Kelsey Robbins

2

"I'm never going back there mom, he scares me. He hurt you before! Don't you remember?" Kelsey asked, talking about her dad who only left after Wallace arrived home and intimidated him into leaving.

"I know Kelsey" Donna said, knowing that it was in fact hurting her daughter. Donna didn't like all the drinking and the drugs around her daughter.

On the other hand, Kelsey didn't like the way her dad was talking to her mom. She hadn't seen anyone treat her mom better than Wallace but still didn't want to get too close to him in case he wanted to leave too.

"Mom, he hates me"

"He does not hate you"

"Yes, he does!" Kelsey snapped. "He doesn't want anything to do with me! All he wants is his alcohol! He doesn't care!"

"Well he wants full custody," Donna said as she held up the court papers that had been dropped off earlier.

"No!" Kelsey snapped, turning immediately on her heels.

"We have a court date in a few days. You got lucky" Donna told her, Kelsey nodding.

——————

The teen was all out of sorts that night. She wasn't her usual firecracker self at soccer practice, She was a normally fun and caring teammate. Kelsey was acting so foggy that the coach pulled her aside and asked what was going on.

"My dad wants full custody and I don't want him to have it" She explained, the coach understanding but needing her to focus.

"I need you to stop thinking about that and focus on this okay? When you walk on this field, everything stays outside school gates," The coach told her, Kelsey nodding. She went back to her spot and sighed, starting to get back to practicing.

When Donna picked her up, Kelsey didn't speak to her. Her thoughts were going a million miles a minute, so she wasn't speaking much.

"Kelsey we have to talk about this. You have to tell me what's going on and why you don't want to be there." Donna told her, continuing to drive down the road. Kelsey continued to just sit there without giving an answer. She got no answer the whole ride home and as soon as they arrived home, Kelsey disappeared to her room. Donna started to get things in order, for Donna to have full custody. She knew the background with her father, and she knew the hurt that Kelsey had dealt with but needed to hear her side of her.

"We have to do something," Donna said sadly after Kelsey had disappeared into her room.

"Aren't you going to fight for full custody?" Wallace asked as he was patting Terrence's back to lull the toddler to sleep.

"I am but I'm scared it'll be going on a while," Donna said, leaning against the counter. "I hate watching her go through this"

"I know" Wallace sighed. No one wanted to see their child or any part of their family go through this pain.

——————

"No James, you don't get to dispute this. We are getting a court order for me to have full custody." Donna argued with her ex-husband on the phone. "She will not come back to your house. She's terrified of it"

Kelsey had heard the whole thing and now was hiding in her room, she hated when her mom fought with her dad. She was lost in her thoughts as her stepdad knocked on her bedroom door.

"Kelsey?" Wallace said as he stepped into her room quietly, shutting the door behind him.

"Yeah?" The teen asked, wiping her face off.

"You okay?" Wallace asked, only getting a nod from the teen. "You sure?"

"Yeah. Can I be left alone? Please" Kelsey asked, not looking at her stepfather.

"Yeah" Wallace nodded and left the room, heading to his and Donna's room. "Nothing," he said, referring to the short conversation he'd just had with Kelsey.

"She'll come around but I appreciate you trying" Donna sighed, silently wishing her daughter would accept that Wallace was a lot better to her than her father.

——————

After a few days, they had a date for a court hearing to assign permanent custody to Donna. That is, if James bothered to show up sober, or at all.

"Kels are you ready?!" Donna yelled up the steps to her daughter as they had to be at the courthouse at 10 and it was already 9:30.

"I'm coming!" Kelsey yelled before coming out of her room and down the steps in a cute floral print dress, with her hair was curled and her makeup lightly done. She looked nervous but was hoping for a good outcome, she really did want to with her mom and stepdad and them only. She felt safe and at home with them.

"Mom, do you think this will work?" Kelsey asked as she got in the car with her mother and stepfather, luckily they had gotten a babysitter for Terrence.

"I hope so," Donna said, trying to keep herself together for the sake and sanity of her daughter.

The ride to the courthouse was extremely quiet, as Kelsey, Donna, and Wallace were collecting their thoughts and hoping that the day was going to end in their favor.

As Wallace parked the car, they all got out, Kelsey taking a deep breath as they walked in together. She knew they were going to ask her some questions that she probably didn't want to answer, but if it meant that her mother would get full custody of her, she would answer any of them, in complete detail.

"James Robbins versus Donna Boden for custody of Kelsey Robbins." A man at the front said, as the 3 of them walked in and saw James standing up at the front. He waved at his daughter, Kelsey not responding at all.

"Would Kelsey Robbins come to the stand please?" The judge asked, Kelsey, going up to the stand. Kelsey took the oath, to tell the truth before taking a deep breath and exchanging a nod with her mother.

"Now Kelsey, how often do you go to your father's home?" The judge asked, looking to Kelsey for an answer.

"Usually once a week before I call my mom and cry for her to come to get me," Kelsey told the judge, looking to her mom for the confidence to actually say something and Donna giving her a slight nod.

Kelsey answered every question with the honesty needed to hopefully get Donna and Wallace full custody.