"Confessions"
Disclaimer:
See chapters 1 & 4. For the purposes of this fic, I will give Hayley a last name, however I do not own her.
Visitation
The next morning, Kira awoke later than usual due to her stress making it nearly impossible to sleep. After getting out of bed and taking a warm shower, Kira decided to go see what the others were up to down at the Cyberspace. Grabbing the keys to her truck, Kira was soon on her way. After parking her truck near the the entrance, Kira went inside to be greeted by Hayley and the others.
"Hey, Kira!" Hayley smiled as she greeted the teen. Turning to see Kira walking in, Trent added "Hey!" Waving to the group that had already gathered up at the bar, Kira made her way over to join them as she replied "Hey, guys!" As she sat down between Trent and Conner, Conner noticed she looked a little off. "Hey, Kira, you okay?" Smiling slightly and brushing off his concerns, Kira answered "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I just didn't sleep very well last night." Concerned, Hayley asked "Why not?" Nodding slightly, Trent asked "Yeah, what's wrong?" Brushing it off, Kira added "It's just the stress of this wole ordeal Tommy and my dad kept me awake last night. It was about midnight before I fell asleep and even at that, it didn't last long." Understanding, Trent placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah...I know what you mean. I didn't sleep as well as I usually do either. I'm just stressed about this whole Dr. O in jail thing like you are." Nodding, Hayley added "Yeah, I think that's got us all a little stressed." Changing the subject slightly, Kira added "Well, Anton called last night. He said they've already set a date for the trial." Raising her eyebrows and then lowering them again, Hayley asked "Really? When is it?" Half smiling, Kira continued "The twenty-seventh."
Cutting in, Ethan remarked "Hmm, that's only two weeks from now." Raising one eyebrow, Kira commented "Yeah, but it feels like an eternity." Smirking, Conner added "I heard that!" Changing the subject slightly again, Kira added "He also told me that John, the attorney he hired for Tommy's case, has already built a pretty strong foundation from the evidence I provided alone. Add that to all the eye-witnesses...He thinks Tommy's as good as free. I just hope he's right." Understanding, Hayley replied "Yeah, we all do. But it sounds like Tommy's gonna be just fine. I can't see how the jury could possibly convict him." Adding to Hayley's comment, Ethan stated "Yeah, Hayley's right. With all that evidence against your dad you provided plus all of us...Dr. Oliver's guaranteed an acquittal." Turning to Ethan, Kira asked "You really think so?" Smiling reassuringly, Ethan answered "I know so." Still somewhat unsure of this whole thing, Kira added "I hope you guys are right." Just then, Anton approached them with a strange man the teens had never seen before.
"Hey, guys!" He greeted friendly. Turning, Hayley replied "Oh, hey, Anton! Who's that you have with you?" Indicating his guest with his hand, Anton introduced him. "Guys, I'd like you to meet John Davis. He's the attorney I hired to handle Tommy's case." Extending his hand, John greeted the group of teens.
"Hello. It's nice to meet you all." Stepping down off of her seat, Kira shook John's hand. "It's nice to meet you, too. I'm Kira Ford, and these are my friends, Trent Fernandez, Conner McKnight, Ethan James and last but not least, this is our friend Hayley Johnson." Looking around at Kira and her friends, John replied "It's nice meeting all of you." Taking over the conversation, Anton added "John wanted to meet with you all to discuss the strategy for Tommy's case." As John set his briefcase on a nearby table, the teens and Hayley joined him. Once they were all there, John turned to the teens and Hayley. "All right, now, the evidence that Kira's provided will provide a strong foundation for the case but, we need to back it up. That's where the eye-witnesses come in. In other words, you guys. You guys with me so far?" As all the teens nodded, Kira added "Definitely. Whatever it takes to help Tommy." The others all nodded and several "Definitely"s and "Completely"s could be heard from the others. "Great! What I basically need you guys to do is to testify to what you saw during the fight. I also need to know exactly what happened. The full story. Even the story of what lead up to the fight." Turning to Kira, Conner mentioned "Well, I think Kira'd be best for that. I mean, Clark is her father." As he, too, turned to the blonde teen next to him, John asked "You sure you wanna testify against your father?" Without a shadow of a doubt in her mind, Kira answered "Without a doubt! I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make my father pay for what he's done." Continuing, John added "Okay, Kira. I'm gonna need you to tell me everything and don't leave anything out." Taking a deep breath, Kira recalled the events of the past couple of days. "Okay, the night before last, my parents had just told me that I was adopted and of course naturally I freaked out and headed out to the park to kinda calm down and process everything and to kinda clear my head when Tommy found me and ya know talked to me. He reassured me that everything was all right and told me the story of how he was also adopted and then my aunt Kim found us and Tommy told her he'd take me home which he did. When he left, as soon as my father knew Tommy was gone, he just snapped and started yelling at me and it eventually lead up to the point where my father actually hit me in the face. And again, I freaked out-becuase he'd never done that before. That was the first time he'd ever laid a hand on me.-and just ran outta the house. Once again, Tommy somehow managed to find me and once he finally coaxed me into telling him the story of what had happened, he offered to let me come live with him so he could protect me from my father. So, I went home and gathered my things while Tommy kept my dad at bay. When I returned to the living room, my dad tried to hit me again but Tommy blocked it for me and I fought my dad off of me so Tommy and I could get away. Finally he and I made it back to his place safely. Then the next morning, he and I were hangin' out here waiting for the others..." Kira indicated the group sitting around the table as she continued. "...to show up when my dad came in and told me to come home with him. When I told him no, Tommy told him to back off of me and that was when my dad hit Tommy dead in the face and that was what instigated the entire fight. My dad kept attacking Tommy while Tommy was just trying to defend himself." The rest of the group nodded their agreement.
As Kira was recapping the events of the last couple of days, John made careful notes of all the important areas. "Okay, so next we need to work on convincing the jury of Tommy's character. Can you guys tell me a little bit about him? Do you think he would ever assault anybody?" Immediately, Kira answered "Definitely not! Tommy would never intentionally hurt anyone. He's a really great guy. Even though he is capable of hurting someone, he wouldn't do it intentionally. He only fights in self-defense. In fact, he's always taught us to only fight in self-defense and to fight only as an absolutely last resort. So, no. He would never assault anyone." The others all nodded their agreement. "All right, well, I think that should about cover it. From what I've seen so far, the prosecution has hardly any hard evidence against Tommy. With all the hard evidence that Kira provided me with, Tommy's as good as free." John stated after Kira described Tommy's character. As all the teens sighed a sigh of relief, Hayley commented "That's great! I'm so glad to hear that!" Smiling, John added "Yeah, we'll have him outta there in no time." With that, John stood and left the café to return to his office to work on Tommy's case. Sighing, Kira leaned back in her chair as she covered her face with her hands. "Man...I could kill my dad for causing all a this!" Jokingly, Ethan tried to add a little levity to the situation.
"Don't do that! We don't need a murder charge added to all a this!" The others laughed at Ethan's little joke but Kira hardly found it funny. Dropping her hands from her face to her lap, she commented "Yeah, well, try telling my dad that before goes and pulls anymore of his bullshit." Trying to calm her down, Conner commented "Dude, just chill. You heard John. Dr. O.'s as good as free." Calming down somewhat, Kira apologized. "I'm sorry. I'm just super stressed and my sleep deprevation's really starting to catch up with me." Placing her hand on Kira's shoulder, Hayley suggested "Why don't you head home and try to relax? Take it easy a while." Hayley's suggestion was extremely tempting. Afterall, Kira didn't have anything she needed to do today, what could taking it easy a while hurt? Smirking, Kira accepted. "Yeah, I think I will. That sounds really good right about now." With that, Kira stood and left the café. Returning home, Kira just collapsed on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Thinking about all the stress of her current situation, Kira couldn't help but worry about Tommy. Nor could she help but miss him terribly. Pull it together, Kira. You heard John, Tommy's as good as free... After lying in her bed a while longer, Kira decided to try and put her mind at ease by going to visit Tommy. Getting back in her truck, Kira drove down to Reefside Prison. As Kira entered the building, a young woman who appeared to be somewhat close to Kira's age, maybe a few years older, greeted her from behind a large and somewhat disorganized desk.
"May I help you?" She asked politely. Turning to face her, Kira responded "I'm here to visit Tommy Oliver." Turning to her computer, the woman responded "One moment please" as she typed in Tommy's name. "Down the hall, last cell on the right. The guard will let you in." Half-smiling, Kira answered "Thanks." Smiling, the woman added "No problem." As she walked down the hall, Kira was stopped for a security check. Once she was cleared, one of the guards escorted her down to Tommy's cell. As they approached the cell, the guard addressed Tommy. "Oliver! You got a visitor." Without even turning his head to see who it was, Tommy didn't even respond-merely grunted in acknowledgement. Shifting his focus back to Kira, the guard instructed "You got ten minutes." Nodding her understanding, Kira respoded "Right. Thank you." Entering the cell with Tommy, Kira greeted him quietly. "Hey!" The music of Kira's voice ringing through his ears caused Tommy to turn his head. "Kira! Hey!" Walking over to her, Tommy took her hands in his as he looked into her eyes, taking refuge in the sweet innocence contained within them. As she gazed up into his once soulful brown eyes, Kira asked "Tommy, are you okay? I mean, you barely even acknowledged the fact that that guard even spoke to you." Turning away from her for a moment, Tommy lied. "Yeah, I'm-I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be okay?" Having seen the broken and defeated look in his eyes previously, Kira added "Tommy you're lying. And might I add, you're a horrible liar. Tommy, it's me. You can talk to me." Sighing, Tommy came clean. "Kira, look around us! Does it look like I'm okay? I'm in prison. I'm in prison for a crime I didn't even commit! How the hell would you be under those circumstances!" Placing an understanding hand on his shoulder, Kira tried to reassure him. "Tommy, I understand. I would feel the exact same way. But, we all know you're innocent. Anton's even hired his best attorney to handle your case. With the truckload of evidence against my father I gave him, he says you're as good as free. Tommy, you'll be out of here soon, I promise." Turning around, Tommy faced Kira. "Kira, that's not a promise you're authorized to make! How do you know everything'll be all right? How do you know something won't go wrong?" Looking into his eyes, Kira answered "Because, Tommy, I know you're innocent! And I've seen on several occasions...the system will come through for you, Tommy! Besides, the prosecution has hardly any hard evidence against you. And if that's not enough for ya, my instincts are telling me everything's gonna be okay. And when have you ever known my instincts to be wrong?" She had him there. Tommy knew Kira's instincts were never wrong. Smiling, he just caressed her cheek as he gently ran his hand through her soft curly blonde hair. Softly, he whispered "I love you." Smiling, she whispered back "I love you, too." Smiling himself, Tommy asked "So...if you don't mind my asking...why'd you come here? Not that I mind, I'm just curious." Taking his hands in hers, Kira explained "Because...I've just been so stressed out from all a this and missed you so much...I had to come see you." Smiling down at her, Tommy replied "Well, whatever the reason...I'm glad ya did." Just as Tommy was about to lean in towards Kira to kiss her, the guard interrupted them.
"Miss, time's up." he warned. Closing her eyes and sighing, Kira stated "I gotta go. I'll see ya later." Not wanting her to go, Tommy half-smiled as he replied "All right...I'll see ya later. I love you." Smiling, Kira added "I love you, too." With that, Kira turned to go. Heading back home, Kira felt a little better having visited Tommy, though she still felt uneasy after seeing what a broken man he'd become. Seeing him like that had been like seeing a wild mustang that had been improperly broken and mishandled. I can't wait until Tommy's outta that hellhole! He doesn't deserve to be treated like that...unlike my dad!...Kira thought to herself as she entered the house she was now sharing with Tommy. Heading downstairs, Kira threw herself back onto her bed and once again, just stared up at the ceiling trying to unwind. Finally she was beginning to relax a little bit as the day progressed, that afternoon she met up with the others again at the Cybercafé. Walking in, she greeted the guys sitting up at the bar. "Hey, guys!"
Turning his head at the sound of Kira's voice, Conner replied "Kira! Hey! Didn't expect to see you here." Smiling, she took a seat between him and Ethan. "Yeah well...I went home and tried to clear my head a little and finally managed to do just that. Although, I did go see Tommy this afternoon." Interest sparked, Trent asked "Really? How is he?" Sighing, Kira continued "Not good. When the guard told him he had a visitor, he didn't even turn his head to see who it was. He just grunted acknowledgement that the guard even spoke to him. That place has broken him...that's about the best way I can put it. He's not the same..." Frowning, Hayley understood what Kira meant. "That was bound to happen. Prison can break even the strongest of men..." Feeling tears stinging her eyes, Kira fought them back. "Yeah, I know...I guess I just never expected it to happen to Tommy. Actually I think it was more of a matter of I just hoped it wouldn't. But, I saw it with my own eyes. He tried to hide it-to act like nothing was wrong. But, I could see it in his eyes. Instead of being soulful and full of life like they usually are, they were dark and cold and distant. Like it wasn't even him I was really talking to." Unsure of how much longer she could fight back the tears, Kira decided to head home. She didn't want them to see her at her weakest-to pity her. Their pity wasn't what she wanted: what she wanted was Tommy back-the old Tommy, not the new one the prison had created. "Well, listen you guys, I just came by to tell ya what I saw." Half-smiling, Ethan responded "Okay, see ya later, Kira." With that, Kira said her goodbyes and left for home. Once again seeking refuge in her room, Kira just lay on the bed and stared at her guitar. For once in her life, she actually had no desire for music. All she wanted was to have Tommy back home-back with her. And to see him truly smile and laugh and to see the normal livelyness back in his eyes-to see the way his eyes danced when he laughed. Nothing else really seemed to matter. As the rest of the day passed by, Kira tried to mentally prepare herself for the impending trial. She knew it would take a while for her to be ready. That is, if she ever could be ready.
As night began to fall, Kira changed into her pajamas and got ready for bed. Yet again, Kira found sleep impossible and listened to her Zen CD as she eventually fell asleep around midnight. Even at that, she found herself waking up frequently from the stress and her concern for Tommy. Pull it together, Kira. Tommy's strong. He can look after himself. He'll be fine once this is all said done and he's back here with you. And you're stronger than this. You'll be fine once this is all over and Tommy's back home with you. You're worrying over nothing. Kira kept trying to reassure herself that she was blowing this all out of proportion, yet somehow, something told her that she wasn't. Brushing it off as being nervous about knowing she would be called to testify in Tommy's impending trial and about her lack of mental preperation, Kira tried her best to go back to sleep and to just forget about the whole thing...though she knew it would be impossible.