After Before and After

Phase 4: Chapter 116

It didn't feel like the right thing to do, but at the same time, it was the only thing to do. After court was adjourned for the evening, the Langley family drove back to the hotel. Laurie and Jeffery kept trying too hard to assure their distraught son that everything was going to be okay, but Ralph was in no position to believe them even a little. Once they arrived back at Room 513, Ralph immediately tossed his things onto the floor and left for Jack's room. It didn't feel like the right thing to do, like suddenly their relationship became forbidden even in private, but it was the only thing to do.

It was Paige who answered the door, and instantly Ralph peered around her looking for Jack.

"Come in" the girl stepped aside to allow Ralph to see in and enter. "Jack's in the bathroom" she clarified as the brunette boy scanned the room.

Ralph, not knowing what else to do, and suddenly feeling like he didn't belong in the presence of anyone named Merridew, he sat down awkwardly on the very edge of Paige's made bed.

"I'm sorry" Paige broke the silence. Her words sounded forced, like she spent every second of the silence trying to convince herself to say them. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"I'm not--- it's not what I'm worried about" Ralph admitted. "What's going to happen to him?" he asked weakly, his voice small and raspy.

"I'm gonna petition for custody" Paige informed him, not emotionally or dramatically, just matter of factly. She missed no beats as she did so.

"You planned for this?" Ralph guessed.

"I planned for anything that could've led to another hospital admission in my absence" Paige corrected him. "I never thought it'd come out like this."

"Neither did I" Ralph replied, and realized how stupid they'd been not to consider it. Being on trial meant that lawyers were dredging up the dirtiest of dirt on them, that everything they did could be discovered so long as people knew where to look.

But how did they know where to look?

"The photos" Paige said as if she could read his mind. "Do you know where they came from?"

Ralph shook his head. Not yet, he didn't. But he was going to find out, and then he was going to strangle whoever took them with his bare hands.

"Do you?" Ralph asked weakly, even though he knew the answer.

"No, but my money's on a P. I." she looked to him as she said. A blank expression sat on his face. "Private investigator" she clarified, "someone probably hired a private investigator to follow you and take the photos. Probably someone working for the prosecution. Their case against you was pretty weak, so my guess is they went to great lengths to find any kind of incriminating evidence against you."

"Against me?" Ralph raised his eyebrows in surprise. "They were targeting me, not Jack?"

"I don't know for certain, but that's my guess. Jack's record speaks for itself, yours doesn't."

"Is that even legal? For the opposing side to stalk and take creepy pictures of us?" Ralph demanded.

"Yeah, it is" Paige confirmed regretfully, "because the photos were taken in public with no reasonable expectation of privacy, it's completely legal."

"But we're underage. Doesn't that make it illegal?" Ralph hoped out loud.

"No, not unless the photos were of you two undressed or being exploited or something. Trust me, Ralph, if we had an angle here, we'd use it. There wasn't anything illegal about the photos, assuming it was a private investigator. Brett, our lawyer, said he would look into it and find out where the photos came from, but he doesn't have much hope that we'll be able to get the evidence thrown out" Paige assured him, her tone tainted with disappointment.