(phone ringing)
(eerie music)
- East Bank Hospital
- No, I told you to order 200 hundred units,
not 20 units, but while I'm here at the hospital
- There is a chance that they're not
going to be able to get it out that way
(eerie music)
- Ms. Bannon, Tammy, Detective Travis.
Hi.
How is he doing?
- He's better.
He's moving a little bit
and doctors are gonna keep him sedated a few more days.
Swelling's gone down a little bit, so,
that's a good sign.
- Has he been able to communicate at all?
- No, no he hasn't.
- Okay.
Well, I know you understand that time is critical here.
Is it okay if I ask you a few questions?
- Yes, of course.
- Great, so, my understanding is
you found him last night on the driveway,
after work around 10:30 p.m.
- Ah, yes.
- Did you hear anything?
I mean, anything outside, anything out of the ordinary?
- We heard his car door shut,
and when he didn't come inside,
Michael went to check on him.
He found him lying on the ground,
bleeding,
and moaning a little bit.
- Was there anything that's happened recently
that maybe caused you to believe he might be in danger?
- No, no.
He gets along with everyone.
Has a lot friends.
- How about the family?
I mean, anything going on there,
anything outside the family that
- Actually, he just broke up with his girlfriend
and I know they weren't getting along.
Maybe she has a new boyfriend or something.
- Okay.
Do you know where I can find her?
- What about you Mr. Bannon
anything to add?
- Get them.
Find them.
(eerie music)
(car engine running)
(radio talk show)
(squeaking)
- Come on
(banging)
(car door opens)
(car door slams)
Courtney, I'm not sure how much you're aware of,
but Justin was recently involved in an incident
that has some people concerned,
and I was hoping you might be able to shed light
on that situation.
- Is he in trouble?
- No, no, neither are you.
Just have some questions.
- Maybe we should wait until my husband's home.
- Sure, we can do that
but unless you have something
that I'm not aware of,
I don't see why there's any reason
we couldn't start the conversation now.
- Mom, it's fine.
I don't mind telling him what happened.
- Great.
Any information will help.
- Okay.
Well, Justin and I were together for 10 months.
Got any threes?
- Nope, go fish.
- You're cheating.
You are so cheating.
- No I'm not.
How can you tell?
Are you cheating?
- Oh my gosh, I can't believe you.
- I don't cheat.
- Mom, he's over here cheating
and how long is it gonna take you to find
whatever it is you're looking for?
- Ah, actually, I have.
Just needed my blanket.
It's my favorite.
- So, how many nights are we gonna
have to spend playing cards
before we can go anywhere?
- I don't know.
There's not like a number on it.
It's just until they're comfortable, I guess.
- Comfortable.
- Yeah, but mom already loves you.
It's just dad we have to work on.
- They do know how old you are, right?
I mean, I haven't had to do the whole
parental routine thing since like seventh grade.
- Oh, and who was that?
Katie?
Your stalker.
I mean, if this is too much trouble
you can always go back to her.
- Heck no.
- Well then, in the mean time, you get to play Go Fish
with me in my den.
- Exciting.
- Are you sure you don't have any threes?
- All right guys,
it's getting close to 10:30 p.m.
it's time to wrap things up.
Courtney, you have to sing in the morning.
- My bad Mr. Hamilton,
we let the time slip away.
I'll head out now.
- It's okay, I understand that.
I just didn't want it to go too late.
- I'll walk you to your car.
- Okay
So, have you decided on it?
- About what?
- About what we were texting about.
- I haven't decided yet.
- Well, did you see how I handled your dad in there?
I mean, is there something?
He's tough.
- You did good,
but if I do it,
you have to promise to never
- Hey, no, you don't even have to say it.
We trust each other, don't we?
- We do.
- And I won't be able to go to sleep
unless I hear your answer.
I have work in the morning,
I need rest.
- Okay, okay,
I get it.
(Mr. Hamilton coughing)
Sorry.
- It's okay.
- No kiss tonight.
Miss me.
- Miss me more.
- You know I will.
(running water)
(serene music)
I never should have done it,
but I was in love with him and I wanted to make him happy.
And he said it would make us closer
since my parents were in between us.
So, I gave in.
And it was stupid.
- So, you sent him the photos,
he passed them on to his buddies,
and then you broke up with him?
- No.
- No, he didn't pass them on,
no, you didn't break up?
- Around that time, they went through a phase
of breaking up and getting back together.
It was something different every week.
Craig and I didn't know what to do.
- So, Courtney, how would you describe
your relationship at that time?
- You know, you can just text me this, right?
- I know.
I like notes, they're just they're more personal.
- Do you want me to take you home today?
- I know what that means
and I thought tryouts were today.
- They are, but I'm not going.
I just signed up to get my dad off my back.
Well, here's what I was thinking.
So, Toby lives down the street from you, right?
So, I'm gonna park at his house,
I'm gonna walk over to your house.
Sound good?
- And what if one of the neighbors sees you come in?
My parents know all of them.
- They'll all be at work.
- Hey Justin.
- Hey.
Oh, is there anything due in Beyer's class?
I don't know.
If there is, I didn't do it, so, we can just fail together.
- All right.
See ya.
- Okay.
Let me figure this out.
So
you can talk to another girl,
but if there's a guy anywhere near me, you get mad.
- That?
That was about school work.
- But that doesn't seem to matter when it's me.
- That's cause it's different.
I mean, I trust you, it's the other guys I don't trust.
I mean, you don't know how guys think.
- I didn't want to lose him,
so, over time, I became what I thought he wanted me to be.
(door squeaks open)
- So how much time do we
- Shh.
- Why are we being quiet?
- Because my dad's home.
- What?
- Yeah, my dad's home.
He's asleep.
- What?
- He works third shift and he won't wake up.
- Are you serious?
- It's fine.
He won't wake up.
- What if he does wake up?
- Don't worry.
Come on.
Come on
- What are you doing home?
And what is he doing here?
- Mom, he brought me home to get a paper I forgot,
that's all, I promise.
- You're lying to me?
Courtney Nicole, you're standing in front of me
looking me in the face, lying to me.
- Okay, just calm down, you'll wake up dad.
- Maybe I should.
- Mrs. Hamilton, I can explain.
- You need to go.
Now.
Excuse me, where do you think you're going?
- Back to school.
- No, not with him.
I'm taking you.
(door squeaks open)
- After we were caught,
my parents clamped down on our relationship,
and I think Justin started looking for a way out.
- Hey, can I borrow your reading log?
I practice. I'll give it after school.
- Haven't people been caught doing that?
- I'll just change the dates on there.
I just need your list.
Thank you.
- Yeah.
- Seriously?
- What did I do wrong this time?
- The same thing you do every time.
You can't stop talking to other guys,
and you know how I feel about it,
and you won't stop.
- Are you kidding me?
- Dude, come on.
- Don't touch me.
- Listen, it's fine, just go.
Just go.
It's fine.
He came up to me.
You're accusing me before even asking what happened,
and you always assume I'm in the wrong.
- That's because it happens so often.
I mean, am I supposed to assume it's coincidence?
Honestly, I'm sick of dealing with you.
- You know, I'm sick of you too.
To hell with this.
- Okay, let me solve that for you then.
Talk to whoever you want.
I'm done.
(locker door slams)
- Courtney, I'm sure you know this,
but abusive relationships are not always physically violent.
- Yes, I know that now.
- What about the photos?
- He never deleted them.
Have you seen them?
- No, and I won't.
- We didn't know about the photos
until well after it happened.
Otherwise, we would have done something.
We would have called someone.
- It was a rough time for me, but I think I needed it.
(somber music).
(phone vibrates dings)
(music playing over dialogue)
(whispering)
(somber music)
(knock on door)
- Courtney?
Are you not eating tonight?
(sniffles)
I know you may not want to hear this right now.
- Dad, please don't.
(sniffles) Not now.
- I think this is important for you to hear.
When a relationship ends,
it's because God has a much better one planned for you.
Maybe I can just listen for a while?
Or maybe mom.
(cellphone vibrates and dings)
What's this about?
(crying)
(dishes clanging)
- Hey.
Some guy is here to see you.
Says he needs to talk.
- Mr. Hamilton, can I get for you?
- I know what you did.
Look at me!
- Sir, I never intended for
- If my daughter sheds another tear over what you did
or for anything, one tear, I'm gonna make you pay for it.
Do you understand me?
- Yes sir.
- And that's a promise.
I don't know how you're gonna do it,
but those pictures are gone by tomorrow.
All of them.
I'm gonna hold you personally responsible.
Are we clear?
- Yes sir, we're clear.
(eerie music).
- I have written statements from multiple witnesses
that say you threatened a boy who is now in the hospital.
That's a problem.
- I understand.
I was angry and I said things that I now regret.
- You regret?
(sigh)
After the embarrassment he caused your daughter,
I think any dad would have done the same thing.
- Well, yes, but looking back on it now,
I wish I would have handled things differently.
- Differently?
Why?
(somber music)
- Can I sit down?
- Yes.
- I just need to say that
everything that happened between us.
I understand much better now.
- Yeah.
Me too.
- You used to write a name and some numbers
at the end of the notes you wrote me.
I never knew what that meant.
- My Life Verse
- I looked it up.
It was good.
The girl that wrote that verse
I worry that she's gone now,
and that's my fault.
I don't know if I'm any good at it, but I pray now,
and when I do, I ask that the girl
who used to write those verses please come back.
Not for my sake, but for hers.
- Everything that happened was not just your fault.
I wasn't living that verse, so I stopped writing it.
- No, it wasn't you.
You don't need to be sorry about anything.
I'm the one that needs to say I'm sorry,
and to ask for forgiveness.
I also told my dad that I was sorry,
I was trying to change.
He thought it meant I was becoming a republican.
- So, after you found out about his conversion,
what'd you think, did you believe him?
- I did.
- Well, I guess I wouldn't put it passed a boy
to convince a girl of something he wanted her to believe
I mean especially if he has something to benefit from it.
- I believed him because that was me
at one point in my life.
I found Christ as a teenager
after making some unfortunate choices.
(sigh)
And after what the boy said,
I just don't think you can make something like that up.
- Mr. Hamilton,
Craig,
we have your truck on video surveillance
in the restaurant parking lot
the same night Justin was assaulted.
Can you explain that?
- After Courtney told me about their conversation,
I wanted to give the boy a word of encouragement.
Tell him how proud I was of what he was doing.
So, I went up there.
(brooding music)
They told me he'd already left
so I went back to the truck and headed to work.
(sigh)
- So, this other man,
did you get a good look at him?
- It was dark.
He was a large frame, like six foot.
Had on a jacket.
He had something in his hands.
(sigh)
- Sweetheart can you tell me what happened to your brother?
- Hey!
Guess who I got a letter from today?
You're gonna embarrass me after I got you the tryout?
Hey, you get back here, boy.
You are an embarrassment!
- Back off.
- You're a disappointment!
- Get off!
- I'm telling you right now!
- Get off me!
- Dear Justin,
if I didn't tell you in the hallway,
I want you to know that I do forgive you.
How could I not, when I've been forgiven for so much myself?
I know we both agreed that we should keep our distance,
but I want you to know that I pray for you daily.
I pray that your walk with the Lord will grow strong,
that your body will heal,
and that your family will be restored.
And lastly I pray that the words of My Life Verse
will ring true in your life,
just as they have in mine.
Your sister in Christ, Courtney.
Psalm 28 7
(persevering music)