The court recessed, but no one moved right away. It was like the air had thickened, as if standing too fast might knock something fragile loose. Judge Norwood exited through his side door; the clerk followed. The only sounds left were the squeak of a chair and the scratch of someone's pen.
Ammani sat beside Deborah and Stan now, small between them, but somehow towering over everything.
Deborah leaned in. "You okay, baby?"
Ammani nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just tired."
Stan gave a little laugh. "You cross-examined three adults and dismantled a housing claim in less than 20 minutes. That'd wear anybody out."
Ammani cracked a tired smile, then looked down at her hands. "Do you think he's going to send me away?"
Deborah opened her mouth, but Stan beat her to it. "No one's sending you anywhere without a fight. And from what I just saw, you fight better than most adults I've ever met."
Across the aisle, Celeste Boon sat alone. Ror was at the far end of the room whispering to someone on the phone. Celeste stared at her purse like it was supposed to give her answers. After a minute, she stood and walked slowly across the aisle.
"Ammani," she said quietly.
Deborah's eyes narrowed, but Ammani looked up.
"I want to say something," Celeste continued. "Not because I think it'll change anything, just because I should have said it before."
Ammani tilted her head slightly.
"I wasn't ready," Celeste said. "And I lied because I thought looking like I had everything together was more important than being honest. But you made me realize the truth matters more, even if it's ugly."
Ammani didn't say anything right away. Then she asked, "Why do you want me?"
The question landed heavy. Celeste blinked, searching for something real to say. "Because I didn't want my sister's child to grow up thinking no one in her family cared."