We stand outside the court room. My brothers all look very nice and formal in there suits, me in my skirt and formal jacket thing that Natalie let me borrow. Natalie who is also standing with us looking very smart.
"Braxton case!" Someone calls.
"That's us" Natalie forces a positive smile.
The boys move forward to walk inside but I am frozen, until Brax walks back and grabs my hand with his. He gives me a supportive look with his eyes and we walk inside. We walk past Matt and Seth, who I smile to and then we get to our row and I sit between Heath and Brax.
"Darryl Braxton please stand" the Judge instructs.
"Darryl Braxton, you have the following charges starting at the age of twelve; 3 breaking and entering, one leading to juvenile detention time of a week, many suspensions which lead to being expelled, many interrogations by the police force, multiple assault charges, gang leadership along side with gang violence and overall a horrible reputation. Do you have anything to say for this?"
"No your honour" Brax answers.
"You may sit. Heath Braxton, please stand" the Judge instructs.
Heath stands tall, places his hands behind his back and. I watch as he holds them tight, nervously.
"Heath Braxton, you have the following charges starting at the age of thirteen; 4 destruction of property, 2 breaking and entering, many suspensions leading to being expelled, involvement in gang leadership along side of gang violence, multiple assault charges, the charge of the destruction of Tom Wests care, many visits to the police station and overall another horrible reputation. Do you have anything to say for this?" the Judge asks once again.
"No your honour" Heath nods.
"You may sit. Casey Braxton, please stand"
Casey stands up, biting his lip. But he notices that he's doing it and immediately stops.
"Casey Braxton, you have the following charges starting at fifteen; countless suspensions and detentions from school, assault charges, one of the many against Tom West, involvement in gang leadership alongside with gang violence, multiple visits to the police department and destruction of property charges. With yet another horrible reputation. Do you have anything to say for this?" she asks.
"No your honour" Casey answers.
I'm next.
"You may sit. Willa Braxton, please stand" the judge instructs.
I stand up. I feel as though everyone is watching me. My hands begin to shake so I put them behind my back and squeeze then tight like Heath and Casey did.
"Willa Braxton, you had the following charges starting at thirteen; countless suspensions and detentions in school, assault charges, involvement in gang leader ship alongside with gang violence, visits to the police department and a possible attempt at murder charge, which is very serious. Do you have anything to say for this young girl?" the Judge asks.
"No, your honour" I nod.
"You may sit. Someone bring in the West brothers" she orders.
I sit down immediately and Natalie turns to all of us.
"You all did great. You stayed calm and that was noticed. Don't worry" she nods.
I gulp and put my hands on my brothers knees beside me. They each grab one of my hands.
"You okay?" Brax asks.
"Yeah" I nod, forcibly.
The door opens loudly and I turn my head to see Tom, Mike and Joey all walking in. They walk over to the other side of the room.
"Before I make my announcement, from the Braxton's, is their any West in particular you would like to see get justice, in your eyes?" the Judge asks.
"No, all of them need to get a punishment for what they have done to us" Brax says, standing up.
"Thank you Darryl, from the Wests, is there anyone you would like to see get justice, in your eyes?" she asks.
"Yes. I mean, we want all of them to get justice of course. But, mainly Willa, for shooting my little brother" Tom declares, glaring at me horribly.
"She didn't do it you piece of scum!" Heath shouts standing up.
"Heath Braxton control yourself!" the Judge yells and we pull Heath down.
"I will now reveal the punishments. Putting on note that, a lot of these charges were in the past and have been dealt with, also noting that some of them are not in the past. I have come up with a solution that will teach you all not to do bad again. For the Wests, Tom, Mike and Joey, you will spend thirty days in the Parramatta Correctional Centre jail" she announces.
I look to the Wests. They look mad, furious.
"For the Braxton's, Darryl, Heath, Casey and Willa, you will each spend thirty days in prison. Darryl, Heath and Casey will spend there time in the Parramatta Correction Centre jail where's Willa will spend her time in the Parramatta Girls Juvenile Detention Centre. Court is adjourned. You will be taken away in five minutes" she declares.
I'm going to Juvie. I turn to Brax scared.
"Brax, Brax I don't want to go in scared. Please I'm going to be all alone I can't do it" I cry shaking my head.
"Come on I'll take you guys to a private room" Natalie says.
Brax puts his arms around my shoulders and we walk to a room.
"Cry baby Will, your getting what you deserve you whore" Joey taunts as we walk past.
"You son of a bitch! She's fifteen! Fifteen!" Heath yells jumping to him. Casey and guards grab him and we all continue walking until we get to a room and Natalie leave us alone.
"Willa, I'm so sorry. All of you, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry" Brax sighs.
"It's not your fault" Heath states.
"Don't worry Brax, we are all going to be okay" Casey nods.
"I'm not. You boys are going to be all together. I'm going to be all alone! I'm scared okay! I'm scared!" I cry, tears pouring down.
Brax rushes to me and pulls me to my chest, holding me tightly. He strokes my hair.
"You are going to be okay. I love you so much Will. I'm going to talk to you, we will call you everyday. I love you so much, promise me you are going to be strong. Promise me, please that you are going to be okay" Brax pleads, his eyes watering.
"I promise, I promise" I cry nodding.
"Okay, okay, hug the boys goodbye" Brax sniffs and then turns away.
Casey runs to me and his me tightly. I hug him back as tight as I can. He kisses my forehead before he lets go. Then Heath holds me tight.
"I love you kiddo, we all love ya" Heath says.
"Come here" Brax says and hugs me once again.
"It's time to go. We are escorting you three boys into one van, she will go into another" the cops explain as they all walk in.
"I love you all" I sniff, wiping my face before the guard puts my hands in cuffs behind my back.
"I love you Will, be strong" Brax says.
I am taken out of the room and I see Matt and Seth.
"Will!" Matt shouts.
He and Seth run over to me and each hug me tightly.
"Your an amazing human being Will, strong. Don't forget it" Matt says, tears dropping down his cheeks.
"Your our best mate, we will wait for you" Seth adds.
"I love you guys" I force a smile and then I am taken outside.
I am put into the back of a van. Before I can look out to see my brothers, the doors slam shut and the can starts driving away. What the hell just happened?