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Tom stood up before Ed had even settled himself in his chair. He took a few steps towards Baylee and flashed him a massive, friendly smile. “Hi, Baylee.”

“Hi.”

“It’s pretty clear that you like living with your dad.” Tom continued to smile.

Baylee nodded. “Yes.”

“It sounds like you’ve made a lot of new friends at school.” Tom’s smile grew.

Baylee nodded again. “Yes.”

“Do you miss the friends that you had in Georgia?”

“I didn’t have any real friends in Georgia.” Baylee shook his head. “I didn’t go to school when I lived there.”

Tom’s smile twitched at the corners. Baylee’s answer clearly wasn’t the one that he had been expecting. “What about your mom? Do you miss her?”

“Yeah.” Baylee gave Leighanne another tentative smile. “I miss her a lot.”

“Would you like to live with your mom?”

Baylee hesitated. “Yes, but I don’t want to stop living with my dad. I want to stay in Kentucky with him.”

Tom’s smile twitched again. “Did you like it when your parents lived together?”

Baylee smiled. “Yes.”

“Do you want them to live together again?”

“That’s irrelevant, Mr. Noble.” The judge interrupted. “This is a custody hearing. The option for Mr. Littrell and Ms. Wallace to reunite does not exist as far as this court is concerned.”

“Sorry. The question is withdrawn.” Tom switched gears. “Baylee, does anyone else live with you and your dad.”

“Uncle Nick lives with us right now.”

“I see.” Tom mused. “Can you point to your Uncle Nick for me? Is he here, today?”

Baylee looked slightly confused, but he raised his hand and gestured towards Nick. “He’s right there.”

“So, Nickolas Carter is your Uncle Nick?” Tom’s question was rhetorical. “Less than an hour ago, we heard a letter written by Mr. Carter in which he admitted to abusing drugs and alcohol.”

Brian’s leg stopped moving. He turned to Ed in horror. “Is he allowed to say stuff like that?”

“Unfortunately, he is.” Ed grimaced. “I didn’t think that he would interrogate the kid.”

“Baylee, have you ever seen your Uncle Nick drink alcohol while he’s been living with you and your dad?” Tom’s overly friendly smile had returned.

Nick was sweating. He could feel the dampness saturating his hairline. He tried to focus on taking deep, steady breaths as he waited for Baylee to answer the question. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to be the one who ruined Brian’s life.

Baylee shook his head. He was starting to look nervous. “No.”

“How about drugs?” Tom prodded. “Have you ever seen your Uncle Nick use illegal drugs at your dad’s house?”

“No.”

“Does your Uncle Nick have a girlfriend? Does she come to the house to see him?” Tom was clearly upset by the fact that Baylee had diffused his biggest argument, and he was desperately looking for another tactic.

“No. He was going to marry Lauren, but they broke up. That’s why he’s living with us.”

“I see.” Tom was stalling. “How about your dad, does he have a girlfriend?”

Brian’s hands were sweating so badly that they were leaving wet streaks on the table. His heart began thudding wildly in his chest as Leighanne’s head snapped up in order to stare at him. Brian was afraid to take his eyes off of his son. He couldn’t believe that he hadn’t thought to coach Baylee about what to say in case he was asked this question. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t pray, he couldn’t do anything except wait for Baylee to open his mouth.

“I – I think ...” Baylee was flustered. He tried to look at his father, but Tom moved to the side in order to cut off Brian from his line of sight.

“What do you think, Baylee?” Tom was practically drooling; he knew that he was on to something.

Baylee looked at the judge for help. It was clear that he was conflicted.

“You have to tell the truth, Baylee.” The judge’s voice was soft but firm. “You promised to tell the truth.”

“I think so.” Baylee was whispering now.

“You think that your dad has a girlfriend?” Tom clarified. “Has your dad brought a woman to the house?”

“Yes.”

“How many?” Tom’s eyes were shining. “How many women has your did invited over to the house?”

Baylee’s eyes widened. “Just one.”

Tom was still effectively blocking Baylee’s view of Brian, so his young, worried eyes drifted to Kayla. The poor kid looked as though he was pleading for help, for someone to suddenly stand up and interrupt the process so that he could stop answering questions.

Tom followed Baylee’s gaze and delivered the final blow; his face contorting in victory. “Is your dad’s girlfriend in the room?”

“Baylee, you do not have to answer that question!” Brian stood up from the table and slammed his hands down in frustration. “He’s trying to trick you!”

“Mr. Littrell!” The judge was also on her feet. “I did not object to the question, so Baylee is required to answer it. I suggest that you sit down and shut your mouth, or else I will have you ejected from the remainder of this hearing.”

Brian’s mouth has become painfully dry. He lowered himself back into his chair with shaking legs. He felt like crying and throwing up all at the same time. Leighanne had won; everyone knew it.

“Baylee, you need to answer Mr. Noble’s question.” The judge returned to her seat. “Is your dad’s girlfriend in the room?”

“I don’t really know for sure if she’s his girlfriend.”

Tom’s voice was sickeningly sweet. “That’s okay, Baylee. It doesn’t really matter if she’s his girlfriend. All I need is for you to tell me if the woman who you saw with your dad at your house is in the room.”

“Oh.” Baylee continued to hesitate. “Yes. She’s here.”

“What’s her name?” Tom was practically frothing at the mouth. “Can you point to her?”

Leighanne’s face was lit up like a Christmas tree. Her fingers were clutching the edge of the table in anticipation. She smiled encouragingly at her son. “Go on, sweetie.”

“It’s Kayla.” Baylee’s voice was wavering and his hand was trembling as he finally pointed Kayla out.

There was too much noise, too many things to process. Peggy was gasping, AJ was cursing, Kevin was groaning, Leighanne was laughing, and Ed was muttering. Brian couldn’t handle it. His stomach churned and suddenly the table was spinning. He pressed his eyes closed and tried to block everything out. It was too much.

“Enough!” The judge was on her feet for a second time. “The next person who makes a noise will be ejected!”

The room fell silent.

“Thank you, Baylee.” The judge turned to address him. “You did a great job. I’m going to ask you to leave the room again, okay?”

Baylee nodded. He stood up from the chair and walked over to join the same security guard who had brought him into the room. The man placed a gentle hand on his back and began steering him back towards the door. Baylee looked fleetingly at both of his parents as he allowed himself to be led away. He wiped quickly at his face, trying to disguise the fact that he was crying.

“I’m declaring a short recess.” The judge announced. “Mr. Noble, I’m going to ask that you and Ms. Wallace remove yourselves from this courtroom until we reconvene in thirty minutes. You may use one of the debriefing offices across the hall for privacy.”

Tom nodded at the judge and began to shuffle his papers together. “Thank you.”

Brian still had his eyes closed, but he knew that the judge was now addressing his side of the room. “As for the rest of you, I suggest that you take this time to compose yourselves. I will not have another outburst in this courtroom. Is that clear?”

“It’s perfectly clear.” Ed’s voice was terse. “I will be speaking with my client.”

“Good.”

Brian could hear the judge gathering her things. He could hear the click of Leighanne’s stilettos on the tile floor as she and her lawyer made their way out of the room. He could hear Ed breathing beside him. He could hear his own heart thudding in his ears. He could practically hear his whole world coming to an end.

“You have thirty minutes.”