The sun was blaring through the large glass windows, making the occupants of the courtroom more frustrated than normal. Isabelle sat on the left side of the room with a court-appointed lawyer. She squirmed nervously in her dark blue dress and light gray shrug. Isabelle's mom and dad sat at the right, wearing wrinkled 'Sunday' clothes. The lawyer Jim and Bridgette brought, a middle-aged balding scumbag-looking thug, who works for low-income criminals.
The judge entered the courtroom, everyone standing. He was a tall and built middle-aged man, his dark chestnut hair matching his dark eyes. He glanced around the room before taking his seat and announcing everyone to sit. As they all sat back down, Isabelle noticed someone in the back of the courtroom. Michael sat in the back of the room, his eyes intently staring daggers into the back of Jim's head. He glanced at her and gave her a small smile, and she smiled back.
"On the docket today," the judge began, his voice bellowing. "We have the custody of Isabelle Truter."
"Your honor," the Truter's slimeball lawyer began. "This case is just a bad case of misunderstanding. There is no definitive proof of abuse. The hospitalization of my client was due to a medical issue that causes bouts of dizziness, which is what caused her to 'fall' and hit her head."
The judge, who seems disinterested as this is his 27th case for the day, never looked up from the papers in front of him. He barely waved his hand in acknowledgement.
"Yeah, yeah. With no admissible evidence of abuse and neglect, aside from one neighbor's statement, I hereby reinstate the custody-,"
"Wait!" Isabelle jumped up out of her seat.
"Young lady, do not interrupt me or you will be found in contempt!" The judge yelled in an attempt to silence her.
"Uh, your honor, please wait. You don't know the full story. There's more than my sorry excuse for parents or that eel have told you."
The judge eyes her, her parents, and their lawyer before sighing and allowing her to continue.
"Since I have been at the foster home, I have gotten myself a full-time job, an apartment, and I have brought my grades up to the point I can possibly graduate a year early," she blurted.
The judge nodded. "Okay," he insinuated for her to get to the point.
"I'd like to request emancipation."
Jim jumped out of his chair, his face red with rage. He was about to charge at her when their lawyer stopped him and urged him through gritted teeth to sit down. The judge glared at Jim and banged his gavel.
"Keep your head," the judge said in a disciplining tone. Turning back to Isabelle, his expression softened. "Young lady, why do you want to be emancipated?"
"Because this isn't the first time I've been taken out of my parent's custody. In fact, this is probably the fourteenth."
The judge glanced down at the file and flipped a page, his eyes widening slightly.
"I've been to too many hearings where evidence of abuse has been presented and ignored. I've suffered too much at the hands of my father, literally. I've been placed in CPS custody so much, I know the agents as well as I would friends if I had any," she looked over her shoulder for a brief second before continuing. "My parents have gone to 'rehab,' so many times, yet there haven't been any results. My mom still does heroin, my dad still pops pills. I don't want to live in that kind of environment."
The judge sat quietly for a moment, considering everything she said.
"Well, young lady, that's quite the speech."
YOU ARE READING
Save Me
General Fiction(Trigger Warning for those who suffer or have suffered from abuse) Michael Emmett, a prudish detective for hire, has been working with Child Protection Services for fifteen years. He's rescued the abused from their abusers, and has hunted down runaw...
