The Last Chance Book 2

Chapter 14

TW: Negative thoughts and panic attack mentioned

He just waits and watches as the likes and comments flood into the instagram post. Shortly after he hears Nat shout his name before he hears the sound of multiple people running to his room. He quickly puts his shirt back on before standing in front of the locked door. He can see them trying to open the door.He's nervous. He knew he would be, but he didn't expect to be this nervous. July is meowing loudly while brushing up against his legs. " NuNew please open the door for us " he hears Zee say. He takes a deep breath before taking a few steps towards the door and unlocking it. However he quickly backs up towards his desk on the other side of his room. When the door opens he sees everyone come into his room. " NuNew why did you post that on instagram. We said you shouldn't do anything right now " his mother says. He hides his phone behind his back as if he's making sure they won't try to grab it. " I didn't mention any names. I never mentioned anyones. Even if they deserved it I never did. I even told people not to send hurtful things to them " he says a little loud. " NuNew calm down ok. That's not what she's talking about. No one's read your post. We are talking about the photo of your scars " Jimmy says trying to reassure him. " Not to long ago you were still uncomfortable with showing people your scars. And so we are a little shocked that you posted that " Jimmy continues. He bites his lip anxiously. It's quiet for a while before he says " I just want them to know and understand so they will leave. I asked them to leave. It was the only way they could at least understand a bit. I can't just sit by and watch as people constantly stand outside the house. I'd even do an interview if it gets rid of the people " he says sounding defeated. " I know this was a stupid idea but I still did it and nothing can change that. I just want us to prepare for the court case peacefully. I just want one peaceful day with the people I care about. Why won't anyone give me that ". His mother walks over to him and hugs him. " I know you want that. I'm sorry that so many things keep happening to you. We are going to get through this. You are going to get through this ". His mother pulls away from the hug and smiles at him before picking July up. July just tries to get to him so his mother puts her in his arms. Only then does she calm down and start to comfort him. " I'm starting to think that she sees you as her kitten " His mother says trying to lighten the mood. It works as she makes him laugh a little. " I'm glad we got you that cat. She always comforts you whenever you need it. I've only ever seen her comfort you " His father says. " So that means she also would see Nat as her kitten because she comforted him earlier ". Everyone laughs. " Yet another thing we have in common with each other " Nat says making him laugh. July thinking that she's the one giving him comfort meows happily. Before anyone can say anything else Max's phone rings. " It's my dad " is all he says and everyone stays quiet. " Ok, I'll let them know and we will prepare to let you in " is all Max says before ending the call. " My dad here. He says he's going to talk with the news that's outside to make an announcement and ask questions for you as your lawyer. He also said that he will knock three times to have us open the door and for NuNew to be out of sight from the door ". They all nod before heading to the living room. He sits down on the couch, turning the tv on. He turns the volume up so everyone can hear it. Nat sits next to him. July takes the same position before where she is on both of their laps to comfort them.
Everyone's attention turns to the TV once Max's dad is in front of their house. " Hello I'm Mr.Kornthas , the Chawarin's lawyer. If you have any questions you can ask me and I will try my best to answer them ".
" Have you seen the instagram post that NuNew just made, what's your thoughts "
" I have the same thoughts as him. No one should harm anyone no matter how much they hate them. I also agree with him asking everyone to not surround his house as it's making him nervous about their safety ".
" When is the the trial going to happen "
" The trail will be on Saturday and will start at 12:00pm "
" Are the two other victims in the video going to take legal action as well "
" Yes they are. Their trials will be put together with NuNew's "
" What sentence are you hoping to get "
" We are hoping to get them life in prison as they are all a danger to society "
" NuNew came out as gay in his post, do you plan on adding a hate crime to the charges ". He bites his lips nervously while listening to the interview.
" Yes, as soon as he told us we wrote down to add hate crimes as one of the charges to convict him "
" Will NuNew give an interview at any point in the future ". His eyes widen a little bit at the question. Nat just grabs his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.
" I have yet to talk about that possibility with him. If he wishes to do an interview at some point then we will set one up ". Max's father looks down at his watch before saying. " If you have anymore questions please save them for another time. I have to meet with my clients now " Max's father says before walking towards his house quickly. When they hear three knocks Max quickly opens the door for his dad and then quickly shuts it after him. He then locks the door.
" NuNew how are you doing " Max's father asked. " If I'm honest, I'm really stressed about everything that's happened " he says as he stands up. Max's dad gives him a small smile. " Let's all sit down at the table and discuss the situation. Max had texted me that you have something you want to give as evidence ". He nods before grabbing the journals off of the table and following everyone else into the kitchen. They all sit down. He is sitting between Nat and Zee. Max's father is across from him. He takes a deep breath before passing Max's dad the journal.
" I only remembered about these journals when I saw the lockbox that I kept them in. I started a journal when everything started. The first one is the day I confessed while the next one is the first day of sophomore year which also the first time I was beat up. Almost all the journal entries have photos that I printed out which show my injuries. While the journals say exactly what happened as well as how I was feeling " he says quietly. He watches carefully as Max's father looks through the first journal. When he's done with the first one he says " There's not many journals in that one but there's photos of me in the hospital and it starts off by me describing the day of the attack ". He sets his hands on the table nervously. " I go over the days of when I was staying in the hospital and all the intense therapy and pain I was in ". Max's father just nods as he looks through it. He sees Max's father tense up before he reads off something from one of the journal entries. " Why didn't I stay on the floor. Why didn't I give up. Why did I get up and walk to the house, traumatizing that sweet elderly woman. Hurting my parents by having them see me in this state. Would it have been better if I just stayed on the ground. Everything hurts and I want to give up. I  won't ever be able to recover. I can't have anyone come near me without wanting to run away. Everyone scares me. I can see the pain in my mothers eyes when she looks at me. The way she tries so hard to stay strong. I can hear her crying every night when she thinks I'm asleep. I gave her to much pain. I have only given them pain for a year. I hurt the only people that cared about me. I am still hurting them ".
He forgot about that journal entry. He was in a horrible mental state that day. He stands up quickly. Stuttering he says " I-I'm going to head to the bathroom real quick ". He glances at his parents and sees them crying before he quickly runs to his room. He shuts the door and falls on to the ground. He can feel a panic attack starting. He tried so hard to not think about the days he felt like that in the hospital. He hated how he felt that day. He hated hearing his mother cry every night. He's tried so hard to forget that. He never told anyone anything. He didn't want anyone to know. He hits The ground hard with his fist. The door opening immediately as he hits the floor again. He looks up to see both Zee and Nat. They come inside before shutting the door. They both sit on the floor with him. Both grabbing one of his hands. They do this anytime he gets to upset.
He begins to cry. They don't say anything, giving him time to calm down. Eventually he says " I tried so hard to forget those thoughts. I hate myself for thinking like that ". They pull him into a group hug. " I don't think that anymore. I'm so glad that I got up. But I remember being in so much pain while writing that. I feel so disappointed in myself for feeling like that ". He can hear both Zee and Nat crying. They sit quietly for a while before they pull away from the hug. He wipes the tears off of his face. Slowly he realizes that he didn't have the panic attack he felt like he was going to have. He then looks between Zee and Nat before looking down. " You know, you guys came in here at the perfect time. I was on the verge of a panic attack but when you guys came in I could feel myself calming down. I've never had that happen before ". Nat grabs his left wrist and points to the crystal bracelet. " You're healing. You are doing such an amazing job at it as well " Nat says. " It's because of everyone. especially the both of you guys ". He smiles grabbing both of their hands. " Guardian angels " Zee says making them all laugh. " We should head back out there ". Zee looks at him a little worried. " Are you sure you are ok to do that " Zee asked. he just nods his head before noticing July next to him. He smiles before standing up and picking her up. " I got three supports who will comfort me of something happens that upset me " he says smiling.
When they head back to the kitchen Max's father is still looking through the journals. When he sits back down he says " Sorry about that. I tried so hard to forget about that day and those thoughts. I didn't want anyone to know I had thought like so when you read that It made me scared ". Max's father shakes his head. " Don't apologize. It's ok that you walked away ". He just nods his head and he lets July trying to calm himself down. " Let's switch to a different topic shall we " Max's father asked and everyone nods. " NuNew on your post on instagram you mentioned that you're scared with people outside of your house. If it helps we can get some people to stand by your house to protect you guys ".
He thinks for a while. He likes that idea because it would bring himself some comfort but he doesn't want the others to feel uncomfortable knowing that there's guards outside. So he looks up to his parents. As if asking what they think. " NuNew we want you to feel safe. Whatever you want or what we will want as well. I'm sure everyone else thinks the same " His father says. He sees everyone nod their heads agreeing. " I think it would bring me som comfort knowing there's people protecting us " he says quietly. " I'll make sure that happens then. The next thing I want to talk about is what's going to happen at the trail on Saturday. Which is in 2 days. Because of how much media there is it was moved to a sooner date. When the trail is happening there will be news cameras recording. The judge gave them permission ". He just looks down at July. He doesn't like that the media will be able to see the trial. " I was also able to get Max's and Nat's trial at the same time. Which means They both will be sitting with you and me up front ". He takes a deep breath. " That helps me relax more with them being able to sit with us " he says quietly. " Max had asked me if there was a way to combine the three of your trials so that they can sit with you ". He looks over to Max and thanks him. Max just gives him a gentle smile. " On the day of the trial there's going to be a lot of people outside of your house the the investigators had the judge assign people to escort everyone to the court house. Your parents also told me that Mrs.Betty will be riding with them in their car ". He looks a little confused. " She's coming " he asked. Max's dad nods. " She is a witness so she will have to testify as well. Just like everyone of your friends will have to. We even have some of the doctors from the hospital that will testify. This trial will take a couple of days ". His eyes widen. " Days? I thought it was one. That means I have to be near Nate more than one day. I-I don't know if I can handle that " he says stuttering. July pushes her head against his chest. " We will have a lot of people that will make sure you won't get hurt. No one will be able to hurt you ". Max's dad says reassuring him. He just bites his lip anxiously. " You, Max and Nat are going to be one of the last people to testify. NuNew you are going to be the very last one as you are the main victim in this situation. Nate is going to testify right before you. It's very important that you don't let him bother you during his as well as your testimony. I don't know what questions that the other lawyers have decided to ask. But we have a lot of evidence and witnesses to help you win the case ". He nods his head. " there will also be time at the end of the trial to say whatever you want to Nate and the others. So you should prepare something to say ". He nods his head again. Tomorrow you, Max and Nat will all have to come to the court house for a while so you can meet with the attorneys who will help you guys the most during the trial. Unfortunately it can only be the three of you ". His eyes widen before he looks over to Zee. He then looks over to Max's dad. " Are you sure Hia Zee can't at least come. He's always been there with me during these things ". Max's dad nods. " Because this is about what they have prepared for the trial it's very important that everything is kept secret so he can't come ". He bites his lip. " It'll be ok NuNew. Max and Nat will be there to help you ". He looks down. " I know it will be ok but it's just hard. You have always been there or it's been the four of us. And now you can't be there ". Nat grabs his hand and gently squeezes it. " Take one of Zee's hoodies NuNew. You always said that it helps you feel like he's constantly with you " Max says. He just nods. " Lastly I want to know if you would like to do any interviews with the media. You don't have to if you don't want to ". He thinks for a while before saying " I'll do one outside of the courthouse after the trial so I have time to prepare " Max's father nods. I'll make sure that I let the media know that you will do an interview with them. Max and Nat will you guys want to do one as well if the media has questions ". Nat and Max both nod. " I'll do one with NuNew so he won't be alone " Nat says. " I'll do it at the same time as well. Since we are having the trails together we should do the interview together as well " Max says. He smiles and says " Thank you P'Max and Nat ". They both nod their heads and smile at him. " That's all I have to talk with you guys about so I will come pick NuNew, Max and Nat up at 11:00 am and take them to the court house. In the mean time I suggest that you stay away from the windows so the media won't see you guys. As for the guards, I will head over to the court house and tell the attorneys to have them stand guard outside of your house as well as escort everyone. We will have you guys pick Mrs.Betty up on the way to the court house for the trial ". Everyone says goodbye, Max walks him to the door and then says goodbye to his dad before shutting the door behind him.
Once Max's dad is gone he stands up and heads to the couch to watch the news. When he sits down he sees that Max's dad tells them that after the trail is over Him, Nat and Max will do an interview outside of the court house. He watches as they film him driving away before the camera switches to the reporter who says " You herd that right here folks. NuNew and the other two kids involved will be doing an interview after the trial is over. You won't want to miss that ". He sighs and turns off the tv. Zee walks over to him. " You ok NuNew " Zee asked. He shakes his head. " Everything about the court was wrong. The only good thing is that I at least have P'Max and Nat sitting with me. Worst of all I have to be in the same room as them for days. I hate this " he says angrily. Zee sits down next to him and grabs his hands. " It's going to be ok. Everything's going to be over soon " Zee says trying to reassure him.
The rest of the day is spent preparing for tomorrow as well as for the trial. A lot of preparation for tomorrow is NuNew trying to tell himself that everything will be ok. That Max and Nat are enough to help him stay calm. When him and Zee go to sleep he wakes up only 4 hours later to Zee shaking him. He had a nightmare of Nate and everyone else hurting him at the court house. It takes Zee a little over an hour just to calm him down. Zee then spends 2 more hours helping him fall asleep.

Word Count: 3335