The lost sister|✔️

Court

Kate's POV

Connor and I entered the courtroom hand in hand with everyone else following behind, I kept my eyes forwards forcing them to not wander over to my father seated at the table with his lawyer. We sit in the front row of the cues on the prosecution's side and everyone files in, the DA turns around and gives me an encouraging smile. 

I can feel all of the boys and my father's eyes on me, but I can't let it get to my head. Today determine a lot for me and Connor and last thing I need to another thing to weigh down on my shoulders.

Shortly the trial beings, each side gives their opening statements and then it was time to call witnesses. 

"Your honor I would like to call my first witness to the stand, Kate Andrews." I stand and walk to the witness stand, once I'm sworn in I sit down and look at Dana for some comfort. With a reassuring smile and a nod I place my attention back on the DA. 

So it begins.

Carter's POV

My leg violently bounced as I watched Kate sit on the witness stand, I knew a little about their past. But everything was about to be laid out on the table in front of a lot of people.

It hurt watching her, I needed to not care about her. She needed out of my life, but the task is difficult since her brother's are my friends and I'm constantly over at her house. And I couldn't miss the hurt in her eyes when she saw me this morning or the night I was with Julia. 

"Miss Andrews can you tell us about your last interaction with your father?" The DA asks her while looking down at a notepad, I watch as Kate puts her head down for a moment before meeting the lawyer's stare.

"My brother, Connor, had called me and told me that our birth dad was at the diner he was at. Normally I would have thought nothing of it, but Connor told me he was just staring at him. Which I found strange since our birth dad had told me he wanted nothing to do with Connor. That he was a fuck up" She says in a quiet voice. 

"Connor asked me to come down and help get rid of him, so he could enjoy his lunch with his friends. I went down there and told him to stay away from us, and I thought that was the end of it. Yet here we are" I notice her eyes stay trained on the lawyer not once looking in her father's direction, I know she can't find it in her to look over at the man who ruined her life. She acts so strong, but over the past couple of weeks I have seen how truly sensitive she is and it kills me to know I'm doing exactly what I said I wouldn't do. I'm doing what must be done, to not protect myself, but to protect Kate.

"Do you blame your father for the life you have had?"

"Yes" She states without any uncertainty lining her voice

"What makes you think that?"

"If he didn't crash that car, my mom would be alive. Me and my brother wouldn't be in the foster system. I wouldn't question if I was lovable or wanted, I wouldn't have a record, I wouldn't have been afraid. But I am, and it's all because of one root cause. Him" She tells the lawyer, but looks straight at me. I break away from her heart breaking gaze and look down.

"Can you tell us about your first year in the foster system?" The lawyer asks, I finally look back up and Kate is still looking straight at me. 

"It was terrible, I didn't understand why I wasn't with my mom. In that first home was the first time I was hit, they were so mean. After a couple months of me and Connor getting beat, our teacher noticed and we got moved into a different home." I saw the tears well in her eyes as she continued to look at me. 

"The next home was even worse, they withheld food, spit on us, expected us to do every chore even though 7 year olds aren't old enough to take care of a house on their own. My brother got hit more than me in that house, and I had enough of watching and hearing is his cries. I started taking hits for him and pushing the foster parents away from him. Once again the teachers noticed the bruises and we got moved. The next home wasn't as bad, they just ignored us mostly and were only in it for the money. We stayed there for 3 weeks I think before they decided to travel the world, leaving us to get placed in another home which was with a nice old lady. She was nice but had some mental illness causing her to freak out and hit us. And that about sums up our first year" She says finally looking away from me and down to her lap. 

"I'm truly sorry you went through that dear. Jury this pain you are hearing about is just one year out of ten these twins experienced. Their childhoods were stolen because this man over there wanted to be with another women and decided the only way he could be with her was by killing his loving hard working wife, rip her from her children, and leave his children to the system. His selfishness not only affected his children's lives but everyone around his children. If you look in the cues you will see the entire Rockport High Football team here not only to give support to their fellow teammate but his sister whom is telling you of years of abuse all inflicted by one selfish man. Today I ask you all to look through Kate Andrews eyes and see the years of hurt cause by her father's actions. Michael Andrews not only planned his wife's murder, but the murder of his children's lives" All eyes turn to us as we sit behind Connor, Kate's dad scoffs and turns back in his seat. 

I can feel Blake glaring at me instead of watching the trial, they all clearly know something is going on between me and Kate. But they can't know and neither can Kate no matter who much I want to tell her. 

"No further questions your honor" The lawyer returns to her seat and Kate's Dad's lawyer stands up looking way to arrogant for the time being.

"Miss Andrews at the time of you getting placed into the foster system did you know any family on either branch of your family that was capable of taking you and your brother in?" I watched Kate think for a second before answering.

"Yes, we had closer family on both sides but no, they couldn't have taken us in." 

"Really? Because according to my client your Aunt Jenna, your mother's sister, was both finically and mentally capable of taking you guys in. Was she not?" Kate audibly scoffs and leans back in her seat.

"Yeah absolutely not. My Aunt was barely in college when we went into the foster system and has been in and out of rehab since I was 6. There is no way she was or is capable of taking care of a set of twins" Well there is something I wasn't expecting. 

"What, did your client lie to you? Hate to break it to you Consoler but my dad wasn't exactly involved in our lives even before he killed my mom" Kate says before the lawyer can get retort with another question. 

"You were 7 years old at the time, is it possible that you could be mistaking Jenna for another Aunt?" He tries to salvage his argument. 

"Well considering I'm still in contact with her and she constantly tells me how she wishes she could take us in, uh yeah I'm pretty sure I'm not mistaking her. And she is my only blood related aunt so it wouldn't even be possible for me to be mixing up aunt's" She had a smug smirk on her face as she disproves his theory, Kate was good at getting under people's skin and she is doing it to the lawyer perfectly.

"Wouldn't you say its pretty irrational to blame 10 years of memories on one person whom wasn't even present during that time?" The beads of sweat were now visible from my seat as the lawyer continues to prove his point.

"Ok first of call it what it is, it's trauma. And Secondly no it is far from irrational, that man is the root cause of everything that has happened in the past 10 years. If it weren't for my mother dying and him going prison I nor my brother would have ever gone into the foster system." Her arms cross over her chest as she continues to basically humiliate the lawyer. 

"Your honor and juries this girl is clearly hurt by the past 10 years of her life. She needs someone to blame so she blames her father, when really she could have just requested to be moved homes while in the system. Miss Andrews is beyond the point of sane and her testimony should be ignored, she is clearly no in her right mind. No further questions" The lawyer angrily walks back to his seat and Kate gets dismissed, she returns next to her brother. I watch him try to soothe the panic attack I know she is clearly fighting off, Connor looks back at me and my head drops. I shouldn't be here.