today for round two, and Jason's mom is taking the stand. I'm trying not to let the stress get to me. The last thing I want is to cause any harm to my baby, especially after the last session in court. Storm swears it was more stressful because I was the one on trial and that this time, I should be able just to relax and watch.
At least when I was on the stand, in a way I was in control of the situation. But being just a spectator meant someone else was in control, and that stressed me out just as much, if not more.
As I sit in the courtroom, I can't help but feel the weight of the entire situation bearing down on me. The judge enters the courtroom, and Jack makes an update to the court.
"As you can see, my client has been given a special chair in order to keep her legs up. The stress from this trial has caused her to start bleeding, and her doctor has ordered her on bed rest. She also gave further instructions to keep my client’s feet up while here. Due to this, we will be adding to our countersuit emotional distress for her and her unborn child. We reserve the right should this cause any complications to the pregnancy to further our claim. The doctors' paperwork and photographic evidence have been submitted to the court this morning." Jack comes out swinging.
The judge nods, looking at me with a hint of sympathy. I can feel the other side's legal team glaring at me, but I refuse to back down. I know I did nothing wrong, and I'll fight tooth and nail to prove that.
"Just breathe," Storm whispers from behind me.
I nod, thankful for his presence. It's only a matter of time before the proceedings begin, and I try to focus on something else to keep my nerves at bay.
Against my better judgment, I glance over at Jason's mom, who looks smug. I try not to let it get to me, but it's hard. She's been against me from the start, and I can't seem to shake the feeling that she'll do anything to take my baby away from me.
I watch as Jason's mom walks up to the stand. She looks so composed and confident, an air of arrogance radiating off of her. While I try to tell myself that I am in control and that I can handle this, my anxiety only seems to increase the longer I stay here.
Her lawyer asks her some pretty basic questions. Things like if she thinks I'll make a good mother. Of course, she says no. He asks if she thinks I lied about not having a substance abuse problem. Of course, she said yes, and Jack interjected that a simple drug test would put that rumor to rest. She was asked if I had lied about Storm not having PTSD. Once again, she said that I lied about that, too.
When she made the last few comments, Jack rose and said that my medical paperwork had been submitted, and he agreed to submit to any testing that the court orders.
When it's Jack's turn to question her, I find myself getting excited. Jack is good at what he does but seemed overly enthusiastic about this question today.
"Mrs. Owens, is it true that your house is currently in the foreclosure process?" Jack asks.
"I... Well... yes," she stutters.
"Foreclosure information is public, so it doesn't take a genius to follow the money. You thought taking Jason's baby meant you would get the money that the military pays out." Jack pauses to let the emotions play out on Jason's mom’s face.
"What you didn't realize is that money is from a life insurance policy, and Jason can assign it to whoever he wants. It doesn't automatically go to the child. So, as Jason was getting ready for deployment, he specifically signed that money over to his wife, the same with the additional life insurance policy he took out. It was specifically signed over to his wife. So even if you were to gain custody of the child, you would have no legal right to either of those payments as they were not given to his child." Jack hands some papers to the man who has been running evidence between the lawyers and the judge.
My eyes stay glued on Jason's mom, whose face goes pale.
"Is it also true that your husband has racked up significant gambling debt yet again? A problem he's been treated for and swore that he'd stop. Then paid off all prior debts just to have piled on more gambling debts," Jack says.
"He hasn't been gambling again. That is a past issue that he has sought help for," she counters.
"In my hand is a stack of bills of places that he owes money from people that he's borrowed from. These are just the legitimate places. How is this any different than you trying to claim that River is an unfit mother because her parents do drugs? Even though she's never once touched them and hasn't been around her parents since she was a young child?" Jack again hands papers to the man to take up to the judge.
"We'd like to request a recess to review the new evidence," the other lawyer says.
"I will grant it because I need to review all this paperwork myself. The court will convene on Wednesday. Any objections?" the judge asks.
"Is it possible to do Thursday, as River has a follow-up with her doctor on Wednesday? Once you review the paperwork, you will see the date has been set," Jack asks.
"That's fine, Thursday it is. Let's try to wrap this up then," the judge says. Then she smacks down her gavel, and a loud echo fills the quiet courtroom.
Once the judge exits the room, there's a flurry of activity of people talking, paper shuffling, and people moving.
Like last time, I know Storm's parents were in the back and one of the first people out. But this time, we're all meeting back at Storm's place to go over everything so that I can continue to obey the bed rest orders. The girls insist on cooking and stocking the freezer for us for the next week or so. And I'm pretty sure the guys will take any excuse just to get together and shoot the shit.
When the courtroom has cleared out, Storm walks over and helps me out to his truck. Unlike last time, he didn't hold my hand on the way back to the cabin. I can feel the distance between us, and I know he's got some guilt over everything that's happening.
As soon as he started to voice his concerns, I felt the guilt crash into me as well. I think that's something we both have to deal with, which is why I'm not putting up too big of a fight.
Being on bed rest has given me a lot of time to think, maybe more time than I should be allowed. But I've come to realize that I need to be out on my own for no reason other than to prove to myself that I can.
One decision that is firm is I want to stay here in Whiskey River. I didn't want to be far from Storm and the friends that I am making. My whole support system is here. As soon as the doctor gives me an okay to be up and moving around, I want to head into town and start looking at places.
Even though I know my choices will be limited, I’m sure I can find something. Since I already have a small waiting list of clients wanting me to do their websites, I’m not concerned with having enough income to get a small two-bedroom apartment above one of the buildings downtown. Being downtown will allow me to walk almost anywhere I need, and then I only have to use a vehicle to come up the mountain to visit Storm and my friends.
As soon as we get home, Shadow is right there, sniffing me and wanting to make sure I'm okay. He's been lying in bed with me and snuggling with me since Storm spent that first night on the couch. It was then I moved back to my room. It's crazy how quickly I got used to not sleeping alone again. Thankfully, with Shadow, I'm not.
"Okay, let's get you to the couch," Storm says as we pull up to the cabin.
As we get inside, Storm's mom has already set up the couch with some pillows and blankets for me, and I settle right in.
"Do you really think we can wrap this up on Thursday?" I ask Jack once everyone has arrived.
"I believe so if the judge is adamant about it. The other side could try to keep postponing or adding to the case, but I think, at this point, it just hurts them. The judge knows all this is causing harm to the baby, and I don't think she will let it go on much longer. My guess is she will have a decision in mind when we walk on Thursday. Unless they have some big jaw dropper to add, she will just want to wrap things up," Jack says.
"I agree. This judge is known for not letting trials drag on. And she's a mother, so she will have more empathy toward wanting to make sure the baby is healthy and being with the right person. So I think she’ll wrap this up as quickly as possible," George adds.
The guys move to talking strategy in the kitchen, and the girls pile into the living room with me.
"Did you see her face when she realized she wouldn't be getting any of the money?" Hope says, shaking her head.
"Always follow the money. We learned that the hard way, didn't we?" Jana says, squeezing Hope's hand.
"I'm just glad he found information he could use in court. I know not all Jack's research is on the up and up."
"Oh shit!" Storm's voice fills the cabin, and everyone goes quiet.
"Well, don't keep up on our toes!" Willow says to them, and Storm, Jack, and George walk over to us.
"I've been having my assistant do some digging on Jason's parents, and she just sent me an email with a gold mine," George says, still scrolling on his phone.
"Well?" Storm's mom says, her impatience audible.
"A lawsuit was just filed a few days ago against Jason's dad for sexual harassment. This isn't the first. He’s settled a few others out of court to keep them hush hush. I'd say that's a very unsuitable environment for a child, don't you?" George smirks.
I rest my head back on one of the pillows, the day catching up with me. I must drift off because the next thing I know, I open my eyes to see Storm's mom holding a tray of pastries and a glass of water. A smile lights up her face as she sees me awake.
"Hello, dear. Have a good rest?" she asks as she sets the tray on my lap.
"I'm doing okay, thank you," I reply, taking a sip of the water.
Everyone seems to have left but his mom and stepdad.
"I'm sorry I feel asleep," I say, taking one of the cookies from the tray.
"It's okay. They all understand you need your sleep. Storm just needed some help in the barn, so George stayed back to help because he also didn't want to leave you alone if you happened to wake up," she says, smiling.
Typical Storm. Even when we are putting distance between us, he is still taking care of me.