I wake up to the incessant sound of honking cars. I groan as I open my eyes and roll over, realizing that the white covers I'm lying under aren't my own bed covers. It's then when I remember that I'm in New York City and that I have to go to trial today. I have to see my father.
I slowly sit up and see Emma sitting in the chair in front of the desk. I look around the hotel room and see my luggage in the small chair where I left it before collapsing in my hotel bed last night. I sigh and get out of bed, making enough noise to make Emma turn around and look at me. She smiles when she sees me and then turns back to whatever she's doing.
I sigh and go over to my suitcase to get some clothes out, my brush, and my makeup bag. Once I have everything I need, I go into the bathroom and start to get ready. I take my pajamas off, put on my underwear, and slip on my loose red blouse and blue jeans. I brush my hair and put it in a loose braid. I also put on a little makeup before leaving the bathroom.
I walk back out to the room as Emma is rising from her spot at the desk and getting some clothes out of her suitcase. I walk past her as she goes to the bathroom and put my pajamas, brush, and makeup bag inside my suitcase. I open the curtains and look out the window to see many cars in the streets below. It sounds as loud as I remember, but it also looks like how I remember-- busy.
"How'd you sleep?" Emma asks me from inside the bathroom.
"Pretty well. What about you?" I reply as I sit back down on my bed and unplug my phone.
"Not super great. I'm not used to going to sleep to such loud noise. Then, I had to get up early to do my devotional," she replies.
I just nod and don't respond as I lie back down on the bed. I stare up at the ceiling and focus on breathing as I realize that today is the day when I see my father again. Today is the day where I have to not let him inside my head. I have to resist the urge to go back to who I was. I need to do this for my mother.
I close my eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. I feel my tense shoulders relaxing, and I turn my thoughts to good thoughts. I block out the sounds of the city and focus on keeping myself from panicking. I take more deep breaths and feel my nerves calming down slightly.
"Maya? You okay?" Emma's voice asks.
I open my eyes and see her standing next to the bed with a worried expression. I sigh and close my eyes as I reply, "I think I will be."
"What's wrong?"
I take another deep breath. "I'm just getting a little nervous. I'll be alright. I just need to focus on positive thoughts."
Emma pats my shoulder comfortingly and tells me, "You don't have to do this. At any moment, we can book a flight back to Clearwater Bay, and you can just let Sam handle this."
I shake my head. "No. I'm going to do this."
Emma sighs and quietly replies, "All right. We need to leave right now if we want to grab something to eat before we go to the courthouse."
I nod and open my eyes. I rise from my spot on the bed. Emma picks up her purse that's sitting on her bed and walks to the door. I pick up my black cross body purse and follow her. We go down to the lobby, and she gets us a taxi once we walk outside. When I get inside the car, I take another deep breath and stare out the window.
The moment when I have to see my father again is getting closer, and I'm beginning to feel nervous and terrified. There's no telling what he'll look like, and I have no idea what Uncle Sam is going to think when he knows I'm there. Am I making the right choice? How did I ever think this was a good idea?
As the butterflies begin to flood my stomach once again, I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I try to move my thoughts away from what might happen and turn my thoughts to the festival. I think about Alli and Nicole and how I hope they're doing great at the festival.
I keep my thoughts distracted while we quickly eat something on the way to the courthouse and all the way until we enter the courthouse. I stand in front of the double doors that are the only things keeping me from seeing my father again after five years. I take a deep breath as Emma opens the doors, and I walk into a situation that's worse than I anticipated.
~•••••~
"Order in the court! Order in the court!" the judge is commanding when we walk inside.
Emma and I slip into seats toward the back since we're late. When I settle into my seat, I catch sight of my uncle and his lawyer. They both look angry. I look over to the other side and see my father for the first time in a long time. He looks almost the same as the image I have in my mind from the last time I saw him. The only different thing that I can tell about him is that his hair is beginning to gray. His stern expression is still on his face.
Suddenly, he turns his head and looks into the crowd. I fidget, since I'm on the end of one of the rows, and he sees me before I can move out of his sight line. He gives me a sickening grin, sending shivers down my spine. After he sees that I fidget even more, he gives me another grin and turns back around and begins whispering something into his lawyer's ear.
I sigh and take a deep breath as my uncle's lawyer stands up and says something. The judge interrupts him and tells him to take a seat. He sits down with a red face, and I see my father looking smug. I look over to my uncle and see him looking very discouraged.
"Now, Mr. Edwards," the judge says to my uncle's lawyer, "If you will continue on calmly and under the rules of my courtroom."
My uncle's lawyer stands and calmly says, "I call Maya Walker to the stand."
I hear a gasp from my father's corner of the room. My father quickly turns around and meets my eyes. He glares at me menacingly, and I cringe. Emma looks at me surprised, and I just stand up and begin to walk to the stand. I see my uncle looking at the lawyer with an irritated and confused look, but he catches my eye and mouths something. I can't tell what it is, so I just go to the stand and take the oath and sit down in the chair.
Butterflies have filled my stomach, and I look down and see my hands shaking. My heart feels like it's about to beat out of my chest at any moment. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I was not expecting to be a witness for my uncle, but it makes my process a little easier.
"Miss Walker, how are you related to these two men?" Mr. Edwards asks me.
I clear my throat and try to calmly reply, "My father is Tyler Walker, and my uncle is Samuel Erickson."
"Is it true that your uncle is your guardian?"
"Yes."
"And, why were you removed from your father's care?"
I take a deep breath and keep myself from looking at my father. "About five years ago, something happened at my house here in New York City. I ended up in the hospital, my mother died, and my father was put in prison. My uncle came to New York City and took me to his home in Clearwater Bay once I recovered from my injuries."
"Will you please elaborate on what happened on that day five years ago?" Mr. Edwards asks me with a kind smile.
Despite my thoughts protesting, I quickly glance over at my father. He is staring intently at me with a sickening glare. It sends me into panic mode. I begin to breathe faster, and I can't seem to form my words. I look away from him and try to get my breathing under control again.
"Miss Walker? Will you please tell the jury what happened?" Mr. Edwards asks again.
I take a another deep breath and keep my eyes closed as I describe, "My father was yelling at me for trying to contact my uncle. My mother had given me a note the winter before that summer and asked me to take it to the address written on it. My father found out because my uncle visited asking if what was written in it was true."
"If what was true?"
"That he was abusive, a seller of drugs, and also addicted drugs while also being an alcoholic," I reply.
"Go on, please."
"My father was angry at me and was throwing different objects at me when my mother tried to step in and stop him by telling him it was her idea. He just began to hurt her too. It went on and got worse as he started throwing glass at us, by mother blocked me from the glass. He ran out of stuff to throw, so he resorted to hitting us instead. I blacked out. The next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital and being told that m-my m-mother was d-dead," I explain, having to focus on keeping my words steady.
"How long have you been under your uncle's care?"
"About five years."
"And, it's been about five years since you've seen your father, correct?" Uncle Sam's lawyer asks.
I open my eyes and look him in the eye. "Yes."
"And, please tell me what it's like to see your father again in this moment."
"Objection, your Honor! What does this have to do with the case?" my father's lawyer shouts, making all heads turn in his direction.
My father is seething in his seat as the judge bangs his gavel and says, "Overruled. Please sit down. Miss Walker, please answer the question."
I look away from my father and take a deep breath. "All I can see is the abusive man. It's been five years, but I can still tell he hasn't changed at all. He took so many things away from me, and he shouldn't be allowed to take anything else from me or anyone else."
"And now, Miss Walker," Mr. Edwards begins, "I would like to ask if it's possible for you to have any scars from that night or any other time where your father was abusive?"
I take another deep breath and simply reply, "Yes."
"Is there any way for us to see these scars?"
I slowly nod and stand up. I turn around and lift my blouse up enough to where the scars on my lower back are evident. I hear small gasps from some of the people in the front who can kind of see them. I turn myself to the jury and show them. Some of them look surprised and some don't even seem phased. I then turn back around and lift up the front part of my blouse. There on my stomach are scars from another time when my father physically harmed me.
I sit back down and say, "I have more on my upper back, but I can't show you them."
Mr. Edwards gives me a small and comforting smile, "I don't think that will be necessary. Thank you, Miss Walker. And now, your Honor, I would like to present to you the files from the time Maya Walker and her mother, Maggie Walker, were hospitalized. You should be able to see that the records match up with Maya's injuries. That is all, your Honor."
He sits back down, and I look over to my father and see him with a horribly red face. He is giving me the darkest glare ever, and I sink back into my chair slightly. I quickly turn my head and try to get the burning image of his menacing glare out of my mind. I can't, so I just keep my eyes away from him and try to calm my now quicker breathing.
"Mr. Stone," the judge addresses my father's lawyer, "Do you have any questions for the witness."
"N-no, your Honor," he stammers as though he thinks he's lost the case, which I pray that he has so that I never have to look at my father's face again.
The judge nods, and I leave the stand. Both lawyers make their closing statements before the jury leaves to go decide if my father is guilty or not guilty. The judge also leaves. I sit down beside Emma and can finally breathe. All I have to do now is wait. Emma pulls me into a hug and tells me that she is proud of me.
"Maya, what on earth were you thinking?" my uncle's voice asks.
I quickly pull out of Emma's hug and stand up to look him in the eye. I whisper, "I needed to come. There wouldn't be enough evidence without me."
My uncle shakes his head, and tells me, "This wasn't good for you. How did you even know about this? Emma?"
Emma stands up and sharply says, "Now, don't blame this on me. In fact, stop blaming me for things I haven't done."
I'm surprised at Emma's tone, but I just tell my uncle, "It wasn't her idea to come. I basically made her come. It was my choice, and I knew about it because he contacted me and told me I had to come to testify for him. I came to testify against him, and I wasn't going to let anyone stop me. So, don't blame Emma."
Uncle Sam doesn't reply and just stares at me for a few seconds before his lawyer calls him back over to him. My uncle just sighs and walks away from us to go meet with Mr. Edwards. I watch him talk to Mr. Edwards for a few minutes, trying to figure out what they're saying, before I turn back to Emma and give her a small smile.
"Well, that went well," I say jokingly, trying to make her laugh.
She doesn't respond, and when I look at her closely, her hand are shaking and her face has gone white as a sheet. I say her name, but she doesn't respond.
"Emma?" I ask her as I lightly touch her hand.
She flinches under my touch and takes a step back from me. I see her struggling to breathe. In fact, she looks exactly the way I felt on the stand, maybe even worse.
"What's wrong?" I ask with great concern laced in my voice.
She blinks and shakes her head as she sits down. "N-nothing," she stammers.
I sit down beside her and tell her, "You and I both know that's not true. What is it?"
Before she can say anything, the jury comes back out, as well as the judge. Emma seems to have recovered a little bit as she points toward the front and whispers that we need to hear what the verdict is. I force myself to look away from her and put my focus on the judge.
Once the courtroom goes quiet, the judge asks, "Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict?"
The jury spokesman stands and says, "Yes, your Honor."
"Members of the Jury," the judge begins again, "What do you say on the case of Erickson versus Walker?"
The jury spokesman hesitates, and that's all it takes for my father to explode and head straight for me.
______________________________
My Christmas present to all of my lovely readers.
And, I must apologize to you all once more for being away from this book for a very long time. I am so sorry for it taking so long to bring an update to you all. Inspiration left, and I got caught up in schoolwork. Anyway, I'm very sorry for not updating in a very long time.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this book and to stay "loyal" to it. I know it's always annoying when you're reading a book that hasn't been updated in forever. It's hard to stay invested in the story, but I hope you all will be able to jump back into the life of Maya, especially since I left off on a cliffhanger :)
Much love to you all for hanging in there with me!
I will soon be announcing some exciting news on what's next in my writing journey. Can you guess what my next book might be about? Please leave your thoughts in the comments. If you have any ideas on a book, please tell me, and I just might use it for some ideas ;)
Anyway, thank you so much again.
~CGirlyGirl <3