After Before and After

Phase 4: Chapter 19

It was five o'clock on the dot when Judge Eldeson adjourned the court for the day. Attorney Dana Barnes finished her questioning of witness EFR Officer Lukas Hoffman before court was adjourned. Court was to resume bright and early at 9:00AM/0900 hours tomorrow with the cross-examination of the EFR officer. Meanwhile, Ralph Langley was simply relieved to have made it through the day. Even if he could make it through tomorrow, he had no faith in his ability to make it through the months that this storm could surely last.

There were just under 250 miles between East Point and Savannah, which came out to almost a four hour drive between the two cities. East Point was one of the closest cities to Savannah of those all the former cadets were from. It was unreasonable to expect families to make the commute every day, so the government put families and key witness' up in hotel relatively large rooms. Most witnesses only had to testify once, and over the course of one or two days at the most, so their hotel stays were only a night or two; the assigned hotel rooms to be rotated through by the witnesses as they came and went throughout the trial. On the other hand, the boys were all unaware of how long they'd be stuck in Savannah, so the rooms they were put up in were reserved for a longer term.

The court order pertaining to the case included an order for all defendants to remain in Savannah until the trial concludes. For Ralph, and he assumed for the others as well, that meant completing each week's school work from a fifth floor hotel room.

"Don't worry about it tonight, honey" Laurie insisted as the Langley family entered their hotel room, after spending the duration of the elevator ride up listening to Ralph go on about the history project he'd been working on last week, his last week in East Point.

Ralph was too busy to answer Laurie. As they entered their hotel room for the first time, he took in the home away from home they'd be expected to live in for the duration of the trial. Ralph was surprised by how homey the room was; it had its own kitchenette, couch, television, a king size bed, a small but full bathroom, and a bunk bed against the narrow window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. His dark brown eyes scanned the room curiously as he considered the fact that most items in the room looked more expensive and upscale than any of the decor in their house in East Point.

"This is where we'll be living?" Ralph questioned with an appropriate amount of surprise.

"Looks like it" Jeffery agreed as he set the bulk of the family bags down on the floor by the king bed.

"This looks nothing like the hotels we stay in in Wyoming when Mom and Grandma fight too much to sleep under the same roof" Ralph noted as he dragged a couple of his own bags over to the bottom bunk against the window. Laurie, feeling unfairly persecuted, pretended not to hear him.

"Well that's because this is a government hotel, kiddo. They're made for long term stays for witnesses of the court, that's why it's right up the street. They also host political leaders in these hotels, and political events in the event rooms downstairs" Jeffery explained as the three of them began to unpack.

"How long will we have to stay here?" Ralph wondered aloud, even though part of him knew nobody would be able to give him a definitive answer.

"Until the trial's over, sweetie" his mother answered with a sigh. "I'm going to get a shower, and then maybe we can find a movie to watch altogether?" she suggested.

"Kay" Ralph smiled weakly as he plopped down onto the edge of his parents' temporary king bed. Jeffery hung his legs off the other side, already scrolling through the channels looking for tonight's NASCAR race.

Once Jeffery found the channel, he lowered the volume almost to zero and turned to his son. Feeling his stare, Ralph met his father's eyes as his anxiety spiked. The events of the day were making him feel paranoid, guilty, uneasy.

"What?" Ralph snapped nervously.

"Nothing, I was just wondering how you were doing after the day you've had" Jeffery prompted gently.

"Oh" Ralph dropped his defense. "I'm okay" he added without looking at his father.

"You sure? That prosecutor is one sharp cookie" Jeffery observed aloud.

"She is kind of uptight" Ralph agreed with a shrug, his gaze still fixed in his lap.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but if you ever want to get any of it off your chest at the end of the day, that's what your mom and I are here for. For you" his father emphasized.

"Okay" Ralph lifted his head with a forced, weak smile on his tired face. "Thanks, Dad."

The two exchanged a quick side embrace before crawling up to the head of the bed to settle in and watch the race together, with Jeffery making comments about the cars and racers here and there. Laurie emerged from the bathroom about twenty minutes later, a towel atop her head, and nagged Jeffery to change the channel until he finally obliged.

The movie they put on was 'Dirty Dancing' and it was already twenty two minutes in when they switched over to it. Jeffery fell asleep less than that amount of time later. Once Laurie's favorite part of the movie passed, she was quick to fall asleep too. By the time the credits started rolling after the last set of commercials, Ralph had to pat around the bed to find the remote. Once he did, he shut off the TV, and carefully crawled out from between his parents as slowly and quietly as possible to ensure he didn't wake them.

Moments later, Ralph stepped quietly into the bright, artificially lit hallway. He closed their hotel room door, clutching one of the two keys in his hand to ensure he could get back in. Pressing his back against the wall beside the door, he slowly slid down it until he was sitting on the floor, his head in his hands.

In the stillness and silence of the hallway, Ralph tried his darnest to shake thoughts of the island and the trial from his mind. For the past twenty four hours, it was all he could think about, every waking moment. Certainly he'd dream about it in his sleep tonight, and just the thought made him not want to go to bed. He didn't realize until now just how all-consuming the trial would be. For the first time since living on the island, his life revolved around it constantly and completely. Every word of testimony today had rattled him on the inside, even though he'd managed to stay composed and not react on the outside. It was only the first day, and Ralph was already doubting his ability to keep it up for the entire trial, however long that would be.

Ralph's mind wandered to his encounter with Jack in the washroom earlier that day. He considered that for the first time since rescue, Jack might be just as distressed by the island as Ralph himself was. His entire future was on the line, and Ralph wondered whether it was really fair to blame Jack for his recent moodiness. Ralph thought back to when they'd spend summer nights at the old elementary school playground, cuddled up on his living room floor watching films, laying under the glow-in-the-dark stars on Ralph's ceiling during their more intimate moments, riding in the backseat of Laurie's or Jeffery's or Paige's vehicle as they travelled from one of their homes to the other. Ralph was already beginning to miss the life he'd just left behind to be here for the trial. He knew he wasn't technically allowed to see Jack outside the courtroom or spend time with him outside business hours. They'd be lucky to get the occasional hug between recesses, and only if there wasn't anyone else around to see it.

Ralph wondered how Jack was doing in a hotel room somewhere on this floor with Paige and Evan. All three Merridews living in a space smaller than the smallest room in their mansion back in Dalton made Ralph's stomach churn. Surely, Jack was probably more nauseated by it than Ralph was.

Any and every attempt to clear his head led Ralph right back to the island and the trial. He wondered if this was ever going to get easier, if he was ever going to get used to being in the courtroom from 0900 to 1700 everyday, only to come back to a hotel room that would never be a home, every single night. Even though his mom said they could return to East Point on weekends, it still wouldn't be the same. For a moment, Ralph was sure there was nothing he wanted more than to be in his own bed, under his own blankets, in the light of his own bedroom. That was, until he realized that even more than that, he wanted to know that everything was going to be okay at the end of the trial.

That's what Ralph wished for when he returned to the bottom bunk against the window. The view, he had to admit, was beautiful. The sky was full of stars, and Ralph found the biggest one in his view to make that wish upon. Ralph didn't really believe that stars could grant wishes, but he wished just in case, for all he had to lose.