Jodee

Chapter 42 - Verdict

Everything was silent.

We had all resumed our previous seats with Caleb and I in the first row behind the bar. Ace and Mr. Stephens sat in the chairs in front of the bar. Tobias and his lawyer opposite my brother and our lawyer. And Judge Matthews was still sitting on top of the highest podium in the front of the courtroom.

Some people that had been sitting behind Caleb and I in the visitors gallery were still there, but a lot of people had left. I noticed that Ms. Fitz — the social worker that had taken my statement — stayed which I was happy about. And the guy that testified for my dad getting clean of his drug addiction was gone. But I didn't like him in the first place, so I was fine with that.

I could tell that my brother was nervous, with the way his back was straight and I couldn't even see it lift and fall to see if he was breathing. His hands clutched each other in front of him as he fixed the judge with a stare. If I didn't know Ace, I would think he was calm. His face was a void of any emotions and he wasn't nervously fidgeting like I was or anything like that. But when Ace looks as rigid as he does right now, that's when you know he's stressed out.

Was he worried? Should I be worried? I was worried.

I didn't know Mr. Stephens enough to tell if he was nervous about the verdict or not. He looked like he did when he was in court; just focused. So I hoped that was a good thing. But I also knew with how many cases he's done, he's got to have an idea which Judge Matthews will say and who she will side with. Especially without a random jury to decide, he should know what kind of judge Judge Matthews is. Right?

I wished I knew what kinda judge she was. It was clear throughout the case that my dad and my brother both were not going to be okay with any sort of joint or split custody. Both of them wanted full custody. But I also knew that rarely any custody disputes ended with one side never being allowed to see the child — which was what I wanted. So I just hoped Judge Matthews understood the situation enough to understand that I had to stay with Ace, full time. 

My eyes betrayed me a lot — straying over to watch my father and his lawyer, although I tried not to look, like before. Tobias was looking around the courtroom, doing everything to avoid looking at the judge and his kids. His lawyer, Mr. Wu was fixing Judge Matthews with a hard stare — but I couldn't tell if it was a good or bad stare.

Was my dad nervous? Did he really want the outcome to be in his favor?

Throughout the trail I couldn't really tell if Tobias was being truthful and honest about his intentions. Of course, I did know that a lot of what he said was complete bull — pretty much everything said about Ace was a lie. But at the same time, my father had always been bad at displaying emotions, so maybe he really did want me back in his life. Maybe he really did want to have a good relationship with me like any good father wants.

But that was just hope. I was hoping he was finally good, that maybe I could still love my father after everything he's done to me. I knew he would never change, but the naive little girl in me who has always wanted one big happy family keeps telling me he's better.

I didn't care anymore, though, I wanted to be with Ace and no one else.

Everything was the same in the courtroom as it was before, but it wasn't.

Right now was when Judge Matthews would make her verdict and my life would either change drastically, or stay the same.

I wanted it so bad to stay the same. So bad.

Judge Matthews took a deep breath in. Taking the time to survey the room and everyone in it before beginning to speak:

"My verdict on the Chambers v Chambers custody dispute over Miss Jodee Chambers is that Ace Chambers should remain the legal guardian of Jodee Chambers. With" — She raised her voice as people started to speak around her, silencing the courtroom once again — "No visitation rights granted to Tobias Chambers."