Higher Expectations
Chapter 6: How It Started
~"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." - Albert Einstein~
*****
"No, Frank Markasian! Not Frank Markson! Get it right!" Peter yelled at the receptionist at the hospital's front desk.
"Sir, do not yell at me. You need to calm down and speak slowly. Now, a man of his age was rushed into surgery about fifteen minutes ago for heart failure. Now, if you want to go sit in the waiting room you can, but other than that, I don't know how to help you!" The receptionist glared at Peter, mad that she had been disrespected like that. Peter glared back at her for a second and turned back to walk over to Sophie who was walking back and forth between a soda machine and the snack bar.
"Peter, what's going on?" She asked, nervously. Peter sighed and grabbed her by the hand.
"There's nothing we can do but wait. Do you want to stay in the waiting room or do you want to go back to Horizon. I need to be there tonight when Shelby gets back so I can admit her sister. Frank was going to do it but... " Peter stared back towards the off limits ward of the hospital. Sophie patted his chest.
"I know, Peter. We can go back to Horizon. There's not much we can do waiting in the waiting room. We're needed back at Horizon anyway." Sophie smiled wealky at Peter and they walked through the sliding doors out to Peter's truck.
*****
Shelby paced the room she was waiting in until she was called to the stand. They said that it would probably disturb her hearing all the facts against her and them reliving her life on the streets for her. Suddenly the door opened and a baliff walked through. He motioned for her to go with him and her stomach jumped.
It hadn't really hit her that she would have to spill her guts to these people that she didn't even know.. just for them to put away the evil man that had haunted her life for the past 8 years... the one that would continue to haunt her if he was not put away. She stepped through the double doors that lead into the front of the court room, right behind the witness stand.
Standing before the same baliff that brought her from the room, she placed her hand on the Bible.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." Shelby hesitated not because she wouldn't tell the truth but because she was nervous.
"I do." She said just loud enough for the people in the front to hear her. The baliff smiled an encouraging smile and took the Bible away. She watched him walk to his place... his place right beside the defendant. She refused to look at him because she knew it would make her uncomfortable.
"Prosecution," the judge motioned and Shelby's attourney walked up to her and stood infront of her, blocking her view from Walt. For this, Shelby was glad.
"Hey, Shelby. I know this is going to be hard but you're strong. Now, to start off why don't you show the jury the man who.. hurt you." She said. Shelby was glad that the attourny hadn't used that word she hated.
For the first time since her and Jess watched him walk away with the officers, Shelby looked at him. She looked at him straight in the eyes and saw the menacing glint they had always harbored.
*FLASHBACK*
"Wait! Wait!" Alice yelled to the officers who were coming to take Jess and Shelby away.
"Relax," the officer reassured her.
"Wait! It's true, it's true. I'll sign a statement. I'll do whatever I have to do. She's telling the truth. Everything is true. Just don't take my girls!"
The officer sighed, "He's inside?" He asked. Shelby walked up to her mom and stared her down.
"You said you didn't know." She said. The words seared into Alice and hurt her deep down.
"I didn't want to know." Alice replied to her daughter as Walt was brought from the house by two officers.
"Alice?" He asked. Shelby turned toward her sister in disgust.
"Look at him, Jess." She said, pointing toward the man, "Look at him. Remember this. Remember everything."
*END FLASHBACK*
"Shelby? Show us the man who hurt you." Shelby was snapped back into reality and found Walt staring at her, grinning evily. This was disturbing and Shelby turned away and pointed to him without looking at him again. This had shaken her considerably and she felt that she couldn't go on.
"I need some water." Shelby mumbled horsely. The attourney nodded and sat down a pitcher of water and poured a small glassfull. After Shelby had downed the water the prosecutor went on.
"Your stepfather, you say, hurt you and your sister sexually for 8 years?" Shelby winced at the question but nodded.
"Yes, ma'am. I'm not sure how long he hurt my sister though.. I didn't even know it was going on. He promised..." Shelby turned back toward Walt. "YOU PROMISED!" She yelled at him.
"OBJECTION!" The defence attourney roared out. Shelby glared at Walt and saw him mouth, 'I promise nothing!' She winced and the judge banged his gavel on the desk.
"Ms. Merrick. Do not direct any statement to the defendant. Understand?" The judge asked. Shelby nodded again and tore her eyes off Walt.
"Yes, Sir." She said politely and looked down.
"Okay, Shelby," the prosecutor went on, obviously irratated. "Now I'm going to ask you to tell us the story from the begining up until the defendant was arrested." Shelby nodded and took a big breath.
"When I was eight my mother and father broke up. My sister was five and barely remembers him. They went through a custody battle and my mother ended up winning becuase she was the one with a job and a steady income. My father was a part time painter and he only worked as a bus boy whenever the pay wasn't decent enough to live off of. He went out to eat every night and basicly, the courts thought he couldn't support us. I wanted to go with him but I had to stay with my mother because I was so young. Then about a year or so later, my mother started going out with a man named Walt. I thought he was nice at first you know, he gave us presents when he came by to take my mother out. He would even pay the babysitter. After about six months, he proposed to my mom and three months later, they were married. We moved into his house and me and Jess even had our own seperate rooms. When I started going into the fourth grade, I my hair had turned a bright blonde and I started... blossoming... and Walt would stare at me alot." Shelby stopped and took another big breath and started again, "One day I was kind of sick and had a stomach ache and stayed out of school. My mom went to work and my sister went to school and Walt volunteered to stay home with me. I was laying on my bed that day watching tv with a heating pad on my stomach to get rid of the cramps when Walt walked in and asked me how I was doing."
*FLASHBACK*
"How're you doing, Kitten?" Walt asked, walking through the door. Shelby was still a little iffy about the new man that her mother had just married. He was now her stepfather but she knew that Jess liked him, so he couldn't be that bad. But what did Jess know, she was only a little six year old.
"Um, I'm fine, thanks.. uh, daddy." Shelby pushed out, trying to break the ice. Walt smiled a weird way and came to sit down beside her.
"Well, that's good, honey." He said and wiped the strawberry blonde hair from her face and layed back some and rested on the bed's head board. Shelby was starting to get a little uncomfortable now.
"Is there something you needed, Walt?" Shelby asked, scooting away from him a little so as to have her space. Walt moved closer to her and smiled.
"Well, yeah. I'm bored, see, and I was hoping we could play a little game." He asked, menacingly. Shelby looked at him strangely but played along.
"Uh, okay, sure... what kind of game?" She asked, innocently.
"This game." He said and advanced on her. He started undoing her pajamas and pulled them down some. Shelby was starting to get scared.
"Mommy wouldn't want me to do this!" She exclaimed moving back, trying to get out of his grasps.
"Mommy isn't here, is she?!" Walt said with a crazy look on his face. Shelby tugged at her arm.
"Let me go!" She yelled. Walt pulled her back on the bed and held her arms behind her head.
"Now listen to me!" He yelled at her. "You'll do what I say, or I'll just do this to your sister." Shelby glared at him, now crying.
"What are you going to do?" She asked, crying harder now. Walt laughed.
"You'll see."
*END FLASHBACK*
Shelby stopped talking after spilling what happened to her that morning. The jury looked at each other.
"No more questions your honor."
*****
Auggie paced the classroom he was in. How could he take this test after knowing that Frank was in surgery. He hadn't been able to study at all over the past few days either. He now had to take a reading and writing test to show how much he had learned over the past 4 months. He was really nervous.
Jeff walked in walking slower than usual. His head was down and he wasn't his usual happy self. Though this had happened to everyone, it had hurt Peter, Roger and Jeff the most. They were close to him and had known him for so long.
"Ready to take the test, Aug?" Jeff asked sounding extremely exausted.
"Not really, but if I have to, okay." He said, frowning. Jeff smiled at him weakly.
"Don't worry, Aug, Frank will be okay. We just need to keep up our hope. Hope is all we have."
*****
Juliette walked into Peter's office and picked up his phone. She had gotten permission from them to call her mother and wish her a happy birthday. She was extremely nervous about talking to her but she knew that maybe it would fix their relationship with each other. The phone rang three times before her mother picked up.
"Howe residence, Mrs. Howe speaking." Juliette recognized the voice to be her mothers immediately. No one could talk more politely and buisness-like than she could.
"Hello, Mother.." Juliette said softly, trying to sound just as polite so as not to upset her mother.
"Juliette! What are you doing calling me from that place? You know that the only time I want to hear from you is when I call you!" She said harshly. Juliette winced at the comments.
"Yes, I know, mother but I wanted to call you and wish you a happy birthday." She said, trying to pick up her spirits, knowing she was doing a good thing. She heard a scoff from the other end.
"Juliette I have to get back to the dinner party we are hosting. Thanks but no thanks for the wishes. Goodbye now." Juliette heard a soft click on the other line and she dropped the phone onto the table. Her once high spirits had now dropped really low. She shook her head and walked out of the office.
"It's because I'm stupid and fat and I need to be punished." Juliette whispered to herself and walked off toward a bathroom.
*****
Hehe, I hope that made up for my lame chapter before. It was what I like to call a "Crap Chap" Anyway, please Read and Review. Please excuse any typos you might find. I haven't had time to go over it. I'll get in some David, Scott and Daisy soon enough. Don't worry. I just have to go take a shower now. Bye bye ^_^
PS: HOPE YOU LIKE ^_^
Chapter 6: How It Started
~"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." - Albert Einstein~
*****
"No, Frank Markasian! Not Frank Markson! Get it right!" Peter yelled at the receptionist at the hospital's front desk.
"Sir, do not yell at me. You need to calm down and speak slowly. Now, a man of his age was rushed into surgery about fifteen minutes ago for heart failure. Now, if you want to go sit in the waiting room you can, but other than that, I don't know how to help you!" The receptionist glared at Peter, mad that she had been disrespected like that. Peter glared back at her for a second and turned back to walk over to Sophie who was walking back and forth between a soda machine and the snack bar.
"Peter, what's going on?" She asked, nervously. Peter sighed and grabbed her by the hand.
"There's nothing we can do but wait. Do you want to stay in the waiting room or do you want to go back to Horizon. I need to be there tonight when Shelby gets back so I can admit her sister. Frank was going to do it but... " Peter stared back towards the off limits ward of the hospital. Sophie patted his chest.
"I know, Peter. We can go back to Horizon. There's not much we can do waiting in the waiting room. We're needed back at Horizon anyway." Sophie smiled wealky at Peter and they walked through the sliding doors out to Peter's truck.
*****
Shelby paced the room she was waiting in until she was called to the stand. They said that it would probably disturb her hearing all the facts against her and them reliving her life on the streets for her. Suddenly the door opened and a baliff walked through. He motioned for her to go with him and her stomach jumped.
It hadn't really hit her that she would have to spill her guts to these people that she didn't even know.. just for them to put away the evil man that had haunted her life for the past 8 years... the one that would continue to haunt her if he was not put away. She stepped through the double doors that lead into the front of the court room, right behind the witness stand.
Standing before the same baliff that brought her from the room, she placed her hand on the Bible.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." Shelby hesitated not because she wouldn't tell the truth but because she was nervous.
"I do." She said just loud enough for the people in the front to hear her. The baliff smiled an encouraging smile and took the Bible away. She watched him walk to his place... his place right beside the defendant. She refused to look at him because she knew it would make her uncomfortable.
"Prosecution," the judge motioned and Shelby's attourney walked up to her and stood infront of her, blocking her view from Walt. For this, Shelby was glad.
"Hey, Shelby. I know this is going to be hard but you're strong. Now, to start off why don't you show the jury the man who.. hurt you." She said. Shelby was glad that the attourny hadn't used that word she hated.
For the first time since her and Jess watched him walk away with the officers, Shelby looked at him. She looked at him straight in the eyes and saw the menacing glint they had always harbored.
*FLASHBACK*
"Wait! Wait!" Alice yelled to the officers who were coming to take Jess and Shelby away.
"Relax," the officer reassured her.
"Wait! It's true, it's true. I'll sign a statement. I'll do whatever I have to do. She's telling the truth. Everything is true. Just don't take my girls!"
The officer sighed, "He's inside?" He asked. Shelby walked up to her mom and stared her down.
"You said you didn't know." She said. The words seared into Alice and hurt her deep down.
"I didn't want to know." Alice replied to her daughter as Walt was brought from the house by two officers.
"Alice?" He asked. Shelby turned toward her sister in disgust.
"Look at him, Jess." She said, pointing toward the man, "Look at him. Remember this. Remember everything."
*END FLASHBACK*
"Shelby? Show us the man who hurt you." Shelby was snapped back into reality and found Walt staring at her, grinning evily. This was disturbing and Shelby turned away and pointed to him without looking at him again. This had shaken her considerably and she felt that she couldn't go on.
"I need some water." Shelby mumbled horsely. The attourney nodded and sat down a pitcher of water and poured a small glassfull. After Shelby had downed the water the prosecutor went on.
"Your stepfather, you say, hurt you and your sister sexually for 8 years?" Shelby winced at the question but nodded.
"Yes, ma'am. I'm not sure how long he hurt my sister though.. I didn't even know it was going on. He promised..." Shelby turned back toward Walt. "YOU PROMISED!" She yelled at him.
"OBJECTION!" The defence attourney roared out. Shelby glared at Walt and saw him mouth, 'I promise nothing!' She winced and the judge banged his gavel on the desk.
"Ms. Merrick. Do not direct any statement to the defendant. Understand?" The judge asked. Shelby nodded again and tore her eyes off Walt.
"Yes, Sir." She said politely and looked down.
"Okay, Shelby," the prosecutor went on, obviously irratated. "Now I'm going to ask you to tell us the story from the begining up until the defendant was arrested." Shelby nodded and took a big breath.
"When I was eight my mother and father broke up. My sister was five and barely remembers him. They went through a custody battle and my mother ended up winning becuase she was the one with a job and a steady income. My father was a part time painter and he only worked as a bus boy whenever the pay wasn't decent enough to live off of. He went out to eat every night and basicly, the courts thought he couldn't support us. I wanted to go with him but I had to stay with my mother because I was so young. Then about a year or so later, my mother started going out with a man named Walt. I thought he was nice at first you know, he gave us presents when he came by to take my mother out. He would even pay the babysitter. After about six months, he proposed to my mom and three months later, they were married. We moved into his house and me and Jess even had our own seperate rooms. When I started going into the fourth grade, I my hair had turned a bright blonde and I started... blossoming... and Walt would stare at me alot." Shelby stopped and took another big breath and started again, "One day I was kind of sick and had a stomach ache and stayed out of school. My mom went to work and my sister went to school and Walt volunteered to stay home with me. I was laying on my bed that day watching tv with a heating pad on my stomach to get rid of the cramps when Walt walked in and asked me how I was doing."
*FLASHBACK*
"How're you doing, Kitten?" Walt asked, walking through the door. Shelby was still a little iffy about the new man that her mother had just married. He was now her stepfather but she knew that Jess liked him, so he couldn't be that bad. But what did Jess know, she was only a little six year old.
"Um, I'm fine, thanks.. uh, daddy." Shelby pushed out, trying to break the ice. Walt smiled a weird way and came to sit down beside her.
"Well, that's good, honey." He said and wiped the strawberry blonde hair from her face and layed back some and rested on the bed's head board. Shelby was starting to get a little uncomfortable now.
"Is there something you needed, Walt?" Shelby asked, scooting away from him a little so as to have her space. Walt moved closer to her and smiled.
"Well, yeah. I'm bored, see, and I was hoping we could play a little game." He asked, menacingly. Shelby looked at him strangely but played along.
"Uh, okay, sure... what kind of game?" She asked, innocently.
"This game." He said and advanced on her. He started undoing her pajamas and pulled them down some. Shelby was starting to get scared.
"Mommy wouldn't want me to do this!" She exclaimed moving back, trying to get out of his grasps.
"Mommy isn't here, is she?!" Walt said with a crazy look on his face. Shelby tugged at her arm.
"Let me go!" She yelled. Walt pulled her back on the bed and held her arms behind her head.
"Now listen to me!" He yelled at her. "You'll do what I say, or I'll just do this to your sister." Shelby glared at him, now crying.
"What are you going to do?" She asked, crying harder now. Walt laughed.
"You'll see."
*END FLASHBACK*
Shelby stopped talking after spilling what happened to her that morning. The jury looked at each other.
"No more questions your honor."
*****
Auggie paced the classroom he was in. How could he take this test after knowing that Frank was in surgery. He hadn't been able to study at all over the past few days either. He now had to take a reading and writing test to show how much he had learned over the past 4 months. He was really nervous.
Jeff walked in walking slower than usual. His head was down and he wasn't his usual happy self. Though this had happened to everyone, it had hurt Peter, Roger and Jeff the most. They were close to him and had known him for so long.
"Ready to take the test, Aug?" Jeff asked sounding extremely exausted.
"Not really, but if I have to, okay." He said, frowning. Jeff smiled at him weakly.
"Don't worry, Aug, Frank will be okay. We just need to keep up our hope. Hope is all we have."
*****
Juliette walked into Peter's office and picked up his phone. She had gotten permission from them to call her mother and wish her a happy birthday. She was extremely nervous about talking to her but she knew that maybe it would fix their relationship with each other. The phone rang three times before her mother picked up.
"Howe residence, Mrs. Howe speaking." Juliette recognized the voice to be her mothers immediately. No one could talk more politely and buisness-like than she could.
"Hello, Mother.." Juliette said softly, trying to sound just as polite so as not to upset her mother.
"Juliette! What are you doing calling me from that place? You know that the only time I want to hear from you is when I call you!" She said harshly. Juliette winced at the comments.
"Yes, I know, mother but I wanted to call you and wish you a happy birthday." She said, trying to pick up her spirits, knowing she was doing a good thing. She heard a scoff from the other end.
"Juliette I have to get back to the dinner party we are hosting. Thanks but no thanks for the wishes. Goodbye now." Juliette heard a soft click on the other line and she dropped the phone onto the table. Her once high spirits had now dropped really low. She shook her head and walked out of the office.
"It's because I'm stupid and fat and I need to be punished." Juliette whispered to herself and walked off toward a bathroom.
*****
Hehe, I hope that made up for my lame chapter before. It was what I like to call a "Crap Chap" Anyway, please Read and Review. Please excuse any typos you might find. I haven't had time to go over it. I'll get in some David, Scott and Daisy soon enough. Don't worry. I just have to go take a shower now. Bye bye ^_^
PS: HOPE YOU LIKE ^_^