concrit would be much appreciated, i have tried to go through it myself, but the words all seem to be fused to the page :P
enjoy! i hope it's not too long (or prosaic) to go in.
Court Case
You were thinking about what to do if he came to your house, when you opened the door to him. At first, you do not acknowledge that it is him, as you are becoming used to recognising your uncle in the street, only to realise that it is the painter, or the person next door. He is smaller than you remember, or it could be because of the doorstep. When your brain kicks in, you shut the door, hastily to stop him from coming inside, but slowly because you want to know how he is after six months of not seeing him.
Later, you will realise that it was exactly six months ago that you reported him to the police and that his restraining order finished today. You were the first person he came to see.
He gets his foot in the door. Ironically, you think of a salesman, but you are not going to buy anything he says this time. Doesn’t mean, of course, that it’s not going to cost you. But this is not the time for wordplay – your blood is pounding in your throat and you wish that you weren’t so dizzy. You should have eaten breakfast or lunch today – or dinner yesterday.
“Just listen to me, Alice.”
You shy away from your name, spoken as it is with a mixture of hatred and affection. He still loves you, but cannot believe you have betrayed him like this. Neither can you., when he stands in front of you, larger than life now that he is shouting in your hallway, in between telling you that he loves you. How could you do this to him? It doesn’t echo through your head – it ricochets.
Later, when the police ask for your statement, you will try to convey the questions he asked you, whilst you stood by impassively, trying not to cry. Do I want my grandfather to die of the shock, when he hears what my uncle is accused of? Why don’t I put a stop to it now, and stop ruining people’s lives? The police will take away a brief, ineloquently phrased bundle of words, but none of the memories. Nor will they hear the sharpest words he said to you, that snake through your ringing head: I thought you were my friend.
Later still, you will deny to your parents that these questions were something that you hadn’t already considered, or that they were even upsetting. Heaven forbid they worry about you. This cozy family image is stained enough already.
Even later, in the quietness of your own bed and your own head, you toss these same questions over in your head. Should I be going to court? Is this fair on my family? The sun is coming up and the clouds cut its rays like universal question marks. Soon it will be time to go to school and spend five hours disappointing your teachers, who cannot for the (collective) life of them work out what has gotten into you this year, compared to the exemplary diligence you displayed last year. You can’t imagine what the problem could be, you think cynically. Your teacher will give out homework and you won’t even go to the façade of writing it into your homework. If you wanted to do homework, you’d have done last week’s essay, or this week’s excersizes.
Your friend is sat next to you. She used to tell you she was worried, but she’s given up. Her completed homework glitters before the two of you in a pristine, pseudo-magical cumulation of correct answers, concentration and effort. You gaze at it, lost for a moment in a bitter reverie of better times.