Page 114 of Break For Me
He proceeds to lay out his reasoning, giving discounts for the guilty plea, for Zane’s youth, for his previous unblemished record.
The constant barrage of information is exhausting. The unfamiliar situation makes things even more difficult to understand.
“That leads me to a total of fourteen months, which is automatically a custodial sentence.”
“No.” I’m halfway out of my seat before Evie drags me back. The judge frowns in my direction, then returns to his summarising notes. I lower my voice, heart pounding as I say, “He can’t go to prison.”
And luckily Zane’s lawyer is on his feet, arguing the same. Evie has to pry her hand from mine, I’m holding it that tightly. She hooks her hand around my upper arm instead, giving me a gentle squeeze.
The legal arguments get tossed back and forth. Zane sits with his head bowed, showing no outward response to the fight waged on his behalf.
“Are there any further oral arguments from the prosecution?” the judge finally asks and the crown representative shakes his head. “In that case, could the defendant please rise?”
I hold my breath as he summarises the case again, this time speaking directly to Zane for the most part. “The final sentence I’m imposing today is eleven months.”
“Your honour, my client would like to be considered for home detention.”
“The prosecution has no objection to the request.”
Eleven months. The judge finalises the sentencing judgement and Zane stands as he leaves the room, only then turning, scanning the assembled crowd, and offering a watery smile when he finds me.
“It’ll be over in no time,” Evie assures me. “There’ll probably be media reports complaining at how lax the punishment is.”
We wait patiently as the lawyer continues to talk to him, then waves us over, giving us five minutes to say goodbye before he’s taken off for processing. As we approach, I see apprehension in his eyes, but mostly what I see is relief.
Evie pulls him into a long hug, giving him the reassurance he needs, while Ant claps him on the shoulder.
“It’ll be okay,” Zane says as Evie releases him. “And at least this way, it draws a line under it, so we won’t need to look over our shoulders for years.”
I shake my head with the unreality of the situation. That the boy taking punishment on my behalf is offering me solace. “And thanks to my age, my sentence is far lighter than it would be for you or Wilder.” He winks. “Just as long as I stay out of further trouble.”
“Jesus, you’d better,” I say, reaching deep to find a humorous response to lighten his tension. “Because you are far too pretty to last a week inside.”
His lawyer soon takes him away to further explain the conditions and organise the monitor, reassuring us he’ll call once he’s processed and released to his home address.
Evie and I wander outside, hand in hand, the day still, sunny, and with the gorgeous crispness to the air that only a frosty midwinter day can bring. We walk to the nearby park, sitting on a bench while we absorb the random beauty of the day.
“It’ll be all right,” Evie says, tugging my hand up to her lips, kissing each knuckle in turn before I steal her hands for being too cold and tuck them inside my jacket. “It might seem like an eternity to him right now, but once he’s through it, this year will just be a tiny blip on his radar.”
She’s right and I know the pain of guilt. Know how it can eat away everything good in your life until you’re left with nothing but crumbs. If Zane can find his solace in the punishmenthanded down by the court, then the best support might be to get out of his way.
“Did you know, I’ve been taking stock of all the things I have to be thankful for, and I think the best moment in my life was when I peeked around the edge of a filing cabinet to see a girl wriggling like a worm across the floor.”
“Oh, please. I was wriggling like a crown princess. And that is nowhere near my favourite moment,” she adds with a scowl. “But I’ll let you away with it.”
“Doesn’t sound like you.”
“I’ll let you away with it becausemyfavourite part of the night was when you picked me up and sprinted towards the car.”
“Funny, I seem to remember you punching my head at the time.”
“Only because you deserved it.”
“Oh, yeah. And what do I deserve right now?”
Her calm eyes travel over my face, seeing me more clearly than anyone has before. “Well, if you throw me over my shoulder and run to the car, I can probably show you.”
And before I have time to second guess the situation, that’s exactly what I do.
