Chapter 13 PT 1 - ("The prices you pay")
"But Jack-"
"Please Grace...just go to church with your mom and I promise I'll be fine over here. I have Ally, and Chloe, and even Ben and Leo are coming."
"But you're not even close to them! They barely know you," Grace pushed.
Grace was sitting on her bed as she talked to Jack on the phone. Today was the big day. He was going to court in hopes of winning his case and being able to sue the school for what they allowed to happen to Jack and to Ally. Grace couldn't help but be nervous about that. Jack was going to have to talk about everything that he went through that night.
"Grace," Jack sighed, "It's better for you not to come...There's some things that happened that night that I haven't even told you about...or anyone for that matter. I just think it would be better if you weren't there. I need to do this without you Grace."
Grace sighed, "...Jack-"
"Grace come on! Adrian's coming too. You have NOTHING to worry about."
"Adrian! You're letting Adrian come and not me! Adrian can hear something so personal but not me! Not the girl that you supposedly love!"
"Grace you just don't understand-"
"You know what Jack? Forget it. If you don't want me there, I won't be there. Bye."
Before Jack could say anything more she hung up, letting out a frustrated breath in the process.
"Grace!" Kathleen called. Grace sighed and put her phone in her jean pocket. She adjusted her white blouse as she walked out of her bedroom door and smiled at her mother, "Yeah I'm coming."
Kathleen smiled, "Great...Did you tell Jack?"
"Yeah...he would rather me not be there during the case anyway so I guess I'll be going to church with you and George...where's Tom?"
Kathleen paused for a moment, "He would really rather you not go? Why?"
Grace shrugged, "I guess he doesn't feel comfortable sharing all of that personal information with me just yet."
"Oh I see...well that is totally understandable dear...You looked a little annoyed though. Is it bothering you?"
"No...Yes...I don't know. I mean we decided to go out again but to take things really slow but...I didn't know that meant that I couldn't be there for him for something so important you know?"
"Well maybe it has nothing to do with your relationship with him."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean...maybe he just doesn't want you to see him as week or vulnerable. Guys tend to do that a lot Grace. I wouldn't worry too much about it."
Grace was about to say something about Adrian being there when Tom came down the stairs.
"I...not GO-ing to-day," Tom said as he walked down the stairs with a black suite on.
Grace and Kathleen looked at each other in confusion, and then back at Tom.
"What do you mean you're not going today?" Kathleen asked.
"I...have stuff to do TO-day."
"What kind of stuff? And why are you dressed so nice?" Grace asked as she rolled her eyes at Tom. I hope he's not up to one of his little schemes again.
"That is...my BUIS-NESS."
"Tom!"
"Let's just let him be, we're already running late. Tom, I don't want any lady friends over at the house right now ok? You didn't get back with Tammy did you?" Kathleen looked at Tom with a serious face.
"NO! She...DOES-N'T want me. Bye now!"
"Ugh Tom. I hate when you pull little stunts like this. This better not have anything to do with me."
"It...not all AB-OUT you Gwace!"
"Grace stop arguing with your brother and come on, we're gonna be late if we don't hurry. And by the way Amy is coming too."
"Really? Why?"
Kathleen shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure. George just called me this morning and told me that Amy was interested in going with him to church. I was thinking maybe you could go with her to youth group and I'll take George to the couples Bible study."
"Umm...I don't know about that. It's been a while since I've been at the youth group services...and a lot of girls there won't be so kind to me."
"Hey what does the Bible say...'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'."
"Well yeah but-"
"You'll be fine Grace...and you'll have Amy. Now let's go."
"Hey...are you ready to get in there?" Adrian asked. She was standing next to Jack who was currently outside of Valley Glen Court building.
Jack sighed as he slipped his phone back into his pocket, "Yeah...I guess."
"Jack...I know this is hard but you can get through it ok? You're strong...And God is supposed to help you or whatever right?"
Jack nodded, "Yeah I guess you have a point...I just don't know how much I'll be able to focus...Grace is pretty pissed at me."
Adrian rolled her eyes, "Jack! This is a really big moment! Don't get me wrong, I love Grace. She is my best friend but you have to put aside whatever she's mad about right now because you getting justice is important! Forget about Grace for a moment alright...I'm sure whatever it is, isn't even a big deal."
"She thinks that I trust you and not her."
"What the hell! Why would she think that?"
"Well...I kind of told her that you were going to be here today and she flipped out on me."
Adrian groaned, "Ugh, I'll have to call her later...Did you at least tell her that I'm only here because Ruben and Samuel are friends, and Ruben wanted to give Samuel ideas for the case? Or that Ruben thought it would be good if I talked up there today too since I have some experience with that pimp?"
"Uh, no, not exactly...She didn't even give me time to explain!"
"Por armor de Dios! Whatever right now we just don't have time for this...come on, we have to get back inside."
"Alright...I'll be in there in a minute tops."
"Ok, I'm gonna go find Ruben right now. I'll see you in there. Good luck Jack."
"Thanks."
Once Adrian walked inside, Jack grabbed a small bag from his back pocket. He had only tried the steroids twice since having them but with the stress of having to talk in front of the court today, and the added stress to the little time he had to get prepared for his fight, somehow the steroids helped him. It ensured him that things would go in his favor for the fight, and that was good enough for him. He grabbed the amount of pills that he needed and then he swallowed them. After that he quickly made his way inside to get some water, and then proceed with the case.
...
Jack made his way inside the court room and saw that Ben, Leo, and Chloe were already there. Samuel was talking to Ally about something, while Leo, Ben, and Chloe were sitting down. Adrian was seated next to them while Ruben joined in on the conversation between Samuel and Ally. Jack felt his heart beat increase as he realized that this was finally it. He suddenly found himself wishing that he hadn't forced his parents not to come. It took a long time of pleading for them not to be here with him for this day, but now he felt completely alone.
He knew that his father was at church at the moment, and that his mother was at work and he could easily give them a call and they would drop it all for him, but he didn't want them to. He felt that his dad needed to be at the church right now, and that just praying for him was enough. And his mom would only make him even more nervous. He didn't want them hearing these things either.
"Jack! Hey over here!"
Jack looked over to see that Samuel was calling him. He made his way towards Samuel, Ally, and Ruben.
"Alright...we've been over all of the questions before. This case honestly shouldn't be too hard. All you two have to do is answer honestly...Ally your evidence may not be as credible given how long ago it was, and so that means we're going to be totally relying on you today Jack."
"No pressure through right?" Jack joked, but on the inside he was freaking out. He didn't know if he could do this anymore.
Ally looked over at him and placed a warm hand on his shoulder, "We're going to be alright...Me and you Jack, we can do this."
"Thanks," he said. Lord...please be with me today. I can't do this on my own.
As Jack went to take a seat next to Adrian before the court appearance started, Ben made his way towards Ally, "Hey...I just wanted to say good luck today. I know it's not the easiest thing to do but you're really strong Ally..."
"Rose."
"What?"
"Call me Rose...It's my middle name...I always thought that Ally sounded more like a nickname. I don't know why my parents named me that."
Ben smiled, "Rose...I like it."
Ally smiled back at him and without warning she reached for his hand and squeezed it gently, "Thanks...for the good luck I mean. My parents are over there in the back but it's nice to have another person there for me."
"Not a problem."
"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! Meeting called to order on Sunday, at 12:30 PM by me, Judge Bink..."
The judge carried on with the normal procedures and Adrian's eyes widened. She nudged Jack, "Please tell me that's not..."
"Our old counselor?" Jack finished the statement off.
"How the hell did Wilameena become a lawyer? That woman was crazy," Adrian whispered.
Jack shrugged, "I don't know...but I really hope she doesn't blow this case for me."
Adrian's face softened and she sighed, "I can't tell you what's gonna happen because I just don't know...but I really hope that everything goes according to plan today."
"Yeah...me too."
Kathleen and Grace had just entered the church when they saw that George and Amy were already there. Kathleen smiled as she walked over to George and the two shared a quick kiss, "How did you guys get here so fast?"
"I woke Ames up a little early...I guess I was just eager to get here and see what this whole thing was about. I know I've been to church before, but I wasn't exactly focused."
Kathleen giggled, "Well I hope you enjoy it today. Usually the couples studies tend to be group discussions. There's a few scriptures, but it's not a long sermon, and everyone gets to ask questions. I know the pastor can help you out more than I can...Grace? Shouldn't you be going?"
Amy looked over at Grace with a confused expression, "Where are you going?"
Grace rolled her eyes, "My mom wants me to take you to our Youth Group service today."
"Oh...Alright...I guess that's ok. Is the Youth Group any good?"
"It used to be," Grace muttered bitterly as she started walking to the Youth Group section.
Amy looked at Kathleen, "Did I say something?"
"No...It has nothing to do with you it's just that...after Grace had sex with Jack, the Youth Group students didn't seem to take her very seriously. You should catch up with her before you get lost."
"Right. Bye George."
"Bye Ames. I'll see you in an hour or so."
...
"Alright...the Youth group service is right through that door," Grace told Amy, but she didn't seem to be moving.
As Amy walked towards the door she turned around and looked at Grace with a worried expression, "Aren't you coming?"
Grace drew in a shaky breath, "I...I don't know if I can anymore Amy."
"But they're Christians, aren't they supposed to be nice?"
Grace let out a dry laugh, "Yeah...but the thing is that, they're human too. Christians aren't perfect, and these girls...I just know they're not going to have anything good to say about me."
"Well...I'll be there, for you I mean. You have my support," Amy said.
Grace's eyes lit up, "Do I really?"
"Of course, we are future stepsisters after all."
Grace chuckled, "Yeah...but can you really say that you're happy about that?"
Amy bit her bottom lip nervously before looking back at Grace, "Honestly...no. I would love it if my dad got back together with my mom and we had our little family again...but obviously my dad is in love with your mom and I'm just going to have to accept that."
"Woah! When did you start getting all mature."
"It happens when you get pregnant at an early age," Amy joked, "And with Nora being sick...I had to step up and become more mature and responsible about things."
Grace sighed, "I'm sorry about Nora."
"It's ok...I'm worried about Ricky though. He's been at the hospital way too much. Even right now he's at the hospital, while Ashley is watching John."
"Wow...that's really tough."
"Yeah...anyway, let's get in there."
Grace nodded in agreement and the two made their way inside.
"Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
Jack touched the Bible, "I do."
"Ok proceed."
Samuel made his way towards Jack with a couple of papers on a clipboard in his hand.
"So Jack, you started school in August correct?"
Jack nodded, "Yes."
"And would you say that you saw a lot of security since being at the school?"
"Not exactly...there were a few cops around but it didn't seem like everyone was working the full hours-"
"OBJECTION YOUR HONOR! This is a biased answer. There's no way a student could know how many full hours each security officer was working at the time."
"So noted."
Samuel continued on, "Ok...well then why don't we just skip to that night then...That night, did you see any security officers when you went into your room?"
"No."
"And when Mickey, a very dangerous pimp came into the school and found his way to your room, did you see any security then?"
"No."
"Describe to me what happened that night Jack."
Jack swallowed a lump in this throat. He could feel the pain spreading through his body all over again. He suddenly felt himself becoming angry. His fists were clenched together and he had to bite his bottom lip to keep from screaming. He didn't know where this anger was coming from, but it felt unnatural.
"Take your time," Samuel said.
Jack drew in a deep breath, but it didn't help much. He was still angry. His voice was shaky and filled with annoyance as he started talking, "That bastard...Mickey...he came into my room one night. I was one the phone with someone and once I got off I turned to see that it was him. I recognized him as the dumbass pimp that Chloe had told me about."
Samuel gave Jack a warning look that told him to calm himself down, but Jack really couldn't do it at the moment.
"After that he told me...'Time to meet that God of yours in Heaven'," Jack's eyes started to watery, as he angrily drew his fist onto the court stand, "Dammit!"
"Jack...breathe. Now after he told you that what did he do?"
"Well...I didn't know if he had a knife or a gun on him or not so I...I begged and pleaded for him not to do anything to me. I told him I would give him anything...money...drugs...I even offered up Chloe...and I'll never be able to take that back," Jack said, as he looked over at Chloe sadly, "After that he just started beating me...it all happened so fast you know? He was punching me in the face, and in the ribs, and when my vision grew blurry all I could feel was the pain...It felt like my ribs were broken but he kept kicking and kicking...He choked me and I tried to fight it off but I couldn't. I kept screaming and screaming for someone to help me...but no one came until hours later."
His anger seemed to go away now, and he was thankful for that. Samuel shuffled through some papers.
"According to Security Policy 122, the security officers are supposed to walk around the dorm rooms to make sure that no strangers are up there...They are also supposed to ensure that no one comes into the college in the first place...Someone as dangerous as Mickey should have never been able to come inside. Now this man says that he was beaten brutally, and he was screaming out in pain...And where were the security officers at the time? That is the question that I bet everyone is wondering? Where were they? This man says that no one came until hours later. Hours of him being close to death. Hours of him having to struggle to hold on...And you know who we should blame for this? Yes, the pimp is the reason why Jack Papas was in a coma...but it would have never happened if it weren't for the school. The school is supposed to keep it's students safe! And that night, they failed to do so...May I have Ally Johnson come up to the stage?"
Jack made his way back to his seat. His hands were shaking from the nerves, and he gave Ally a small hug before she made her way up there. The cops made her touch a Bible, and she said I do before they proceeded with the case.
Amy and Grace found a seat in the back of the room. The teacher was an elderly lady with snow white hair, and high cheekbones. She had a smile on her face that was warm and inviting, and she wore a long blue dress with some brown sandals. She grabbed her Bible as she slowly made her way in front of the students, "Ok before we get started...can we have someone start prayer?"
A few kids offered to do it, but she overlooked them. Instead she had her eyes locked on Grace, "Gracie...Grace Bowman my goodness it's a pleasure to see you again!"
Grace gave her a warm smile, "It's good to see you to Mrs. Williams."
One girl crossed her arms over her shoulder as she looked at Grace, "Why are you here Grace? You're not a Christian. You were going around having sex with multiple guys while you told everyone not to do it."
The group started whispering and Grace couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Amy gave her a sympathetic smile and before anything else could happen, Mrs. Williams started talking.
"That's enough! I don't want to hear any of that...You guys all think you're Christians, and that just because you're a Christian that's going to stop you from doing anything that's wrong. If you believe this, then you're a hypocrite and you're lying to yourself. Being a Christian doesn't mean that you don't make mistakes. Being a Christian means that you know that God forgives you for your mistakes, even though you're going to continue to make them...Now, this brings us to today's topic of God, Sex, and Marriage. And I think a lot of you guys are going to be shocked to hear this. Open your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 7."
As they opened their Bibles, Amy looked over at Grace, "Are you ok?"
Grace nodded, "I'm fine...I expected this."
"I can beat her up if you want," Amy joked.
Grace chuckled, "There's no need for all that Amy...but thanks."
"I told you Toby, I can't today. My sister's making me watch John for her."
"Well John could come too," Toby pushed.
"And why would John want to go to a boring ass museum?" Ashley challenged, "Look, we can do all of that next weekend. I have to feed John right now so I'll talk to you later."
"I'm sorry Ashley it's just that...with you leaving and everything, I want to be able to spend as much time with you as possible."
Ashley felt the corners of her lips turn upward into a smile, "You could have decided to come with me but you chose not to...but whatever that's not even the point. Toby we're gonna be fine ok? How about we do something later tonight, when Amy comes back home?"
"Sure, that sounds great babe. I'll talk to you later."
"Alright bye." Ashley hung up the phone as she looked over at John. John was playing with his toys when he stopped and looked up at Ashley. Out of nowhere, he started crying, and Ashley walked over to him quickly and picked him up.
"John what's the matter?" she asked.
He continued crying, and she held him closer towards her. She kissed his cheek as she rocked him back and fourth, "Tell Aunt Ashley what's wrong."
"I...miss daddy!" he cried, "Wanna go see daddy!"
"Ok John calm down..."
"Wanna see daddy! Wanna see daddy!"
"Daddy's busy right now though."
But John kept screaming, "Wanna see daddy! Wanna see daddy!"
Ashley sighed as she bit her bottom lip nervously. She was contemplating something, but she wasn't sure if it was the best idea. She set John back down on the floor as she grabbed a thin coat for him that was lying on the couch, "Alright John, let's go see daddy."
"Yay! Daddy!" John eagerly threw on his coat and his shoes as they made their way out the door.
A/N: Ok so I had to stop it right there. I wasn't going to update until I was out of school but I have a three day weekend so I have some time. I hope you guys enjoyed this and sorry it took so long to update. I hope you guys enjoyed it.