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visits from an old friend ii
“Do you think he has any grounds for custody?” She asks nervously, eyeing the stack of papers sitting in front of her lawyer. Lennon knew that he didn’t, that any sane judge and jury would determine Stone as an unfit parent, but there was still some doubt.
“Honestly,” the man sighs, pushing the papers forward on the table. “No, I don’t. He has no financial stability, no set home for them to live in, a criminal record that’s at least a mile long . . . Unless he can prove that you’re an unfit mother or prove that he changed and has some sort of stability, I think the case can get thrown out.”
“And do you think I have enough evidence against him to at least get a restraining order or something?”
“It’s hard to say,” Jonathan says, dragging a palm over his bearded chin. “This was his first encounter here in three years. He hasn’t been stalking you or waiting outside of your home every night,” his hand falls to his desk, scattering the papers about as if he were looking for something to ease her mind. It took everything in Lennon to just shut up and listen – to not tell him he doesn’t know what Stone is capable of or how dangerous he really is. She’d been blind to it for years when love clouded her judgment and made her believe the sun shined directly out of his ass, but these were her kids. She couldn’t risk losing them to the monster that hid behind closed doors. But still she sits, silently wishing she found the courage to confess to all that she witnessed in her time as Stone’s wife, and let Jonathan continue. “I don’t think it serves enough grounds for a restraining order. If he keeps showing up here unwarranted, and you ask him to leave and he doesn’t, then yes, you can get a restraining order… the laws are tricky, though.”
It felt like life punched her directly in the gut. Nothing ever came easy when her ex-husband was involved. “How tricky?”
Her lawyer sighs, a hand reaching up to pull off his glasses. Jonathan was a good lawyer, and although Lennon trusted his abilities, she understood that he could only do so much to help her. The judicial system was a joke and a half – innocent people spending life behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit, blame being placed on victims of abuse as if they asked to be abused. It wouldn’t surprise her if this was a similar situation. “You have a good case, but . . . you also have a record, Lennon. Granted, you cleaned up and haven’t been in trouble since then, but with drug charges . . . it would be very easy for Stone to manipulate the case. As far as the restraining order goes . . . Well, I hate to say it, but unfortunately the justice system doesn’t care in most cases unless you fear for your safety.”
Another punch to the gut.
“But I do fear for my safety. I fear for my kids safety. That’s why I’m here!”
“I know, Miss Walsh. But Stone hasn’t done anything to harm you and right now, we don’t have much to go on to grant you the restraining order. If he threatens you, lays his hands on you, breaks into your home . . . then it would be a different story. But right now . . . it’s doubtful that a judge would grant you anything.” The male sighs, his lips pulling into a slight frown. “I’m really sorry.”
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“I don’t know what else to do, Jack. They’re not safe here anymore,” it had been hours since the meeting with Johnathan, and Lennon grew more and more fearful of the possibility of losing the kids. She knew Stone would put up a fight – even if he lost the custody battle in court, he’d still find a way to take them from her. She’d seen it time and time again, knew first hand that he didn’t like taking ‘no’ for an answer. And some days, she wished she could have chosen anyone else to be Indigo and Lilah’s dad.
Today was one of those days.
“You can bring them here, Len. G and I have so much room, you can come too. You’d have your own space . . . You’d all be safer here,” her brother says.
“I can’t ask you to do that, Jack. I don’t want to put you and G or the babies in any danger . . Thank you, though.” Lennon wouldn’t be able to live with herself if something had happened to her family, simply for helping her in her time of need. Her sister-in-law was pregnant, and Stone . . . well, he wasn’t above hurting people.
Especially innocent people.
The line is silent for a few moments before Jack pulls her out of her thoughts. “What are you gonna do then?”
Lennon was grateful that he didn’t push, but her own sense of defeat weighed heavy on her shoulders, and she knew he really was just trying to help. She’d dealt with Stone and his wrath for years now – she knew the ins and outs of how he functioned. When he disappeared three years ago, she thought they were finally free. But now . . . she wasn’t sure they’d ever really be free again.
“I really don’t know.”
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