Sequel: Did You Get What You Deserve? ›
If your heart stops beating
Chapter 11
~*Frank’s Point of view*~
Not long afterwards, Alec was discharged from the hospital and immediately taken in by Social Services.
When I applied for legal guardianship of him, I was given a date for an inspection of my home. On the scheduled morning, we all cleared out the music room, shifting all the instruments and equipment to the corner of the room. Then we pushed two of the beds in there and set up a camp bed as well. I didn’t think it would look so good if we were all sleeping in the same room.
The Social Services lady who came to inspect was impressed. The house was clean, rather roomy, and oh, look at those musical instruments. He would have a lot of fun with those.
“And the house smells so... nice.”
Gerard and I grinned guiltily at each other. Only copious amounts of air freshener had managed to hide the lingering smell of cigarette smoke. I had made the guys promise to smoke outside from now on.
When she finally left, having given us her mark of approval, we all agreed we had a pretty good chance. It’s funny how it went from an “I” to a “we” so fast.
Soon after came the date of the court hearing. I was up early, and when Gerard walked in, I stood up so he could see what I was wearing.
“Hmm... nice jeans... long-sleeved shirt... casual but smart. Pretty good.” He nodded.
I checked my watch. It was 9:30.
“Shit, better go. Wish me luck. Everything depends on this hearing.”
He gave me the thumbs up.
“See ya. And hopefully Alec too!”
I nodded and walked out.
I arrived at the courthouse and was shown into the designated courtroom. It was a lot bigger than I had expected. As I reached the front, my lawyer stood up and shook my hand.
“You’re pretty much guaranteed to win this, Mr Iero.”
I grinned.
“I’d better, for the money I’m paying you.”
He laughed a little self-consciously and we sat down behind the table to wait.
It seemed only a few minutes later that the judge walked in. Everybody stood until the judge was seated.
“Judge T. Parnell presiding. This court is now in session.”
I stopped listening for a few seconds. The social workers had just brought in Alec and sat him in the witness box on the judge’s right. He gave me a small wave and I smiled reassuringly.
My lawyer stood up and presented his facts. I was a responsible man, the boy needed a father figure, all the stuff we had planned. Then Cheryl’s lawyer stood up and did his bit. The judge listened to both lawyers with a politely interested look on her face. The lawyers argued back and forth, and then one of the Social Workers asked Alec what he thought. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath.
“Cheryl isn’t a bad person. If she was, you wouldn’t let my sister stay with her. I’m not trying to tell you Cheryl’s a bad person, but... I need a father figure right now. I’m sorry Cheryl, but Frank means more to me than you ever have, or ever will. Frank’s been more of a father to me in the past five months than my own father was in the last year before he died. If I couldn’t be with Frank, I would... I don’t know what I’d do. When I was in hospital, I kept purposely ripping my stitches so I wouldn’t get discharged. I didn’t want to leave because I hated both my homes. Frank convinced me to stop hurting myself. When I thought I was going to be allowed to live with him, it was like I had a reason to live. I haven’t had that in the last two years. Please-” He turned to the judge “-All I want is to be with Frank. He’s everything to me. Everything.”
The judge smiled kindly.
“That was quite a touching speech, young man. You should consider being a lawyer.”
Alec’s face glowed red.
“Th- Thanks!”
More speeches by lawyers followed. Cheryl was called up to the witness box to answer a few questions, then I did the same. All the time it seemed my case was getting weaker and weaker. Cheryl was making a brilliant impression, and it seemed no-one noticed anything about me except for my tattoos and piercings. Finally, the judge smiled at us, her eyes lingering on Cheryl.
Her next comment was also directed very much at Cheryl.
“The jury have reached a decision. It seems there is only one logical solution...”
**Author's note: OOOH!**
Not long afterwards, Alec was discharged from the hospital and immediately taken in by Social Services.
When I applied for legal guardianship of him, I was given a date for an inspection of my home. On the scheduled morning, we all cleared out the music room, shifting all the instruments and equipment to the corner of the room. Then we pushed two of the beds in there and set up a camp bed as well. I didn’t think it would look so good if we were all sleeping in the same room.
The Social Services lady who came to inspect was impressed. The house was clean, rather roomy, and oh, look at those musical instruments. He would have a lot of fun with those.
“And the house smells so... nice.”
Gerard and I grinned guiltily at each other. Only copious amounts of air freshener had managed to hide the lingering smell of cigarette smoke. I had made the guys promise to smoke outside from now on.
When she finally left, having given us her mark of approval, we all agreed we had a pretty good chance. It’s funny how it went from an “I” to a “we” so fast.
Soon after came the date of the court hearing. I was up early, and when Gerard walked in, I stood up so he could see what I was wearing.
“Hmm... nice jeans... long-sleeved shirt... casual but smart. Pretty good.” He nodded.
I checked my watch. It was 9:30.
“Shit, better go. Wish me luck. Everything depends on this hearing.”
He gave me the thumbs up.
“See ya. And hopefully Alec too!”
I nodded and walked out.
I arrived at the courthouse and was shown into the designated courtroom. It was a lot bigger than I had expected. As I reached the front, my lawyer stood up and shook my hand.
“You’re pretty much guaranteed to win this, Mr Iero.”
I grinned.
“I’d better, for the money I’m paying you.”
He laughed a little self-consciously and we sat down behind the table to wait.
It seemed only a few minutes later that the judge walked in. Everybody stood until the judge was seated.
“Judge T. Parnell presiding. This court is now in session.”
I stopped listening for a few seconds. The social workers had just brought in Alec and sat him in the witness box on the judge’s right. He gave me a small wave and I smiled reassuringly.
My lawyer stood up and presented his facts. I was a responsible man, the boy needed a father figure, all the stuff we had planned. Then Cheryl’s lawyer stood up and did his bit. The judge listened to both lawyers with a politely interested look on her face. The lawyers argued back and forth, and then one of the Social Workers asked Alec what he thought. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath.
“Cheryl isn’t a bad person. If she was, you wouldn’t let my sister stay with her. I’m not trying to tell you Cheryl’s a bad person, but... I need a father figure right now. I’m sorry Cheryl, but Frank means more to me than you ever have, or ever will. Frank’s been more of a father to me in the past five months than my own father was in the last year before he died. If I couldn’t be with Frank, I would... I don’t know what I’d do. When I was in hospital, I kept purposely ripping my stitches so I wouldn’t get discharged. I didn’t want to leave because I hated both my homes. Frank convinced me to stop hurting myself. When I thought I was going to be allowed to live with him, it was like I had a reason to live. I haven’t had that in the last two years. Please-” He turned to the judge “-All I want is to be with Frank. He’s everything to me. Everything.”
The judge smiled kindly.
“That was quite a touching speech, young man. You should consider being a lawyer.”
Alec’s face glowed red.
“Th- Thanks!”
More speeches by lawyers followed. Cheryl was called up to the witness box to answer a few questions, then I did the same. All the time it seemed my case was getting weaker and weaker. Cheryl was making a brilliant impression, and it seemed no-one noticed anything about me except for my tattoos and piercings. Finally, the judge smiled at us, her eyes lingering on Cheryl.
Her next comment was also directed very much at Cheryl.
“The jury have reached a decision. It seems there is only one logical solution...”
**Author's note: OOOH!**