Author's notes: Reworked and Reposted. Hopefully it's an improvement. ((? POV, it's a surprise!))
I was sitting next to Davis in the courtroom. I admired his courage more than ever; he didn't have to be here. They had his testimony on video so he wouldn't have to face his father but he was adamant about coming. Jun was due to be called as a witness but she wasn't allowed to be in court during the whole proceedings. She had asked me to keep an eye on her little brother.
Mr Motimiya spouted all this total bull about how Davis was an attention seeker and able to wrap anyone around his little finger. Davis was brave throughout keeping his head held high while his dad spoke. But when his mother took the stand and backed his dad up that brave wall crumbled. I put my arm around his shaking shoulders and whispered soothing nonsense until Mrs Motimiya had finished giving her evidence and left the stand.
I kept a hand on Davis's shoulder as Jun entered the courtroom as a prosecution witness. The defence attorney was harsh, accusing Jun of making up having heard her father beating her little brother up because she felt she had to stick up for him. Jun was calm though and answered the questions steadily and with composure. The defence tried and tried to trip her up but he couldn't.
If I had been up there I would have cracked, I would have started screaming and shouting and cursing because no one does that to Davis and gets away with it. I seem a little over protective, don't I? Well it's hard not to be protective of Davis; he puts up this huge front of being a loudmouth just so he won't get hurt if people don't like the inner him. Everyone knew it was a front, that's why we put up with it, waiting for the day when he'd realise he didn't have to do anything to impress us. We know how loyal he is, how brave he is and how caring he is.
Kari doesn't know what she's throwing away, Davis doesn't give his affections away to just anybody. I should know, I've been trying to get him to focus his affections on me. No such luck.
The jury are leaving now to discuss their verdict and we left just after. If the judicial system works they'll throw the book at Mr Motimiya. Davis was standing away to one side, sipping anxiously on a coffee; he rubbed his eyes trying to hide the bags. Matt tells me that he hasn't been sleeping. The blonde would get up in the night and find him sitting on the windowsill silently.
Hopefully tonight when this stress is over with he'll get some rest, or I might just have to make him. He's gonna make himself sick, Ken took him out to lunch the other day but he simply picked at his food, instead of inhaling like we are all used to. His tan skin was paler than usual and his chocolate eyes weren't as bright as they used to be.
I crossed the hallway to him; I broke the sandwich that I haven't been eating in half.
"Here Davis, you need to eat something" Davis looked at me and gave me a grateful smile.
"No thanks, you have it, I'm not hungry" He answered me softly. I sighed and gave him my world famous frown. "Ok, ok, I'll eat it, just stop looking at me like that." I smiled and handed it to him. It never fails. He took mouse like bites from the roll until he'd eaten it.
"Nervous?" I asked. He nodded rubbing his hand over his eyes again. He was being so brave, it was inhuman!
We were called back into court again soon after. I can't remember; is a quick decision a good or a bad thing? The foreman guy stood up.
"Have you reached a verdict upon which you are all agreed?"
"Yes."
"Do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty of child abuse?"
"Guilty!" I felt Davis squeeze my hand, how'd that get there? The judge turned to Mr Motimiya.
"For the crime of child abuse I sentence you to 18 months in prison with parole eligibility in 6 months." He told him gravely. The court was in uproar, well at least our section. That sentence was pitiful! Davis was sat in stunned silence; I think I was too. TK was dragged from the court by Matt and his dad before he could be arrested for contempt. Leaving me to deal with Davis.
"That's so… unfair!" Davis whispered as his father was taken down from the docks. I saw him glance pleadingly at his mother; she gave him a look that would have frozen Hell. I tried to keep my hold on him but he tore away from me and the others before anyone could stop him.
We left the courtroom. I couldn't believe it; at the most that monster would only be locked away for a year and a half.
"If there was an ounce of justice is this world it would have been ten years!" Yolei was more vocal than most about her disagreement with the sentence though we all felt the exact same way.
"Shouldn't someone go after Davis?" Joe asked. I nodded.
"I'll go."
I walked towards the men's room. As soon as I opened the door I could hear someone vainly trying to muffle their weeping. I looked under the stalls until I spotted the feet of my friend. I pushed the door, damn it was locked!
"Davis, open the door." I asked him softly,
"No!" That kid could be so stubborn; I only wanted to help him.
"Let me in or I'm breaking the door down!" I demanded. My tone must've showed I meant business cos I heard him draw the bolt across. I hate seeing Davis cry, tears had no place on a face that perfect. I drew him in to my arms and hugged him tightly.
"I know, Davis, that sentence stinks." I whispered to him. He just cried harder in to my chest, his arms like a vice around my middle. We stood like that for a while; I don't really know how long. But once he had spent all his tears, he let go of me. As he splashed his face with cold water, he tried to erase the evidence of his breakdown. He stared at my reflection in the mirror.
"18 months? Is that all my suffering is worth?" He asked me. I didn't have an answer; I don't think he expected me too.
"I'm sorry, Davis" I told him.
"Yeah… me too." He turned around to face me. "Thanks, Tai, for everything."