Chapter 44 #2
“If you wanted a big family and more children, perhaps you should have given her your name and phone number, or where you were living, Mr. Bancroft. Moving on, how would you have supported Vanessa and Lily had you known about them? You would’ve been responsible for providing child support to Vanessa if you weren’t living together. ”
“I’m sure I could have figured something out.”
“Oh? How? You haven’t been able to support yourself at any point. Do you feel you would have made a good father to Lily?”
“Absolutely,” he nods.
“Let the jury be aware, a court incarcerated Mr. Bancroft’s only son on multiple charges for 15 years after trying him as an adult at age 17. He will also be on the sex offenders’ registry for his entire life, and the judge recommended no parole be offered. This is the child Mr. Bancroft raised.”
The judge calls for a lunch break after Mr. MacLeod finishes.
I file out of the courtroom with my lawyer and family after Mr. Bancroft is gone.
Mr. MacLeod leads us to the same room across from the courtroom we were in before the hearing, and Seb immediately wraps me in a hug.
“This room is ours for the duration of the trial, so if you want to grab your lunches, go ahead. I’ll be back in a moment with mine,” Mr. MacLeod nods, leaving the room.
“I’ll grab ours,” Nick offers. “Z, give me your keys. I’ll get yours too.”
When Nick gets back, we eat quickly, and I’m able to get a few bites down with water, but my appetite is nonexistent. Zander and Nick follow me to the washroom, and Alex and E are waiting for us when we get back.
We reenter the courtroom, and Mr. MacLeod pulls out papers from his briefcase, getting ready to begin his defense, but another witness is called for Mr. Bancroft.
Mary Crawford. My eyes go wide as my lawyer objects.
What is my CPS caseworker doing here? She wasn’t listed as a witness.
Both lawyers are called to the bench, but the judge allows Mr. Donaldson to proceed. I have a bad feeling about this.
As she takes the stand, Mr. Donaldson begins by requesting her to identify herself before asking her opinion of me and the awarded money.
This is not good. “It is unimaginable that anyone would think it’s a good idea to award money to Summer, an irresponsible and troubled girl who cannot be trusted. ”
He asks her to explain my behavior since she was assigned to my case, in chronological order.
She begins when I was released from the hospital and tells everyone about my refusal to go to school, my difficulty eating, my screaming nightmares every night, and fighting with my lovely foster family, who had to return me after a month because I was uncontrollable.
“What happened at the second foster home?” Mr. Donaldson asks.
“Stop her, please,” I beg Mr. MacLeod. He does, asking for a short recess. We quickly leave, gathering in the room across the hall again.
“Summer, I need to know what I’m dealing with here.”
“I know,” I say as tears flow. “In the second foster home, I was nearly raped. It was shut down, and they were charged, but Mary has always doubted me.”
“I’m so sorry, Summer,” Mr. MacLeod says. “What else?”
“She doesn’t approve of my relationship with Jake, and she may bring up the rumors and photos you’ve seen.”
“Okay. I can’t stop her from talking, but I will object and discredit as much as I can.”
E and Zander both give me a hug as I try to pull myself together.
Time is up, so we go back to the courtroom.
When Mary retakes the stand, she continues to tell the jury about my deteriorating behavior before telling everyone about my accusations of rape.
As soon as she mentions it, MacLeod objects, stating that the adults were convicted, and I wasn’t the only victim, but the damage has already been done.
All my old memories have bubbled up, and I feel like I’m in a living nightmare right now.
Next, they discuss her opinion of Jake and me, but my lawyer objects and stops the conversation. He cross examines her, but I’m honestly not paying much attention anymore.
The plaintiff rests after Mary, so Mr. MacLeod starts his defense. He conferences in Sue via phone first to get her views on my behavior after I moved in with her.
Next, he requests to video conference with my doctor from Virginia.
I have to look away as they show pictures of me after the accident.
I only glimpsed them during the settlement trial, but I wasn’t wholly functioning then.
I hear a gasp from Zander and some curses from the guys behind me.
Silent tears track down my face as I relive that horrible time while the doctor explains my injuries and shows images.
I get a reminder that my heart stopped twice during surgery for internal bleeding, as well as my induced coma and physiotherapy.
Mr. MacLeod asks about the long-term effects of my injuries.
The doctor admits he can’t be certain there will be no complications as I age.
He mentions arthritis, autoimmune conditions, and heart complications, which would require a lot of money.
I tune most of that out as I stare at the tabletop, my mind focusing on the affirmation Sarah taught me. One moment at a time.
This is horrible. Sometimes I wonder what I did in a previous life to have all this happening to me. I glance over at the jury, and one younger guy looks a minute away from puking as he covers his mouth.
The judge calls it a day after the doctor is done. Once the judge leaves, we follow Mr. MacLeod across the hall again. “I’m sorry you had to go through that again, Summer,” Mr. MacLeod says. “The jury needed to see how awful the situation was and why you were rewarded with the money you were.”
“I know. You’re just doing your job. It’s okay,” I reply, wiping my eyes, as the tears keep falling. My sole blame lies with Mr. Bancroft, not my lawyer, for me having to relive this stuff.
“You had a damn piece of car in your leg, Sunshine. You looked like a bloody mangled mess,” Seb says.
“Not helping, Hurry,” I reply.
“Shirt. Sorry Sunshine, Z. I’ll shut up now.”
E walks over to hug me, and I can feel little tremors in his body. “Those images were unbelievable.”
“You were lucky to survive,” Alex adds.
Zander requests a hug when E lets me go. “Darling, I have no words for what you went through,” he whispers.
“I’m okay now. Don’t forget that part,” I remind him.
“Thank God, darling. You are so amazing, my daughter,” he says, squeezing me tight.
Mr. MacLeod says farewell, then I follow everybody outside, and after I get into Zander’s truck, he hands me his phone as he drives. “Summer, it’s Sarah. Can you look at me, please?”
I stare down at the screen. “Hi.”
“Hi Summer. How are you processing?”
“I don’t know. I was so shocked to see Mary here that I panicked and had Mr. MacLeod stop her before she talked about the second foster home.”
“That must have been incredibly difficult, Summer. I’m sorry.”
“The foster dad and Ben are blending together in my mind. I kind of zoned out during the rest of Mary’s testimony.”
“I can see how that would happen. Remember that both people are locked up nowhere near you. They can’t hurt you. Memories can be painful. Let yourself feel whatever you need to, then let them go.”
“I’m trying, Sarah.” I take a shuddering breath in.
“I know you are. Just give yourself a little time. This just happened, Summer. Did anything else trigger you today?”
“The pictures from the accident were horrible. I’ve never seen most of them before, and they were nauseating.”
“Remember that you are healthy now and you made it through the day. I don’t believe there will be any nasty surprises tomorrow.”
“Maybe.”
“Can you think of anyone else who could bring up terrible memories related to this case?”
“Um, Jessica?”
“She won’t be there. The plaintiff rested today, which means they won’t be calling any more witnesses. Tomorrow will be only witnesses who support you.”
“I’m still not looking forward to it,” I mumble, wiping my red eyes.
“I know. It will still be difficult, but it'll also be over tomorrow. Whether or not the jury reaches a decision right away, you won’t have to listen to anymore testimony or be put back on the stand.”
“That’s true.” Thank goodness.
“What can you do tonight to take your mind off things? Something you and the boys have done recently that was a lot of fun?”
“Um, I enjoy playing board games with them.”
“Excellent. Perhaps a bath or shower, then board games this evening then.”
“Okay. I can do that. Thanks Sarah.”
“My pleasure. Call later if you want. If not, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I thank Zander for calling her, then text the guys to bring games over. Seb replies right away that he is on it, the Jeep making a U-turn on the road behind us.
I hop out of the truck when Zander parks and let the rest of the guys know I’m showering and calling Jake before heading to my room.
Throwing some Epsom salts and lavender into the tub, I sink into its heat and call Jake, but I’m not up for rehashing the trial, so I tell him about my weekend with the guys.
When I’m dressed, I go back out to the kitchen, finding E dishing up a stir-fry for dinner. “Thanks E.”
“I couldn’t help myself with all the garden fresh veggies you had,” he smiles.
Sitting between Bay and Nick, I pick at the delicious smelling stir fry.
Bay tells us a funny story about Olivia that happened today.
A customer came in because his car was making a noise, but they couldn’t figure out what was causing it.
Olivia came over, climbed onto a stool, and pointed to a part under the hood, informing them it was broken.
It turned out she was right. The part had a crack that they couldn’t see.
The guys and Zander gather in the living room after dinner to play the headband game.
Zander is terrible at guessing but great at giving clues.
We play Twister and Monopoly, too. It’s helping a little, but I can’t stop reliving everything.
The guys surprise me with a sleepover, so we gather up the mattresses, pillows, and blankets in the living room.
E and Zander get everybody ice cream as we get comfortable to watch a movie.
The nightmares play on repeat as soon as I close my eyes, so Nick slips in beside me and Seb holds my hand.