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Chapter 42

Annette

T erry wrapped his long arms around my torso and rubbed my arms as he whispered, “It will be fine.”

I wasn’t so sure.

It was easy for Terry to say that. But seeing Luke in the court waiting room brought up so many old memories. I wanted to run away, if only to save my sanity and myself from recalling all the trauma that Luke imposed on me.

My feet were bolted to the floor with fear. I hated that I froze when I was afraid. Why couldn’t I be stronger and even just fucking run away? Terry wouldn’t be afraid to fight him. It seemed so terrible that I couldn’t force myself to move when I was scared.

Terry turned me toward him and squeezed me tight. Then, he kissed my forehead and whispered, “Come on. I see Dick over there.”

I basically got pulled toward the lawyer’s direction, but it was helpful to get away from direct eyesight.

I followed Terry, albeit somewhat behind him, since I was still very much in freeze mode.

The two guys shook hands, and then the guy looked at us. “All right, as I mentioned before, you didn’t need to be here today. This is just a motion to dismiss the case. It’s everyday sort of stuff.”

Terry’s hand just rubbed up and down my back as he said, “But it looks better that we’re here. I’m not going to hide behind the law just to make sure my son remains in our care.”

Soon, the bailiff called out our case number, and we walked into the courtroom.

The room itself had great lighting, but everything felt imposing. I was so damn afraid I would lose Eric to Luke, and the room didn’t exactly give me hope. Knowing this was a motion to dismiss the case made me feel better because my character wouldn’t be called into question at this time.

Hell, his lawyer didn’t think it would be called into question. If the court thought there was any ounce of truth to the claims laid out in the case, they would have removed Eric. But they haven’t.

Today would hopefully be the end of the case. As Terry’s lawyer kept reminding us, Luke had no standing since he was not a blood relation, and on top of that, he was the only one named in the case who had legal problems.

The judge sat there and said, “We’re here to discuss the motion to dismiss.”

I refused to look over at the other side of the room because I was still terrified of Luke.

Thank God Terry was beside me and kept rubbing my back. I needed his touch more than ever to feel safe and secure.

Thanks to fear and anxiety, I couldn’t really make out the arguments being said. Sure, I heard phrases like, “This was a superfluous motion,” “The case had no standing,” and “He has a protection order against him and has been known to harass and stalk women.”

All of a sudden, Terry leaned over and whispered, “Stop biting your lip. I know you’re nervous, but you’re turning me on.”

The absurdity of what he was saying. Only he could get turned on by me being a nervous wreck and chewing my bottom lip apart. It wasn’t at all sexy or fun.

I gave him that disappointed sigh that only moms seemed to know how to do. It was laced with expectations and disappointment that could convince many to do the right thing. The last thing we needed was to get in trouble for talking or being disrespectful.

The gavel clacked on the wood, causing the room to go quiet. Then, the judge stated, “Given that the child in question has no blood relations to the claimant, and there is not enough substantial proof that the child is at risk by staying with his family, the case is hereby dismissed.”

From that point on, I could finally breathe again, but I still needed to get out of the courtroom as soon as possible.

As I walked out of court holding Terry’s hand, he said, “Why don’t we go somewhere to celebrate our win? I’m sure we can find a bathroom or some sort of chamber to get each other off.”

I giggled and shook my head. “No. Absolutely not.”

Terry chuckled right back and pulled me in tighter. His eyes turned soft as he said, “See, you’re strong and powerful. You don’t put up with my bullshit.”

I smiled since he was right. Just then, Luke walked past and growled, “This isn’t over. There’s a thing called palimony.”

Instead of instilling fear in me, I wanted to laugh because he was crazy. Luke didn’t hold the same power over me anymore. I was finally getting over the fear of being abused again.

I had the best family in the world, and I couldn’t wait to have more triumphs with Terry. He and Eric were my whole world.