Page 74 of Forged Forever

We stand when the judge enters. It’s a woman this time, and she looks very stern. Once we are seated, she goes right into opening statements. Mr. MacLeod goes first, beginning with Erin’s visit, the cease and desist order, followed by the step siblings visits and the abduction. He sticks to the facts and leaves nothing for the defense attorney to argue, although he tries.

The defence lawyer takes his turn attempting to explain that Colette was only doing what she thought her mother wanted. Erin was concerned about Jake’s health and safety and wanted her family whole again. Erin said I caused the accident that put Jake in a coma and that I was a danger to him. He says Colette was unaware of the drugs her brother carried. It’s a brief statement with no real defense.

Judge Crombie asks Colette to take the stand then asks specific questions about that day, prompting her to reveal it was Erin’s idea for them to fly down and get to know Jake with the bonus of them being able to tell her when he was recovered. Erin’s plan was to bring Jake to New York once he was walking, to live with her and her new family. She says she didn’t know about the drugs but also didn’t stop Joseph from using them or from threatening Jake. She loves Erin and wanted her to be happy. Erin claimed Jake wasn’t safe with me around, as I was the reason he was in a coma in the first place, and that Ray took Jake from her.

Same shit, different day from Erin. The judge asks Jake a few questions about his state of mind during that day before taking a recess to determine her sentence. Jake turns his chair towards us as I reach for his hand. He’s a little clammy, but all in all, is holding up well.

It’s not long until the judge returns. She withholds sentencing until she hears the other two cases to gather a better understanding of the situation, reminding Colette that she is not to leave the city. Joseph Sr. assures her Colette will attend her brother’s trial and her mother’s.

We are free to go until 1pm for the next trial. That didn’t take long at all, as it’s only 10:30am. Mr. MacLeod excuses himself to attend to other work, and we leave to congregate at Alex’s house, which is closest. E prepped lunch for us all in anticipation of today.

We hop into Alex’s SUV and Ray’s vehicle to drive over. Bay and Jake are talking about some engineering thing while I sit behind them with E. Alex and Seb are up front.

Steven is home, so he joins us for lunch in the dining room. Jake seems in good spirits, and everyone is chatting as if it’s a regular day. Alex is sitting beside me and notices how quiet I’m being. “What is on your mind, Summer?” he asks in a low tone.

“Not sure exactly. Jake seems good. Maybe it’s just that we are enduring another trial that's making me uneasy. I have seen the inside of a courtroom far too much for not being in the legal field.”

“That is true,” he smiles. “All I can advise is to separate your past from what is happening now. Jake is well and supported. His situation is far different from the ones you have endured.”

“Thanks, Alex, I’ll try.” I bump my shoulder into his and take a deep breath to try to release this heavy feeling. Tuning back into the conversations around me, I join everyone talking about graduation coming up on Friday.

When we return to the courthouse, we retake the same seats. After the judge comes in, she calls for Joseph to be brought inside. He’s dressed in a suit and gives his dad a quick hug before taking a seat beside him. Colette is sitting behind them and reaches out to squeeze his hand.

This trial goes similarly as she listens to statements from each lawyer, then calls Joseph to the stand. Both Mr. MacLeod and the defense attorney take turns asking questions before the judge asks a few of her own. Joseph refuses to tell anyone where he got the drugs, but tells the judge it was all his idea and neither Erin nor Colette knew about it. He says he offered to go get Jake for Erin and that it was his idea to abduct him.

The judge asks Jake more questions about the abduction from his point of view, including how the drugs felt. She then goes over the evidence provided by the blood test, witness statements, and the security footage, and she again withholds sentencing until Erin’s trial, which will begin in the morning.

We go our separate ways after Jake reassures me he's fine, and Dad drives us home. I end up calling him after dinner to make sure, and Jake chuckles at my worry. I think I’m still projecting my emotions onto this trial. Seb and Nick land after I hang up to stay the night.

Nick and I go for a run while Seb visits with Dad. The run helps me clear my head despite it being more of a relaxing jog, and I dissipate much of my restless energy before I shower.

We snuggle onto the couch to watch a movie with Dad for the remainder of the evening. Seb and I sleep on the couch while Nick sleeps in the spare room.

Chapter 43

The next morning, we take my Jeep to the courthouse for day two. I slept really well with Seb beside me and Nick, who came back into the living room during the night and allowed me to use him as a body pillow.

Jake's in the same suit but a different tie today and is in good spirits but a little subdued compared to yesterday, as is Ray. Understandable, considering they'll deal with his mom today. I give both him and Ray a hug before we proceed inside the courtroom. The defence attorney and Joseph Sr. are already sitting in place with Colette behind them.

They again don’t acknowledge us, which is probably for the best. Judge Crombie enters quickly and calls for Erin. I hear Ray’s intake of breath as she enters, dressed in a billowy floral floor-length skirt and light blue silk blouse.

Her eyes stray to Jake for a moment, and I get a glimpse of pain before she faces her husband. They don’t embrace as she takes a seat beside him, and both have no-nonsense game faces on.

Mr. MacLeod begins today by going over evidence while calling witnesses to the stand. Will, Ray, Dad, and I are all called to recount the day and any interactions we had with Erin, Joseph, and Colette. Mr. MacLeod goes back to the accident with me and Ray just enough for the judge to understand her hostility towards me, her mental state, and her abandonment of Jake. The defense attorney cross-examines, trying to get us to adjust our opinions of our interactions between Jake and his family, but we stay firm.

After that, we break for a quick lunch. E, having expected us to have little time, brings in a cooler from Alex’s SUV with sandwiches and cookies, along with drinks for everyone. Will didn’t stay for lunch; he just nodded to Jake after his testimony and left.

Filing back into the courtroom, Colette is called to the stand first, and she attempts to explain there was no ill will on their part towards any of us or Jake. They just wanted their new brother to be with them. When Mr. MacLeod cross examines, she skirts around the answer as to whose idea it was to kidnap Jake, and the judge doesn’t push for a straightforward response.

Next up is Joseph, who says it was his idea to kidnap Jake, as he did yesterday, and still won’t tell the judge where he got the drugs, despite her telling him it could increase his sentence. Mr. MacLeod doesn’t have many questions for him today.

Finally, it’s Erin’s turn. She goes right into blaming me for the accident, saying I coerced Jake into going skiing that day even though he didn’t want to.

Lie.

Next, the lawyer explains she was a distraught mother, just trying to get her son back. It’s quite a sob story, but there’s a thread of truth to the words. It’s a bit skewed but expected. When she talks about Jake, the trial, and Ray, she seems genuinely concerned about Jake's welfare and wants to get him away from my influence. She's convinced herself that I caused the accident and hurt Jake. Talk about trauma altering memories.

When asked about the kidnapping, she says it was her idea, just like Joseph did, and she tries to take all the blame for it. Erin believes Jake is safer with her, away from me, and even claims Ray failed as a parent by allowing me access to Jake again. At least Ray checked in on Jake and took care of us after the accident for a time, unlike her.