After Before and After

Phase 4: Chapter 115

November 9, 1993. 2:49 PM.

Courtroom 4 was currently the place to be if you were interested in watching a real-life soap opera play out before your very eyes. The banging of the gavel, the distant sound of the judge's voice calling repeatedly for order, the mutters and gasps from the gallery and the jury. It was a courtroom one moment, and a zoo the next. Judge Eldeson, a pristine and well-respected court judge of over forty-five years, could not control the room.

Ralph Langely was still frozen on the witness stand. He could've been sitting there like that, unable to do more than breathe and blink, for hours. He could've been sitting there like that for days. He could've never have been anywhere else in his life, his memory only going as far back as this very moment.

Ralph watched, his mouth frozen open, his body frozen in place, as Evan Merridew rose from an aisle in the gallery and walked out the back doors like he was a child who just finished a dramatic tantrum. Ralph's eyes darted to Paige and Jack then, and the suddenly empty space between them. Brett Winslow, the Merridew family attorney, started whispering to Jack and then seemed to physically struggle with the decision of whether or not to get up and go after Evan. The other boys' families were whispering amongst themselves and looking back and forth between the remaining Merridews, Ralph's parents, and Ralph himself. All while in the background, Judge Eldeson continued to bang his gavel and call out "order!"

Time didn't exist in the mind of Ralph Langley at the moment, so he didn't know how long it took for Judge Eldeson to finally convince the gallery to calm down and respectfully settle back into their seats. But they did, eventually, whether it took two minutes or two hours. Ralph still didn't know.

Ralph didn't realize that Jeremy Reynolds was calling out his objection as the room settled and focused their attention on the defense attorney. "There is no evidence at all to support such a heinous claim! I have been ruefully uninformed of the DA's strategy, one of very poor taste, might I add."

"That's enough, Councillor" Judge Eldeson interjected as the defense attorney finished. "Councillor Barnes," he turned to address the prosecutor whose words had led to the chaos, "I need to see you in my chambers immediately. Councillor Reynolds, you'd better join us too. Court is dismissed for a twenty minute recess." The final bang of the gavel made it official, and people started exiting into the aisle much slower than usual, as if they weren't sure that's what they were supposed to be doing.

Ralph realized far too late that this meant that he was supposed to get off the stand and go find his parents. So naturally, Laurie found him first. She came through the gate that separated the attorneys, judge, and witness from the spectators and reminded him of how to move his legs.

All eyes were on them as Laurie and Ralph filed into the hallway after everyone else. Ralph hadn't felt so exposed and embarrassed since the rescue, since he returned to school for the first time after the island. Laurie silently guided Ralph outside the courthouse and they walked until they couldn't see the courthouse anymore. Laurie didn't talk until they found a short bike path with a bench, which she sat down on. Ralph stared at her, lacking any desire to sit down. He couldn't right now. All he could see was the frozen courtroom in his mind, a nightmare that wouldn't stop repeating itself.

Laurie grasped his hand and guided him down to sit beside her, hugging him tightly. She rocked him back and forth like he was a small child, and only then did Ralph finally start to cry. And after a few minutes, or what could've been a few minutes, he mumbled into her shoulder: "how did she know?"

"I don't know, baby, I don't know" Laurie held him as he cried. "It's gonna be okay, we'll find out and we'll make everything okay again."

"Where's Dad?" Ralph finally asked, lifting his head enough to meet her eyes.