(Ivann's POV)
Our rescheduled court date came. I was more nervous than the other times we walked into the courthouse, mostly because we had a different lawyer. Mathis, Kate's cousin, seemed confident and eager to help us. He was far younger than Carter was, but that didn't worry me. No, what worried me was his lack of experience. I know that just because he was new to being a lawyer didn't mean that he was bad at it, but if he had a little more experience, especially in custody battles, I would have been a little less worried. Now that I think about it, he was getting that experience with our case.
We all stepped into the courtroom, quietly, and took our seats - Mathis on one end, then Sean, then me, then Anthony and then Kyle on the other end, along with Nathan and Mrs. Rivers. The two of them were there for moral support.
While we waited for our case to be called, Mathis looked through Carter's notes again, and jotted down some of his own last-minute notes, arguments, and counterarguments. When we first met with him, to go over everything that had happened up until then and go over Carter's research and notes, he praised and complimented on how diligent Carter's work was.
You could tell that Mathis was nervous as the judge called us up, but as the trial went on, he relaxed and became more confident. "Looks like they did their research," he whispered quietly to Sean and me as we listened to them present their arguments and answer any of the judge's questions without any hesitation.
About an hour into the trial, it wasn't looking good for us. All we had to offer for the pups was our home and our unconditional love, which, by their parents and aunt's arguments, they could do the same and then some. The question, "is it really better for them if we take them from their parents?" played throughout my thoughts, the more I listened to them.
"That's bullshit!" The outburst echoed in the courtroom as everyone fell silent. We all turned to see Kyle standing and snarling, an infuriated look distorting his face. Mrs. Rivers and her older pup were both trying to get him to sit back down and be quiet, but he refused to listen to them.
"Do you have something to say... now?" The judge asked, a bit irritated by Kyle's interruption, but he kept his tone level.
"Yes."
The judge sent the bailiff to go get him and bring him up to the bench. After being sworn in, Kyle looked out at everyone watching him closely. His eyes slowly trailed from me to Sean, and then over to his parents and aunt, and then back into the audience - if I had to guess, I would say that he was looking at his brother or his otter friend. I wasn't wrong; I looked back just in time to see Mrs. Rivers walking Anthony out of the courtroom. This isn't going to be good, not if she's taking his brother out of here. I turned back to Kyle.
"Well?" the judge asked. "Didn't you say that you had something to say? Now's your chance," he told him as he turned in his chair and looked at Kyle.
Kyle was silent for a long moment, and then he swallowed hard and spoke, quietly, "they're lying."
"Lying about what?" the judge asked, taking a quick glance at Kyle's parents.
"Everything," he answered. "They just want us back so that they can use us."
"We never used you!" Kyle's mother yelled as she jumped up from her seat.
The judge glared at her, but before he could reprimand her, Kyle spoke. "No?! Then what do you call making me go get your drugs or making me deliver them to someone else?" His eyes becoming more piercing, with each word, as he stared her down. "What about when you two couldn't afford to pay for your drugs? How did you compensate your dealer's then?" After the question left his mouth, he looked like he regretted asking it.
