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Tiffany’s expression could only be described as panicked. “I didn’t—”
“You said no,” Avery interrupted.
Tiffany’s attorney stood. “Objection, Your Honor. Badgering the witness.”
“Objection overruled. Just answer the question, Ms. Stevens,” the judge said.
“I don’t remember the question,” Tiffany said, her voice quiet.
“When Ryan asked if you wanted visitation, you said no,” Avery repeated.
Tiffany swallowed before answering, “That’s right.”
My heart pounded under my rib cage.
“Because you were too busy with your personal life to make time for Corey,” Avery said, gaining momentum.
Tiffany winced slightly. “I just wanted Corey to have this time with Ryan.”
“There was nothing going on in your personal life that prompted the sudden change in custody?”
“Of course not,” Tiffany said.
Avery crossed her arms over her chest. “You didn’t have a boyfriend who didn’t want a kid around?”
Fuck. How did Avery know that?
“That’s not true,” Tiffany sputtered.
Tiffany denied it, but I wondered if Avery wasn’t laying doubt in the judge’s mind about Tiffany’s sincerity in letting me have Corey.
“So, you didn’t just move in with a new boyfriend in a different school district?”
Tiffany drew in a shaky breath. “I did.”
“If the judge grants you custody, Corey would be returning to a different home and a different school. Uprooting his life yet again after we already heard how rough the first transition was?”
Tiffany’s jaw tightened; she looked at her attorney, who nodded, before she said, “That’s right.”
“I have nothing further.” Avery smiled at me as she sat next to me.
I felt a surge of hope that we had a chance, a good chance, at keeping Corey here. Then nerves quickly set in again when the other attorney called me to the stand.
Avery prepared me for the likelihood that he would lead me through all the trouble Corey had gotten into with the police. I was prepared, even if I didn’t like it. I much preferred to talk about the positive things that had happened since.
I took the stand; the experience of facing the trial tables was daunting.
Tiffany’s attorney stood behind the trial table with a legal pad in his hands. “After Corey came to live with you, he broke into three local stores, didn’t he?”
Avery stood, resting her hands on the table. “Objection, Your Honor.”
The judge waved the attorneys to the bench. They were whispering, but I could hear bits and pieces.
He wasn’t charged with those crimes. He hasn’t been convicted of anything. He’s a juvenile.
The judge told them to return to their respective tables and then said, “The court is aware that there is a pending juvenile case. It hasn’t been adjudicated, and I won’t allow any further questioning on it.”
Tiffany’s expression fell. It seemed like her entire body deflated with the ruling.
