February 9th, 2017
Ray
"How do you feel?" my social worker asked as we stood outside the court room.
I fidgeted restlessly with the hair-tie on my wrist.
"Scared... I guess..." I replied quietly. "I don't wanna have to go back there."
I felt my heartbeat speeding up as we walked towards the doors. My social worker turned to me and assured me, "We'll do what we can to keep you away. It's very unlikely you'd have to go back there."
I nodded.
"Can I go back to set after this?" I asked.
"I thought you were going back to school?"
To be honest, there wasn't that much time I'd spent in school since working for Marvel. They required a lot, and I was happy to be there for so long. School wasn't really much better than home really. The only thing I didn't get was the physical abuse. Even then, some boys would try get into fights with me just because they thought I was weird.
"Do I have to?" I asked. "Please?"
My social worker sighed.
"Fine, I'll call your school afterwards, let them know you won't be going back."
I thanked her then looked at the closed doors. What I was facing wasn't just a court room. It was my stepfather, my mother. The years of abuse I had endured. The terror, pain. The times I thought I was drowning.
"Ready?"
I took a deep breath and pulled the hair-tie and let go of it, causing to snap back onto my wrist.
"Yeah."
~~~✸~~~
I came out of the courtroom, feeling like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. It was official, I wasn't going back. Jay was going to prison for dealing and abusing drugs. Mom was on house-arrest and David... well, he had 10 years in prison for child abuse and sexual assault. It turns out that he had done some pretty awful things to my mother when I was away - hence the charge of sexual assault.
As I sat in the passenger seat of my social worker's car, I pulled out my phone to see 2 unread messages from Scarlett.
Scarlett
Scarlett:
Good luck in court today!!
How did it go?
You:
Sorry I didn't see the msgs sooner
But
I dont have to go back there and he got 10 yrs!!
Scarlett:
I'm so proud of you!
You:
What 4?
Scarlett:
For going in there and telling them exactly what happened
You:
Oh tysm!!
Also, ima be on set for the rest of today
Scarlett:
What about school?
You:
Not going
Id rather be on set
Scarlett:
Alright, see you in a bit sweetie x
I put my phone away with a smile. She was always so sweet and kind to me. She didn't tell me off if I did something wrong. Instead, she showed me how to do it right.
~~~✸~~~
Scarlett
I felt my heart leap for joy when Ray told me the outcome of the trial.
"What made you so happy?" RDJ asked, sitting beside me on the sofa.
"Oh, nothing," I replied, putting my phone down. "Just some good news."
RDJ nodded.
"Something to do with Ray?" he asked.
"Who said it was about her?" I questioned with a smile.
"Don't act like you don't have a soft spot for her," RDJ joked. "We've all seen you with her."
I laughed and shook my head.
"Honestly, she's just a kid."
"A kid you want."
I saw Downey's eyebrows were raised.
"If you had the opportunity, you'd adopt her, I know you would."
My stomach flipped over suddenly. I did have the opportunity to adopt her... Jackie was only a foster carer. RDJ didn't know about Ray's situation. The only other people who knew were Anthony and Joe Russo and Chris Evans. Unless Ray had told anyone herself - which was unlikely - I had only told those I knew could be trusted. Not that I didn't trust Downey or Lizzie or Jeremy or any of the others, but I didn't know if Ray would want them to know.
"Anyways, I have a dress rehearsal with British Spidey and The Fly-byers of the Galaxy," RDJ said, standing up.
I laughed at his joke.
"See you," I chuckled as he waved and walked away.
I waited until he had gone, then stood up and decided to go and wait for Ray.
~~~✸~~~
As soon as I saw her get out of the social worker's car I went over. She ran over to me, bouncing on her feet slightly.
"I did it!" she told me joyfully.
"I'm so proud of you!" I replied truthfully.
Ray suddenly wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me. I was slightly taken aback, but I made sure not to hesitate too much, putting my arms around her too. She pulled back quite quickly and turned to go towards her trailer, but I called her back.
"Hey Ray, wait!"
"Yeah?"
"I know it's quite late to ask, but do you wanna come to a restaurant for dinner with us all tomorrow night?" I asked, realising she was the only one not invited yet.
"Who's us?" Ray asked.
"Me, Mark, Robert, Chris, Chris and Chris, Lizzie, Paul, Sebastian, Tom Hiddleston and Anthony Mackie," I reeled off. "Not too many, but quite a few of us."
She nodded her head quickly.
"I-I'd love to!"
I watched her run to her trailer. I knew she'd never really gotten to know many people more than their name (apart from me, Lizzie and Paul) so this would be a good chance to get to know the team, or even just observe. I was really starting to care for Ray in a way I only felt partially familiar. Was I caring for her like I cared for Rose?
YOU ARE READING
Ray of Light
Teen Fiction''You're my ray of light, you know that?'' Ray Hopkins is a 15 year old with dreams bigger than her bedroom. With a messed up home life, she spends most of her time in The Mug & Muffin coffee shop, looking for small jobs to earn some money. Her life...
