Let It Be Your Shirt (Story 3 of Sev & M)

Chapter 11

Severine was sitting at the small table and chairs they had added to the balcony reading. He had found a new book series he was obsessed with about werewolves. He really liked that each book had the word moon in its title. It had been awhile since he had read anything and the books were well written and allowed him complete escape from reality. He would have liked to still be sleeping but waking up early almost every day for the trial had changed his internal alarm clock.

"Sev." He heard a voice behind him.

Jumping he almost dropped the book. He had been so wrapped up in reading he hadn't heard Marcus come out at all.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Marcus said, "I also sent you a text but I guess you missed it. Are you ready to go?"

"It's okay. I lost track of time reading. I'm ready, I just need to put on some shoes," Severine said.

Giving him a smile so Marcus would know it wasn't a big deal that he had startled him he headed towards his room to get shoes. They were going over to Nora's for breakfast, when he checked his phone he saw that they were going to be late so he sent Nora a quick message. Once he got his shoes on he went back to the living room announcing he was ready to go.

When they arrived at Nora's he was excited to find she had made breakfast pizza. After they ate they sat in her living room playing Cards Against Humanities. By the time they got done playing they were all in tears from laughing and clutching their chests. He stood to go to the bathroom and as he was opening the door to go back to the living room, his phone rang.

"Hello."

"Hello Severine, how are you?" Mr. Donahue's voice came from the other end of the line.

"I'm fine. How can I help you?"

"Are you with Marcus and the others?" Mr. Donahue asked.

"Yes, just a second. I'll go to them and put you on speaker," he said.

He quickly walked back to the living room and put the phone on speaker then set it in the middle of the coffee table.

"Okay, all of us are here."

"Hello everyone," Mr. Donahue started, "We feel we have asked and found out what we needed to know about the incident. I just wanted to inform you that when we meet again we will start questioning on the abuse charges. Zandra and Evanora do not have to be present for this part of the trial."

He felt everyone in the room look at him, he stared at his phone avoiding their gazes. He waited for Mr. Donahue to say more, but he didn't. Finally clearing his throat he asked if there was anything else Mr. Donahue needed them for, when he responded no they ended the call.

The rest of the morning was subdued. He could tell Nora wanted to say something and probably hug him but Zandra kept stopping her. Marcus didn't move too far from his side. Part of him was glad they were worried about him but the other part wished they wouldn't act like he was so fragile. They had all known he was going to have to be questioned about the abuse. It wasn't like it was a surprise. He saw Marcus check his phone and mention they needed to get going so he could go to work.

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Severine was sitting at the kitchen table, staring into his glass of water. Nora had told Marcus she would switch shifts so he could be home with Severine but he had interjected angrily, saying he wasn't a child and would be fine. So Marcus had gone to work reluctantly. He had known the abuse was going to be part of the trial, had known he was going to get questioned specifically about it. He had thought he had been preparing himself for it but now that he knew specifically when it was going to happen he realized he wasn't prepared at all.

This testimony was going to seal his father's fate, it would be on his shoulders alone. He would have to live with that for the rest of his life, or however long his father's sentence was. But if his sentence wasn't life, then once he was out would he be back to square one? The thought hadn't even occurred to him before this. He started shaking.

If his father got a short sentence then would he try to come after Marcus and Nora again to try and get to him like before? And now that he was kind of friends with Zandra would he go after her as well? So if he didn't testify properly against his father and he got a shorter sentence would it be his fault again? He felt himself gasp for breath but his thoughts wouldn't stop. What would they think of him if he didn't testify properly against his father? He shook his head. He has to do it. He can't put his friends and Marcus through that again. But could he send his father to jail for good or for who knows how long? Distantly he noticed the sounds of the apartment getting louder.

He needed to calm down, if Marcus came home and saw him like this it would only make him worry. The thought didn't help his already frayed nerves. He put his hands over his ears like it would block any other thoughts from entering his mind. He had to keep it together. Marcus had been worried about him enough through this whole process and it was almost over now. They had the wedding to plan after this. He tried thinking about the wedding, the idea of finally being married to Marcus, being happy with him. But if he doomed his father how would he truly be happy? But his father deserved to be punished for all that he had done, didn't he? He pushed his hands against his ears harder and whimpered. He wished he hadn't told Nora and Marcus he would be fine. The thought made him angry. He was fine. He could do this, do what needed to be done. He pictured his father in the cells of the agency and the short bit of confidence he had left him. He wished Marcus would get home soon.