Robert tugged nervously on his tie. He didn't want to wear the god forsaken thing, but his lawyer insisted that his dad was going to be present for this trial. Robert was providing a testimony today and his lawyer said his dad requested he look his best. It wasn't necessarily what Robert wanted, but he did want his dad to see him again as something more than a child support payment every month.
He looked with disdain at the handcuffs he was being made to wear into the courtroom. He held up his hands to the guard when the man came closer and sighed in relief when the handcuffs were removed. He leaned back in his seat and tilted his head back when his lawyer leaned over to whisper in his ear.
"I don't care if you did it or not, don't let them try to talk you into admitting your guilt."
Robert swallowed deeply even as he rolled his eyes in exasperation. He couldn't understand why he had to listen to such a stuck up bitch…but he knew his dad was paying her to keep him out of jail. Not that he thought she was necessarily good for anything.
"Did you hear me Robert?"
"Yes ma'am…I heard you." Robert replied in a whisper to her. He sat by in silence after her order to him to practically keep his mouth shut.
The bailiff entered the room and cast a surveying look around before he took up his stance by the desk. "Would everybody please rise for the honorable Judge Dusty Somers presiding?"
Everyone that was present stood while the judge entered the room. Robert could feel eyes burning holes into the back of his head and with a furtive glance over his shoulders could see a few of trash heaps siblings glaring at him. He looked back toward the judge and when the bailiff gave his permission, everyone in the room sat down.
The judge briefly glanced through a folder that the bailiff had given her before she looked back up and looked toward the opposing side. Alan and Fermat's lawyer Barrett stood up to talk once more about everything. Robert tuned out for part of what Barrett was saying up until the words 'final surgery' was said. He tuned back in to listen to what the lawyer was speaking of.
"Six months ago, my clients escaped from the Wharton's fire. The injuries caused by the fire and their harrowing escape has literally turned their whole worlds upside down. In the six months since the fire one of my clients Alan Tracy has already had five surgeries, not including having his wounds debrided of the scorched flesh that died and was necrotizing. As he heals from his fifth and hopefully last surgery, Alan will soon be looking forward to countless more hospital visits as well as visits with a plastic surgeon that specializes in scar reduction so that Alan can live as normal of a life as is possible. My other client Fermat, he's already had three surgeries just to repair the torn gastrocnemius and soleus muscles which have permanently affected his gait. During therapy, he can barely tolerate weight bearing and limps when he tries to walk with an aid such as a crutch or walker. With time he may be able to walk normally, but his doctors have stated his gait may be forever compromised due to the fire. Why do you ask, that I'd bring up their injuries when we're here today to discuss the defendant? Because I want you all to hear and see the injuries done that were believed to have been caused by that boy you see sitting at the defendant's table." Barrett pointed directly at Robert and the boy gulped when he saw the disapproving eyes of the jury that sat across the room from him.
"I have express permission from my client's fathers to show pictures taken by the doctor of their wounds, before and after surgery." Barrett said before he handed a folder of pictures to the bailiff who handed it off to the judge. The judge looked through the folder before she nodded at Barrett. They'd go over the photos a little later.
Scott, Gordon, Virgil and John sat side by side, each of them watching the proceedings. Their dad and grandma were sat one row behind them with Lady Penelope and Parker who made a surprise appearance. Nobody talked and possibly nobody breathed as Barrett and Robert's lawyer tossed accusations, facts and lies around. The four brothers each sat up straighter when one of the twins was called forward. He introduced himself as Mason and he was the younger brother to his twin Kolby.
"Where were you the night of December 19th?" Barrett asked as he focused solely on the younger twin.
"I was in my room, working on a homework assignment." Mason said as he looked out towards the Tracy brothers. His face showed how sorry he was but the brothers kept their glares hard.
"Can anybody vouch for you?" Barrett asked.
"My brother, we share a room together." Mason replied. "He was playing computer games."
"And where was your room located in relation to the fire?" Barrett inquired.
"Our room was on the second floor. Two floors below where Alan and Fermat stayed." Mason said.
"So you knew where my clients lived when in attendance of Wharton's?" Barrett asked, as a perfect eyebrow quirked up in question.
"Yes…I had to study biochemistry and Fermat was my tutor a few times. We studied in his dorm." Mason revealed.
"Was Alan ever present for any of the tutoring sessions?" Barrett asked as he walked around the booth.
"No, I didn't want it advertised that I had a twelve year old tutoring me in biochemistry." Mason admitted. "Fermat always scheduled my tutoring sessions when he knew Alan was out for sports practice."
"And why is that?" Barrett shot back.
"I'm a straight A student…and seventeen years old. Wouldn't you be embarrassed being tutored by a preteen? I couldn't understand the material presented to us and Fermat was in my advanced biochemistry class…our teacher asked him to tutor me." Mason replied back as his cheeks grew to a dull shade of pink at his admission. "I told Fermat how embarrassed I was and he said he understood."
"Was this before or after the allegations of you, your brother and Robert's bullying of my clients?" Barrett inquired.
"Before…I requested a different tutor after the bullying began." Mason admitted.
"And why was that?" Barrett asked as he attempted to dig further.
"I couldn't look Fermat in the eye after I began bullying him and Alan. I wasn't the best at chemistry but I began to understand it with Fermat's tutelage. When we started picking on them, every time I looked at Fermat I could see the betrayal written on his face." Mason replied, the pain of his actions leaking into his tone of voice as he admitted to his wrong doing.
"So why get involved in the bullying? If you knew it was wrong, why didn't you go to a trusted adult or teacher that could intervene? Nobody said you had to join in the bullying of my clients." Barrett questioned. He walked around in front of the jury, tapping his index finger against his chin as he raised his gaze towards the ceiling as if in confusion.
"Nobody asked me to do anything…it started out as trying to embarrass Alan and just picked up over time to where it just got out of control. I tried to quit, tried to get my brother to lay off on the bullying…especially after Robert made Alan cry in gym class." Mason said softly.
"What happened in gym class?" Barrett asked, he was unaware of this.
Mason released a heavy sigh before he began to speak. "A few weeks before the fire, we were in gym class. Wharton's had a combined class which combined freshman through juniors in gym class. Myself, my brother Kolby, Robert, Alan and Fermat and the rest of their friends were all in the same class. Kolby and I teased Alan about the scar on his forehead, Robert started calling him trash heap and mocking him for his mother's death. I know it was wrong but Kolby and I joined in and started teasing him when he began to shake."
"And why was he shaking?" Barrett asked as he looked towards Alan's family, thereby drawing Mason's gaze to Alan's family. The teen directed all he said to Barrett before he spoke directly to Alan's family.
"He was more than pissed off that we were teasing him about his mom's death. But he was shaking because Robert started saying that Alan's mom killed herself because she hated that she created a monster like Alan. He was trying not to cry." Robert directed everything else to Alan's family as his own eyes welled with tears at the guilt he felt for all that he'd done wrong to Alan. "I knew it was wrong and I'm so sorry I ever got involved. I wish more than anything I could take it all back and start over but this time defending Alan instead of tearing him down. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."
"If you knew it was wrong…why did you do it? I thought you were my friend!" Robert asked loudly as he shot up to his feet.
"I am not your friend and I never will be! You used me and my brother! Now because of you and your intense desire to get back at Alan for spilling his damn dinner on you…accidently might I add? I will miss five years with my brother! He's locked up in prison as of our eighteenth birthday because you couldn't let sleeping dogs lie!" Mason yelled emphatically at Robert.
"Your brother did that on his own! He's a big boy! I wasn't telling him what to do!" Robert attempted to argue despite his lawyer trying to make him keep quiet. The judge was hammering her gavel to try to bring order to the court but Mason and Robert continued to argue.
"You made him and you know it! Kolby never used to pick on people – not until he became your mentor! You're crazy and I wish he'd never gotten mixed up with the likes of you! He tried to keep the peace between you and Alan but you just kept pushing and pushing and pushing until you backed Kolby into a corner and made him feel like he had to keep up appearances just so he could keep a freaking eye on you! It's your fault! Because you couldn't forgive Alan! I know it was an accident that he spilled his dinner on you because I was the one horsing around and caused him to fall into you! If you should be mad at anyone it should be me and me alone. I was goofing off with one of my friends and he playfully shoved me into Alan."
Robert's face grew an alarming shade of red. He directed hate filled eyes towards Mason who was perching on the edge of his seat. The older boy was breathing sharply as he finished his tirade. He couldn't speak anymore. The judge hammered her gavel one more time.
"I believe a recess is in order. I will want to both counselors to see me in my chambers in fifteen minutes." Judge Somers hammered her gavel before she stood up and left.
The bailiff kept Mason in the podium while a guard escorted Robert from the room in the cuffs that became a little more than customary since the beginning to the case.
Once released, Mason walked over to Barrett and looked up at him. He ducked his head for a few moments before he spoke up.
"Sir, would it be okay if I approached your client's family so that I can apologize to them for what I did to their sons?" Mason asked as respectfully as possible.
"I wish that were possible. But because of deliberations, you are not permitted to have any contact with my client's family…at least not at this time. I will be in contact though when you are permitted. It could be a conflict of interest if you speak to them while in open deliberations." Barrett had his hands in his pocket before he put out a hand to shake hands with Mason. "Thank you though for testifying on behalf of my clients."
Mason shook hands with Barrett and he noticed when a business card was discreetly slipped into his palm with Barrett's email address and a note that said he'd contact the juvenile detention center where Mason would be when he was allowed to be in contact with the Tracy's and Hackenbackers.
"Thank you sir…" Mason replied politely before he turned to another guard that approached him. He held his hands out to the guard and the guard placed a pair of handcuffs on him before leading him away.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Meanwhile Alan was clenching his teeth in discomfort as a team of nurses focused on changing his bandages. He could see the site where his surgery was at with the use of a mirror that he'd demanded he have so he could see his back and he couldn't hold back the wince at the sight of it. It hurt something fierce, but Alan wasn't gonna cry. He'd done enough of that in the length of time that he'd been in the hospital and he wanted to be done. Go back to normal.
He continued to lean forward as his nurse changed his dressing on his back. She wrapped the dressing around to his stomach before doubling the dressing back so that it wrapped his midsection in cotton.
"There we go, now we're all finished." Karen Alan's nurse said as she fastened off the bandage to keep it from slipping. Alan leaned back against the dressing slowly with the help of Karen. Once he was situated in bed, the nurses left the room thereby leaving Alan alone to his thoughts.
Alan couldn't help but to question everything. His life, things he'd done in the past, mistakes he'd made. He wondered about what he honestly did to Robert to make him so mad. He didn't think he'd ever not wonder until he'd finally found out the truth.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
As the judge called the courtroom back into order immediately following their brief recess, everyone gathered watched as Robert's lawyer leaned in close to hiss something in his ear. Robert nodded slowly to the woman before she stood and without missing a beat called Robert to the stand. Those gathered in support of Alan all visibly tensed when Robert stood up.
Gordon who was sat not far from Robert tightened his fist in anger over Robert being up and about walking around without any injuries while his little brother – both of them where still bed ridden. He wished he could beat the living daylights out of Robert, but he knew he couldn't for one because he was an adult (could be seen as child abuse) and he personally didn't want to be thrown in jail. He'd let those in juvy deal with Robert.
John held his breath whilst narrowing his eyes marginally at Robert when the younger boy stood to approach the bench. He really hated that boy without a doubt and it was very rare for anyone to be on the receiving end of his fury like Robert was now. He wished more than anything to be able to make Robert suffer as bad as not only Alan but Fermat was suffering. Neither of those boys deserved what they believed Robert to have caused.
Scott remained stone-faced as he sat with his brothers. He wasn't about to show just how pissed off he was at Robert. The boy would get his just desserts as their grandmother always said. Scott believed in karma and he felt that something would eventually happen to Robert as punishment for his crimes against his family. Nobody messed with his family. Nobody.
Virgil sat with his arms crossed over his chest as he sat with his eyes closed. He wasn't going to look at Robert. The boy just pissed him off by simply being in the same room and Virgil was trying to get in control of his temper. He was holding his breath as he waited for Robert to be sworn in and start spilling the lies he knew the boy had to tell.
Jeff sat in the row behind his sons, next to Lady Penelope and Parker and he tightened his fists against his knees. He didn't realize how worked up he was getting over being in the same room with the boy that was believed to have harmed…or attempted to murder however you want to look at it. It wasn't until Lady Penelope placed a soft hand against his callused hand that he released his painful grip against his suit pants. Easing his grip up on the fabric covering his knees, Jeff turned a hand over to where it was palm up so that Lady Penelope could hold his hand.
Lady Penelope remained stoic. She was quite well known for keeping a poker face and she wasn't about to show her emotions. She knew Robert was in the wrong, she had sources everywhere and she knew the truth. Though she couldn't make a revelation to Jeff and his family until they'd come full circle.
Parker was most unhappy himself over what the boy Robert was believed to have done to the young master Alan and Fermat. Parker really took a liking to both young boys and he'd taken Alan…not so much Fermat under his wing and taught him little ins and outs for escape and ways to cause general mischief.
Brains was sitting ramrod straight beside Jeff. He hated that he had to miss spending time with his son to sit in a courtroom and listen to Robert's lies, but Fermat asked him to go and represent him. And Fermat's request made Brains stop and wonder just when his son grew up…he may be twelve still but Brains was blown away by Fermat's request altogether. The boy seemed older than he really should have been. He hoped it wasn't due to the fire that made Fermat grow up earlier than he should have but he'd never truly know until this whole thing was over.
Ruth wasn't currently present as she'd decided to go spend a few hours with her grandson. Alan and Fermat according to Dr. Andreesen were ecstatic over Ruth coming to visit. She may or may not have snuck in some goodies that she'd talked the chef of the hotel into letting her cook before they'd opened for business for the day. Dr. Andreesen wasn't going to report that junk food had been snuck in, instead keeping quiet over it after being told by Ruth she'd bring some goodies in to the nurse's station if he looked the other way.
When the lawyers began, those gathered for Alan and Fermat sat up straighter to listen closely though they didn't believe the boy and his lies.
"Please state your name for the court." Barrett opened as the primary speaker.
"Robert Thomas Flynn." Robert replied as he looked around the room and keenly avoided the cold and icy stares of the Tracy family.
"Mr. Flynn…" Barrett started to ask but was quickly cut off by the boy in question.
"Call me Robert. I hate being called Mr. Flynn…I'm not my dad." Robert spat venomously at the mention of his dad. Barrett nodded with his lips pursed before he resumed his line of questioning.
"Robert…tell me about your life at Wharton's. What was it like?" Barrett asked trying to get an idea on how exactly life was for Robert from his perspective.
"It sucked…I hated it." Robert admitted.
"Most boys in your position would give up their eyeteeth for the chance to attend the prestigious Wharton's. They're highly rated for providing an excellent education and college preparatory. Why would you hate it?" Barrett inquired as he pretended to be baffled.
"I never wanted to go there. I was happy at my old school." Robert said with a sneer. "But I got expelled at my last school and my mom couldn't find anyone that would take me anywhere."
"So why would Wharton's school for boys have taken you? Don't they cost a pretty penny?" Barrett asked.
"Yes…my mom was already working four jobs and doing things under the table just to pay for me to attend my last school. I screwed up and made things difficult for my mom, I don't know how or if but I think my mom contacted my dad that we've been separated from since I was a baby." Robert said.
"And your dad is…who?" Barrett asked with a tilt of his head.
"My dad was the headmaster of Wharton's." Robert said to which several gasps were heard in the courtroom.
"So your dad was Headmaster Flynn. I see and what might I add was the stipulation that caused you to be enrolled at Wharton's?" Barrett asked hoping that maybe they'd get a revelation on some things.
"My mom called my dad to ask for some money so that she could enroll me in a school out of state. I'm no stranger to boarding schools. My dad however refused to give her any money and said he'd overlook my expulsion if they'd enroll me at Wharton's so he could get to know me. He paid for my tuition so I could attend and I wound up at Wharton's." Robert said with a shrug.
"So your dad covered the cost of your tuition and you went to Wharton's. Might I ask why you hated it at Wharton's? You were able to attend practically for free with your dad paying the tuition." Barrett inquired, genuinely curious.
"I'm not a preppy school boy. There were too many rules. Had to wear our blazers all the time, had to have our shirts buttoned all the way up and wear a freaking tie. Our shoes had to be scuff free and we had to be expected to treat the teachers like they were the kings and queens of the world. Replies always had to be yes sir no sir, yes ma'am no ma'am. I hated it! It was like we were attending a freaking military school."
"Well Wharton's does have an ROTC program. So it's not hard to see that they probably did have some military standards." Barrett replied.
"You don't get it! I was in hell being there. I didn't want to be anywhere near my dad, I didn't want my mom to feel like she had to spend every penny she earned just to make me go to a boarding school. I'd have been happy at a public school. But I had to attend a stuffy preppy school with a bunch of preppy boys that are all about drinking frou-frou coffees and not wanting to get a speck of dirt under their finger nails. I especially didn't want to attend school with the little blight that is my younger half-brother and his preppy friends if you want to call them that." Robert practically exploded when he began to explain.
"So you had a younger…half-brother you say. How much younger?" Barrett asked with a smirk.
"He is two years younger than me." Robert said with another sneer.
"And he belongs to which parent…your mom or your dad?" Barrett asked.
"He was my dad's mistake. My dad was banging some girl on the side and knocked her up when he and my mom were still married. That's what led to me and my mom being estranged from him since I was a baby. My dad wanted me and that…blight to be roommates but I didn't want a roommate. I threatened to hurt the kid until our dad said I could have my own room." Robert said as a muscle ticked in his cheek showing his irritation to the gathered court.
"Why did you have a problem with your younger brother? It's not like he was to blame for your dad's infidelity to your mom." Barrett asked as he turned and met eyes with Jeff. The older man nodded slightly to Barrett.
"But he was! If he hadn't been born, my dad wouldn't have left my mom to try to be a better dad to that…thing!" Robert replied angrily.
"Robert…where were you the night of the attack on Alan? On the rooftop of the school about…oh say a few days before the fire actually took place?" Barrett asked completely changing the line of questions, mostly to throw Robert off.
"I was in my bedroom." Robert replied as he leaned back in his chair.
"Oh, were you? Can anyone vouch for your alibi?" Barrett inquired as he caught Robert in a lie. "I seem to have a little piece of video evidence here that proves you were anywhere but in your bedroom."
Barrett handed a compact disc up to the judge who nodded before she turned to the bailiff.
"Please set up the screen so we can see the evidence presented by the defense." Judge Somers said.
Robert's upper lip curled moderately but he remained in his seat while the bailiff set up the screen. The judge placed the disc in the player and they all sat in silence as the video began to play. The bailiff turned down the light in the room as they all sat in silence.
"Hey, this is Alan 'Dodger' Tracy and Jamie 'Jem' Mueller; we are currently up on the student walk up on the roof of the building taking in the evening scenery. James brought his easel and paint set to do a scenery painting for his art class while I am capturing video footage for my brother to view for his own art projects. We'll have to see what kind of footage of landscapes we get. Hopefully we don't freeze to death out here, it's almost 6:00pm and even for a cloudy evening it is freaking cold out here." Alan said as he turned the camera so it faced him. He was sporting a slightly pink nose from the cold and steam was visible every time he exhaled on that cold December night.
"Hey Alan, do you think I'll get extra credit for getting frost bite for Mr. Carney's art class?" A boy bundled up in a hat, jacket, scarf and gloves inquired from the metal bench near the edge of the roof. "Mr. Carney is crazy for expecting us to sit outside for the duration of these flipping homework assignments, you'd think with it being…oh I don't know nine days from Christmas break that we'd be done with homework and not expected to freeze outside."
Alan was heard chuckling from behind the camera as he panned around capturing video footage of landscapes from different angles.
"I don't know dude. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't, why do you think I signed up for photography in place of art for my arts credit? I can paint and draw some pretty awesome stick figures, but I'm not nearly as good as my brother or you for that matter. I'm so glad you dragged me out here. The video footage is excellent; hopefully my brother can get a few awesome paintings from this video alone." The camera panned again, before Alan apparently wanted to go to another side of the roof to get better angles, because the camera swung around. "Whoa dude, that is awesome! You know if it wasn't for our faces being bright red and our fingers being numb, obvious signs of how long we've been out here, I'd be willing to bet you that Mr. Carney would claim you painted this from your room."
"Why am I inclined to agree with you? You're welcome by the way." There was a bit of muffled conversation before Alan stepped around behind Jamie to video what he had done for his painting. It wasn't finished yet, but it looked really good for a high school student's painting. "Hey, don't do that! I'm not finished with the painting yet!"
Alan and Jamie both began chuckling, Jamie obviously putting his hand in front of the camera lens to block any more footage of his unfinished painting. A grunt, followed by a breathless chuckle of 'Ow' signified that one of the boys hit the other…hard enough to hurt, but meant to be playful.
"Oh looky what we have here boys. Trifling twins…why am I not surprised?" An unidentified boy was heard off camera followed by murmurs of agreement from two other unidentified voices. Alan who had the camera in hand swung around with a startled gasp. Scuffling of feet could be heard as Jamie or Alan was heard taking a step in the gathered snow.
"What do you want Robert?" Alan asked as calmly as he could, though the strain in his voice as he struggled to remain calm was evident.
"You know very well what I want, but for some reason you and the little bastard hiding behind you refuse to give it to me. Looks like Mason, Kolby and I are gonna have to teach you to a lesson." A boy standing in the middle was seen speaking. He had dark curly brown hair, he looked honestly like he needed a haircut, the curls were framing his face.
"How can you call Jamie a bastard? He's your half-brother for God's sake! Leave him out of this; this is between me and you." The camera shook slightly as Alan began to become angry. "I don't know how many times I need to tell you, my team and I won that money…fair and square. I am not going to give you any of that money no matter how many times you demand I pay it. The judges at the science fair chose fairly. They were brought in from neighboring schools so they couldn't have a biased opinion on a student's experiment. Get over it! The competition was back in early September, we are in late December…it's over it's done with!"
"It will never be over Trash Heap, I want that money…if you don't give it to me here soon you won't like what I am going to do." Alan, who still had a firm hold on the camera, must have forgotten he was recording the encounter. However, Alan took a couple steps back when Robert broke rank to approach Alan and Jamie.
"You'd better stay away from us. I'm warning you now. Step away and leave us alone." Alan's voice slightly shook, partly from anger, partly from fear.
A/N: So here is the latest installment of Rising From The Ashes and I must say things are about to get heated. Stay tuned! Reviews are appreciated though if only rude comments are given I will delete them. I don't like haters that have to rag on my stories and those of you who do leave nasty or scathing reviews can screw off.
If you don't have a kind word to say, please keep your comments to yourself...didn't anyone ever teach you that? Duh!
Sad Blue Eyed Angel 2010