Back To Our Roots, Book One

C. Do You Swear To Tell The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing But The Truth?

"I'm scared."

Jeff set his hands on Nick's shoulders. "I believe in you, okay? Just go out there and tell the truth."

Nick nodded determinedly. "I'm terrified. I can do this. Honestly, what do I have to lose at this point? Just you and Dalton, and they can't take that away from me."

Jeff grinned, giving him a quick kiss. "That's my Nick. You'll never get rid of me."

They both laughed, the atmosphere lightening.

Nick went out and told them what had happened, answering their questions. He was pale and Jeff could tell he was shaking from as far away as he was, but he managed through the whole thing.

"I'd like to call defendant Claire Duval to the stand."

His mother stood up, walking over to the podium. Nick took an anxious breath, waiting for her to speak.

"I–" she hardly got the word out, turning her head to the side and letting out a small sob, sniffing. "I'm sorry, I didn't think this would ever happen. I should have done something, I–" she cried again.

Nick was staring at her in disbelief. Never, not once in her life, had she ever cried over him.

"I knew, I knew something's was wrong when Nick said he was being bullied at school. My other son Aaron said he was looking out for him, that he was actually quite popular at school. I didn't know what was going on, why he would lie like that. Sometimes he'd come home with injuries and I never knew what they were from. He claimed it was the kids at his school. I–" a sob cut off her words, and she buried her face in her hands.

Taking a moment to collect herself, she shook her head and looked back up. "I shouldn't have given in. I let him transfer schools, but he kept getting these injuries and never said where they were from. I was so worried. And now," she sobbed, "now this. I'm sorry, I should have done something. I should have done something before it went too far."

Nick had never been in so much disbelief in his life. She did not just say that. She was not bluffing her way out of that.

"Mom, Aaron said he was protecting me because it was him and his friends who did it!"

The judge reprimanded him for speaking out of turn but he hardly noticed.

She started crying harder. "Nick, he is your brother! How could you accuse him of something like that? I don't know what's going on with you, it's like I don't even know you anymore."

He was in shock.

Part of him, part of him wanted to scream at her. To tell her to stop lying.

The other part of him felt awful, seeing his mother standing there sobbing her heart out because of him.

This was all causing more trouble than it was worth. Than he was worth.

The rest of the trial went by in a blur. He didn't know what was going to happen.

Would he been torn away from the only family he'd ever known and be shoved into a new one, or would he go back to them?

"The jury has ruled the defendants Claire and Robert Duval..."

[*Grins* You can hate me now! Happy one hundred chapters!! Cliffhangers are my bitch]