TW: SUICIDE ATTEMPT
Annalise sighed as her maid prepared her for the day. Today was her trial against Rupert for custody of Jeffrey. She was nervous, to say the least. She knew Rupert would make good on his threat to separate the two if she lost. There's no way I'm going to lose my son, Annalise thought. Once she was ready, she stepped outside of her room and smiled at the sight of flowers. Jerry, she thought with a smile as she picked them up and handed them to her maid.
"Please put these in some water," Annalise said.
"Of course, Your Majesty," the maid said.
Annalise nodded then made her way to Jeffrey's room, but paused when she saw Rupert standing outside.
"I told you not to fight me on this, Annalise," Rupert hissed. "When I win I swear to God you will never see your son again."
"When I win you won't be going anywhere near him again, I let you get away with far too much when he was in my care, I won't be making that mistake again." Annalise said angrily as she crossed her arms. "Get away from his room, I want to speak with him."
"No," Rupert said simply. "He's in my care, I decide who he sees, and he certainly won't be seeing you."
"I'm his mother!" Annalise said angrily.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Jeffrey stepped outside dressed in a suit. He glanced between his mother and uncle then stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"Are you going to behave yourself today, Jeffrey?" Rupert asked as he grabbed the boy's shoulder in a vice grip.
"Let go of him," Annalise seethed as Jeffrey tensed at the touch.
"Yes," Jeffrey ground out.
"Good, let's go." Rupert said, as he gave Jeffrey a little shove in the direction of the hallway.
"I want to go with my mom," Jeffrey protested quietly.
"I don't care," Rupert snapped.
Jeffrey sighed and glanced back at his mother before he walked down the hallway towards the staircase, with Rupert following behind him.
I hate him so much, Annalise thought. She took a deep breath to steady herself before she made her way downstairs. She was surprised to see her Selected gathered in the foyer of the palace. She smiled as she noticed that they were all dressed for court.
"You didn't think you were going to court without us, did you?" Jerry asked.
Annalise's smile widened, "Thank you, all of you, so much. Your support means so much to me."
"It's the least we can do," Noah said as he approached Annalise. "How's that lawyer working out for you?"
"He's great, thank you so much," Annalise said as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm a little nervous, but I know I'll win my son back."
"Of course, you will, Annalise, you're his mother, he belongs with you." Noah said.
"Try telling Rupert that," Annalise said dryly.
Noah smiled slightly, "Trust me, you have nothing to be nervous about, you've got this." He said as he rested a hand on her shoulder. "And after you win, I'll make us a cup of coffee to celebrate."
Annalise chuckled and nodded, "That sounds wonderful."
Noah grinned and stepped back, "After you."
The trial took the majority of the day, and by the end of it Annalise felt herself feeling exhausted. She glanced over at Jeffrey who looked miserable sitting in the audience. He had taken the stand against Rupert and now looked nervous about returning to the palace, especially since the judge had yet to give a verdict.
"I will deliberate on this matter, and we will reconvene in the morning to hear my judgement. Court is adjourned." With that the judge hit his gavel against the sound block, then stood and left the room. Annalise stood and made her way towards Jeffrey, but Rupert stood in between them.
"You are going to regret getting him to testify against me when I win," Rupert hissed.
"That's if you win, which you won't," Annalise snapped.
"Can I go home with my mom?" Jeffrey asked.
Rupert spun around and glared at Jeffrey, "What do you think?"
Jeffrey frowned and walked out of the court room followed by Rupert. Annalise glared after Rupert and ran a hand through her hair.
"That guy's a real jack ass," Greg said. "You're a wonderful mother and the judge will surely see that."
"Thank you," Annalise said with a sigh. "I just don't know what he's gonna do to him if he wins custody."
"Then you file an appeal with the Supreme Court," Greg said. "But you won't have to, the judge would be an idiot to give Jeffrey back to Rupert."
"Thank you, it's just…hard, waiting, I wish he would just tell us the verdict already." Annalise said with a sigh.
"I know, the two hours I had to wait were torture, I couldn't imagine having to wait an entire night," Greg said.
"You should appeal the court's decision, regarding your daughter," Annalise said. "I'm sure Noah could hook you up with a good lawyer."
"Thanks, I think I'll try that," Greg said with a smile.
Annalise nodded, "I need to go, I've left Callum alone all day, and I don't want him to feel left out."
"I'll see you around." Greg said with a smile. "And try not to worry too much about the verdict."
"I'll try not to," Annalise promised.
"Just what the hell do you think you were doing?" Rupert demanded angrily as he stepped into Jeffrey's room. He slammed the door shut, causing the fourteen-year-old to flinch. "How dare you testify against me!"
"I-I'm sorry!" Jeffrey said as he brought his hands up in front of his face protectively. "I don't want you to have custody of me anymore, I want my mom back!"
Rupert knocked Jeffrey's hands out of the way and smacked the boy across the face, "Listen here, Jeffrey, you are mine, I am raising you the way your father would have wanted you raised. You're quite frankly weak, spineless, and pathetic!" He spat. "Your mother is soft and she's making you soft, I'm doing what's necessary to toughen you up!"
"I don't care!" Jeffrey snapped. "I can't deal with your shit anymore, just leave me alone!"
"What are you gonna do?" Rupert taunted. "Have another fit? Throw things around your room again? What are you, five?"
"Fuck off!" Jeffrey shouted as he paced his room with his arms crossed. He dug his nails into his skin to the point where he drew blood.
Rupert grabbed Jeffrey by the arm, then grabbed his face and forced him to make eye contact, "I will win custody of you and when I do you will not see your mother ever again. I will remove you from the palace and raise you in my own manor." He hissed as he tightened his grip. "Do I make myself clear?"
Jeffrey glared at him and nodded, he felt defeated. He was never going to get away from Rupert, he would be stuck under his care for the foreseeable future, and that was not something that he wanted.
"Now, you will take dinner in your room, I don't want you running into your mother, and I suggest that you start packing, you'll be moving in after the verdict tomorrow."
Jeffrey swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded again. He didn't want to move, he didn't want his uncle to have custody of him, he wanted to stay at home with his mother, but that wasn't exactly an option.
Rupert released his hold on Jeffrey, "Oh, and as punishment for your betrayal, I want your phone." He said as he held his hand out.
Jeffrey frowned and dug into his pocket, he pulled out his cellphone and handed it to Rupert.
"There's a good boy," Rupert said as he patted Jeffrey on the cheek.
"I hate you," Jeffrey ground out.
"I don't care." Rupert said, then turned on his heel and left the room.
That evening after dinner Annalise visited the Men's Parlor. She thanked her Selected for accompanying her to court, and especially thanked those who had offered to testify on her behalf. But the truth was between the testimony of herself, her son, and palace staff she felt fairly confident in her ability to win back her son. She spent the next hour or so playing cards with the Selected that were in the parlor.
"You did great today," Jerry said.
Annalise smiled, "Thank you, I was so nervous, but I knew I had to do this for my son, I need him back."
"I still can't believe he did that," Joel said, an edge of anger in his voice. "Jeffrey is your child; he needs to be with you."
"If only Rupert saw it that way," Annalise said with a sigh.
"How is Jeffrey doing?" Noah asked. "He looked pretty scared at the trial."
"I think he thinks Rupert's going to win, which he might…" Annalise trailed off. "And he testified against Rupert, I think he's just feelings a little overwhelmed."
"You should probably go check on him," Noah said. "I'm not a parent, but he probably needs his mother right about now."
"After I beat you boys at this game," Annalise teased, eliciting a chuckle from her Selected.
Annalise spent the better part of an hour with her Selected as a group, as more men trickled into the Men's Parlor they put the card game away and talked as a group. When it was nearly nine Annalise excused herself to go check up on Jeffrey. Greg offered to walk Annalise upstairs, and she had accepted.
"I'm sorry if today brought back any bad memories from your own trial," Annalise said.
"It's okay, I just wanted to be there to support you." Greg said as they walked through the halls.
"I appreciate that." Annalise said as they arrived at Jeffrey's room. "I should go check on him, I'll see you later."
"Of course," Greg said.
Annalise knocked, then opened the door to Jeffrey's room. Her heart stopped when she saw the state of his room, objects were strewn across the floor, but what really caught her attention was the sight of Jeffrey passed out on his floor, his face drained of colour and a pool of vomit in front of him.
"Greg!" Annalise shouted as she ran towards her son. "Go get help!" Annalise yelled frantically as she desperately tried to shake him awake.
"Check for a pulse," Greg said, remaining calm as his military training kicked in. He looked around the room and frowned when he saw a medication bottle near Jeffrey. He picked it up and looked inside to see that it was empty.
"I can't feel him breathing!" Annalise said panicked.
Greg ran to Jeffrey and gently laid him flat on his back, then began administering chest compressions, "Call 911, he overdosed."
"What?" Annalise asked, stunned as the colour drained from her face. She ran outside of Jeffrey's room and Greg could hear her yelling at the guards to send help. She rushed back inside as Greg continued performing CPR on Jeffrey. Jeffery's eyes fluttered open, and Greg stopped and moved Jeffrey so that the teen was laying on his side. Jeffrey groaned, then promptly threw up on the floor as Annalise rubbed his back, tears in her eyes. Why would he do this? She thought.
"Thank you, Greg, thank you so much," Annalise sobbed.
"Go away…" Jeffrey trailed off as he closed his eyes.
Greg shook him, "Keep your eyes open, kid."
Jeffrey weakly tried to push Greg's hand away as two medics entered Jeffrey's room with a stretcher. Shit Jeffrey thought. The medics loaded Jeffrey onto the stretcher and Greg held Annalise as she watched.
"He's thrown up, that's a good sign," one of the medics said. "We're taking him to the medical wing."
Annalise nodded and followed them, bringing Greg with her, she held his hand in a vice grip.
"He'll be okay, Annalise," Greg said reassuringly.
"I hope so," Annalise said in a worried tone.