"You're Honour, I object." Harrison called out. Finally he had found his voice Aaron thought. "Miss Xanders here is twisting the truth to it's fullest and further."
"I'm merely stating what really happened." Darrel's lawyer piped up. "My Client is innocent in this freak show of a circus."
Harrison chuckled darkly. I'm afraid to say Mr Kendall is in no way innocent in any of this. That man is severely sick!"
"My Client-!" Miss Xanders started, turning nasty.
"Order!" The judge called out as the two lawyers argued. "Please continue with your defence Miss Xanders."
"As I was saying, Mr. Aaron Livesy is a very troubled young man. He cooked up this entire story to protect himself from rejection." Darrel's lawyer continued. "But is it any wonder that he did, that he's scared of being rejected."
What was she getting at?
"Mr Livesy is so used to being rejected in his life, from his own mother, father, family members – people who are supposed to care for him unconditionally." Miss Xanders announced. "Right from a young age he's been pushed away by those he cares about. So maybe Mr Kendall's rejection was the tip of the ice berg so to speak."
Aaron was seething. What right had she to go poking around and bring any of that up? That was his business. His mum leaving him, his dad kicking him out, that was all his. She had no need whatsoever to bring any of that up, raking up the past.
"Mr Livesy is a troubled young man looking for acceptance." Miss Xanders said. "He just wants to be cared for in return and when he couldn't find that from Mr Kendall he strung together these sick and twisted lies."
"You're making me out to be some sort of headcase!" Aaron shouted out of turn. "I'm not! He is!"
"Aaron." Harrison hissed form where he stood.
"No! She's lying, he's lying! She had no right to bring my family into any of this." Aaron continued to shout. "He's the sick, twisted pervert and you're justifying it all. You're agreeing that it's okay! You're saying it's alright to sexually attack someone and get away with it!" He shot at her. "Its not okay." He added. "None of it is."
"Mr Livesy, could you please remain quiet whilst in court." The judge ordered.
Chas was livid when she left the court room. How could Harrison sit back and allow that woman to lay into her son. He was supposed to be his lawyer, shouldn't lawyers be objecting to stuff like that.
"Where is he?" Chas demanded when she found Aaron in the corridor outside with Jackson.
"Where's who?" Aaron asked a little confused, if she were looking for Cain he was right behind her.
"Harrison!" Chas shot at him.
"I don't know." Aaron shrugged. How was he supposed to know that. "Why?"
"I need to have a word with him." Chas told him forcing a sweet smile onto her face. "What the hell did he think he was playing at in there!"
"Mum." Aaron warned. He didn't want a scene.
"No Aaron. He could have ruined it for you out there." She told him straight. She'd had a right mind to stand up and start objecting herself. If hadn't been for Cain she would have.
Aaron rolled his eyes. He'd most probably ruined it for himself. He couldn't keep his mouth shut. Just like his mother in that sense.
"Well, let's just hope he'll do a better job at questioning that sick bastard in there!" Chas fumed.
"Mum!" Aaron hissed.
"Well. . . Honestly Aaron, what do you expect?" Chas sighed. She was finally going to find out what really happened, the true extent of what her son had been through. "Harrison!" She called out when she spotted him leaving the court room.
"Hello Miss Dingle." Harrison greeted a little flustered.
"What the hell were you playing at in there!" Chas fumed, letting him know exactly what she thought.
"Excuse me?"
"You let that stuck up rich girl tear my kid to shreds!" Chas shrieked.
"Mum-." Aaron hissed once more.
"I'm sorry Miss Dingle if it appeared that way." Harrison told her.
"And what is it supposed to 'appear like'?" Chas demanded.
"It's all playing out how I hoped." Harrison assured her. "She's digging her client into a hole, so to speak."
Chas raised an eyebrow.
"She's making things ten times worse for herself and her client. She's helping us out more than anything." Harrison assured her again. "I'm sorry but I have to go. I have another court date in less than hour in Leeds. I really must dash."
"Unbelievable." Chas sighed as Harrison scurried away. "Let's just hope it's true what he says."
"Mum just shut it, yeah." Aaron growled at her.
"Aaron I'm only trying to help-."
"Save it!" Aaron snapped at her, embarrassed. "I'm going for a cigarette."
"But Aaron-." Chas started.
"Don't!" Aaron shot at her as he patted his pocket's for his packet of cigarettes.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Jackson asked him, hopeful that he did. Aaron had barely said to words to him since he finished in court and he wanted to know what had happened.
"No." Aaron told him bluntly.
"Sure?"
He was answered by a cold glare from the teen before he left them.
"Guess we should wait around in here for a few minutes then." Jackson mumbled under his breath.
"Best we give him some space." Chas told them all.
"Well played sis." Cain commented as they stood around.
"Oh shut it Cain." Chas snapped at her brother.
"I take things didn't go so well then?" Jackson observed.
"You could say that." Chas sighed. "Aaron lost his temper and Darrel's lawyer pretty much said Aaron was a screwed up kid with a great tendency to lie."
"Not good then." Jackson commented.
"Not at all."
Outside Aaron had made it out on to the steps before pulling out his cigarettes and lighter. He found a wall at the bottom of the steps to sit on whilst he lit up and breathed in the smoke, filling his lungs. His hands shook slightly as he held the cigarette between his fingers. He put it down to not eating properly that morning. It wasn't because he'd just stood in a room with Darrel and had some stuck up bitch rip him to pieces and run circles round him. He was on his second cigarette, a new habit he'd picked up since the lead up to court, when he found himself surrounded by four people.
"So your Aaron then." The woman said. She looked as common as muck. Her hair hung untamed round her face that was made up with dodgy eyeliner and lipstick, a failed attempt at making her look much younger than the years she was.
"What's it to you." Aaron shot back at her as he looked them over. She wasn't alone, she had a younger woman with her and two other men, all a little older than Jackson was.
"You've been spreading lies about my son!" She spat at him, getting closer to him.
Shit.
Aaron scoffed. Never mind that he was panicking inside. They didn't need to know that.
"Finding it funny are you!" One of the older men growled at him, grabbing hold of his upper arm.
Aaron looked down at the hand that was holding him. He tried to force back the memories of Darrel grabbing him, pulling him back. He needed to keep calm. "Get. Your. Hand. Off. Of. Me." Aaron warned through gritted teeth.
"Or what? You're gonna say I tried to rape you!" He spat at him as his brother sneered.
"You're fooling no one hun." The younger woman said spitefully. "You're just some desperate kid, dying for attention."
Aaron tried to shrug off the grip that the older man had on him but it was futile.
Inside, Jackson, Cain and Chas were still waiting for Aaron to return from his cigarette break.
"Where the hell is he?" Chas sighed as she continued to pace the floor at the top of the stairs.
"Who knows." Cain muttered, used to Aaron's disappearing acts. He'd had enough of them whilst working at the garage for him.
"I'll go look for him." Jackson told them. It would be better if he went instead of all of them. He got the feeling that Aaron wanted to be alone at the current time.
He didn't expect to find Aaron sitting outside with four grown people thinking it was acceptable to threaten a teenage lad. He could see that Aaron was trying to keep calm. He wasn't making eye contact with anyone of them. Instead he was fixated with a patch on the stone ground as he breathed deeply, trying to suppress his anger.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll drop the charges. You'll march straight back in there and tell them it's all a lie." One of the men hissed in Aaron's face, inches away.
Aaron just shook his head. He noticed the firm grip that the other man had on Aaron's arm, preventing him from going anywhere.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing!" Jackson shouted over to them as he ran down the steps towards them.
"Just mind your own business!" The older woman shrieked at him before turning her attention back to Aaron. "Now do as we've told you and we won't need to bother you anymore."
"You do realize threatening him will land Darrel in more trouble." Jackson announced to them all.
The two older men scoffed as the younger woman shot a look towards the other. "Nonsense, he's innocent!" The older woman shot at him.
Jackson shook his head. "You may want to believe you're little boy wouldn't harm a single soul but he did. It's there in black and white – pictures even." Jackson corrected her. "I'm sure you'll come to realize that within the next few days in court."
"You make me sick!" She spat at Aaron. "You'll get what's coming to you." She promised before turning on her hell. "Come on!" She ordered the others to follow.
The man holding Aaron's arm, violently let go of his grip, digging his nails in as he did so.
Jackson watched them walk down the street before he turned to Aaron, taking a seat on the wall next to him.
"You okay?" He asked the teen who was clearly shaken.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Aaron told him, rubbing his arm where the older man had grabbed him.
"It's okay not to be." Jackson assured him. "Did he hurt you?"
"A little, but I'm alright." Aaron shrugged off. He couldn't deny that he wasn't hurt.
"How long were they attacking you?" Jackson asked.
"Attacking me?" Aaron shot at him. They weren't attacking him. He promised himself nobody would ever do that to him again.
"Verbally, Aaron." Jackson sighed. He didn't mean physically.
"Not long." Aaron told him. "Checking up on me were you?"
"No. Just came to tell you we're thinking of making a move home." Jackson told him. "Cain's getting restless."
Aaron smirked.
A/N – Hoped you enjoyed this update. Thank you for pointing a few things out like Harrison not objecting and Chas not keeping her mouth shut, I completely forgot about those sides of the story. It's good that you're keeping me aware. Thank you for continuing to read this fanfic, it means so much and also all the great feedback I've been receiving it's been awesome!
