The Only Thing I Ever Really Loved (Corey Taylor)

Chapter 16

I was surprised when I got to the court house to find Corey standing outside in a casual version of what could be considered dressed up. His outfit consisted of a black button up shirt and dark jeans. He appeared very out of his element as he took another drag off of his cigarette.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I approached him.

His demeanor seemed to relax a bit as he tapped away some ash saying, "They said since I'm considered a witness I have to be here."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. You shouldn't even have to be here."

He shrugged, "There's not much going on with me right now, so I'll live."

Not even a moment later I received a phone call saying that it was almost time for the hearing to begin. "Come on, we need to be going in."

I hated the idea of being in this place and from the sideways glances Corey kept giving me I knew he was aware of that as well. The last time I was here was to settle the paperwork saying that my brother would from then on be my legal guardian. After that stressful event it ended up being the first time I met Corey, but that wasn't at the court house, it was at one of their friend's. My mind drifted back into the memory for a minute instead of focusing on the present situation I was in.

Flashback:

I usually enjoyed dressing up, but after the past few days I will be surprised if I ever wear a dress again. I slowly trailed behind Anthony, keeping my eyes trained on the heels of his shoes. I fought the urge to let the water brimming in my eyes spill as we stepped out the doors. Anthony had been handling this all so much better than I have or he's just good at hiding how he actually feels. I don't understand how the hell he can act so calm about losing our parents and then having the court system tell him that if we didn't find a home soon I would be sent away? 

I stayed silent dispite the screaming that was going on in my head, and the panic I felt over the uncertainty of my future. The quiet continued while we got on the bus to ride out to Des Miones and the whole walk to his friend's house. When we arrived I quickly huddled myself onto the end of the couch, the farthest I could get from people at the moment. A guy that wasn't that much taller than me came and sat down next to me, not hesitating to speak to me. 

"You want something to drink?" He asked, gesturing to the red solo cup in his hand. 

I shook my head and thankfully Anthony's friend Roy butted in, "She's sixteen Corey and that's Anthony's younger sister if you didn't know."

"Oh, um..." He seemed taken aback at that and his face appeared redder than it had a second ago. "Sorry about that, so what's your name?"

Even though I had no interest in talking to this guy, I didn't want to be rude. "Ashley."

"Well it's nice to meet you."

"You too." I reply before hurrying to my feet and headed out the door to sit on the porch. 

I just wanted to go home, but I couldn't. In a month's time I wouldn't even have a home left, at least not one with my brother. How had everything gotten so bad this quickly? I had heard rumors at school about what really happened in Waterloo, so I don't know why my father had even considered going down there ar night. The atmosphere of the place was enough to let you know that there wasn't something right about it. Things like getting mugged at seven at night weren't that rare, but being shot after the fact did. I just don't understand why it had to be my parents. The tears I had been holding back came full force now, but I thankfully managed to not make any sound.

"Hey look, I didn't mean anything by..." That Corey guy began speaking behind me, but he stopped when he saw the state I was in. "What's wrong?"

He sat down beside me as I frantically shook my head, attempting to swiftly brush away the wetness on my cheeks. It was dead quiet for a few minutes before I heard him sharply inhale, "Wait, you're Anthony Adams' sister right?"