Harper Brown✔ [ Sequel to Being McKenzie Prince]

Chapter Twelve

Today was the preliminary hearing which would determine where I got to stay while the trial was going on. This also meant that we would find out if there was even going to be a trial in the first place. If they determined that Rhyder had no foot to stand on and if there was not enough evidence of abuse, there was a big chance that I would be going home with them today.

That would be the worst case scenario. It meant that I would be forced to live with my parents for the last few months before I turned eighteen. I questioned whether anyone would actually rule against my father. He practically owned this town. If I went back there after I publicly humiliated my father I honestly believe that my father would not hesitate to kill me. There is a real possibility that I would end up buried in the backyard while he convinced everyone that I was away at a boarding school.

Some of the local newspapers have picked up the story. It is not every day that people like my parents get accused of abuse and that the whole town finds out that their golden boy tried to commit suicide a few months ago. I still cannot believe that all of my secrets are on display for everyone to dissect.

There are many reasons that I never told anyone the truth. Firstly I honestly believed that no one would believe me. Secondly I was afraid of how people would react. Both of these fears have came true since the truth has come out. The media was currently having a frenzy. Rhyder has had journalists go as far as to approach him at the restaurant where he works.

It sometimes feels like the only people who believe me are Rhyder, Edith and her family. Even my grandparents have made a public announcement disregarding my allegations. They strongly advocated that the case would be thrown out as the accusations were completely and utterly the imagination of a troubled young boy.

At least I have started to walk; even if it is only a few steps at a time. It was still very painful. It took an immense amount of effort to take those few steps but at least I had hope. My life would have been perfect if it was not for the fear of what the verdict would be today. How can one person decide my future?

I could feel the way that the nerves were slowly taking over my body. My whole body shivered involuntarily as I moved into the court room with Rhyder next to me. There was this odd feeling that came over me as everyone turned around and stared at me.

I saw my father's cold blue eyes. The eyes of a monster. Similar to my own. My mother was in the chair beside him. They were both sitting next to their lawyer. He off course had the best lawyer that money could buy. We were lucky enough to get a young lawyer who just recently passed his bar exam, who had almost no experience, with the name of Frank Wilke. It is surprising that he was willing to make his first case one that is this public. It is possible that he has a heart for people who are considered the underdogs.

Rhyder has nowhere close to having as much money as my father and very few lawyers were willing to risk going up against someone like him. I had to tell Frank everything about my life. I had to give him intimate and detailed accounts of the times my father physically abused me or those times my mother verbally abused me.

I hate being seen as some kind of victim.

It took about two hours for both sides to give their evidence. Frank warned me that it would be extremely difficult to prove that I was in fact abused. It was my word against theirs.

My father has always been careful. That is why I almost never ended up in the Hospital. In the beginning my father was always more prone to emotional, psychological or verbal abuse. He would throw insults at me or make snide and demeaning comments. The last two years things started to escalate.

If it got physical my father always made certain that it was on parts of my body that was not easily visible. If by chance there were visible bruises on my face, hands, arms or legs I would have to stay home until it was less evident.