Tears Behind Our Eyes: A Prequel

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Summer 2015

The summer between eighth grade and freshman year, my mom stayed at St. Waters the entire summer, Anna getting her license to foster me. Step dad was in jail, his trial coming soon. His lawyer wanted me to testify on his behalf in August but I'm trying to get him permanently in jail. Mia Kaye offered to testify, too, it it came to that. Mom, since she was married to the bastard, could testify on his behalf but if she didn't want to, didn't have to testify against him, but she asked to be on his side and the doctors wrote her off as unreliable. I dished out all the dirt on him. Somethings I said looked bad for my mom, too. The prosecutor said I could sue the state for putting me in Juvenile Detention if we win, which isn't doubtful.

I lived with Hunter throughout the summer. I was grateful for Anna taking me in. Instead of two boys, that summer, Anna finally had the baby on July 23rd. Hunter became a big brother to a baby girl named Summer. She looked like a girl version of Hunter-- dark brown hair, green eyes. Her nose was like a little button. I became a part of their family, she was my sister, too. I loved her like family.

Amelia Kaye and I had more sleepovers, as she called them. Nothing like that happened, don't worry. She'd always call her dad if he was out of town and ask before. If he was in Seattle, like during the two weeks he was supposed to have off but an emergency always ended coming up at some point, I would just fall asleep on the couch until John went to sleep, waited until he came out to check if I was still there, then went to Mia Kaye's room and woke up early to find my spot on the couch again. I usually just texted or told Anna in person where I'd be and she'd say okay.

Hunter's dad gave Hunter The Talk before but to make it less awkward for me because he felt the need to when he had found out I was sleeping with my girlfriend, just not sexually, so Hunter went through the humiliating experience again, even though I insisted I already knew from health class and crap. Like I said, humiliating.

August 23rd, 2015

This was the day of Step Dad's official trial. This was the day I'd finally know if he was going away or not. I skipped through the beginning mostly, mainly because it's just a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo. This was the last day the judge had to make a decision. This was the day I went on the stand.

"Please state your name for the court," a man, wearing some uniform told me.

I looked around in the audience, looking for Amelia Kaye, even though she told me already that she was sick and John wouldn't let her come. Hunter wasn't allowed to go because Anna knew it'd be personal and didn't feel comfortable putting me on the spot, like the people asking questions would. But Anna was there. I only had Anna and Summer with me. "My full name?" I asked, realizing I'd taken too long of a pause. I looked at Stepdad.

"Just your name, it doesn't matter."

"Jackson Grey Bayley."

"Jackson... Grey Bayley, do you swear that the evidence that you shall give, shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" He held out a Bible for me to put my hand on.

The seat I sat in was uncomfortable. It made me nervous. The courtroom looked just like a courtroom drama on TV-- professional, all wood, bland. "I do."

The Prosecutor, let's call him Phil, because why not?, walked slowly up to me. "Hi, Jackson, how are you today?"

"I'm fine."

The lawyer from the opposing side yelled, "Objection! Where are you going with this?"

The judge rose his eyebrows. Phil smiled at me, I remembered he'd told me that he was going to ask me that in the beginning and I had to answer honestly but expect the other side to object. "I'm just having a civil conversation with a kid. Jackson, has your father ever had a normal conversation with you, like the one we'd just had?" I shook my head, then answered verbally. "What is your relationship to your father like, good or bad?"

"Actually, my dad died when I was only a couple months old-- that man isn't related to me. He's my stepdad. And, to answer your question, I'm sorry, the relationship is bad. If it was good, I wouldn't be up here."

"Can you describe 'bad' for me? Give me an example, please."

"On many occasions, he'd say I was a waste of oxygen. Many times," I gulped, glancing at Anna, then back to Phil, "I'd be punched or kicked, sometimes knocked out. When he thought I was dead, that he had," I paused, taking a breath keeping myself from letting a tear run down my face.

"It's okay, Jackson, take your time."

"Wuss," Monster mumbled, making his lawyer elbow him to shut up.

"When he thought I was dead, that he had finally killed me, he'd throw me in the Dumpster outside our house."

"Who is 'he?' Can you point him out for the court?" I pointed, said his name. "Being thrown away, literally in the trash, what should convince this court that this accusation is true?"

"My mom, when she was admitted at St. Waters Mental Institution, she started talking to Brooke, a nurse that called me the same day [he] was arrested."

"Did Brooke testify at all?"

"Yes, she went before my girlfriend Amelia Kaye yesterday. Mia Kaye got sick and Brooke had to work today."

"How old were you when this man came into your home?"

I had to think, "About seven."

"So you can remember the beginning well, nothing blurry?" I nodded, forgot this had to go on record and verbally answered. He turns to the judge, "Just to clarify, "Can you describe it for me?"

"I didn't know at the time, but my mom was a prostitute because she couldn't hold a job. She knew I had to be taken care of with food, such a burden to have a kid. We got kicked out of our apartment, and somewhere downtown, my mom wearing a crop top and a mini skirt, we got in a man's car and slept in a house. I heard words I hadn't heard before, such as, and I'm quoting, 'whore,' 'slut,' and more."

I don't want to relive the glory by writing all the crap that happened. So, in a sentence: the monster got slain and put in the slammer for eighteen years to life!