This didn't turn out the way I had planned, but let me know what you think and thanks to all for reading :)
Legal stuff still counts...
Chapter 37: Mr. Porter
Craig rode in the back seat of Jerry's car, tucked safely between Bobby and Angel. His insides felt like Jelly, and his brain felt like it had been through a meat grinder. He was past the fear of what was happening, far past the fear. The time he'd spent with Bradford behind the closed door was nothing but a blur to him. He couldn't remember exactly what all he'd said, or what he'd drawn, though he knew he'd drawn out images and feelings. They had formed on the paper without any kind of effort from him. He had felt his mind pull back as something else took over, and now he felt as if he'd just been on a wild roller coaster ride, being spun around and turned upside down over and over again, only to be dropped onto his feet to try to wall around with all of his senses turned around in every other direction except the one he was facing.
Bobby was holding his arm around him, letting him curl up close to him in the seat. The city lights were whirring by against the morning sky that was starting to brighten as the sun rose, blazing odds shades of pink, purple and orange against the clouds and the haze that hung over Detroit. Though he knew where they were heading he didn't seem to be able to grasp that he was going anywhere. He fell his heart thumping in his chest hard, but not racing, and his when his brothers spoke he could hear their voices, but the words didn't seem to sink in instantly, it took him a few seconds to catch up to the words, and their meaning. It became easier to ignore them completely and just hold onto Bobby and hide from the fate someone else had decided for him.
It almost seemed as if he'd barely settled into the back seat of the car when he felt Angel exiting the door on his side, and Bobby was tugging at him to pull him out the other door. He heard Bobby speaking to him, but he had no idea what he was saying. He allowed his brother to pull him free of the car, and watched him give the door a push to close it. He heard the click of the locks activated by Jerry's remote and realized Jerry was standing close to them. He felt Bobby drop his arm around him again, holding him close, as Angel and Jack rounded the front of the car to stand with them. The four men started talking, but the boy didn't seem to hear the words. He wondered why they were standing there, talking quietly, in the parking lot just outside the courthouse, until he realized Bradford was pulling his car into the empty space next to Jerry's car. They had been waiting for Robert, and once he realized that he wondered why he couldn't figure it out before. He knew they were going to be going inside with Robert, the man was going to be the only person allowed to go in with him when they started reaching into his brain for answers that he wasn't sure he could give.
Robert got out of his car and locked it up tight before turning to them. "Well, are we ready?" He asked, looked pointedly at Craig.
Craig fixed his eyes on his feet, not wanting to look at Robert, not after what he'd told him back at his office. The man knew about him now, knew what he'd done with Jordan, and even some of what he'd done with his own father. He was sure of that. His mind wasn't allowing him to remember details of everything he'd said now; only that he felt ashamed to feel Robert's gaze on him.
Bobby gave Craig a slight squeeze. "I think we're ready." He answered the man quietly.
Craig felt Bobby pulling him towards the walkway that led to a side entrance of the courthouse. He could see Robert ahead of them, leading the way. Bobby was on his right, holding his arm around his shoulders as if it would shield him against the eyes of the few people that were moving around them. Another brother was on his left, though he wasn't sure which one. He had his eyes focused on the ground in front of him, concentrating on the even squares of concrete beneath his feet, and not letting his feet hit the cracks separating each perfect block. An old rhyme echoed in his head, one that Evelyn Mercer had taught him not long after he'd come to live with her. 'Step on the crack and break your mother's back'. He wasn't sure why it was repeating over and over again in his head, but he kept his feet moving to the rhythm of it for fear that if he stopped thinking of the rhyme his feet would stop moving.
Robert reached the thick wooden door and pulled it open. Bobby pulled Craig back slightly, slowing him down and messing up the beat his mind had been pounding out for his feet to move to. It was enough that Craig looked up and watched Jerry, Angel and Jack move through the door ahead of them. When Bobby pulled on Craig to guide him past the door way the boy froze. On the other side of the door was nothing but doom and despair waiting on him. His feet stuck to the sidewalk, and his legs stiffened up. He tried to pull back, ready to bolt in the other direction, but Bobby was ready for him it seemed, his hand moving to grab hold of his arm firmly. Bobby didn't pull on him, or force him to move.
"You take a second Craig, everything's gonna be okay, you're gonna be fine. It's almost over with." Bobby spoke quietly. "We'll just wait until you're ready. You take a deep breath and let me know." He seemed sure that he didn't have to hold the boy after a moment, and let his arm drape back around his shoulders.
Bradford held the door and didn't say a word. He seemed as patient as Bobby, though it shouldn't have been surprising coming from him.
Craig felt the bees starting to swarm around in his stomach and he felt bile rise in his throat. "I'm gonna get sick." He barely managed to choke the words out.
Bobby didn't hesitate; he pulled him backwards, towards remnants of snow on the brown and muddy landscaping on their left side and turned Craig towards a trash can that was sitting there. Craig wasn't able to get to the can, he leaned over and his breakfast spewed out violently. He felt the tears take hold instantly and couldn't stop them, or the heaving. Bobby eased a hand around the boy's waist and held onto him until he was done.
"Is he alright?" Jack's voice drifted around from somewhere behind them.
"He just threw up. It's his nerves." Bobby called out back. He waited until Craig tried to turn away from the mess he'd left on the grounds before turning him back towards the door.
Craig tried to hold the tears back, but a few managed to trickle out. "I'm sorry." He managed to get the words out as Robert stepped towards them, holding out some tissues.
"Serves them assholes right, dragging your ass down here like this, they deserve a little puke in their flowers." He laughed and gave Craig a gentle nudge. "Don't you think?" He reached out to take the tissues Robert was offering and used them to wipe Craig's cheeks and mouth. "You okay now? You think you can go in?" He asked quietly.
Craig managed to nod his head slowly, though he felt as if he were swimming around in his own confusion. He let Bobby pull him through the door, into the hall lined with dark wood paneling and a shining granite floor. Robert pointed to some benches lining the wall. "You boys have a seat; I'm going to go let them know we are here. The sooner we can go up the better." He turned and walked through an open doorway that let out into the main lobby of the building.
Craig let Bobby pull him over to the bench along with their brothers, and they all sat down. Craig wanted to lean into Bobby and hide his face from the world. He felt as if anyone walking close enough would be able to look at him and know who he was and why he was there. He managed to keep some sort of control over his urge and simply allowed his brother to keep his arm around his shoulders.
"You're sure you're okay?" Jerry sat on Craig's other side and gave his leg a gentle pat.
Craig managed to nod his head, but all he wanted to do was scream at Jerry that no, he wasn't okay. He felt as if his insides were ripping out of him, and he was scared. He didn't want to repeat what he'd said to Robert, especially to total strangers. He didn't want to go upstairs and he didn't want to be taken behind a closed door and have people he didn't know asking him about the most horrible things in his life.
He pushed the emotions back into a dark corner of his brain, and told himself now was the time to start turning everything off. He needed to feel numb. That was how he had gotten through it in the conference room when Robert had been asking him questions that should have been considered illegal. No one should have the right to say the words that were said to him, though Robert had done his best to be gentle, and phrase his questions in as least an invasive manner as possible.
Considering the nature of the questions, and what was being asked, it could have been worse, and maybe that's what he was so frightened of. Robert had gone out of his way to make it easy for him, the District Attorney, or whoever it was that was going to be hammering at him with their words wouldn't be that thoughtful or considerate of what he might be feeling or fighting down inside. They would only want what facts they could get from him so that they could put Jordan behind bars.
They would want to know the facts about Adam Macks as well, that's what Robert had told him before he'd ended their little practice session, and talking about Adam just made it all that more frightening. The monster in his memories was just as real as the people that were starting to wander in through the door they had just came through minutes before. Robert had asked him some questions about his father, about what he'd done to him, and how he'd let Jordan hurt him as payment for helping him get the boy out of the state.
He had backed off when it became apparent that Craig was going to bust wide open if he pushed much further. He had told Craig that if the questioning got to be too much for him once they were in the official meeting that all he had to do was speak up and he would make sure they backed off. Craig wondered just how much control Robert would actually have though. He was a lawyer, yeah, but it wasn't as if he could stop them from questioning him in the first place, so why did he think he could tell them to back off if their questions got to be too much?
It seemed a lifetime before Robert returned to lead them towards the main lobby. He walked them past the stairs, to the back of the large expanse, and straight to the elevator. Craig moved his legs as Bobby guided him along, not looking up at the ever growing activity of people around him. The public employees were filtering in to take on their daily tasks, and somehow Craig was sure they would all know what he was there for. It was a stupid fear, he knew it was, but he couldn't fight it down. The ride in the elevator was mostly quiet, and the small space seemed to fill with tension, not just from him, but from his brothers. If they were felling tense, then he was sure that he had reason to worry, but he tried to convince himself they were feeling tense because they could feel his fear.
"Damn, I hate this building." Angel spoke from the back of the elevator, his voice not much more than a mumble.
"No need for worry little brother; you're here on the right side of the law this time." Jerry forced a laugh.
"Is that what this knot in my stomach is?" Jack asked just as the elevator came to a stop. "I guess Mom did have to bring me down here a few times for court." His voice was just as quiet as Angel's.
Craig felt Bobby tense up next to him as the door opened and they stepped out into a hall way. The floors were tile and the walls appeared to be plaster. It wasn't as fancy as the main floor, and it looked more modern. Craig let Bobby pull him from the elevator, and they followed Robert down the hall to a glass door. Robert opened the door and allowed the Mercers to walk in ahead of him.
"Mr. Bradford?" A large man wearing a suit walked up to them, picking Robert out apparently because he was carrying a briefcase, or perhaps they knew each other, Craig wasn't sure, and he didn't really care.
"Mr. Porter." Robert shook hands with the man once he'd closed the door.
Mr. Porter. Craig was sure he'd heard the name before, and then his mind managed to recall that it was someone by the name of Porter that had called the house and talked to Bobby.
"Mr. Porter, these are the Mercers, Bobby, Angel, Jeremiah and Jack." He pointed to each as he spoke. "And this young man is Craig." He motioned to Craig, who felt his body press into Bobby a little harder as the fear of being so close to the man who was going to question him chilled him down to his bones.
Craig looked around him, the office was quiet, and there didn't seem to be anyone else around. There were two desks, each on opposite walls, and three doors at the end of the room. There was dark green carpet under his feet, and it seemed to go well with the dark wood panels on the lower half of the wall. The lime green paint that covered the top sections contrasted with the dark green on the floor in a good way. He felt his body relax slightly. He didn't feel as if he were in a courthouse anymore somehow that seemed to help him. There were two leather sofas at the end of the room, close to the doors there. The door in the center was glass and chrome, and he could see a table and chairs on the other side.
Porter looked at Craig. "Well, young man, it's nice to meet you." He spoke quietly. "Believe me, I know this isn't going to be easy for you, and we do appreciate your help." He didn't reach out, in fact he let his hands clasp together in front of him.
"Do you want to know how hard it is for him? He threw up in your flowers outside." Bobby spoke quietly, but his voice held a threat to it that Craig could hear loud and clear. "He ain't here because he wanted to be. He's here because he has to be. I just want to make one thing clear here. I'm his legal guardian; I'm the one who says if this little meeting ends before it starts. I don't care what you can do to me if I break up your little party, but I damn sure care about what you could do to him with your questions, so tread easy with him."
Mr. Porter looked at Bobby. "Mr. Mercer, the last thing we want to do is make this more difficult. Believe me; we want to nail this sick son of a bitch for what he did to this boy." He looked back down at Craig. "If we thought we could do that without asking you questions, we would. Even with the doctor's reports and the police statements, it's going to be very hard to prove anything. That's the only reason we wanted to ask you some questions." He was talking to Craig directly. "Your brothers will be right outside the door, and we will not lock that door." He looked at Bobby, as if to prove a point. "In fact, that's the door right there." He turned and pointed to the middle door at the end of the room that Craig had looked at so closely only moments before. "You see that? You can see right through the glass." He turned back to Craig. "You'll be able to look over to the door at any time and see your brothers. Is that going to be okay with you?"
Craig wanted to nod his head, but couldn't make any muscle in his body obey him.
"We have soda, if you'd like one, and we have some packs of cookies if you want something to snack on." Porter forced a smile. "I'm not trying to be cruel here Craig, and I will make this as easy as I can on you. I have a friend of mine waiting for us. Her name is Dr. Layne. She is a child psychologist. I want you to know about that up front. She's certified by the courts to be present during this kind of questioning, and it's her job to tell me to shut up if she feels I'm asking something that you can't handle. She's what we call a child advocate; do you know what that means?" He gave Craig a moment to respond, but when the boy didn't speak he went on talking. "You also have Mr. Bradford with you, and he'll make sure I listen to Dr. Layne." His voice remained steady and calm. "So, when you're ready, we can go on in, and your brothers can sit down and relax, and they can see you right through that door." He reinforced his earlier statement.
Craig still felt tense, and the fear hadn't subsided, but the man in front of him wasn't nearly as frightening now as he had been a minute before. He gave himself a long moment to hold onto Bobby's coat before he drew in a deep breath. "Okay." He muttered.
Robert stepped up next to him and looked at Bobby. "It's going to be fine. I'll let you know if you need to stop anything." He assured the man.
Bobby let his arm loosen from around Craig. "Okay, you yell if you need to." He told Craig as he let Robert lead him across the room, following Porter.
Craig took one last glance back at his brothers as Robert held the door open for him. He sucked in a deep breath and tried to remember what Bobby had said to him about having strength he didn't know he had. He prayed his brother hadn't been lying to him. He felt as if he were walking into the middle of a busy highway and would be struck down by a hundred semi trucks if he took that last step into the room, but he took it, and watched the glass door close behind him.