Shining Stars

Chapter 20

Sitting on the bench seats behind the defendants table Christine felt numb, as though she were merely an extra in a movie instead of the sister to a man accused of murder. Listening to the testimony of the many doctors and scientists her heart grew more and more numb until she couldn't feel anything.

Staring straight ahead she focused on a small chip in the railing that stood between her and her brother. It was just a small chip; you couldn't be able to see the blemish from a distance but up close it marred the rest of the railing. 'I have a chip too,' she thought to herself. 'Richard is my chip. No one sees him until they're close to me and then, then it's impossible to miss him.'

Christine loved her life; it was smooth, simple, and classic, like the wood railing before her. She had a job she loved, a man who loved her as much as she did him, two parents that had been there for longer than her own memory could recall; yes, Christine knew she had a good life. But there was a chip, a blemish; a speck that had marred her almost perfect life. That speck had a name; its name was Richard.

Though most people would despise the speck that marred their lives, Christine couldn't. She loved her brother too much to despise him. In spite of everything he had done to her, to their parents, to the world around him, the fact was that she still loved him. That was the only thing she had left of the brother she had once known, the love they had once shared for each other. He may have given up, but Christine refused to.

She was numb.

Looking down at her lap she saw that George was holding her hand. Most would say that it was a simple act to hold someone's hand but Christine marveled at the effect it had on her. Her hand, the one he held, was the only part of her that had any feeling in it. While the rest of her was cold, numb from head to toe with shock at what she was hearing, her hand felt warm, alive. She could feel the gentle pressure of his finger tips on the top of her hand, his thumb slowly caressing the palm, soft and gentle, the same way he had been with her since the night she'd gotten the call from Mama at his apartment.

Closing her eyes she could picture them, curled up in his bed, Christine could still feel his arms around her as he'd rocked her in his lap, the soothing whispers of meaningless words that had somehow meant so much. The party had gone on around them, on the other side of the door, but they had been surrounded by the silence of tragedy, pain that Richard had once more inflicted on those people he called family. Only this time his pain had a broader reach, touching those who had recently come into Christine's life, George, Brian, Renee, each one hurting at the sadness they saw in her eyes.

Wrapped in his arms, her head resting on George's chest, Christine had been lulled into sleep by the steady rhythm of his heart beating under her ear, safe in the warmth of his love that surrounded her, a shelter against the harsh reality of the world around her. It was the same warmth she saw every time he looked at her, whether they were at the office or alone in her apartment, the love emanating from his brown eyes reminding her of that night. It was the same warmth she could feel in her hand, spreading over her until she was no longer cold and numb but warm and safe, loved and protected.

The bang of the gavel snapped her attention from within her memories and Christine looked around at the moving crowd. Dismissed for a lunch break of one hour the audience was leaving the courtroom to eat, the attorney's going over their notes for the afternoon session. Standing with George and her parents the foursome was directed toward an office while Richard was led away with the bailiff.