Rain Storm

Developments

CHARLIE

Two months after that night in my old flat, I found myself sitting in a court room, listening to a doctor detail my injuries. 

Tao had pressed charges against Ben and, along with Tori's testimony and the physical evidence of my injuries, Ben was facing jail time. I still refused to make any official accusations but I was the victim of the majority of Ben's abuse, I was dragged into the trial too.

So, here I am, sitting between a lawyer and Tori, listening to an excruciatingly detailed description of every injury Ben had inflicted on me. The ones I hadn't been able to hide, that is. My arm was still in a cast. The secondary injury to it meant that doctors had needed to surgically insert some metal pins to make sure it healed straight.

"I don't want to hear this." I whisper to Tori.

"You don't have to. We can wait outside." She whispered back. I turned to look at Ben, who was sat with his lawyer. He had a smug smile on his face, the same one he used to have when I finally gave into whatever he demanded of me. He turned towards me, catching my eye and smirked.

"Please?" I spoke to Tori again and she scribbled the request down on a piece of paper in front of her, sliding it over to our lawyer. The lawyer read over it and glanced at me, obviously seeing something in my face because she nodded and stood up.

"Your Honour, I apologise for the interruption but my client is feeling distressed by the current witness' descriptions. I'm requesting he be allowed to exit the court room at this time." I risked another glance at Ben whose smirk was somehow even bigger now, and my stomach clenched.

"Request granted." The judge allowed and there was silence in the court room for a few moments while I stood up and grabbed my coat.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Tori whispered but I shook my head.

"No. Thank you." I hurried out of the room as fast as I could, waiting for the big wooden doors to slam shut behind me before moving a little way down the hall to an empty seat.

Tears fell from my eyes as I sat there, alone, in the freezing hallway. I don't even really know what I was crying for; pain, loss, fear or a combination of it all.

"Are you alright?" I don't know how long I'd been sitting there, crying like a baby when someone spoke to me. I looked up to see a handsome man, dressed in a nice suit looking down at me. He had kind eyes that were filled with worry as he stared at me.

"Y-yeah, sorry." I sniffed, wiping tears from my cheeks with the sleeves of the old suit I'd managed to dig out of the bottom of my suitcase for today.

"You don't have to apologise. Being in court can be tough." The man gave me a gentle smile.

"I don't even want to be here. But I have to be." I admitted.

"You wouldn't be the first person," He looked over his shoulder for a moment, "Do you want some company?"

"I'm okay. Thanks, though." As sweet as the offer was, I really just needed to be alone now. I thought I saw a flash of disappointment in the stranger's eyes but it was gone before I could really register it.

"Okay. Well, I hope your day gets better." He gives me another smile before turning and walking away down the hall. 

As I watched him go, I thought about how the interaction we'd had was so different to any I had with Ben. And I don't even know this guy. He's just a kind stranger who wanted to make sure I was okay.

I sat there for what felt like ages before the court room doors swung open and Tori stepped out, looking around for a moment before she spotted me.

"Testimony is over. The lawyers are just doing closing statements. Did you want to come back inside?"

"Okay. Just give me a second." Standing up, I rub my hands across my face to try and get rid of the tears that were still staining my cheeks. I took the bottle of water Tori offered me, sipping a little to soothe my throat. "Alright, let's go."

We went back inside and settled into our seats. The two lawyers; ours and Ben's were standing in the open space before the judge, ready to present their closing arguments. 

Tori reached over to hold my hand as they start but I don't hear much of what's said. My mind is thinking back to that short conversation I had with the guy in the hallway. How he managed to make me feel safe and understood with so few words. 

With Ben sitting in the court room across from me, the guy who'd made me into the person I am now, I started to think that maybe there are nice guys out there in the world. And maybe Ben doesn't have such a hold on me anymore.