It's a Nightmare

Chapter Thirty-Three

Riley

The pre-hearing consisted of the Judge, my mom, Mr. Friar's lawyer, Mr. Friar- wearing handcuffs and followed by a bodyguard, Lucas and myself.

Lucas almost went in by himself, but at the last moment, I convinced him that I should be in there. For moral support. All I wanted was to protect my boyfriend. He was mine. Mine.

I still felt bad for slapping him, but he had to know that he couldn't embarrass me like that. I loved him so much. And he was perfect. He needed to act like he was.

"Alright," Judge Mathilde said. "There's not much we can do here. Not until the actual trial tomorrow. But is there anything we'd like to cover today?"

Mr. Friar whispered something to his lawyer, who then spoke; "My client would like to know if there's a possibility of reclaiming parental rights over Lucas Friar."

Judge Mathilde glanced over her notes. She pushed her glasses up on her nose.

"No. Not with the severe accusations of child abuse. If we can prove those, you're looking at some severe jail time. And permanent loss of custody."

I fought hard to keep from cheering. Lucas would be mine. Forever.

"Is there anything else?" Judge Mathilde asked, smiling at Lucas and I.

Lucas whispered to my mom.

"How long will that jail time be?" She asked.

"I can't say for sure. Although, we may be looking at 15-30 years, depending on the evidence." A smile spread across Lucas' face. We'd definitely get 30 years with all the scars across Lucas' body.

"That's all we have." Mom announced.

"Same here." Mr. Friar's lawyer announced. "We'll see you at the hearing tomorrow."

I held Lucas' hand tightly as we exited the courtroom. "Thirty years, baby! He'll be in jail for years!"

Lucas was silent. What was wrong with my boyfriend? Why wasn't he talking to me? Was he mad at me? I didn't do anything wrong. He was being totally rude. To me. His girlfriend. Who just wanted to protect him.

I snuggled closer to my boyfriend, wrapping his hand around my waist.

"Baby, are you okay?" Answer me. Answer me.

He smiled down at me, "I'm fine Babe." Lies. Why was he lying to me?

I sat up straight, moving as far away from Lucas as I could. He wanted to lie? Wait until we got home. I'd show him what would happen if he lied to me.

"Riley? We're home." My mom said.

Putting on my happy mask, I turned and got out of the car.

"Come on Lucas." I said, smiling widely. It was a really fake smile, but it was a smile. "Let's go to my bedroom."

He paused. Was he disobeying me?

"Come on Lucas." I smiled, grabbing his arm. "Let's go."

He knew better than to disobey me. I was just trying to protect the love of my life. He'd been abused. And now I was protecting him from future harm.

We got upstairs and I immediately pulled him into my bedroom.

"What the hell were you doing down there? Disobeying me? I'm just trying to protect you Love. And I can't do that if you disobey me. Understand?"

Lucas took a quick step back.

"Of course Riley. I love you. I'm sorry. I won't disobey you again." He sunk to the floor.

"Kiss me." I ordered. "Kiss me. On the lips." Lucas stood up and kissed me. A deep, passionate kiss.

"Perfect." I said into the kiss. "I love you so much. Don't ever forget that, my love. And we're going to win at this trial. Your father will be locked away for so long. And you'll be happy. With me. Forever."