True to her word, the judge waited outside the front door like a watchdog.

I stayed on the last step of the stairs, observing the disaster from afar.

Jeremy entered the house, saw his mother, saw me with a mortified expression, and knew he was in trouble.

"Jeremiah. Come with me."

The judge marched towards the kitchen, and her son followed like a soldier headed for a court-martial.

The kitchen door slammed shut behind them. What was I supposed to do? I tiptoed closer and pressed my ear against the keyhole.

"Is it possible that you didn't notice there was nobody beside you on the bus on the way to school?"

Followed by a long, heavy silence.

"You don't intend to answer me?"

"I don't know what to tell you." Jeremy's voice was calm and controlled. And here I thought he'd panic...

"Try with an explanation, for starters. I tried to make you understand how delicate this situation is. I asked you to cooperate with me to ensure that Thomas settles in as quickly as possible, and you..."

"Stop calling him Thomas."

I felt a stab of gratitude. I couldn't explain to myself why that little fact was so important. But it was.

"I thought you were more mature than this. I NEED you to be more mature than this. I need to know I can trust you."

"You can trust me."

The judge must not have been convinced. For a long time, I heard nothing else.

"Is there anything else you need to tell me?" Her voice was stern, inquisitorial. It sent shivers down my spine.

There was a lot he could choose from. Starting with the fact that Jeremy caught me smoking pot. He said his mother would go berserk if she found out.

"Think carefully."

Jeremy took a few seconds.

"There's nothing else."

And I breathed again.

"This afternoon, you'll stay home to study. You won't accompany us to the law firm."

"Wha... no, wait. Drake needs me to be there. You haven't even told him about the trial."

Law firm... trial... Sure, let's not tell Drake anything. It's not like my life has recently been turned upside down by a huge lie. Don't worry, guys... no big deal.

"I'll tell him what's necessary along the way. This isn't something for you to worry about. What you need to worry about is making sure he's where I expect him to be. Got it?"

"Yes, but..."

"No. There are consequences for every action, Jeremiah. You decided to act behind my back, and this is what you got. Think about it next time you have to make a similar decision."

I hid behind the corner of the door frame the second I heard footsteps approaching. The judge marched out the door and towards the stairs without looking back.

I peeked into the kitchen. Jeremy hadn't seen me yet. He stood there with his shoulders slumped, his hand clenched around his backpack strap.

He was staring into space.

I straightened up a bit, ready to step in, tell him I'm an idiot, tell him I'm sorry he got in trouble.

Jeremy grabbed one of the glasses on the table and crushed it in his hand until it shattered, then smashed the pieces on the floor.

I looked on dumbfounded as he turned his palm upwards and stared at the blood dripping onto the floor.

"Yeah..." he muttered. "That wasn't a brilliant move. Idiot. You're an idiot."

I went back to hiding behind the door frame. Jeremy didn't seem like he wanted visitors at the moment.

With his bleeding hand pressed into the other, he walked into the living room and headed for the stairs, where a serene-looking Isabelle was coming down.

She looked at Jeremy with his neat uniform and the hand dripping with red, and let out a small chuckle.

"Now, that's a great way to deal with anger, little brother. Keep it up."

"I don't have the energy to deal with you right now either." He tried to dodge her, but the girl grabbed him by the arm.

"Come here. You can't even open a Band-Aid. What do you think you're doing by yourself?"

Isabelle dragged him into the small downstairs bathroom, ignoring his protests.

"Sit down and shut up. No... I said sit. Stay still or I'll make the other hand bleed too."

I couldn't approach the bathroom or I'd be seen. It was better to distance myself. I needed to reflect on what I had heard.

"Drake."

I turned abruptly. The judge was on the stairs looking at me. I straightened up. I wasn't eavesdropping at all.

"We have an appointment, you and I, this afternoon."

She didn't elaborate further, but it didn't surprise me. I felt my heart start to beat faster.

The law firm. The trial.

Dad.