The Commonwealth versus Wendy & Steve [OPENING — SPOKEN / NEAR SILENCE] Case number 5 The charges are: Custody Interference. Exploitation. Intrusion. How do you plead? …Not guilty? Interesting. Let's begin. One custody war. One fucking child. Two complete fucking strangers And somehow— you decided you were entitled to a side. [BEAT DROPS] [VERSE I — THE INTERFERENCE] You weren't the judge. You weren't the law. You weren't the parent who had the final call. So why were you standing in the middle of the room asking a frightened kid who she wanted to belong to? You called it caring. Called it keeping me safe. Funny how concern started sounding like “Pick a side.” You wanted my answer. You wanted it recorded. Wanted a child to say who she trusted most so somebody could finally call the other side guilty. But I was thirteen. I didn't understand the rules of the war. I just understood that everybody wanted something from me. [PRE-CHORUS — SPOKEN / BUILDING] And here's the question you never seemed to ask: What does a child owe the adults fighting over her? Nothing. Not loyalty. Not testimony. Not proof that one grown-up loved her more. [CHORUS — HARD / REPETITIVE] Why the fuck was I your battlefield? Why did I have to bleed for a war I didn't start? You called it protection— I called it pressure. You called it love— I learned it as leverage. Why the fuck was I your battlefield? I was a kid. You were grown. And somehow I was the one expected to choose where I belonged. [VERSE II — THE HURT] And yes— he was hurt. I know. Maybe more than you think I ever understood. He had his own wounds. His own history. His own reasons for believing this was the fight he had to win. But here's the part you don't get to erase: His pain did not make mine imaginary. His fear didn't make my fear disappear. His history didn't become permission to write mine for me. Because every time his hurt came up like a fucking shield, the question became: Why are you doing this to him? Instead of— Why was this happening to you? [BREAKDOWN — BARE / SPOKEN] So that's your defence? He was hurt. Therefore let him hurt me too? He was abandoned. So I should carry him? He was afraid. So I should surrender? He needed someone. So I was supposed to become that someone? No. That's not protection. That's a child being handed an adult's pain and told to call it love. [VERSE III — THE CHOICE] You kept waiting for me to choose. Mother. Father. You. Them. Someone. Anyone. Just give the adults the answer they wanted. But I wasn't choosing between teams. I was trying to find somewhere I could breathe. And when I finally understood that choosing myself would make somebody angry— I chose myself anyway. Not because you won. Not because they lost. Not because somebody finally convinced me. Because I was never yours to win. [CHORUS — VARIATION] Why the fuck was I your battlefield? Why did I have to bleed for a war I didn't start? You called it protection— I called it pressure. You called it love— I learned it as leverage. Why the fuck was I your battlefield? I was a kid. You were grown. And when I stopped playing the part you needed— you were gone. [BRIDGE — QUIET / COLD] That's the part I remember most. Not the arguments. Not the accusations. The silence after I stopped being useful. You dressed coercion as concern You didn't need me to be safe. You needed me to agree. You needed the money that came attached And when I didn't bow hand over the treasure— You tossed me aside like garbage. [FINAL BREAKDOWN — SPOKEN] So let's put it plainly. You were adults. I was a child. You knew this was a custody battle. You knew we didnt know each other. You knew I was already standing in the middle of it. And still— you asked me to pick a side. Then you called my answer proof. And when my answer wasn't the one you wanted— you left. That's the evidence. [FINAL CHORUS — FULL] Why the fuck was I your battlefield? Why did I have to bleed for a war I didn't start? You called it protection— I called it pressure. You called it love— I learned it as leverage. Why the fuck was I your battlefield? I was a kid. You were grown. I never owed you a side to stand on. I never owed you a war to carry home. You wanted me to choose. You wanted me to prove that you were right. But I was never yours to win. I was a child. And you were supposed to know better. [OUTRO — COURTROOM / DEADPAN] The Commonwealth rests. Case 005. Dismissed? No. Exhibit fucking A.
