'll be alright." I kissed him on the check and left the room. I walked up a long hallway. I was thinking about calling home to see how Lily was. I dialled home on my cell phone and got no answer. They must've been at the flock's house. I was about to call them when I heard someone behind me.
"Ah, hello Violet, dear." Reginald greeted me with a smarmy smile.
"Piss off." I grumbled.
"You know, your mother was a right slut, you shouldn't let her near my grandchildren sweet pea." He said moving to touch my stomach. I slapped his hand.
"And what, let you exploit them for your own financial gain."
"No, yours too."
"I would never use my children to make money. I would rather be poor with happy, healthy, children than rolling in money with children who have to grow up with their every moved watched. I'm not that sort of mother." A woman and a teenage girl of about sixteen came up behind him.
"Violet, I would like you to meet my wife and daughter, Vanessa." They both looked down their noses at me. "Come on, let's go find some lunch, she's not worth it." Reginald and his wife went off but Vanessa stayed and started staring me down.
"So you're the daughter he never wanted." She said snobbishly to me. "I can see why he got rid of you." So she knew what he had done to me and still loved him, the spoiled brat that she was.
"If you know all about that, how can you even stand to call him your father? Is it the money he gives you, how much he spoils you!" I retorted getting angry.
"Because he actually loves me unlike you, you little slut. You're obviously easy."
"Easy... oh right because a married woman with a daughter that she loves and a baby that she would do anything to protect is easy. Anyway, isn't that a bit rich coming from you?"
"I'm not the one with two kids, barely a year apart."
"It's two years and you wouldn't know anything about being a mother. Hey, is your mum a woman or a Barbie doll?"
"She's more of a woman that your mum ever was."
"At least my mum had the guts to leave him. I would bet everything I own that he has something on the side."
"My mum keeps him plenty satisfied for your information."
"You listen?! I guess someone has issues!"
"No! I'm too busy myself."
"Let me guess, you're the typical high school cheerleader slut?"
"So what if I am? You're just jealous. Admit it; you spent your whole pathetic childhood wishing you were living my life." This was true. When I was really young, before I knew who my parents were, before I even knew about my brother, I used to imagine that my parents would both be these amazing people who one day would come and bust me out of the school and beat up all the white coats. They'd take me away and three of us would live happily ever after. That fantasy got more and more distant as I got older, but until I found out what I thought was the truth, I still held onto a little bit of hope.
"That maybe true, but as I found out who my father truly was and what he had done, I never had felt so angry and betrayed in my life. And that's saying something." I turned and walked away from her. As soon as I was out of her sight I pulled out my cell phone and called the flock's house.
"Hello?" Fang answered.
"He has another daughter." I told him angrily.
"What do you mean?"
"Our Father." I nearly gagged on the word. He was far from being a father to me. "He's got this daughter; she's spoiled and bitchy and hasn't been given away to insane scientist."
"That bastard. He's disgusting. I saw what he was asking Ig. So, you met this girl?"
"I kinda got into an argument with her, she called me a slut."
"How are we related to these people? Hold on," I heard Fang talking to someone on his end of the line. "Lily wants to talk to you. I'll put her on. Good luck for the trial." I started heading back in the direction of where Iggy was. He'd want to talk to her too.
"Hi Mummy!" Lily said brightly and I immediately felt a bit better. "I saw you on TV and daddy too."
"Did you really?"
"Yup, it was funny."
"What have you been doing today?"
"Um Uncle Fang and I played Candy land, I've been having fun." I went into the room and sat down next Iggy again
"I bet you have. Hey I'm missing you."
"I miss you too Mummy."
"Do you want to speak to daddy?" Iggy looked at me eagerly wanting to speak to his little princess.
"Yes, I do!"
"Okay, I'll pass you over to him, bye baby, I love you."
"Love you too mummy." I handed Iggy the phone. He took it and held it up to his ear.
"Hey baby girl how are you... that's good... I'm alright... no I don't believe you... I just don't think Uncle Fang would play Candy Land... He did... Oh wow."
"We're heading back into the court room soon." My mom told us.
"Okay you make sure you do give him a make over... and take pictures... I've got to go princess but I'll see you tonight bye." He hung up and passed the phone to me. I turned it off and put it in my bag. We headed back to the courtroom.
"I'm nervous." I confessed to Iggy as we walked up the stairs to our little box.
"You'll do fine. When your dick faced dad asks you questions just let him have it. Take out those pregnancy hormones, which I know you've got, on him." We sat down and waited for the judge to walk in.
"Order in the court." The judge said. "We now resume the session of Ride Vs Griffiths and the media. The prosecution has the floor."
"I would now like to call Violet Arabella Ride to take the stand." As I stood up I felt a gush of warm liquid between my legs. I looked down. My waters had broken all over my $600 Louis Vuitton shoes.