A Moth Into A Flame - Larry Stylinson

Chapter 9

When you walked to court room on the first day of hearing, you were growing uneasy every minute. You knew Carol was good at acting. You knew she would do everything to win. Cause everything for her was a competition.

You were seated with Sam on one side and Zayn, being your lawyer on other. Harry was sitting with Niall, Liam and other people. Carol was not in the courtroom yet.

Everyone was constantly looking at their watches. And waiting. Finally Carol arrived, looking very unprofessional. She got seated and the case began. You noticed that the Judge was a woman. She was definitely gonna side with Carol, you thought.

You turned your head towards Harry and he was giving you a encouraging smile. You didn't feel any better, but you had Harry with you.

"Permission to call Ms. Smith in witness box." Max, Carol's lawyer started.
"Permission accepted." The Judge said.

"Ms. Smith you are Sam's biological Mother?" He asked to which she replied with a yes.
"Then why did you leave him?"

"Louis would drink too much alcohol and he would abuse me. I wanted to take Sam with me. But he didn't let me. I thought I'll come and get my baby later." She said looking like she was about to cry. Sam recoiled a little where he was sitting."

She kept lying more. Painting herself as the victim. I lost it.
"That's not true. She is lying." I said.
"Mr. Tomlinson, I'll ask you to sit down and speak when it's your turn." Judge said.
Zayn told me to sit and wait. I did that.

"Ms. Smith, is Sam important to you?" Zayn asked her.
"Of course he is. He is my son." She replied sternly.
"Then why were you late to this hearing. What could be more important." He asked to which Carol was left speechless.

"I overslept." She lied.
"You slept till 12 pm and missed a case at 2 pm?" He said. "That is pretty irresponsible." He continued.

After a while I was called into the witness box.
"Mr. Tomlinson, how often do you work?" Max asked.
"I'm a teacher, so around 7 hours a day." I replied confidently.
"So you keep Sam with a babysitter?" He asked.
"I do." What's wrong with that?

"And did you know that your son had a busted lip last week?" He asked. I didn't know that.
"No. How do you know that?" I questioned.
"We heard this from his teacher." He said probably lying.

"You see, Your Honor. Mr. Tomlinson doesn't know what is going on in his son's life. How can you trust him for taking good care of Sam."
"That's because I was busy with this case." I replied angrily, but I already knew it was useless.

"Mr. Tomlinson, how is your kid doing academically and in other aspects in school?" Zayn questioned.
"He is doing great. He is a smart kid. He is good in sports too." I replied proudly.
"So you'll say he is smart, responsible and mature." Zayn asked, I said yes.

"Your Honor, my client has raised Sam to be responsible and mature. So Mr. Tomlinson is a good father." Zayn concluded.

Later Sam was asked into the witness box. He was given a tall chair to sit in.
"I just want to ask some questions, ok. I'm just helping your mommy." Max said. But Sam looked stressed and nervous. It was too much pressure on him.

"Does your Dad take good care of you?" He asked.
"He does. He is the best. We also go on vacations together." He said happily probably remembering the vacation we took earlier.

"Where are you when he is not with you?" He asked. Sam looked uncertain.
"I'm in his school with him. Or the babysitter. Or I've been at Harry's sometimes recently." He said. He was with Harry a lot after you had gotten together.

"And who is this Harry?"
"Daddy's friend. He is really good." Sam said happily. Harry looked at me. We hadn't told him we were dating. We should probably wait before telling him. That's what we thought.

"Do you like your Dad working this much?" Zayn asked once it was his turn.
"Sometimes. But he teaches so many kids like me. One day I want to be like him." Sam seemed a little comfortable knowing Zayn is a friend.

"And you like to be with your dad?" He asked.
"Of course." Sam replied instantly.
"That's all I had to ask Your Honor." Zayn said and Sam went back to his seat.

"I'll like to call Mr. Harry to the witness box." Max replied smugly. This wasn't going to be good.
Zayn put up some points to not call Harry up. But the judge gave permission to call him.

"Mr. Styles, what is the relation between you an Mr. Tomlinson?" Max asked.
"He is a friend." Harry lied.
"And you babysit Sam?" He questioned.
"Sometimes, when Louis is too busy." Harry said.

"How long have you known Mr. Tomlinson?" He asked.
"For three and a half months." Harry replied after remembering a little.

"Your Honor, Mr. Tomlinson leaves his kid with a man he knows from three months. It's very irresponsible of him towards Sam." Max said to the judge.

"Mr. Malik, do you have any questions?" Judge asked. Zayn replied with a quick no.

"The case will continue after a break and I'll make a decision then." Judge said.
"Court adjourned."

We went out to eat something. Everyone was hungry, but I couldn't eat. I saw that Niall wasn't there. So I asked Harry.
"Where's Niall?"
"He was here, then he left. I don't know where he went."

I tried calling him but he didn't answer.
"Daddy, how did I do?" Sam asked.
"You were good baby. Really good, don't worry." I said trying to be confident.

A few minutes later

We had to be inside in ten minutes and Niall was nowhere to be seen. I had a bad feeling about this. I pulled Sam closer and said, "No matter what happens in there, I'll always love you. And you will always be my son."

He hugged me tight and said, "I love you too. I don't want to go anywhere." I calmed him down and we went in.

"The court is in session."

"Do anyone if you have any witnesses to call?" Judge asked. Both the parties replied with a no.

"So I've come to a decision. That Mr. Tomlinson is not deemed to upbring Sam Tomlinson on his own. So Ms. Carol Smith will get the full custody of Samuel Tomlinson."