“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Davis, and you?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Moreno, are you aware of what your daughter has been doing for the past ten years?”
I think we hold our breath waiting for his answer. All three of us lean forward and watch him as he settles in front of the microphone. “No. Surely, if I knew I would’ve put a stop to it.”
The judge doesn’t respond, but moves more papers around. “It says here in an email from yourself to Sam Moreno and I quote “it’s best to keep the clingy girlfriend away from Liam. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him” end quote. Do you remember writing this?”
“No, Your Honor.”
“Messrs. Page, James and Davis, you’ve instructed your lawyer to ask for a restraining order, but he took it one step further and attached what you’d call a civil suit. It says here that you’re looking for restitution from lost wages from your tour, is that correct?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” our lawyer answers. I wasn’t aware we were asking for money, and by the look of it, neither was Liam.
“Ms. Moreno, it saddens me that you would keep a child from his parent. That, to me, is probably the lowest thing you can do. The years of abuse these men have suffered at your hands, ending with their recent tour, is deplorable. You should be ashamed of yourself, but I have a feeling you’re not. I hereby grant a full restraining order, which means Ms. Moreno, you and your heirs are not allowed to communicate in any way, shape or form with the members of the band and their families and employees. You are also not allowed within one thousand feet of them. You are also ordered to pay two hundred thousand dollars in lost earnings.”
The judge slams down her gavel as we sit there stunned. We just wanted the restraining order so we can move on with our lives peacefully. We didn’t expect this at all. We stand as the judge exits. Liam shakes our lawyer’s hand, as do JD and I. We follow him out of the courtroom, elated with our victory.
“I’ve got to head off,” JD says. “See you guys in a couple of days.” I don’t bother telling him that Quinn and I will be moving back to L.A.
“What the fuck just happened?” Liam asks.
“That, my friend, was a judge who can’t stand the Morenos. When I found out we drew her, I modified my request. I took a gamble.”
“That was crazy,” I say, running my hand through my hair.
“Let’s get out here,” Liam says as he motions for the door. I couldn’t agree
more. I want to get back to Beaumont and finalize everything. The movers are coming the day after the wedding, and I need to start packing. Quinn will go back to being homeschooled by my mom. There will be no more calls from the principal telling me he’s gotten into a fight.
There’s a commotion behind us. We turn in time to see the courtroom doors fly open and Sam storm out. She looks like Elvira on a rainy day. Her make-up is running down her face. She points at Liam and storms toward him. I grab his arm and pull him outside. We don’t need to listen to what she has to say.
“YOU!”
We both stop.
“Liam, why would you do this?”
“You don’t need to answer her,” I say.
She moves in front of us. Tears run down her face. If I had an ounce of respect for her, I’d care, but I don’t.
“You loved me once, Liam, why did you do this? I just lost everything in there.”
Liam sighs and moves away from her. “I never loved you, Sam. You were a plaything, something to pass my time. You were a mistake, and something that I regret every day of my life. You took my son away from me. You took Josie away from me, and for that, I hate you. I lost ten years with my family because of you and your father.”
I tap Liam on the shoulder and point to the car waiting for us. Sam grabs Liam’s arm and pulls him to her. He stumbles. I reach for his hand, keeping him upright.
“You’re mine, Liam.”
Liam rips his arm from her. “Go home Sam, you’re not wanted here.”
“You can’t leave me, Liam. You love me.”
“No I don’t,” he says through gritted teeth. “I never loved you, Sam. Listen to me. You’re nothing to me.”