Here is the next chapter. I hope that you will enjoy it. This chapter will be about Bellas dads appearance in court. This chapter will be told mostly from Bellas point of view. It will also show what she is going through now that her family is going through a lot right now.
My Fathers Appearance In Court
Bellas POV
I woke up right around the same time that I would wake up for school. Today though I will not be attending school. Today my father is making a court appearance. The court has been really nice by letting him stay home and be with his family instead of waiting in jail for the court date to arrive. The charges against him have already been filed for two weeks.
Things have been really stressful for my parents. They have been to see a lawyer a few times already. They have not really told me that much just that the lawyer is almost certain that my dad will loose his medical licence. It is also possible that he will have to spend some time in jail. It is also almost certain that we will have to move back to London sometime between school letting out this year which is a little over 3 moths away and the end of summer before school starts up again is about 6 months away.
In the last two weeks I have been reading all the newspaper articles about my dad and the charges that will placed against him. In the stories it would mention how my dad was a family man and how he was a really good doctor. My dad cares about his patients just as much as he cares about me and my mom. I came downstairs and I saw my dad reading todays newspaper. There probably was another article in there because today was the court appearance day.
"Is there another story about you today?" I asked my dad
"Yes this one is called "Loving Family Man And Doctor To Appear In Court Today For Charges Of Illegally Prescribing Drugs To Minors Without Their Parents Permission". My dad read allowed to me
"Can I see it if you are done with it?" I asked my dad
He hands me the paper with the story located on the front page. It was a decent size story. There was a picture of my dad in the article with a headline reading " Dr. Wren Kingston Will Face Criminal Charges Today For Illegally Prescribing Pain Pills to 16 Year Old Deylia Marie Rivers Without Either Of Her Parents Permission." This one mentioned how Deylia parents had found out that their daughter was on these pills. It said that they had told her that she could not go back on this pills when she had asked them to let her go back on them almost two months ago. It also talked about Deylias recent car accident and about how her parents found out that she was back on the pain pills.
"Are you only so interested in reading the paper because of the articles on your dad?" My mom asked me
"No, I think that I may want to be a journalist when I grow up." I said to both of my parents
"I thought that you wanted to be a doctor like me when you grow up?" My dad asked me
"I thought I did but I am not really sure anymore." I said
"So then why are in in medical skills for your elective slot?" My mom asked
"I thought that it would be a fun class but considering how much dad has to help me it is also kind of hard." I said
"Well at least you have open options at your age. When I was 16 my dad told me that I had to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor or I would be a disappointment to my family." My dad said
"So the two of you would not be mad if I did not become a doctor like dad?" I asked my parents
"Of course not. You can do what ever you want to do. We will love you no matter what you decide to do in your future." My mom said
"No matter what happens in court today your mom and I will always be there for you." My dad said
Then we all ate breakfast as a family and we left for court. My mom drove dad and I in her car. When we got to court my dad had to go into a separate room. My mom and I got to go sit in the court room and wait for the trial to start. I was nervous and scared for my dad. My mom tried to calm me down before the trial began. My dad was standing in the front of the room facing the judge. The rivers parents were also present and sitting on the opposite side of the room as us.
"This courtroom is now in session." The judge said as he pounded the gavel on the desk
"We are here today to decide the ruling on Dr. Kingstons case. The charges were filed by Ms. and Mr. rivers who are present today in the courtroom. Also present are Mrs. Kingston and their daughter Bella Kingston. Would the four of you please stand up." The judge said and the four of us stood up.
"Mr. Kingston is in court today because charges were filed against him by Mr. and Mrs. Rivers. These charges are for illegally prescribing pain medication to the Rivers 16 year old daughter Deylia Rivers. I would now like to hear from the Rivers." The judge said
"The reason that we filed these charges is because our 16 year old daughter Deylia is a patient of Dr. Kingston. Deylia is a dancer and she had an injury a few years back where she was prescribed the same pain medication for her back. The side effects of these pills are very dangers and these pills can be highly addicting. A few months ago she told us that her back was hurting really bad again and she wanted to go back on these pills. She was training for worlds at the time she asked us. Now because of her recent car accident she is unable to compete at worlds. As a result of that car accident we found out by going through the things in her purse that she had been put back on those pain pills about a month prior to the accident by Dr. Kingston." The Rivers parents said
"Now I would like to here Dr. Kingstons side of the story." The judge said
"Deylia Rivers has been a patient of mine since my wife, daughter, and I moved from London to the USA around 4 and a half years ago. I was not the doctor that prescribed her the original pain pill prescription when she got a dance injury. I had no idea that she had been on these pills a few years back. A few months ago she came in for a physical and she was saying how she had a lot of back pain. I took an X ray of her back and it showed that she had some swollen back muscles. I told her that she needed to take it easy so that she did not cause any stress fractures to her back. That is when she explained to me that she was a competitive dancer. She told me that she was the national championships and would be competing in the upcoming worlds competition. I knew that she needed pain pills for her back in order to continue training." My dad told the judge
"I also would like to hear from Mrs. Kingston" The judge said
"My husband is a really good doctor. He was one of the best doctors in London. He is also a family man. One of the reasons that we moved here to the USA after living in London for many years was because we wanted to be closer to our nieces and nephew on my side of the family. We also wanted Bella to have a closer relationships with her cousins. In the first 12 years of her life she had only met them twice. Once we were on Christmas vacation and the other time was when my their familys came to London during summer vacation." My mom told the judge
"Dr. Kingston I understand that last fall your daughter was in rehab for a ADHD pill addiction. Knowing that the pain pills that you prescribed to Deylia without her parents permission are just as addicting as the ADHD pills that your daughter was addicted to why would you prescribe them to her." The judge asked
"Deylia told me that she would do whatever it took to continue training for worlds. I prescribed these pain pills to her. I told her that they would help with her pain and it would be safe for her to continue training. I felt that she needed those pills in order to make sure that she did not make her back any worse while she continued to train for worlds." My dad told the judge
"Now I am going to have to look at the evidence and decide the case. This courtroom will take a short break so the case and can be decided." The judge said
With that the Rivers parents walked out of the courtroom. My mom and I went to the courthouse cafe to get something to eat. My dad was also in the courthouse cafe but he was with guard so we could not talk to him.
"I know that you really do not want to move back to London but your dad and I think that is the best for our family right now" My mom told me
"As long as you and dad are together and happy then I will be okay with moving back to London as a family." I told my mom
"I know that you will miss your friends and I do not know what will happen with you and Tyler." My mom said
"I am not sure what is going to happen with Tyler and I either. I have not even talked about moving with him yet." I said
"The sooner you tell him the better because secrets just end up hurting people. My mom said
A short time later court was back in session. With everyone back in the courtroom the judge started to speak.
"I have now decided the result of this case. This is a first time offence for Dr. Kingston but the decision is that he is guilty of illegally prescribing drugs to a minor." The judge said
My moms face now had a concerned look on it and I was trying to hold back the tears in my eyes.
"The appropriate punishment for Dr. Kingston will result in the loss of his United States Of America medical licence. He will also have to serve three to six months of jail time. " The judge said
I could no longer hold back the tears in my eyes. My mom was also crying as she hear the judges decision.
"Mrs. Kingston and their daughter Bella will be allowed to have a short supervised visit with Mr. Kingston right now before he is brought into police custody." The judge said
My mom and I were directed into a small room across from the courtroom. My dad entered a few minutes later with a guard right next to him. I still had tears in my eyes and you could tell that my mom had been crying as well. I walked over to my dad and I gave him a really big hug. We all sat down at a table. My dad was on one side of the table. My mom and I were on the other side of the table. The guard was now standing in the corner of the room by the door. He told us that we only had fifteen minutes to talk before my dad had to be taken into police custody.
"Bella I want you to know that I love you and your mom so much that we will get through this as a family." My dad told me
"I love you to dad but three to six months is a long time for someone my age and I am going to miss you so much." I told my dad
"You and I will still come visit in jail. I know that it will not be the same as seeing your dad at home everyday but you still will get to see him." My mom told me
"She is right. The visits might be short and supervised but both of you will still be able to see me." My dad said
The fifteen minutes were up very quickly. My mom was comforting me while my dad was handcuffed and put into a police car. I was still in tears while I watched my dad being taken away. I was also in tears most of the way home. By the time that we got home school had already been out for a little while. I was going to get in my car and drive to Deylia and Tylers house because I really needed them right now.
"Bella, were are you going?" My mom asked just as I was getting into my car
"Deylias house, I really need to be with a friend right now." I said
"Bella, I do not want you to be driving if you are upset." My mom said
"I will drive safely mom." I said
"Text me when you get there so I know that you are okay." My mom said
A short time later I arrived at Deylia and Tylers house. Their house is over twice the size as my familys house but it is still in the same city. I texted my mom to let her know that I get here safety. As I pulled up in front of Deylias house Branden was just leaving the driveway and Deylia was at the front door waving by to Branden. She saw me pull up so she left the door open for me. Once I went inside her house she could tell that my day did not go good today.
So are you and Branden back together again?" I asked Deylia
"No, we are just friends. He has been taking me to physical therapy and he gave me a ride home from school today." Deylia told me
"Well at least your day went much better then mine." I said
"What happened?" Deylia asked
"To make a long story short my dad not only lost his medical licence he also has to spend the next three to six months in jail." I said
"I am so sorry. It must be really hard for both you and your mom." Deylia said
The next three to six months will be really hard on us. Is Tyler here? I kind of really need to talk to him and the sooner I tell him the better." I said
"No he is not here. JT and him had a baseball game after school today. It was an away game so he will probably be home really late. You can stay and talk to me if you want." Deylia said
"Well this part you do not know yet. Once my dad gets out of jail we will be moving back to London." I said
"Is it just for the summer like you normally do?" Deylia asked
"No, This time we will be moving back for good. Trust me I am not happy about it at all." I said
"What are you going to do about your relationship with Tyler?" Deylia asked me
"I do not know yet but we will probably end up breaking up because long distance rarely works out. Please do not tell him anything because I really need to be the one to tell him." I said
"I promise that I will not tell him anything. Just do not wait to long to tell him." Deylia said
"I will tell him as soon as I figure out wait to say to him." I said
"My parents will be home soon so you probably should go home. I do not think that you want to be here when they get home" Deylia said
"You are so right about that. Your parents put my dad in jail so I just can not face them right now." I said
Then I left to go home. When I got home my mom was cleaning the house. She usually only cleans on the weekends but I think she was trying to keep her mind off of things. A little while later my mom went out to pick up a pizza and a salad. We ate an almost silent dinner and then we each did our own things.
After dinner I texted Tyler. "Had a crappy day and I really need to talk to you. XoXo Bella" A few minutes later Tyler texted me back "The baseball game is almost over. When the team bus gets back to school, I can try and get JT to drop me off at your house but it will be kind of late for a school night for me to stop by. -Tyler"
A few hours later my mom went to bed but I was still up. I put on a pair of Aeropostle sweatpants and an old Jonas Brothers tank top. I also was wearing a jogging jacket over the tank top but it was not zipped up. Tyler came here after his baseball game. We went upstairs to my bedroom to talk. My parents bedroom was on the other side of the second floor so as long as we were not to loud she would not hear us talk.
"Sorry to come over late." Tyler said
"That is okay. I was still up. Did you win the game?" I asked Tyler
"No we lost by one run so it was a close game." Tyler said
"You will do better at your next game." I said
"Do you think your parents will hear me if I take a quick shower? I am still sweaty from baseball." Tyler said
I had not told him yet about my dad. Right now he thinks that both my parents are in their bedroom sleeping.
"You can take a shower and I will be here waiting when you are done." I said
"I will make it quick." Tyler said
About 10 minutes later Tyler came back into my room. He had his pants on but he was not wearing his shirt. I was still sitting on my bed and he joined me on my bed.
"So you have not told me about your crappy day yet." Tyler told me
"My dad was in court today." I said
"It did not go well and that is why you had a crappy day." Tyler said to me
"My dad is in jail." I said
"For how long?" Tyler asked me
"Three to six months. He also lost his medical licence." I said
"I am so sorry. I can not believe that my parents did this to your family."Tyler said
"Do your parents even know were you are?" I asked
"No, They think that I went home with JT." Tyler said
I could not tell him about moving to London after my dad gets out of jail. I just did not know how I would tell him yet. Tyler and I were lying next to each other on my bed. My head was lying on his chest. He never put is shirt back on. I felt like I wanted to cry again but I could not cry in front of him. Eventually both of us fell asleep.
The next morning both of us woke up. It was already 8 Am so we were late for school. My mom had already left to go to work so Tyler and I were the only ones here. My mom must have left for work thinking that I had got a ride from someone else to school.
"I really do not feel like going to school so will you please skip with me?" I asked Tyler
"Since we are already late for school, I will skip with you." Tyler said
I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. This chapter is longer then usual so I hope that it makes up for not posting for a few days. Please review or pm me with your Questions, Suggestions, Predictions, Ideas, Thoughts, or Anything else that you would like to know. The next chapter will be up as soon as I write it. I am not sure what it will be about yet. You can help me by telling me what character you want to see next and also what you want the next chapter to be about.