Chapter Fifty-One

John walked into the bathroom, already unbuttoning his shirt and pulling at the wire attached to his chest. He winced as the glue pulled at his raw skin, wishing that they could have just left the hair on his body. "Fuck." He hissed, getting some soap from the dispenser and lathering it over the sticky part of his chest to rid it of the residue. He frowned at the little red blotches under the glue, noticing how they itched like crazy. "How the hell…" He jumped as Kemp burst through the door, Thomas right behind him.

"Did you hit Jessica?" He asked, pointing a finger in John's face as he rushed to button his shirt.

"No, Sir." He stated, shrugging into his baser again and buttoning it over his stomach. "I've never hit a woman, and I never will." He held up the wire, popping the tape out and handing it to Kemp. "There was also a camera in that room, and if you look at the footage, you'll see what happened."

Thomas's brows shot up, surprised that John had seen a camera. "I never noticed a camera in there."

John smirked, smoothing his hair back from his forehead. "It was hidden in the back-left corner in a hole in the wall."

Kemp turned his snake eyes on John, holding the tape up. "You had a wire on?"

John nodded, spitting his old gum into the trash and pulling another stick from his pocket. "Yes, Sir." He snapped the gum, blowing a bubble before finishing his answer. "I'm recommend playing that in a Walkman so that Amelia doesn't start repeating what was said." He chuckled, remembering how she'd started repeating what he said. "We've already had to scold her for repeating what I say when I slip up."

Thomas shook his head. "You slip up an awful lot."

John glared at him, his eyes betraying him by turning to a deep brown that always showed love. "I'm getting better about it."

Thomas nodded, giving him a little grace. "At least the F-bomb isn't every other word out of your mouth anymore."

"Are we going back the trial, or are you two going to squawk about cursing all day?" Kemp asked, walking out the door and back to the court room.

John scratched over his shirt, happy that his nails were somewhat long from not cutting them for a few days. "Sour puss." He smirked, stopping his scratching when Thomas looked at him. "I'll bet we're gonna need to cover Amelia's ears when he plays that shit."

Thomas opened the door to the courtroom, watching John's reaction to the huge bruising mark on Jessica's cheek. "She said you gave it to her."

John sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "She's batshit crazy."

Kemp rolled out a television, and John could see that he had a tape in his hand. "Mister Bender, I have new evidence to show the court, it just came in from Illinois from someone who wants to help prove your innocence." He popped the tape into the TV, smirking at John's reaction to his mother's face on the screen.

Beverly looked into the camera, with what looked like remorse. "Johnny, I want to start off by saying I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let your father put you through what he did. I'm sorry that I did nothing to stop it." She wiped a tear from her eye. "I wish I could have been a better mother to you. I would like to tell you that while I've been sober here, I confronted Rachel about drugging you and she can never hurt you or your new family again." She sighed, her breath shaky with the next sentence. "I guess I should tell them about our past. My son did some hard drugs in the past, I can't say all that he did, but I know he would never had raped a woman like his father did to me."

John stood, rushing from the room like he couldn't get away fast enough. He slammed his hands into the doors to the courtroom, his footsteps becoming faster until he was running down the hallway.

Clarissa looked at her husband, taking his hand as they rushed after their adoptive son. "John-" She was cut off by the harsh sobs coming from around the corner, pulling Thomas to a stop as they listened to the boy cry. "We should have looked at it first." She whispered, her heart aching with each hiccupping sob from the child. "We never should have let Kemp play that."

Thomas nodded, pulling his wife close as John's cries became harsh screams of frustration. "I know."

Kemp walked up to them, listening as John's fists pounded into the tiled flooring. "We need him for the rest of the trial." He stated, trying to push past the parents to get to John.

Clarissa shoved herself in front of him, pushing him back from John. "Get away from my son." She growled, her eyes like pits of fire. "You never should have played that. You should have asked to show him that." She jumped as John's sobs stopped, turning to Thomas with fear in her body language. "Keep Kemp away." She stated, rushing around the corner to see John curled in the fetal position, his hands covering his head as if trying to block the world out. She knelt beside him, reaching her hand toward him. "Baby?" She made sure he knew that she was there before touching him, gasping at his sudden reaction to her.

He sat up, pulling her into a bone crushing hug as his tears soaked into her dress. "Mom…" He cried, burying his face into her shoulder. "She, she's not sor-sorry." He hiccupped, his hands clutching at her back like she was a lifeline. "She never was."

Clarissa shushed him, rubbing her hand over his back. "Pumpkin… I think she was." She winced as his fingers dug into her back, feeling his strength being used even though he didn't know it. "I talked to her the day that your withdrawals reached their peak."

John pulled back, his eyes shining with tears. "You did?" He croaked, letting her touch his face to wipe the tears away.

She nodded, kissing his head. "I did." She smiled, lifting his chin so that he was looking her in the eye. "And you know what I told her?"

He shook his head, blinking as more tears escaped his eyes. "What?"

She tapped his nose, her smile widening. "I told her that you are my child, and she has no rights to you."

John gave a broken smile, feeling her brush a lock of his hair behind his ear. "I like that." He whispered, wrapping his arms tighter around her. "I like that a lot."

She chuckled, pressing her nose into his hair and breathing his scent that Claire seemed to love so much. "I'm glad." She whispered, patting his back like she would to comfort a crying baby, realizing that John had probably never felt this love before. "You're my baby, and nothing can take you away from me."

John gave a sad excuse for laugh, taking comfort in her grasp. "Even if I fuck up?"

She shook her head, rubbing her fingers in soothing circles on his back. "You couldn't mess up bad enough." She made him look at her, holding his shoulders as his dark eyes looked into hers. "Because a true mother would never abandon her child, no matter how they mess up."

John smiled, closing his eyes as he took comfort in the act of love that was so foreign to him. "Thanks Mom." He whispered, feeling a weight lift from his heart as she held him. "I like you better than Beverly."

She laughed, looking down at the child leaning against her chest. "I would hope so!"

He curled closer to her, finally feeling like he had a real mom for once in his life. "I can't wait until I marry Claire so that we can be a real family."

She smiled, rocking him back and forth as she hummed a song to help calm him. "We're already a real family."

John listened to the vibrations in her chest, knowing exactly what song it was. "The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping I dreamed I held you in my arms But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken And I hung my head and I cried You are my sunshine, my only sunshine You make me happy when skies are grey You'll never know, dear, how much I love you Please don't take my sunshine away I'll always love you and make you happy If you will only say the same But if you leave me to love another You'll regret it all some day You are my sunshine, my only sunshine You make me happy when skies are grey You'll never know, dear, how much I love you Please don't take my sunshine away You told me once, dear, you really loved me And no one else could come between But now you've left me and love another You have shattered all my dreams You are my sunshine, my only sunshine You make me happy when skies are grey You'll never know dear, how much I love you Please don't take my sunshine away." He sang with her, letting the music flow through him, ignoring the strain the simple song put on his aching throat. "I love you Mom." He whispered, listening to her heart.

She pulled him closer, over joyed that he'd finally said that to her. "I love you too, Pumpkin." She looked down at him, feeling his breathing start to even out. "Do you think you can go back inside?"

He nodded, slowly standing and adjusting his blazer as he started back for the courtroom. "I want the DNA tests opened." He stated, letting Clarissa hold his hand as they met Thomas at the corner arguing with Kemp about showing things to a minor without asking his guardians first. He looked at Thomas, glancing between him and Kemp. "I'm ready."

Thomas patted John's shoulder, glaring at Kemp as they walked back to the room. "I'm asking the judge if he'll play our tapes next." He stated, letting John sit with the rest of the family. "We will win this."