After Before and After

Phase 4: Chapter 30

December 14, 1992. 12:02PM.

Moments after court was adjourned for recess, the hallway at the Chatham County Juvenile Courthouse slowly filled with voices of those clearing out of Courtroom 4. Among the crowd, Jack Merridew stood close to his sister as people pushed their way past them. The blond boy tuned out the overlapping conversations that broke out around him, including the one his 24-year-old sister was having with his lawyer. He watched the crowd thin out as people took their conversations, and their lunch breaks, elsewhere.

It was a strange sight, really, one that made the knot in Jack's stomach pinch itself tighter; that of Laurie Langley and Ralph Langley at odds with one another. Jack spotted the family from a distance across the hallway now that half the courtroom's occupants were gone. The older boy studied the body language of the family across the room, noticing how Laurie could hardly look at her son as she made one last, quick comment before marching off, leaving Jeffery and Ralph behind.

It should've been less stressful to watch the family now that Jack didn't have to worry about twelve sets of jurors' eyes on him, but it wasn't. Jack had always hated how perfect the Langley family was compared to his own, and a major domestic dispute like this leveled the playing field. It should've been a relief to Jack, seeing that they were as human as his own family, but it wasn't. He didn't get a sick sense of satisfaction seeing Ralph's family poisoned against each other. Instead, it made Jack feel vulnerable; to think that something as secure, permanent, and pure as the Langley family could be broken. In Jack's eyes, seeing a family like that fall apart proved that there is no such love that is really safe from tragedy.

Jack couldn't help but think about Saturday night as he watched the Langleys, tuning out his own sister and lawyer beside him. In his head, Jack replayed the memory of Ralph showing up at his hotel room drunk out of his mind, the time he spent comforting him as he threw up in Jack's bathroom, and the night the two of them spent together before Ralph fell asleep. It wasn't an overly pleasant memory, Jack supposed, but the worst of it came after.

27 HOURS EARLIER

When Jack Merridew opened his eyes on Sunday morning, he first glanced over at the clock on the bedside table between the two beds; 8:49 AM it said. It was much later than Jack usually slept, but last night had been an incredibly long and draining one. Secondly, he glanced down at Ralph Langley, who slept soundly like a baby in his arms. Jack's memory immediately brought him back to the first hour after Ralph fell asleep, and he had to beg himself to forget it. Instead, he decided to focus on what to do now. It was well into the morning, and if Jeffery and Laurie didn't already know that Ralph was missing, they would soon.

As slowly and quietly as humanly possible, Jack pulled himself out from under Ralph and off the bed. He knew that the younger boy was a freakishly light sleeper, and the chance of him sleeping through any sudden movements was slim to none. But somehow, Jack managed to get out unnoticed. He assumed that Ralph must've been abnormally exhausted and hungover from the night before; it would be the only way to explain how he managed to slip on his shoes and sneak out of the hotel room without waking him.

Before sneaking out, Jack rummaged through the pockets in Ralph's clothes until he found the boy's hotel room key. After grabbing his own and locking the door on his way out, he made his way down the hall to the room identified on Ralph's key; 513. Jack felt his knees shaking above his sneakers as he stood in front of the Langley family's hotel room door. He wasn't sure why he was afraid. Did he think that Jeffery and Laurie might blame him for Ralph getting drunk? Would they think he was the one who gave Ralph the alcohol? Would they be mad that he didn't come get them sooner? Would they chalk it up to Jack's bad influence and ban their son from ever speaking to Jack again?