Mason

lesson to learn from this chapter: blood is thicker than water but justice is thicker than blood.

5 years ago...

Mason was shaking slightly as the whole courtroom was summoned to stand up in order to sentence him & Leo for the crimes that they had committed. He had vowed to tell the whole truth and he had done just that. He prayed that it wouldn't backfire on him though.

He hoped that Leo had done the same.

They were brothers and he wouldn't know what to do without him if Leo was found guilty. They had gone through everything together and Mason intended to keep it that way even if the last encounter they'd had together had resulted in a mini massacre.

The judge tapped his gavel as if to gain everyone's attention and everyone's eyes were now on him.

Mason & Leo's fate was lying in his hands and he had never felt so frightened at the thought that either of them may never see broad daylight again.

Drew stood nervously beside him whilst Max was waiting with a ghost of a smirk on his face. He oozed confidence that he had won this battle but Drew clearly wasn't so sure. Would the jury vote in his favour? Perhaps they would but the prosecution had presented a good case too with a load of evidence making it clear that Mason was in fact guilty despite all the psychological arguments and facts that had been thrown at them.

This was crazy. Was it really fair that a bunch of strangers had the honour of deciding Mason's fate? Wasn't that his call to make?

" I have been a judge for over 30 years and I have never before witnessed a deed as wicked as this one. Mr & Mrs Grant were quite simply butchered to death by their two children in their home as they slept peacefully and completely unaware of the injury that was to be inflicted on them.

The lack of witnesses and accurate eyewitness testimony makes it incredibly difficult to get all of the facts and to confirm the chain of events that took place that night to lead up to the moment they were killed.

However, after close consideration it is clear to see that both Mason & Leo suffered terribly at the hands of their parents as a result of their addictions. This does not justify their actions or make them acceptable in any way, shape or form. The law is the law and we must always strive to uphold it and to ensure that Mr and Mrs Grant do not die in vain.

That is why I must ask the jury what is your verdict concerning Mason Grant?"

A petite woman with black hair stood up and turned to the judge stating, " Not guilty."

Drew clapped Mason on the back and he exhaled feeling a sense of relief that was tinged by fear as he waited patiently to hear what Leo's decided fate was.

"And how do you find Leonard Grant?" The judge asked.

"Guilty." She said.

Mason and Leo's eyes locked immediately and he felt a wave of helplessness rush in his veins. All his relief had diminished and was now replaced by a mix of fear and anger. What would he do without his only family?

The judge nodded and rapped his gavel even louder announcing, " I sentence you, Leonard Grant to imprisonment for 10 years with no parole."

He tapped his gavel once more and Mason watched helplessly as his older brother was taken away as he screamed and protested and demanded that they had made a mistake. Leo fought to get out of the guards' grip and yelled after Mason.

There was nothing he could do. The tears welled in his eyes as he thought about his brother and how alone he would be. It had been so long since they had both gone without each other that it almost felt unreal to even think of life without Leo by his side.

"Come on, kiddo." Drew said, resting his hand on his shoulder protectfully and leading Mason out of the courtroom. They bumped into Max on the way out who gave him a sad smile and he knew that he was saying goodbye.

The trial had gone far from perfect. They were supposed to be together but now they would be separated for so long. He felt a strong longing for his older brother that he was having a hard time keeping his emotions at bay.

Drew then led Mason into a small room where his social worker, Sonya, and two women were sat waiting for him.

"So the trial went well, I see?" Sonya smiled sweetly. Mason had always disliked her and if she didn't infer that from Mason's ice cold glare then she was even more stupid than he first assumed. Sonya always brought nothing but trouble for them.

Mason grumbled incoherently under his breath in response to Sonya's question and she didn't pay any notice to his glare. That was the most that she usually got from him.

"Anyways, I'd like to introduce you to your foster parents, Sue & Karen." Sonya said, introducing the two women sat besides her.

Mason's temper flared quickly at the mention of foster parents. This wasn't a new situation to him. Due to Mum and Dad's reckless behaviour and nosy teachers, Mason and Leo had often ended up in care for periods of time but now he had no home to go to.

He most certainly didn't want to stay with some Sue and Karen. He was no charity case and he had a slight feeling that he was being treated like one.

He didn't need anybody. He would be fine just on his own.

But his demands were ignored and before he knew it, he was dumped into the back of Karen or Sue's car, all the while cursing Sonya. Mason had had plenty of foster parents in the past but he purposefully drove them up the wall with his pranks and misbehaviour in an attempt to go home and this time would be no different. The most that foster carers had been able to stand his antics was 3 days. He was looking forward to breaking that record.

He sighed in defeat when they eventually pulled up in front or Sue & Karen's house. He looked it over and was happy with what he saw though he made no attempt to show any pleasure to them both. He didn't want to get their hopes up that things might take a right turn because there was no way that Mason was staying here for too long.

Karen or Sue, he wasn't really sure who was who, grabbed one of the bin bags which his stuff was piled into to help him but before she could even make it to the front door the bag ripped, revealing all his belongings.

"Look what you've done!" He shouted and scrambled to try to collect his things before their eyes could begin peeking through his things.

"Karen didn't mean it, did you darling?" Sue said, " Let us help you clear it up," She said reaching for one of his comics.

He snatched it out of her grasp and she looked taken aback by his aggression but he couldn't stand it when people looked through his things. It was a total invasion of his privacy and he was getting more and more infuriated the longer he spent clearing his things off of the pavement.

He felt Karen and Sue leave him and entering the house and he felt relaxed as he continued to sort through his things. His eyes landed on photographs of his family, their smiles radiant. It took him back to much simpler times before all the gambling and drugs and alcohol. He didn't know why he had kept them to be honest. All it did was remind him of the fact that he had no family to rely on now.

"Don't." A voice said and he felt a hand on his as he had reached to rip the pictures in half.

He pulled his hand away as his eyes landed on the girl who had stopped him from destroying the pictures.

She looked almost the same age as him with her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders and electric blue eyes. He couldn't help but stare at her a little.

He felt like he'd seen her somewhere but couldn't exactly place her. He shook away the thoughts roaming in his head. He'd just had a long and stressful day, that was it. He was probably just imagining things.

"What's it to you?" He snapped, collecting the photographs and turning them away from her curious gaze.

"Nothing." She said shaking her head, " I just saw the way you looked at them. They must be special to you." She said.

" They're nobody. " He responded but his tongue felt heavy at the the magnitude of the lie he had told. He then felt immense guilt as he thought about Leo who was all alone in that prison.

"What's your name?" She asked.

He rolled his eyes at her, already getting annoyed by her presence.

"You don't need to know. I'll be off in a few days anyway." He opened his backpack and tossed the photographs in there and zipped it shut quickly.

He watched her put her head to the side as if she was trying to understand his behaviour.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Mason." She replied and began to walk off in the direction of the house.

"How did you know my name?"

"Doesn't matter. The name's Belle, by the way." She said skipping away until she was out of view.

He chuckled a little and then picked up his bag before closing the front door shut behind him.

So long as nobody went through his things and Belle wasn't too annoying then maybe, just maybe, things would be okay after all.

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