Look at me

　　The walk inside is the slowest of my life. Maddie opens the door to the room the trial will hold. Josef walks in first, Maddie goes behind him. I expect Ben to follow suit so we can get out of here sooner than later but he stops moving. From here, I catch a blurry view of the people inside. I think he did too. 

　　I snap my fingers in Ben’s face, trying to force him back to the reality where I exist. He shakes his head and stares right through me like I am translucent. 

　　Balling his hands by his sides, his face turns white as a sheet and I take two involuntary steps back. Every effort to draw him back to the present fails. His parents notice the delay and Maddie is beside me in a second. Josef blocks his view of the people inside the hall while I try to get Ben to breathe.