Till Death (Quadrilogy)

Chapter 56

SIMONE P.O.V.

"Are you nervous?" I stood beside August in our separate hallway. "Yeah, Im not gon lie, I am." He pulled his hankerchief out of his suit pocket and dapped his forehead with it.

"Don't be nervous, just go up there and let Mr.Kasey state your case, and only speak when spoken too." He nodded. "I know ma."

"They should be letting us in any moment now." Mr.Kasey said, looking down at his watch. "Judge Johnson is never late." I lifted a brow. "You know him?" He shook his head no.

"Not personally, but he's been a judge for a few of my custody cases." I nodded slowly. "Oh alright....well thank you again for helping my husband with this, I really appreciate it." He smiled and fanned me off. "No problem Mrs.Alsina."

The wodden double doors opened up, turning our attention to the female officer that opened it. "You all can enter now." I took a deep breath and looked over at August, who still looked extremely nervous.

He had been fine all morning until we dropped Aliyah and AJ off to school, and AJ pratically begged the both of us to let him stay. After that, his whole demeanor had changed.

I grabbed onto his hand softly and pulled him back before he stepped into the court room. "Goodluck." He let out a small smile and nodded.

I fixed my suit jacket and stepped into the courtroom behind him. He walked up to the podium with his lawyer, while I took a seat in one of the jury seats, that were all empty anyways.

Once I sat down in my seat, the nerves began to sink in. We only had AJ for the past four months, but he's grown on th both of us. And even though he's not my biological son, I still love him like he is.

l looked over to my right once I heard the other double doors opening. In a walked a man with a suit on, Im guessing he was Ariana's lawyer. Since she's been in jail this whole time, Im sure they provided her with one.

 Ariana stepped into the room after him, following him over to the podium. I looked over to the side, but I could see her staring at me in my peripheral vision.

"All rise for the honorable Judge Johnson." I took a deep breath as I rose up from my seat as I watched the Judge enter the room and walk over to his seat.

"You may all be seated." I quickly sat down and got comfortable in my seat.

He shuffled through a few papers on his desk and pushed his glasses up on his nose before speaking. "Mr. Alsina, it says here that you want full custody for your son August Alsina Jr. correct?" He nodded. "Yes, your honor."

"And you Ms.Whitaker, would like to have full custody of your son as well?" She nodded her head. "Yes, your honor."

He read through some more papers before looking up at the both of them. "Well who would like to plead there case first?" He folded his hands across his desk, waiting for someone to volunteer.

"We would, your honor." Ariana's lawyer said, speaking up. He motioned for him to start. "As you know, my client has serves a five year sentence in prison, and when she first was sentenced, she was with child and she obviously gave birth during her time."

Judge Johnson nodded. "Now that's she out of jail, she would like a chance to be with her son, since she's missed so much of his life already." He nodded slowly, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

He looked down at his papers and read a little before looking back over at her lawyer. "It says here that Ms.Whitaker has a history of bipolar disorder, Im not saying that parents with bipolar disorders can't raise a child, but why should I give her full custody of a child with her apparent issues?"