"Are you ready, Mr. Payne?"
John looked at his feet "Please... Just call me John" He said then looked at his lawyer "I'll feel more comfortable that way"
His lawyer smiled and nodded, he was reading through a file as Liam walked towards him, John frowned
"Shouldn't you be at work?"
Liam smiled "Took the late shift tonight... I didn't want you to be alone"
"Well. That could've been a nice place for us to pop up"
Both Liam and John turned towards Devin, Louis, Harry, Louis mother, Zayn's parents and Zayn
John looked at them all and frowned "Don't you all have work"
"I have company secrets, they can't fire me no matter what I do" Louis said at the same time Harry said "I asked for a week off"
John looked at the others "And you?"
"You think I'd leave my best friend alone in this..." Yaser smiled "You're stuck with me now"
"I'm scared" Yaser whispered looking at the double doors
Aaron looked at him then smiled "I'm here... And I will always be here"
Yaser turned to him with a frown "Really?"
"I swear to it."
Both men hugged tightly, Yaser whispered something that made John's eyes go wide before he frantically shook his head
Yaser winked before John's lawyer nodded for everyone to follow him
Liam looked at his father look at the entrance, like he was waiting for someone before he shook his head and followed his lawyer
~~~~~
Marie walked in with her lawyer, and 5 other people following them
John almost immediately tensed and Liam's hand was gripped tightly before the judge came in
Devin's hands were in fists, as he glared at the back of her head.
The judge asked them to all sit and they did.
She was about to start talking when the door opened and everyone turned towards it
"I hope I'm not too later" George said with a dimpled smile before he walked over and sat down beside Devin
2 people from the other side gasped when they saw him but Liam paid them no mind
He looked at Zayn who was already looking at him
"What?" he whispered
"I love you... A lot"
Liam smiled "I know you do..."
~~~~~
His parents were on her side, they went on the stands and defended her.
His mother sobbed about his mental instability and how much she missed him
Marie talked about the pain that came before the divorce, an audio placed of Marie sobbing and begging someone to stop
John cringed and gripped his fingers under the table
George (who was seated behind him) leaned ahead and rubbed his finger on the back of John's neck
Liam watched as his father slightly relaxed, he turned towards the other side
Where people were looking at them, one of the women was gripping a cross and the other was shaking her head
Liam then turned back ahead when his fathers lawyer stood up ans walked towards Marie
"We all know it's difficult to leave a marriage... Yet why did you fight him so hard during the divorce?"
"Because I always believed we could work on it"
"Why did you stay as long as you did? According to my papers, you had a steady income and could've filed for divorce at anytime"
"I stayed for our son"
Now it was time for Liam to scrunch his nose but he quickly recovered
"Really?"
"Yes. Any mother would for her children, and I really did love John... I've loved him from the moment I first saw him"
"From the moment you first saw him?"
"Yes"
"The very first day?"
"Yes"
"Really?"
"Yes"
"Mr. Manning, what's the meaning of this?" The judge said with a frown
The lawyer looked at her with a smile "Just a few more questions your honor, then I'll get to the point"
The judge sighed and nodded, John's lawyer turned back to Marie
"How old are you?"
"56"
And how old were you when you met him?"
"23"
John's lawyer stepped back "Well... If you look at the evidence provided, you'd see my client is currently 44"
"Your honor-" Marie's lawyer started but, the judge stopped him
"Mr. Manning, proceed"
"Which means, 33 years ago, when they both met. Mr. John payne was no older than 11!!"
Louis, Harry, Niall and Zayn's eyes shot wide open. They all quickly turned to Liam who didn't look confused
"They got married when Mr. Payne was 21, she was 33. She didn't have to agree to marry him, and with the evidence MY CLIENT AND I have provided, we can see-AND Hear, Mr. Payne asking for a divorce multiple times and her denying them"
Liam dropped his chin to his chest and smiled
Liam waved the CD and put it down on the table, John looked at it and frowned
"It has proof. A lot of it, your struggle and mine... I don't need it dad, I trust you."
An argument started between Marie's lawyer and the judge before he was forced to sit down
John's lawyer stepped back and said he has no other questions.
Marie looked at her lawyer who rubbed his temple then shook his head
She got off and walked towards her seat but stopped when she made eye contact with John
With his beard shaved, he looked like the boy she loved.
She started to walk towards him but George was the first to jump up and grab her wrist
The officers in the room quickly stood up.
George whispered something into her ear and she took a few steps back before she turned and walked towards her seat
George then turned and took the empty seat beside John. It probably wasn't allowed, but he did it anyways
He took John's hand under the table and gave it a squeeze
~~~~~
Francesca was called to the stand, she seated and looked at Marie
Marie said she'd help her get her therapist license back, and Francesca agreed. She'd give a testimony in favour of Marie and she's get 30% of whatever Marie got
But she couldn't bring herself to it, she talked about the fact that she gave John anti-depressants because she got notes from Marie
How the notes she got were always higher doses and she believed Marie knew what's best for John
She then tucked her hair behind her ear and walked out
~~~~~
They were dismissed and asked to come back the next day.
They all went back to their homes but George followed John
Liam watched George sit by John's feet, when typing something he'd ask John to check it and read under his breath
When John fell asleep, George stood up and kissed his cheek before he left
The next morning, he picked John up. Liam was with Zayn and everyone met then at the court house again
~~~~~
John was taken to the stand, and he was grilled with questions.
Why did you agree to marry her? Why did you stay? How did you seduce a woman older than you?
He was dubbed the bad-guy by Marie's side. He tried to stay calm and not argue.
His lawyer advised him to not argue as it's most likely what they'd like to happen
So he stayed calm, answered as much as he could. Then... Marie's lawyer brought up how John manipulated Liam into preferring him
John nearly sucker punched him across the face, but Liam just quickly shook his head
And it was Liam's turn to the stand
~~~~~
Liam rubbed his eyes before he stopped playing with his toy car and walked towards his father who was laying on the couch
But Marie picked him up and walked to his room, she gave him a look as she put him down
"Dad is tired, don't bother him"
"Mumma-" but before he could continue, Marie gripped his ear and he tried to shove her hand away
But she only squeezed his ear more, his eyes welled up and she gripped his chin and raised both eyebrows
"Do you understand?" she squeezed his ear more and he let out a sob
"I asked you a question, Liam. Do you understand?"
Liam nodded "Y-Yeah..."
"Mr. Payne"
Liam blinked and nodded "Sorry... What was your question?"
"My question was, what was your parents relationship behind closed doors?"
Liam stayed quiet then cleared his throat "I once saw my parents arguing, I didn't know what it was... But I saw my mother choking my father"
Marie's lawyer blinked and cleared his throat "What was the reason?"
Liam looked at Zayn then at the lawyer "Marie wanted to give something of mine to someone else but dad said no..." Zayn's eyes widened
"Aha... How did you react?"
"I believed it was something they liked to do"
"Mr. Payne, are you sure it's not something your father forced into your head"
Liam shook his head "No, because I remember it happening. I think about it often"
Marie's lawyer raised an eyebrow "And why is that?"
Liam shrugged "Because, I saw her yelling, breaking plates, and arguing with him... I've seen her get handy with dad, even when he didn't want her to."
Marie's lawyer shook his head and turned towards Marie's table to talk to the other lawyer
Liam turned towards the judge "Do you have any kids?"
She frowned "Huh?"
"Are you a parent?"
"Yes... I am"
Liam nodded "I would've been a parent too... But I wouldn't have reached half the parent my father was" He smiled "He fought for me for longer than I know"
Liam shrugged "I was born when he was 21, he read to me every night, helped me with all of my homework and never once forced me to do something I didn't want to"
The judge smiled "Yeah?"
Liam smiled and nodded "Yeah" He looked down at his hands "When Marie got into a car accident, and I was with her in the car and I couldn't walk for a while... He carried me everywhere because I didn't want to get it a car"
Liam shrugged and looked at his dad and smiled "Remember how I asked to go to self-defence classes? I went for a month before I gave up" John smiled and nodded
"If I ever asked for anything, he would do it to his best capability"
"He wasn't asked a question" Marie's lawyer said then looked at the judge
"We have some evidence we'd like to show"
John's lawyer furrowed his brows and his lawyer frowned
Liam got off the stand as John was asked to go to it.
John sat down and furrowed his brows when a picture appeared on screen
Marie was wearing a ripped shirt, as someone pinned her against the wall. She was shoving whoever it was off , her face was covered in tears as she looked like she was mid cry
John looked at the lawyer and frowned "My client has claimed that that is you..."
John looked at the photo again, it was a shaved head and dated to about 6 months ago in their old bedroom
John took a shaky breath "It's not me..."
The lawyer raised an eyebrow "Of course you'd say that, but do you have any proof?" John kept on looking at the photo, and nodded "Answer me, Mr. Payne"
"Well, I stopped shaving my head years ago... And That's not my back"
"Pardon."
John opened and closed his mouth, he cleared his throat "My back is... Scared, I've had them since I was 16. They've never faded"
~~~~~
John was taken to a medical room and asked to take his shirt off.
A medic was about to touch his back when George walked in. She made eye contact with George before he sat down on the floor
"Have I ever told you how much I dreamt about seeing you again?"
John gave him a shaky smile "No... No you didn't"
George took his hand and John squeezed his hand tightly when the nurse touched his back
"Well, I often dreamt about seeing you again, holding you and being with you. I imagined coming back home from work and seeing you and Liam, you'd never have to work another day in your life because everything you want will be given without you having to worry..."
John nodded, he closed his eyes as an officer took a photo of his back
When they both left, George hugged him tightly, John's hands were shaky but he hugged George back
"C'mon... Let's get you back inside and finish this"
John stayed quiet then pulled away "George"
"Yes, love?"
"I don't think I'm the person you remember I was... It's been 23 years, I want you to move on"
~~~~~
The next day, When the pictures were posted for everyone to see, Liam cringed and looked away
John was back on the stand and looking at his hand because he couldn't get himself to look into the mirror, seeing his back on a screen is something he never wants to see
Marie's lawyer was silent as he looked at the photo, John's was silent
"No- No more questions your honor..."
~~~~~
The court sided with John, Marie would compensate him for his lawyer and he got a restraining order against her
He then walked out, Liam rushed to his side and got under this arm and hugged him tightly
John stopped and hugged Liam back
"You should... You should stay with Zayn for a bit"
Liam pulled away and he frowned "What?"
"I love you more than life itself kiddo... But my mind isn't in its correct place, and I need some time alone"
Liam's shoulders fell "But... I don't want you to be alone"
John forced a smile "I promise... I'll be just fine" John looked at Zayn and motioned him to come closer, Zayn hesitantly did and nodded
"Take care of him... Don't let anyone hurt him"
Zayn took Liam's hand into his own and nodded "I will."
"Dad..." Liam started but John looked at him
"Take care, ok. Kiddo?"
Liam slowly nodded then cuddled upto Zayn's side
John put his hand into his pant pockets and walked out
Everyone watched him go and the door close behind him