"Hi Ella, you look very pretty. How are you doing today?," her mother's attorney asks kindly. The little girl sits on a couple books so that she's propped up enough to be seen behind the witness stand.
"I'm ok. Thank you, my Auntie Kel and Aunt Heather took me to get a new dress," Ella explains as she fiddles with the hem of her new dress. A reminder from her momma passes through her head about sitting like a lady, so she crosses her legs after a moment.
"Good, now Ella, do you know what a lie is? Have you ever told a lie?," the lawyer asks. She has to prove that Ella is competent enough to give a testimony.
"Yeah, it's when you say something that didn't really happen. It's like the fable or fairytale stories that I read. I've lied before but only cuz I was scared. I don't like lying. It makes me feel sick inside," Ella explains as best she can. All the eyes on her are making her nervous. She looks for her one of her momma's teammates. Her eyes land on Sam Mewis first cause her head sticks out above the rest. Next to her Emily Sonnett sends Ella a thumbs up in support.
"So, you know lies are bad. What did you lie about, Ella?" the lawyer leads.
"My momma's teammates asked me how she got her bruises. I told them that I didn't know," Ella states as her head hangs. The guilt of doing something wrong still weighs on her.
"So, you did know how your mom got the bruises? Did you see what happened?," the attorney questions, knowing exactly where the answer is going to go.
"Yes, well no, I knew how the bruises got there, but I didn't see how she got them that time. I'd seen my dad hit her and that's what happened that time. I only heard it," Ella explains. She fumbles over her words because she can't figure out how to say what she means.
"Ok, Ella, just to clarify, you have seen your dad hit your mom before," the attorney finishes. She doesn't want to ask too many questions for the emotional sake of Ella.
"Yes, I've seen my dad hit my mom, more than once," Ella answers. She just wants this to be over and to be with her momma.
"Hi Ella, I'm just going to ask you a few more questions. Has your dad ever tried to hurt you or been mean to you?," her father's attorney asks. He wants to discredit anything the girl has said so far.
"He...he's said mean things about me to Momma. He said I was a...bad word. One time he tried to hurt me but Momma yelled at him so he hurt her instead," Ella stutters out. She feels her father's eyes on her. Their intensity is enough for her to curl inward.
"How did you know he was going to hit you if he never did? You said you've lied before. How do we know you're not lying now or that your mom hasn't told you to say this?," the attorney pesters.
"I didn't lie. I'm tellin' the truth. My momma didn't tell me to say anything!" Ella states desperately. She needs them to believe her or else she's failed her momma. "He did try to hit me. He grabbed me tightly then said 'you're going to learn a lesson!" Ella starts to tear up then.
"Alright, that's enough. No more questions. We'll take a recess. Thank you for being brave, Ella," the judge orders. He's appalled by the conduct of the attorney.
"Can I see Momma now?," Ella asks through sniffles. The judge grants her permission. She climbs down from the stand and runs over to her momma.
"Oh, El, it's ok. You did so good," Becky soothes. "How about we go get some ice cream?" Ella shakes her head vigorously at the suggestion. The team stands to join the duo on the way out of the courthouse. Ella runs ahead of the group. Not paying attention, she runs into a pair of legs.
"Hey, slow down kiddo," a man says as he looks down to the body that had bumped into him.
"Sorry," Ella apologizes then looks around. She can't see her momma or the team anywhere.
"Hey, your okay. We'll find them," the man assures as he crouches down to the girl's level. He saw the panic flashing across her little face.
"Oh, thank god," Becky's voice exclaims in relief. "Ella, what have I told you about running ahead of me," she admonishes after Ella turns to hug her. It's then that she notices the man crouched down near her daughter. "Thank you for helping her," she says gratefully. The man stands then and looks at Becky for the first time.
"It was no prob...Reeba?," he asks as realization of who is in front of him dawns on him. The faint bruises on her face had thrown him for a loop initially.
"Oh my god, Zola? It's been so long," Becky says as he pulls her into a hug. She's surprised that the flinch she'd been expecting never happens.
"Yeah it really has. So, I see you and Shawn got married and had this adorable girl," Zola states to continue the conversation. He hasn't seen the blonde since college when he was playing soccer with Shawn.
"Um, actually we're divorced, but we did have this wonderful girl, Ella," Becky says cautiously. A smile crosses her face as Ella starts to swing their joined hands. There is something about the man in front of them that Ella likes even if she's not entirely sure why.
"He did that didn't he?," Zola accuses angrily, gesturing towards the bruises on Becky's face. He had noticed something in her voice and put two and two together. Instead of blowing up like she expects, Zola says, "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. If you need anything let me know, ok? Even if that means you need me to kick his ass because I'll gladly do it."
"Thank you, Zo. Maybe we'll get coffee some time and catch up, but right now I have a little girl who's been promised ice cream," Becky explains as she embraces the man one last time before walking towards her team. Everyone sends her questioning looks but no one says anything. They're just glad to see a genuine smile on her face for the first time in a while that doesn't involve Ella.
