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| Abeyance | Back to A | Back to main page |
Collected by Djian
updated may 1 - 2009
Another story by Vulgus
Vulgus Collection
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Comments? Criticism? Email vulgus@hotmail.com
Story codes: M/f, NC, IR, Humil, bnd, exhib, blackml.
To that small group of disturbed people who have enjoyed my
previous efforts and encouraged me, thank you.
Abeyance
by Vulgus
Chapter 1
I sat on the foot of my bed and stared at the dress hanging on my closet door. I haven't worn a dress like that since I was nine or ten years old! It was frilly and feminine and as modest as a dress could be. I would not normally allow myself to be caught dead in a dress like that. But today I had no choice. I was going to court today. My sister and I were finally going to face the judge.
Our parents had selected the new dress that I would wear. The dress had been strongly recommended by the lawyer that the court had appointed for me.
My sister had her own lawyer, also court appointed. And she already owned clothing that was appropriate to wear to court. She was a much more conservative person that I was and it was reflected in her wardrobe.
Everyone was aware that my sister should never have been charged. It showed in their faces whenever they looked at me. This mess was entirely my fault.
I felt bad about letting my parents down. Well, actually, it was more like I had confirmed what they already knew about me. But it was so much worse that my sister was in trouble because of me. She isn't the type of girl that screws up and she only got in trouble because she was trying to get me to do the right thing.
It isn't so much that I am a bad person. I'm not a criminal or anything, not really. Well, I guess I am now. I'm just one of those people that doesn't look into the future very well. I don't take stock of an activity I'm enjoying and think, "If I do A then the consequences could be B or C." I don't think about consequences until they are raining down on me.
I stood up and reluctantly pulled the dress on. I stood in front of my mirror and stared ruefully at my reflection while I struggled with the zipper. Unlike most girls my age I was not used to wearing modest dresses and I was not used to dealing with zippers behind my back.
I had just begun to struggle with the zipper when my bedroom door opened and Laura came in. She grinned at me. She always found my attempts to act like a normal girl amusing. She crossed the room and zipped up my dress.
Our eyes met in the mirror and she said, "You are hopeless!"
I turned to face her and for the thousandth time I said, "I'm sorry, Laura."
She replied quietly, "I know."
She seemed calm. But she was terrified. She had never been in trouble before. Neither of us had ever had to go to court before. But I was always getting in trouble, either in school or at home. Not for anything really bad. I cut class now and then. I got caught with cigarettes once. They weren't mine. I tried smoking once. I couldn't even do it. But I was holding my boyfriends cigarettes in my purse for him and my mom saw them when I opened my purse to get my keys out.
I've tried alcohol. It was no big deal. I'm pretty sure that most kids my age have tried alcohol. I liked it better than smoking. But I didn't actually like it all that much either. I decided that I'd rather leave it than take it. I don't use drugs. I smoked pot a couple of times. It was fun. But it was even harder than smoking cigarettes and it was so damned expensive!
The things I did were just silly kid things. I didn't steal. I didn't do anything to hurt people. I had some friends that were borderline criminals I suppose. And it was largely their fault that I spent so much time doing things I shouldn't. I guess I was more amenable to peer pressure than was good for me.
But I wasn't a bad person. Hell! I'm still a virgin! I'm not all that wild!
I grinned wryly and said, "I'll get you out of this, twerp. I'll explain everything to the judge. You can count on me. I'm used to being in trouble. I'm good at it."
She grinned and said, "You've had enough practice."
We went downstairs. My parents were sitting at the kitchen table. They looked us over when we went in. My parents were only just barely talking to me. They said only those things that had to be said. They were mad enough at me for screwing up again. But they were furious at me for getting Laura in trouble.
I didn't blame them.
For the first time I felt bad for something I've done. But I had already apologized until I was blue in the face. The only thing that I could possibly do to make this right was to square things in court today. Once everything was explained to the judge he would have to see that Laura was a good kid and that I was the one they needed to be concerned with.
In my defense, I should like to say that I had no idea that I was doing something that night that might result in an arrest. I knew that I was doing something that might get me grounded. I snuck out of the house that night to see my boyfriend. He called me on my cell phone and told me he was parked up the street.
I was already grounded. But I snuck out all the time without getting caught. I had no reason to believe that this time would be different.
This time turned out to be different for a couple of reasons. The first reason was that my sister heard me sneaking out and followed me to try and talk some sense into me. She came to the car that I was sitting in with my boyfriend. We, Don and me, were already kissing passionately and feeling each other up when she knocked on the window. She scared the hell out of us.
I told her to go back to the house but she insisted on talking to me. So I told her to get in the back seat. She insisted that I come back to the house with her. I insisted that she go back to bed and leave me the hell alone.
She was upset. She was upset because she always did what she was told and obeyed all the rules. She couldn't stand it that I wasn't as fond of the straight and narrow.
She was even more upset because just like my parents, she had a strong dislike for my boyfriend and she agreed with our parents that my boyfriend was too old for me. I recently turned sixteen. He just turned eighteen. I had been ordered never to see him again. That was why I had to sneak out. I loved him and this was the only way that I could be with him.
But the main reason that sneaking out to see my boyfriend this time was different was that shortly after Laura climbed into the back seat, the car we were sitting in was surrounded by cop cars with flashing blue lights and we were suddenly surrounded by cops with their guns drawn and pointed at us.
That was when I found out that we were not sitting in a car that Don borrowed from his uncle. He had taken it from a used car lot!
The cops arrested all three of us and carried us off to jail. When our parents showed up at about two o'clock in the morning they were furious and very nearly left me to rot in the cell. They might have if Laura hadn't interceded on my behalf.
It didn't help that Don refused to talk to the police. He wouldn't even tell them that Laura and I had no idea we were sitting in a stolen car. All of a sudden I wasn't so fond of the bastard!
The next six weeks were very unpleasant at our house. Our parents were just about ready to give up on me. They would never forgive me if Laura ended up being punished for trying to get me to do the right thing.
They might have been a little harsh on me since that night. After all, I only snuck up the street to see my boyfriend. But I couldn't argue with their logic. I wasn't a career criminal. But I was a screw up and they were getting tired of dealing with me. I suspect that if the courts could find some way to straighten me out they were ready to give just about any solution a try.
But they could not accept such a fate for their precious Laura. I was pretty certain that I could straighten this out, at least as far as she was concerned. To be honest, that was more important to me than getting my own ass out of trouble. I loved my sister and it was unfair that they had charged her even after they knew what had happened that night. The District Attorney didn't care if Laura was innocent. He just decided to charge all three of us and let the judge sort it out.
Don was charged as an adult. He had recently turned eighteen and he had a record for pot possession, as well as joy riding. I knew about the pot. I didn't know he had stolen a car before. I guess it wouldn't have mattered, though. He was so handsome and so cool. I really had the hots for him. I had already decided that I was going to go all the way with him the first chance I got. I figured that I was just about the only sixteen year old virgin in town. I was ready to change that.
That had all changed now, though. Don had turned out to be everything that my parents said that he was. I was very disappointed in him.
The funny thing was, I didn't start getting really nervous until we were in the car on the way down to the courthouse. No one said a word all the way downtown. I could feel my parents' anger. It was a dark red cloud in the air around them. It made the air thick and hard to breathe. But at least they had stopped yelling at me, for the time being.
I'd never been in a courtroom before. None of us had. We arrived early. My dad had a thing about being late, like a phobia or something. We always got everywhere early.
We went to the fourth floor of the courthouse. It was reserved for Family Court. We sat on a bench, still in silence. Laura sat between my parents and they put their arms around her. I sat alone on the end and basked in their anger.
When it started to get late and our lawyers still hadn't shown up, everyone started getting even more nervous. But just before the appointed time they came strolling casually down the corridor together. I heard them talking about a college football game. They didn't have a care in the world.
We were the first case on the docket today. Well, we were the first and second cases on the docket today. When it was time we went inside. The gallery was empty and that was a relief. I didn't want this drama playing out in front of a bunch of strangers who were just here for to enjoy the soap opera.
The bailiff came in after a few minutes and nodded at the attorneys. A few minutes later a woman came in and sat down near the judge's bench. I think she was the court reporter.
Now we all waited in silence for the judge to enter. He took his sweet fucking time about it. He finally came in and we, my family, saw him for the first time. He looked like a real prick. He was scowling and had an arrogant look about him that I didn't care for. To make matters worse, the court reporter and our attorneys looked nervous as soon as he came in.
The bailiff announced the judge, Judge Porter, and we all got to our feet. He strutted to his big, comfortable looking leather chair and sat down without a word to anyone except to say, "Be seated."
He ignored everyone else in the room and started looking through the papers on his desk.
After about ten minutes that seemed like an hour he looked up and glared at me and Laura. Then he returned to his reading.
After another ten minutes, Laura tried to whisper something to her lawyer. He shook his head to shut her up. Apparently no one spoke unless the judge told them to.
Finally the judge asked the attorneys to approach the bench. They whispered to each other for another five minutes or so. Then the judge nodded and they came back to their seats.
I finally realized that there was no one sitting at the prosecutor's table. I wondered if we were waiting for the prosecutor. Then I thought that if the judge was mad at the prosecutor for being late, maybe he wouldn't be so hard on me and Laura.
The judge looked at the paperwork for another minute or so and then he called my lawyer back up. They spoke for another couple of minutes and then my lawyer came back to our table.
The judge stood up then and the bailiff said, "All rise!"
I didn't know what the hell was going on. Was it over? He didn't even ask us to plead to the charges. He didn't ask us what happened. He never said a word to us!
The judge strutted back out of the room and as soon as the door closed behind him my lawyer said, "The judge wants to talk to Lindsey in his chambers."
My lawyer looked more nervous than I was!
He turned to me and said, "Go with the bailiff. And behave yourself!"
Then he turned to my parents and began a whispered conversation with them.
The bailiff waved me over. I walked around the table on shaking legs. The bailiff waited impatiently for me and then led the way across the room at a brisk pace to the door the judge had gone through a moment earlier. I had a hell of a time keeping up.
He tapped on the door and then held it open for me. He followed me inside and closed the door behind us. The judge was sitting in another big leather chair behind a large, ornate desk. He had taken his robe off and was wearing suit pants, a dress shirt and a tie. He was still glowering at me.
He scared the hell out of me. He was probably in his late forties or early fifties. He had short dark hair and a little bit of a belly. But it was the look on his face that drew my attention. The way he looked at me made it quite clear that I was the lowest form of life on the planet.
He scowled at me in silence for a very long time. I tried to speak once, to at least say something in Laura's defense. But as soon as I opened my mouth his face changed and I knew to shut up.
He leaned back in his chair and picked up the papers that he had brought in with him from the courtroom. He read over parts of them, paging back and forth until it seemed like he must surely have them memorized by now. Then he sighed.
He finally looked back up at me and asked, "Do you have any idea how much trouble you and your sister are in?"
I started to answer but before I could speak he asked, "Do you appreciate the gravity of this situation? These are serious charges."
I wasn't sure now if he even wanted me to answer. I looked at his face for some sign that he wanted me to speak. Before I could decide he nearly yelled, "I asked you a question, young lady! Answer me!"
The first thought that crossed my mind was, "Where the hell is my lawyer?! I thought he was supposed to be in here with me!"
But I drew a trembling breath and whispered, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I just..."
He waved his hand to shut me up and I stood in front of his desk in silence, shaking like a leaf. This wasn't going anything like I had pictured it in my head.
He sat back in his chair again and looked at more of the documents. He continued to scan them for several more interminable minutes. Then, in a voice dripping with disdain he said, "You are quite a trouble maker. According to these reports you are well on your way to ending up in jail. You cut classes. You skip school. You sneak out of your house at night and hang around with juvenile delinquents. And now you are getting your sister into trouble."
He slammed the papers back down on his desk and sat up straight again. He glared at me and said, "You and your fifteen year old sister were arrested in a stolen car! How would you feel if your sister was to end up in the system? No more hopes for college and a good life for her. She couldn't qualify for a security clearance. She couldn't go to law school or get a job anywhere but a fast food restaurant ... if that! Are you proud of yourself?"
I was crying now. I started to plead with him but he snapped, "Shut up! I'll let you know when you can speak!"
He sat back and said, "I have half a mind to convict your sister of grand larceny just to teach you a lesson!"
I gasped and started to plead with him. But one look was all it took to shut me up.
He leaned back, crossed his arms over his chest and asked, "How far are you willing to go to get your sister out of this mess?"
I was crying uncontrollably now. I was crying so hard I could hardly speak. But I managed to say, "Anything! Please, sir! I'll do anything. She didn't do anything. It's all my fault. You can put me in jail. But she just tried to get me to go home. We didn't know Don stole the car. I swear it!"
He grinned wryly and pointed at the folder on his desk. He said, "You are an accomplished liar. Why on earth would I believe anything that came out of your mouth?!"
I sobbed and tried to respond. "I ... I just ... I'm not..."
He looked up at the bailiff and smiled for the first time since he walked into the courtroom. In a voice that reeked of sarcasm he said, "We have a quick one here, Jeff!"
I heard the bailiff chuckle behind me.
The smile disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. The judge asked, "How badly do you want the charges against your sister to go away?"
I jumped at the possibility immediately. "Oh please! I'll do anything. I promise, sir! She's a good girl! Punish me. I'm a screw up. But please don't let this be on her record. It was my fault."
He glared at me for a long moment and then he said, "I'm going to give you the opportunity to make this go away ... for both of you. I could get in a lot of trouble if anyone found out, of course. But I suspect that you want this to go away so bad that you are willing to do whatever it takes. Do I read you right?"
I nodded eagerly. I looked him in eye and said, "I swear it! I'll do anything!"
He was silent for another long moment, as if considering whether or not to take a chance on me. The suspense was killing me.
He looked over at the bailiff and asked, "What do you think, Jeff? Do you think we should give her a chance?"
I heard the bailiff chuckle and then he replied, "Looking at her from back here, I think you might want to give her a chance Your Honor."
The judge looked back at me and said, "I can convict you both of some serious felony charges this morning. I can send you both to juvenile hall. I could put you both in foster care. I could send you away to shock camp for months. Or, I can hold these two cases in abeyance for sixty days. At the end of those sixty days I can dismiss all charges against both of you. There would be no record of the entire matter. Which of those options would you prefer Miss Graham?"
That was a dumb question! "Please, Your Honor. I'm begging you. I'll do whatever you want if you will just give us a chance."
He responded, "Give YOU a chance, Miss Graham. It's all up to you. Are you really prepared to do anything to make this all go away?"
Did I mention that I'm a natural blonde? I still had no idea where this was leading. I should have. It should have been obvious from what they said to each other and from the way he was weaving his web around me. God I'm dumb!
I promised once more to do anything to make it right and to get my sister out of this mess.
He looked at me skeptically and finally he said, "Let's just see if you mean it. Come around my desk."
I slowly moved around his large desk until I was standing about arm's length from him on trembling legs.
He turned to face me. Our knees were almost touching. His eyes moved over my body. I recognized that look, even in my state of near panic. Suddenly I knew what this was all about! I knew what he wanted from me.
I gasped and he saw the realization finally dawn on me. He chuckled and asked, "Well, Miss Graham, are you still willing to do whatever it takes?"
The tears started rolling down my cheeks again. But I didn't even have to think about my answer. I lowered my head and whispered, "Yes, sir."
He said, "We'll see. Just remember this. I am not a patient man. The first time you balk, the first time you refuse to obey an order, we go back out to the courtroom and hold a sham trial so that I can convict you both. Is that clear?"
I sobbed pitifully. But there was no pity in him.
I was terrified. But I knew that I had to do this. I might have refused if it was just me. But I couldn't let him ruin Laura's life when her only mistake that night was that she tried to save me from myself.
I finally whispered, "Yes. It's clear. I'll do what you want."
He smirked and snapped, "Take the dress off!"