Scornful Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Five

Alice quickly averted her gaze from them as she made eye contact with John. Alice's breath trembled as she did her best to hide behind Tom, feeling his grip around her waist tighten. He furrowed his brow as he watched George balls his hands into fists, moving himself in front of Alice. He then stared them down, not once breaking eye contact. Diane then broke away from the group as she made her way towards John and Connie.

"Excuse me." She smiled.

"Good morning, everyone," John spoke loudly. "I'm John Sherbrooke. Alice and George's father. This is their mother, Connie."

John and Connie weren't surprised when no one in the group, except for Hank, had greeted them back, and Hank had only done it for the sake of formality.

"Well, we'll see you all in there." Diane said, ushering John and Connie to the other side of the lobby.

George turned around and placed his hand on Alice's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I think so." She replied.

Glancing back over at the two, she almost didn't seem to recognize them. John had gotten bigger and a beard was starting to grow that almost made Alice turn to Tom and tell him to shave his beard when they got home. He was wearing glasses and his movements all seemed to be slow and calculated. Connie's hair had started to turn gray and her hand was clutching onto the strap of her bag, trembling slightly. Her other hand was in John's. As she looked over them, she realized that they truly felt that they didn't do anything wrong to her or George.

Alice then looked back up at George and did her best to give him a smile to let him know she was alright. At that moment, the doors to the courtroom opened and the bailiff ushered everyone inside. As they walked down the aisle, Alice held onto Tom's hand as she followed behind George and Hank. Approaching the desk, Alice furrowed her brow feeling Tom's grip loosen. She turned back to face him and saw that he had taken his seat in the gallery.

"Tom?" She asked quietly.

"I'm right behind you. Don't worry about me. You'll be fine." Tom replied quickly.

"No, you have to be here with us."

"Alice, I can't sit with you. I'm not the one on trial." He spoke breathlessly.

She turned back around and sat down between Hank and George, placing her bag down by her feet. Tom sat down next to Pierre and Esther as Jamie and Cory sat in the row behind them. Tom observed John and Connie as they spoke quietly to one another. He then watched as they looked over at Alice and George, taking in the appearance on Alice's belly. Diane joined their conversation and Tom narrowed his eyes as John and Connie made eye contact with him. Connie looked him up and down and grinned as John kept his eyes on Tom's. Tom, out of common courtesy, flashed them a smile before looking back over at Alice and George.

"I can feel them staring at us." Alice whispered.

"It's alright. Just ignore them. We'll be okay. I got you." George replied.

"But they-"

"Just don't look in their direction. They don't deserve your eyes on them. They don't control us anymore. We don't have to look them in the eye if we don't want to." He interjected.

Alice nodded her head and swallowed hard as she directed her attention forward, no matter how much her body screamed at her to glance over at John and Connie.

Moments later, as the bailiff announced the judge's presence, everyone stood from their seats. Alice quickly took George's hand in hers and took a few deep breaths, remembering her true family was there with her, right behind her. When told to be seated, they all sat back down.