Chapter Three-Hundred and Forty-One

Clarissa smiled as John slept against her side, rubbing tiny circles on his waist where the bullet had grazed him in Mexico. She hummed a quiet song in her throat, chuckling as he buried himself deeper into the curve of her body.

Jim stopped at he doorway, shaking his head as he saw his friend's peaceful expression. "Did you see his new tattoo?" He asked, stepping inside.

Clarissa shook her head, looking over his arms for the new ink. "Where?"

"It's on his left side." He lifted John's t-shirt up, happy that he was sleeping so deep that he didn't wake up. "See?"

Clarissa ran her fingertips over the new mark, smiling when she saw that his side had an image of a wolf and an angel standing on a bridge over the brand that Jacob forced him to wear. She moved to the word that the bridge was formed of, her smile only widening with what the letters spelled. "Standish…" She whispered, pushing tears back. "He decided to wear our name."

Thomas watched John out of the corner of his eye, noticing how his leg bounced with anxiety. His fingers twitched on his knees, his lip was starting to bleed from his teeth biting at it, and the scab on his nose seemed to become darker with how pale he was. "John, relax. They're not going to make you see Ben again."

"It doesn't matter." He hissed, his dark eyes flitting over to where Kemp sat. "That snake could have me canned for hitting the son of a bitch with that pipe."

Thomas offered John a reassuring pat on the shoulder, stopping when he jumped away from the contact. "I'll handle it."

John jumped as the judge called him to the stand. "Fuck…" He hissed. He moved through the familiar ritual of being sworn in, glaring at Kemp as he began to pace before him.

"Mr. Bender, is this or is this not the first time you have invited Benjamin O'Hara to the act of homosexual relations?" Kemp asked, his lips curling in a sneer with the question backing John into a corner right off the bat.

"No." John stated. "I have never invited him to-"

"It's a yes or no question, Mr. Bender." Kemp placed his hand on the railing, leaning close enough for John to smell the liquor on his breath, and the sex on his clothes. "There's no need for farther explanation, unless you feel guilty."

John's eyes turned black, his temper near the edge since he hadn't had more than a few hours of sleep in more than five days, and even less food to keep his body strong. He could feel the way his hands and body shook, hear his demons screaming in the back of his skull. They begged him for a drug, booze, even simple sex, anything to make him forget. "Here's a yes or no question for you Kemp. Do you feel guilt when you sleep with your mistress? When you cheat on not only your wife, but your son as well? Or is it drowned out with the fireball whiskey you drank with lunch?"

Before anyone could intervene, Kemp's hand swiped over John's cheek with a loud smack filling the room. "You bastard!" He cursed, his fingers wrapping around John's throat as he drew back for another punch. "You're the one on trial here!"

Guards grabbed Kemp's arms, and Clarissa rushed to John's side. She fussed over the red handprint on his cheek, her fingers soft against his skin. "Are you okay?"

"He's high! Test him! That kid's on meth! I know it!" Kemp screamed as cuffs were clamped on his wrists and he was shoved away from the room.

John nodded as Clarissa touched his neck and jaw, letting the adrenaline slowly fade out of his system. "I've felt worse." He sighed, only letting himself fully relax when Kemp's shouts and screams could no longer reach his ears.