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Chapter6
As I went to close the door someone stopped me by grabbing onto the door. I looked up to see my eldest brother Joshua. I raised my eyebrow at him and stared at him. "We will meet you at home," he said. I shook my head no "move" I said. Joshua refused to move so Jenny spoke up "Mr Wilson you are in breach of the temporary protection order". "Do you think I won't be around my sister when she is in our family home. Ms Murphy the order isn't worth the paper it is written on?" Joshua said.
By this stage the media was surrounding the car along with the rest of my family and police were heading our way. "I will never return to your home. I have a place with a refuge. The only time you will see me is in court when I give evidence against you and your family. Stay the hell away from me" I spat. He stepped back shocked by what I had just said allowing me to slam the door in his face. Jenny grabbed my hand as I was beginning to have a panic attack. I was struggling to get my breath. Greg was sitting in the front and spun around and said "Matilda what do you see?" "Cars, trees, you, Jenny and people" I replied "Good now what can you feel? Greg asked "Jenny's hand, the wind, the car moving, the car seat" I replied. This helped to ground me and stop the panic attack. My breathing returned to normal and I realised we were now outside Centrelink.
Jenny and Greg accompanied me into Centrelink where we spoke to a social worker to organise an emergency payment and then regular Austudy and living away from home payments. While I was in juvie we organised a bank account and also my Medicare card and birth certificate which were all sent to Jenny. The social worker then called the uni to confirm my acceptance and housing cost for next year. Temporary accommodation was arranged with youth off the streets until I could move into the dorm room in January at the university. The social worker continued to ask if I wanted to go home but I declined, it wasn't my home anymore. I finally snapped saying I was abused in that house and would rather sleep under a bridge than ever go there again because that's exactly how I felt. To say she was shocked was an understatement.
As she walked away to grab the last of the forms Jenny turned to me and said "Be careful with what you say. We don't want to impact your case. You need to show you can be trusted in this world without a guardian". "Sorry," I said and watched as the social worker returned and handed me the forms. Jenny helped me to fill them out before we handed them back to the social worker. I was informed the money would be in my account by tomorrow for the emergency payment and then I would receive a regular payment each fortnight into my account. We thanked the woman and headed back to the car. The media was once again waiting out the front of Centrelink.
We got into the car and Jenny informed me that we would be heading to a shopping centre and changing cars so that the media couldn't follow me to the refuge for my protection and for the protection of the others who were staying there. While in the car Jenny's phone rang "Jenny Murphy speaking" Jenny said. After a few seconds, she put the phone on loudspeaker and motioned for me to be quiet. "You will bring Matilda to her father's place by the end of business today" whoever was on the phone said. I looked at Jenny who shrugged her shoulders "Mr Black as you are aware Miss Wilson has a protection order against her family and she has filed for legal emancipation from her father. Judge Brown has adjourned these hearings for two weeks. Miss Wilson fears for her safety in the care of your clients and thus will not be returning to their home. She has secured accommodation for herself and will be residing there for her safety" Jenny responded. My father must have snatched the phone because the next minute we heard "Matilda will come home. She is a minor and is under my care". "Mr Wilson as your lawyer would have advised, there is a protection order in place and for Matilda's safety she will be residing elsewhere" Jenny replied. "We are her family we would never hurt her," my father said and I could not hold my tongue anymore "I wasn't your family when you were beating me after my mother was murdered and you sure as hell aren't my family now" I bite out.
Jenny looked at me as we heard a deep intake of breath from my father. "Matty I am so sorry please come home we can work it out as a family please" my father said. "Mr Wilson I believe you just admitted to harming your daughter. We will see you in court" Jenny said before hanging up the phone. We sat in silence for a few minutes before Jenny's phone alerted her to an email. She read the email and turned to me and said "We have a sitting tomorrow morning with the judge for dispute of living arrangements. Your family are requesting we disclose your address" she stated. I just nodded. We knew this was going to be a fight and one that we had prepared for.
After heading to a shopping centre and swapping cars we drove for a bit longer and finally pulled up in front of what I assumed was the refuge. Jenny handed me a bag of what looked to be clothes. "What's this?" I asked Jenny. "Just some essentials to get you through till you get to the shops and grab yourself some clothes and toiletries" she replied. Greg had been quiet the entire time but handed me a bag of food "It's just a few snacks for you to munch on" he said. I thanked them both and then hopped out of the car. "I can't come in with you but I will be here tomorrow at 8.30 am to pick you up and head to court. Remember we planned for this Tilly. You will get your freedom from them too we just have to fight for it" Jenny said. I smiled and said "Anything worth having is worth fighting for". My mum used to say that to me when we had to fight for our spa days and to get our way. Jenny laughed and nodded at me before saying "Get in there and enjoy your first night of freedom before the hard part comes tomorrow". I closed the door and made my way into the refuge, my temporary home for a while hopefully..