Reconstructing Amelia (unedited)

Chapter 83

December 20th, 2019

I hurried down the stairs, not wanting to be late. I was dressed in black jeans and a grey sweater, deciding to dress more comfortably today. Monica had just said to look nice, so I'd tried my best. I'd even curled my hair, just to add something pretty.

Truth be told, I was freaking out on the inside. The last thing I wanted to do right now was sit in a room full of people and tell them how awful my childhood had been. Even though I was feeling less sick than I had yesterday, I was still mildly unwell, and the nerves weren't helping. I'd already thrown up once this morning from nausea.

"Hey," Cato greeted carefully, studying me as I joined him in the foyer.

I forced myself to smile. "Hi," I answered back.

He was dressed in tan fitted slacks and navy button-up; nice, but not much different than his usual work attire. "Do you want to eat something before we go?" he asked.

I shook my head. I was way too nervous to handle any sort of food.

"Well, we still have about twenty minutes before we need to leave. Try eating something small - it might help settle your stomach," he advised, glancing at me in concern.

I frowned slightly at his ability to pick up on my discomfort. "Okay," I mumbled, too stressed to deny his request. I headed into the kitchen, making myself a slice of toast and sitting down on one of the stools, leaning on my hand. I stared off into space, not paying any attention to anything else around me. My mind was churning with anxiety for the trial. I'd have to see Ben again, and after what happened the last time, I didn't want to be anywhere near him.

Monica had helped me enough so that I was prepared with what to say, but even that didn't account for the cross-examination from Ben's lawyer. She'd assured me that she'd try to keep her questions simple as to not overwhelm me too much but she'd disclaimed that some uncomfortable topics would probably be brought up anyway. She'd given them a wide berth during the prep, which I'd been grateful for.

"Hey, are you gonna eat that?"

Calvin's voice snapped me back to reality, making me jump in my seat. He was pointing to the uneaten toast on my plate which I slid over to him, shaking my head.

"Are you nervous?" he asked through a mouthful of bread.

"A little," I replied quietly.

"It'll be okay, I promise," Alan assured me, appearing behind me and wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

I smiled faintly as the rest of my brothers trailed in, each looking exhausted - exactly how I felt too. I think they'd gotten as little sleep as I had, but they'd woken up just as early to see me before I left. Javi, luckily, was still asleep, finally sleeping through the mornings.

I shied away from Alan and rose to my feet as Cato walked in, surveying the room wearily.

"Amelia, you ready?"

I wanted to say no and run back upstairs but I forced myself to nod. I followed him out to the foyer and slid my coat on, just wanting to get this day over with.

"Hey wait!" Eli called out, running to join us along with everybody else. "Group hug!" He started towards me with a grin and open arms but I immediately flinched back, shuffling closer to Cato.

"Can we just go?" I mumbled.

Cato gave me a strange look but agreed, shooting the boys a glance that I didn't bother to read into.

Eli looked visibly hurt and lowered his arms, stepping back with the others.

"Keep us updated, okay?" Xander reminded us.