Callies head was spinning, she was sat in a stuffy interview room with John, her lawyer, going over what the defence team would be asking her and John wasn't holding back any punches. He said that she needed to be prepared for the worst and so was putting her through her paces and those paces were kicking her ass.
"Miss Torres, don't hold back" John said with a snap in his voice which served only to dampen Callie's mood even further. She wasn't holding back but what he was asking of her felt impossible. She didn't want to relive the memories of Earl. She didn't want the words of what he did to her to pass her lips. She didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares that the upcoming trial was sparking, she didn't want any of this. But if she gave up Earl would win.
She had spoken to John about not testifying and he had claimed that they had a solid case even without her testimony. To start with there was the docket that Arizona had provided which detailed the history of abuse as well as the scans and x-rays that supported the evidence. There was the police statements that Callie and Arizona had provided to the police the numerous times they had contacted the women searching for more information or clarification on information they had already obtained. There was the 'confession' that Arizona had recorded. There was witness statements from Callie's parents as well as doctors Webber, Bailey, Sloan, Montgomery and extensive reports from Dr Warner from the sessions Callie had been having.
On top of all of this John had obtained video footage from a shop opposite the alley way that Callie was found in which shows Earl's car entering the alley way and then leaving several minutes afterwards which places his vehicle, which he was the only registered and insured driver of, at the scene. There was pictures which the police had taken of Callie's external injuries, and finally there was the 'rape swab' that Addison had taken and sent to her forensic friend for analysis which confirmed that Callie had been the victim of a sexual assault or numerous sexual assaults.
The police had obtained a search warrant for the Thompson household and had found it exactly as Callie had described, bars on the windows from outside, security screens on all doors exiting the premises which were lockable. No phones or computers in the house. A walk in wardrobe filled with men's clothing and a small dresser with sparse women's clothing and what clothing they did find was stained with blood and was covered in tears and holes.
They had found a chest in the garage which contained some items of interest also, firstly was a hand gun and several small boxes of ammo, a wad of bank statements, the deeds to the house which was almost paid off and some letters. Upon opening the letters they were acceptance letters from various med schools around the country, letters which Earl must have intercepted to stop Callie from moving away from him.
The police had also interviewed the neighbours, including the suspicious neighbour which Callie had said was Earl's friend and was watching her. The majority of the neighbours didn't even know of Callie's existence claiming that Earl lived alone apart from one neighbour who lived in a shabby looking house opposite and slightly to the right from Earl's house. This neighbour had taken great interest in the police's activities when they were searching the premises and had even gone as far as to reach out to the police to tell them that he had been watching the house since the Thomson's moved in and saw Callie sometimes cleaning or moving around the house. He had seen Earl come and go from the house every day but never once seen the woman of the house leave, he had always suspected something fishy going on but had deemed it none of his business so hadn't reported it, poor Callie had believed it had been Earls friend watching her and keeping tabs on her when in fact it was just a nosy neighbour who could have helped her had she known.
Upon investigating the claim for missing money from Callie's trust fund they had found that a weekly standing order had been set up into Earl's bank account for a thousand bucks a week which they had traced and had been set up at a computer in Earls workplace.
Yes the evidence against Earl was extensive and very damning, but John wanted him to get a maximum sentence and therefore needed the brunettes cooperation in testifying. Winning was John's main goal but the incentive from Carlos if he won the case was an added bonus, he had offered the man a ten thousand dollar reward if Earl received the maximum sentence, and like anyone, he had already figured out how he was going to spend that money.
John was unsure about divulging all the information to Callie pre trial, he had told her the basics the he knew she already knew but kept things like the missing money, the acceptance letters and the nosy neighbour to himself so far. He wanted the jury to witness Callie's reaction when she found out that information. It was hardly fair, he knew, to drop it on the brunette mid trial, but he knew her reaction would only cement the case further to the jury and so he kept his cards close to his chest.
Finally they reached a point where Callie could no longer go on, she was a wreck and all they were doing was going round in circles that made the brunette snappy and then apologetic so he called it a day and sent Callie on her way.
Arizona was waiting for her in the foyer and offered a tentative smile when the brunette exited, she had been waiting for three hours, passing the time by reading up on medical journals related to cases she was working on at the hospital, as soon as she saw Callie exiting the room she threw the journals back in her satchel and stood to greet her friend. She didn't expect for Callie to throw herself into pale arms and begin to sob.
"Hey its ok, I've got you Calliope" Arizona soothed softly into black hair as she held the sobbing Latina tightly and allowed her to release all her emotions. They stood like that for around ten minutes. John had exited the office and upon seeing the state of the brunette he threw an apologetic smile to the blonde before making his way to his private office to work on some notes for the trial.
Finally Callie pulled herself together enough to pull back and smiled sadly at the blonde, her eyes full of pain and misery at what she had endured that day.
"Let's go get an ice cream" Arizona suggested and all Callie could do was nod. Arizona fished in her satchel for a packet of tissues and offered them to the brunette who took them and began wiping at her face, glad that she hadn't bothered with any make up that day. Once she was sorted and the used tissues were discarded in the bin, she took Arizona's hand in her own needing the strength that only the blonde could provide. They walked hand in hand down the street a few blocks until they came to a Baskin-Robbins.
They entered the store in a comfortable silence and spoke only to order their ice creams. Finally breaking hands they found a booth, they took a seat and the silence continued. Arizona kept a watchful eye on the brunette as she sat lost in her thoughts. Eventually she decided it was time to pop the bubble.
"So..." She started but couldn't think of anything else to say so left the word hanging awkwardly in the air.
"You can ask" Callie said, finally looking the blonde in the eyes.
"If you don't want to talk about it we can discuss something else" Arizona said evenly, she wanted to hear all about what had happened but she knew it had already been a taxing day for the Latina and didn't want to push her any further.
"It was fine... I mean it wasn't but it was, if you know what I mean"
"Well that's as clear as a cloud" Arizona smiled softly to show she was joking.
"We went through everything, he explained what to expect from Earl's defence attorneys and then he went through the kinds of questions they would ask me and coached me on how to answer them. It was basically several hours of being asked the same five questions and me answering them and getting told off for not showing enough emotion or for being too blasé with my answer... I don't think I have the mental strength to do this in front of Earl" Callie spat out Earl's name like it was a bad taste in her mouth.
"You can do this Calliope, I know you can. You are the strongest person I have ever met"
"I don't feel very strong" Callie admitted.
"But don't you see, that's what makes you so strong. You don't feel it but you keep going anyway... Calliope your amazing, your miraculous!" Arizona says with wide eyes, wondering if she had said too much.
"Well im glad someone thinks I'm strong" Callie smiles softly at the compliment Arizona gave her.
"Always Calliope, always" Arizona smiled in return.