- Chapter 130 - Wooo, now we get to go onto court stuff lol and deal with my crappy writing while we're at it! -
Warnings: mentions of abuse, neglect, injuries, crying, bad mothers, dead parents, being in court, sadness
Modern AU (minus Covid)
Third Person POV

Elmer sat down in front of his brother and sister.

After about a week to a week and a half in the hospital, he was let out, and Jedrzej informed him that he'd be staying with Buttons for a little.

It was now three weeks later and Elmer, Jedrzej, and Katrine were sitting at a restaurant in Manhattan, New York City.

Jedrzej watched his brother, looking a bit nervous. "El, do you remember when we told you that Mom was... hurting us?" he asked softly, talking slowly as if he were trying to figure out the best way to phrase it.

Elmer nodded, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "You said she was abusive," he mumbled.

Elmer only knew the word abusive from Race. He knew how Race's father had been, but he didn't realize his mother was like Race's father.

Wilhelm had said that she was manipulative, that she was nice so that they'd do stuff for her. That's why she had the rules.

Elmer understood it when he thought about it, but he tried not to think about it much. It hurt his brain and it wasn't fun to think about.

Katrine nodded. "Well, there's something we didn't tell you," she informed him, her voice soft. "The injury on your head..." she started, "you don't remember anything from that day, right?"

Elmer nodded.

Katrine frowned. "We had been in our rooms because Mom banished us there," she explained. "You were with Mom..."

"We should've never left you there," Jedrzej mumbled, looking guilty.

Elmer frowned, tilting his head to the side. "Why not?"

"I don't know why, but Mom got mad, and she threw a beer bottle she held in her hand..." Katrine explained quietly, watching Elmer's eyes, "...at you."

Elmer froze.

"We found you laying on the ground, unconscious and the bleeding," Katrine informed Elmer, drumming her nails on the table like she always did when she was talking about something she hated. "The doctors said you were lucky you didn't get any serious injuries... and even that you were alive," she mumbled.

Elmer sat there, not knowing how he was feeling.

Was he sad that his mother almost killed him?

Was he mad?

Elmer didn't understand why she threw the bottle at him. It was frustrating that he couldn't remember anything. "Did I do something wrong...?" he mumbled.

Jedrzej looked at him, getting worried. "El, no. You didn't do something wrong," he told him instantly. "Nothing you could've done warrants what she did."

Elmer swallowed and looked up at his siblings. "Is... is Mom in jail?" he whispered.

Jedrzej and Katrine exchanged a look.

"Well..." Jedrzej exhaled a bit, rubbing the back of his neck and trying to think of how to explain it, "no. Not technically. She's technically in a holding cell right now, but her court date is Friday," he explained.

Elmer's eyebrows furrowed. "Why didn't you tell me her court date is Friday?" he asked, his voice soft.

Katrine frowned. "Well, we weren't really planning on taking all of us," she answered. "But then, Mrs. Sherry informed us that we all have to go..." she mumbled.

Elmer frowned. "What about the house? Do you still live there?" he asked his siblings. "Is that why I'm staying with Elmer? Are we homeless?" he questioned, starting to get worried.

Jedrzej shook his head. "No, no, we're not homeless," he responded. "Mrs. Sherry is our social worker, or... yours technically. Katrine, Wilhelm, Avery, and I are too old to be in the system now," he explained. "The twins, Peyton, and Charlize are with their foster father right now, though sometimes they go to their friends' houses," he informed Elmer.

Elmer seemed to only get more confused. "Wait, we have a foster father?" he asked. "But... Papa is dead."

Jedrzej shook his head again. "No, no. Foster father, like Jack's family before he, Race, and Crutchie were adopted," he explained.

Elmer realized what he meant. He nodded slowly. "Is... he nice?"

Katrine smiled a bit. "He seems very nice," she answered. "And, he's good friends with Medda."

"Medda?" Elmer perked up a bit. "Race's mom?"

Katrine nodded.

Elmer smiled. "Can I meet him?" he asked.

Jedrzej looked at his sister, smiling slightly, though it was obvious he was still nervous. "Yes... and you can meet him now, if you'd like," he informed him.

Elmer tilted his head. "Now?"

Jedrzej nodded a bit. "He's here."

Elmer blinked. He felt a bit nervous. "Okay... can I meet him now?"

Jedrzej nodded. He pulled out his phone and texted someone.

A few minutes later, a tall man walked over.

The first thing that Elmer noticed about him was that he had a calm and warm smile.

The man smiled at Elmer, holding his hand out. "Hello, Elmer. It's nice to meet you. My name is Bryan Denton, but your siblings just call me Denton," he introduced himself. "Although, I'm pretty sure Ksawery calls me "BD"." He chuckled.

Elmer shrugged. "Sounds like him."

Denton nodded. "He's a very interesting being, I'll give him that," he said.

Elmer nodded again. "I'd think he was an alien half of the time if he didn't come out of my mom's stomach like I had," he responded. "He's really sweet though."

"And only around the three youngest," Katrine informed Denton.

Denton chuckled. "I was going to point out that he doesn't seem very sweet around me, but I'm pretty used to that," he responded.

Katrine nodded.

Elmer looked at his siblings.

"What do you think?" Jedrzej asked, a little worried about what he'd say.

Elmer shrugged. "He's seems nice... and he has a nice smile," he answered.

Denton looked at Katrine.

Katrine nodded, knowing what he was thinking. "He's the sweetest, tied with Charlize probably," she informed him.

Jedrzej smiled. "Good." He nodded a bit to himself, thinking. "So, you can stay with him if you'd like, or stay with Buttons for a few more days, whichever you decide," he told Elmer.

Denton nodded in agreement. "You will always have a bed at our house," he told Elmer.

Elmer looked at Denton, tilting his head to the side. He didn't know Denton very well, but something in him felt really safe with him.

And especially when Denton called his house, "our house".

A few days later
On Friday

Elmer sat next to Buttons in the courtroom, his leg bouncing and Buttons's hand in his own as he squeezed all of his anxiety into it.

They were both dressed in some nicer clothes; button downs, dress shoes, and ties.

All of Elmer's siblings were there. However, Jedrzej was sitting with their lawyer.

Elmer was sat in the row behind them with the rest of his siblings. Denton was with them, so was Buttons, and Elmer was pretty sure a few of his siblings had brought either their partners or close friends as well for comfort.

Plus, Jack, Race, Crutchie, and Medda were somewhere in the rows behind them. Elmer knew that.

Elmer didn't have the strength to look at his mother when she was led into the room. He could feel her watching him at different points during the session, but he couldn't bring himself to look at her.

Elmer heard Jedrzej speak, and his mother, and he heard countless shoutings from the lawyers and the judge.

Katrine was called up, Wilhelm was too, and even Avery.

However, no was was prepared when Elmer was called up to the stand.

Elmer looked at Jedrzej, his eyes wide in panic.

Jedrzej was talking to their lawyer and Mrs. Sherry, clearly also panicked as no one told them that Elmer would be called up.

Elmer slowly got up and started walking to the stand.

Avery stopped him when he passed. He hugged him.

Elmer didn't realize how much he needed a hug at that point.

"Just go up and answer their questions, okay?" Avery whispered in Elmer's ear. "Don't look at Mom, look at Jedrzej, okay?" he told him quietly. "It's going to be okay."

Elmer nodded, swallowing hard. He could hear his lawyer yelling about bringing him up and how he was thirteen, but the judge said something about how he was the one hospitalized by the mother and let their mother's lawyer continue.

Elmer sat down. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, so he just stared at the microphone in front of him.

Someone came over to him with a bible. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" the man asked him.

Elmer nodded. "I do," he whispered, his voice barely anything but a breath.

The man nodded, seem satisfied. He walked away.

Elmer was glad he didn't ask him to speak up.

His mother's lawyer walked over to him. "Mr. Kasprzak, can you recall the events that took place on the night of the 19th?" he asked him.

Elmer swallowed hard, looking over at Jedrzej for help. "No..." he whispered, his voice shaky. "I don't remember."

"Speak up, Mr. Kasprzak," the lawyer told him, clearly annoyed.

The judge shot him a look.

Elmer was trembling as he moved a bit closer to the microphone. "No," he repeated, trying to be a bit louder, "I don't..." he tried to take a deep breath in, "...remember."

The lawyer nodded. "I see..."

"Your honor, we have paperwork that shows that he has amnesia due to the injury!" Jedrzej shot up, clearly annoyed with the lawyer's question.

"Sit down, Mr. Kasprzak," the judge told him.

Jedrzej gritted his teeth, but sat down.

Elmer's mother's lawyer looked at Mrs. Sherry, who handed him a paper.

The lawyer read it over and nodded, frowning. He handed it to the judge. "Mr. Kasprzak is correct, your honor."

The judge nodded, handing the paper back to him. "Move on, Mr. Burr."

(A/N, hehe, I'm so not subtle with my musical references lol.)

Mr. Burr nodded. He turned back to Elmer. "Mr. Kasprzak, do you remember anything from after the bottle was thrown at you?" he asked him.

Elmer shook his head. "No, Sir," he answered, trying to be loud so he could hear him. "All I remember was waking up in the hospital with my head hurting and uncomfortable bandages around my head," he explained, visibly shaking.

Mr. Burr nodded. "And had your mother ever hurt you before the incident?" he questioned.

"Well, no. Katrine said they hid me from her abuse," Elmer mumbled, drumming his fingers on the table again to calm himself down.

"So, you don't have proof that your mother even threw the bottle at you then?" Mr. Burr questioned.

Elmer's eyebrows furrowed. "I mean, technically no, but she was the-" he started.

"I'm going to move to strike that answer as it is non-responsive," Mr. Burr interrupted.

"Objection!" Mr. Hamilton, Elmer's lawyer, shouted. "Let him finish his sentence!"

The judge nodded to Mr. Hamilton. "Sustained." She looked at Elmer. "Finish your sentence, Mr. Kasprzak. I would like to hear it," she instructed him.

Elmer swallowed. "My mom was the only one in the room with me at that point," he mumbled.

The judge nodded. "And do you know this for a fact?" she questioned.

Elmer nodded. "All of my siblings were in their rooms," he informed her, his voice quiet, nervous, as he looked at her. He avoided her eyes. "You can ask them. We don't have separate rooms."

The judge looked over at Jedrzej. "Is this true, Mr. Kasprzak?"

Jedrzej nodded.

The judge nodded. She lifted her gavel and announced a fifteen minute recess.

Elmer instantly climbed down from the stand. He quickly ran over to Jedrzej.

Jedrzej instantly stood up and pulled Elmer into his arms. "Mam cię. Jestem tutaj," he whispered to his brother. "To koniec, obiecuję," he assured him.

Tears streamed down Elmer's cheeks as he clung to Jedrzej.

The twenty-two-year-old picked up his younger brother. "Come on," he whispered to him. "Let's go take a break outside and grab some water."

Elmer didn't respond; just clung to him and sobbed quietly into his shoulder.

After the fifteen minute recess

Elmer sat back where he was originally, though this time, Buttons arms were wrapped around him as they waited to hear the judge's ruling.

"I find Mrs. Kasprzak... guilty!" The judge finally announced. "She is sentenced to fifteen years in prison for child abuse, child neglect, and assault!" She banged her gavel.

Elmer looked up, his eyes wide. He wasn't sure if he was happy or sad, but at least his siblings wouldn't be getting hurt anymore.

Elmer's mother stood up abruptly, her eyes wide and her teeth gritted in anger.

The judge looked at her. "Is there anything you'd like to say, Mrs. Kasprzak?" she questioned.

Elmer's mother looked at her children. "How dare you?!" she screamed. "I raised you for years! Nurtured you, fed you, clothed you! If it wasn't for me, you'd be on the streets!" she yelled.

Elmer covered his ears and turned away, hiding his face in Buttons's chest.

His mother noticed him, her face softening. "Elmer, darling, come on. Mommy never hurt you, you never saw me hurt anyone," she tried to tell him. "Don't listen to your siblings. Tell them that your siblings are lying and you can come with Mommy," she told him, getting desperate.

Tears stung Elmer's eyes.

Buttons arms wrapped protectively around him, and Elmer clung to him, trying to disappear.

Wilhelm gritted his teeth. "Don't talk to him. You're no mother of his, or any of ours," he snapped.

One of the policemen put handcuffs on their mother as her lips curled into a scowl. "You brats-" She was hauled away by two police officers, still screaming.

Elmer clung to Buttons as tears streamed down his face.

"It's okay, El," Buttons whispered to him. "She's gone now."

Elmer didn't let go of him. "I want- I want to go home and cuddle," he whispered to him, a soft sob escaping his lips.

Buttons nodded. "We can do that. You've been so brave today, you deserve it," he responded, hugging him close. "And, if you want, we can watch Cinderella," he offered.

Elmer nodded a bit. He pulled away and wiped his nose.

Buttons looked at him. He looked at his bloodshot eyes from crying, looked at the tears on his cheeks, looked at the patch still on the back of his head. He frowned and hugged him again. "It's okay, El. It's all over now," he assured him.

Elmer collapsed back into his arms, a fresh round of tears starting. "I love you, Benny," he whispered, his grip on Buttons's shirt tightening.

"I love you too," Buttons whispered, not letting go. He silently promised himself and Elmer he wouldn't let go.

And he didn't. Not for the whole car ride home or the entirety of Cinderella, and even through the night.

2674 Words
So, I don't know how good these last three one-shots were lol. I don't know what happens in a courtroom and stuff, so even with doing a lot of research, this was written near midnight while I had a headache so it was probably bad lol.
I hope you all enjoyed them anyway.

Btw, tell me if you want to see more of El and his siblings. These are their names and ages in these one-shots and stuff lol:
Oldest - Jedrzej (22) - he/him
Second oldest - Katrine (21) - she/her
Third oldest - Wilhelm (19) - he/him
Fourth oldest - Avery (18) - he/him (debating he/they, but that's getting a lot deeper into his character lol)
Fifth and sixth oldest - Ksawery and Kacper (16) - he/him and they/them
Seventh oldest - Peyton (15) - she/her
Eighth oldest - Charlize (14) - she/her
Youngest - Elmer (13) - he/him