Well, first thing's first I am back to updating again! I was so busy with working online for work, having zoom meetings that I needed to take a break from the computer after my work was done, now I am off for the summer and I have a couple months to get back into my writing and updating as much as I need to. Thank-you for being patient and waiting for my return. Thank-you to everyone that followed, reviewed and alerted Best Shot I always appreciate you, thank-you.
Hayden:
I sit in the hotel room holding onto the number of the women's rights activist in my hand as Roman sits next to me. Roman and I spent a good bit of the night talking about my decision to pursue opening the case against Mack again or not. I know this time it will be different because he's not just a college football star, he's a quarterback in the NFL so it's going to gain more national attention. I mean it has already been brought up in the media when Roman was named the head coach for the Steelers and if we reopen the case against him my privacy will be gone, the entire world will know every detail of what happened in my past not to mention what kind of media effect will opening the case have on Roman's career, what kind of effect will it have on my children and what effect will it have on the girls. I took it all into consideration as I made my decision. I know it's not going to be easy, there's going to be a lot of publicity surrounding it but I also feel if I don't reopen the case then I am just letting Mack get away with what he's done in his past. Roman never even hesitated to support me in this, he told me whatever I choose to do he will be there for me no matter what. I look down at the number trying to gain the courage to call Ms. Boyer back. "Hayden, the phone call isn't going to make itself," says Roman.
"I know," I sigh, "it's just is this the right thing to do?"
"If I can be honest I think it's the right thing to do, it's not about me, it's about you," he says.
"Yeah, but you know how it's going to go, everything is going to come to light. They're going to start digging up information, they're going to talk about my abortion, they're going to talk about our affair," I say, "and not to mention if Mack is found innocent I could face charges in the state of Georgia for falsely accusing him of rape," I say, "is it worth it?"
"Our affair already came to light, Hayden, that's no secret, it hasn't been a secret that his how I lost my head coach position for Georgia Tech because I was having an affair so if they bring it up then they bring it up it's no secret from the world."
"I know but what if that interferes with your custody battle with Shea?" I ask, "all of this could affect that and you getting custody of Ky and Nova," I say.
"And that's why I have a really good lawyer," he says, "don't worry about the custody thing right now, worry about doing what you need to do."
"I know but I am just worried about what could happen," I say.
"This could be what needs to happen, Mack did a lot of shit back in college and he walked away no problems. And I don't know if he raped this Bayley girl or not but he's done it once, he did it again and as long as they keep letting him get away with it he's going to keep doing it. Don't worry about what it's going to do to my football coaching career," he says, "if I lose my job over it, it wouldn't be the first time. We will be okay," he says.
"I know," I say, "it's just I don't know."
"Hayden, stop stalling," he says, "call her."
"Okay," I say as I pick up my cellphone. I hit the keypad on my phone and start to key in the numbers. My fingers shake as I hit each number, I'm taking one of the biggest risks of my life, the first risk was having an affair with Roman and that risk turned out pretty good as we are married and have two kids on the way.
I put the phone on speaker after I hit the green phone button, the ringing of the phone breaks the silence between us. It rings a couple times before the voice on the other end answers. "Alexandra Boyer," she says in her southern accent.
"Hello, Alexandra, this is Hayden Reigns calling," I say into the phone as Roman takes my hand into his.
"Hello, Hayden," she says, "How are you?"
"I'm okay," I answer, "so I have been doing some thinking about your phone call yesterday. I have talked to my husband about everything."
"That's good to hear," she says.
"I just want to make sure that if I do this that I will not be held accountable if things go wrong," I say. "I am about to have two sons and I can't afford to go to jail."
"Honestly, Hayden, I have looked over your case and there is nothing that is telling me that Mack won't be indicted on rape charges. I don't know how they dismissed the case but there is no way that they can dismiss the case now," she says, "the evidence is clear."
"Okay," I say, "I want to do this, I want to reopen the case."
"Wonderful," she says. "you're just going to need to come to Atlanta and give the police your statement."
"I have to go to Atlanta?" I ask.
"Yes, they need a statement from you to reopen the case."
"All right," I say. "I guess I could come to Atlanta," I say dreading the thought of having to go back to Atlanta. There was once a time that I loved Atlanta, a time when it held all good memories for me but my memories have been tainted by rape, abortion, corruption and I dread having to go through this all again. I left Atlanta as soon as I graduated from college and I never went back.
"Wonderful, when do you plan to come to Atlanta?" she asks.
"I could probably come this weekend, I have to make a flight and make hotel reservations but I should be able to make it there this weekend."
"Wonderful," she says, "I look forward to meeting with you."
"Thank-you, I look forward to meeting you also," I say. "I will text you the details."
"I'll look forward to hearing from you, Hayden."
"Okay," I say.
"Hayden, you're doing the right thing. You deserve to have this case reopened, you deserve justice for what happened to you. I know you used to be a victim's advocate, you're still a victim," she says, "and you still deserve your peace, your justice and your closure."
"I'm not a victim," I correct her, "I am a survivor."
"That's right you're a survivor," she says, "and you still deserve justice."
"Thank-you, Alexandra," I say.
"You're welcome," she says, "Hayden, Mack is going to pay for what he's done."
"I hope so," I say, "Have a good day."
"You too," she says before we hang up the phones.
"Well," I say putting my phone down, "that's done."
"It sounds like it's just getting started," he says. "You ready to go back to Atlanta?"
"It's not my favorite place but it's what I have to do," I say, "I just hate Atlanta."
"You and me both," says Roman. "I'll book us a flight."
"Um, are you going to be able to go?" I ask.
"I wouldn't let you do it alone," he says. "We're in this together, remember when we got married we promised to be there for each other in the good and the bad times, to stand by each others' sides? The season hasn't started yet so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to fly out to Atlanta for the weekend."
"Roman, lets face it the 49ers need you, I can do this myself, I'll go to Atlanta for a day or two and then be back here," I promise him.
"Are you sure?" he asks.
"I'm sure, Baby," I say giving him a reassuring look. "I am just going to give the police a statement I will be okay."
"Hayden," he says taking me into his arms, "you're the strongest woman I know. And I know this isn't easy for you but I honestly believe that this is what needs to be done and you're doing the right thing and I am going to support you every step of the way just like I did 5 years ago. I will keep being by your side facing whatever trials you face."
"I appreciate that," I say wrapping my arms around him. "I love you."
"I love you too," he says kissing the top of my head. "Cause when I see you smile I see the sun sink down on a coast in California, and there's no doubt because of you I'm not the man I was before you. I'm not saying that I'm perfect cause girl you know I'm not but I'll love you with everything I've got, Girl I'll give you my best shot," he says quoting the lyrics from our wedding song Best Shot. Roman is a simple man with a complex life, he was a womanizer before I met him and the fact we had an affair behind his wife's back to start our relationship off he knows he's made mistakes, I know I've made mistakes but we're not perfect, we never have been, we never claimed to be and we know we never will be but we love each other perfectly every mistake, every imperfection we love each other in a perfect way and I know that as we grow in love, grow together that we will always give each other the best shot of the best love possible. I kiss his lips softly as he kisses me back.
On Friday morning I arrive in Atlanta, Georgia after flying out from San Francisco. As soon as Roman and I were done spending the afternoon together making love after talking to Alexandra Roman booked me a first class round trip to Atlanta and booked me a hotel room. As soon as I arrive in Atlanta I am overwhelmed with emotions, I'm happy for all the good times I have had here, the time I met Roman at the bar, the place where I went to school is here, my husband proposed to me here but I'm sad and hurt over the pain this city brings as the bad memories come flooding back from Roman losing his job, being raped by Mack, finding out I was pregnant and making the decision to abort the child I was carrying out of fear of Mack being the father. Sometimes I find myself regretting that choice but also sometimes I am grateful what I did because had the baby been Mack's I don't know if I would want him in my life forever and don't know if I could love the child the same it's horrible to say but it's the truth. Roman and I made the best choice at the right time for us and our relationship as hard as it may have been. Being in Atlanta is definitely bittersweet for me. I wish I could be back in San Francisco helping Roman move our things into our new house but he said he had it all and his friends and some of his family were going to help him with everything and by the time I get back to San Francisco I will have a new house to live in.
I agreed to meet with Alexandra around noon so that we could have lunch together and get to know each other before we go to the police station together. I feel sick to my stomach all through lunch not able to eat anything nervous about what's to come next but the truth is I like Alexandra, she's just like me and wanting women's voices to be heard. I have been an advocate for victim's rights for years now and I miss working but this break is definitely needed after the Bayley and Mack situation. I need to focus on my babies and focus on my life. I will go back to working in the future but right now this is what I need to do, what I need to focus on making MY voice heard. How can I advocate for so many victims; women and children, expect them to speak up when I was hesitant to do it myself. The truth is I can't so I am doing this for ME, for MY closure, MY justice and MY peace.
Walking into the police station brings back memories as well, not very good ones so many questions like how much did I have to drink, did you say yes? What were you wearing that night come to mind, all the victim shaming questions they asked me if they could somehow turn it around to be MY fault. I was so young and so naïve about a flawed system but now I am 5 years older, 5 years wiser and 5 years stronger than I was. I can do this, I KNOW I can do this. I take a deep breath as I walk up to the front desk. "How can I help you?" asks the woman behind the desk.
"I'm here to report a rape," I say.
"Okay," she says. "When did the rape occur?" she asks.
"September 13, 2014,"I answer right away thinking back to that night, a date I will NEVER forget in my life.
"All right, Sweetheart," she says with so much sympathy in her voice, "Have a seat and Detective Peterson will be with you shortly," she says.
"Thank-you," I say as I take a seat next to Alexandra waiting to talk to a Detective, it's a different Detective than who handled the case the first time so I am feeling a little more hopeful and Roman and I also have a new lawyer as well to help in the case; not someone that's just going to give up with a bit of money thrown at them and I just hope that if it goes to trial that we have a fair judge that hasn't been corrupted by Mack's family.
"You okay?" asks Alexandra.
"My heart is racing," I say, "but I think I will be okay."
"You'll be awesome," she says, "you're a strong woman, you've got this," she says as the detective comes out. He is definitely much younger than the last detective that handled the case, he's at least in his early 30's, dark hair, dark eyes and a honey caramel skin tone dressed in a nice grey suit.
He makes his way over to us, "I'm Detective Peterson, I am looking for the woman reporting the rape."
"Hello, I'm Hayden Reigns," I say as I stand up, "I'm the woman reporting the rape."
"It's nice to meet you, Hayden, and Reigns you wouldn't happen to be related to Roman Reigns the old Georgia Tech coach would you?"
"That's my husband," I say before we shake hands.
"Oh interesting," he says, "I'm a big fan"
"Thank-you," I say with a smile before he leads me to the back.
We walk into a private room, he tells me to have a seat at the table as he shuts the door behind us. He walks over to the table and takes a seat across from me and pulls out a tablet and a pen. "So you were raped what? 5 years ago?" he asks.
"4 ½ years ago," I answer. "September 13, 2014," I say.
He writes it down on the piece of paper. "So can you tell me what happened?" he asks, "since it has been so long there is a chance we may not pursue without any evidence."
"Well, that is the thing, I pressed charges and reported it September 14, 2014 and they dismissed it without prejudice, so I wanted to reopen the case, they should still have the file and all the evidence."
"Okay," he says, "I will look into it but can you at least tell me what happened."
"Yes," I say taking a deep breath thinking back to that night. "Well, it was the day that Georgia and Georgia Tech had their annual game, the same day and the last time Georgia Tech had beaten Georgia in the game so there was a party that night to celebrate it. My friend and I went to the party to celebrate and to have fun. While at the party Mack Ryan continued to harass me, hit on me several times, I told him several times that I was not interested in him as I had a boyfriend at the time. He didn't let up but somehow I managed to get away from him but of course he found me later on in the evening when I was sitting outside with my friend, I told him once again I wasn't interested and he told me he knows and offered my friend and me a drink. I took the drink and drank it. It wasn't that long before I started to feel funny, I don't know how to describe, just I felt off, I started to feel dizzy, the drink hit me hard, something didn't feel right. I stood up to get away but I remember stumbling, losing my balance many times. Drinking never affected me that fast but for some reason I was dizzy, I couldn't catch my footing and I remember Mack coming up to my side telling me that he had me and that he would help me get home. That's what I remember before I passed out. The next morning I woke up naked, in Mack's bed, in his dorm room sore, I was bruising on my legs and on my wrists. I told him I knew he raped me and he told me that he didn't rape me, that I wanted it and that I enjoyed it. I told him I was passed out and he told me that I didn't and threatened me if I went to the police."
Detective Peterson writes down my statement, and says, "and you reported it the next day?"
"Yes," I say. "and I had a rape kit done," I explain. "They found his semen inside of me along with a number of other sperm samples inside me."
"Okay," he says. "And you told him no?"
"I was passed out, I didn't have a chance to say no but at the party I told him several times that I wasn't interested in his advances."
"Good," he says, "you said no and you were unconscious that's what matters here, you never consented and that makes it a rape case. I'm going to pursue this case, I just want to look over the file," he says. He calls for someone to bring him the file on the case from 2014. "It's okay, Hayden, Mack is going to be arrested, having the file and evidence from 2014 will be helpful in the case and making sure the charges stick."
"Thank-you," I say feeling relieved to finally be believed, finally being credible something I wasn't back in 2014 according to a flawed, corrupted system.
A few minutes later someone comes into the room with the file Detective Peterson requested. He looked over the report, looked at the circumstantial evidence they had, the toxicology report from the hospital, the rape kit, the cell phone video, the pictures, the threats from Mack and his family. It was all there in black in white in front of Detective Peterson, he shakes his head and then looks at me with his dark, sympathetic eyes and says, "Hayden, I am sorry you have to go through this again. With all this evidence you should have had a case and the charges shouldn't have been dismissed. I mean in the toxicology report they found high levels of Rohypnol and GHB which indicates that you were drugged at the time of your rape, the semen of Mack Ryan was found inside of you, there were videos and pictures of you unconscious being raped." He shakes his head again and says, "Hayden, I am so sorry. I am going to make this right, we are going to make this right," he says and I feel the tears in my eyes welling up no one has ever apologized to me for that night, for the dismissing of the case, no one has ever believed me except for Roman. It feels good to have the words said to me, to be told that THEY made a mistake and that I never did. The tears roll down my cheeks when I hear Detective Peterson ask me to sign my statement which I do with tears falling from my eyes and then he tells me they are putting a warrant out for Mack's arrest and I just break down crying, letting go of all the pain, all the angst I have felt since September 2014. And for the first time in almost 5 years I feel HOPE!
ROMAN:
It's been a couple days since Hayden left to go to Atlanta, she told me that they were going to press charges against Mack and reopen the case along with a warrant out for his arrest, I am grateful for the news as I stand in my sons' nursery finishing it up with what we have to surprise Hayden when she comes home in the morning from Georgia. I took the time while she was away between coaching football and being home to move into our new house so that everything is ready for her and with the NFL season starting soon I wanted to have all of this ready, especially the nursery. I put together two white cribs, painted the walls in the nursery and put a rocking chair into the room along with other things Hayden has requested and while I was trying to get the nursery together and get the house together I have been talking to Hayden's mom and my mom planning out her baby shower. I know Hayden said she didn't need a baby shower or she didn't want one but she needs one and I want her to be surprised, my mom and Hayden's mom are handling that while I handle football, getting custody of my two kids and get the house together the only thing Hayden has to focus on is writing her book, this upcoming trial if it gets there and relaxing.
My phone starts to go off as I walk out of the nursery, rolling my eyes thinking that my mom is calling me about baby shower details and dates that work best for me, I already told her I don't have to be there it's a female thing and not to worry about me since my schedule will be so hectic from September through January. I pull my phone out ready to answer the text my mom sent to see that it wasn't a text from her at all but a text from many of my friends, my phone blowing up as the word gets out, the news alert chimes on my phone; MACK RYAN, Quarterback for Pittsburgh Steelers has been arrested and charged in the rape of San Francisco coach Roman Reigns' wife Hayden Reigns from September 2014. "It's about time," I say to myself, relieved that he is finally being charged for his crimes and I know the media backlash is coming but I know Hayden and I will get through it just like we got through it nearly 5 years ago. We've got this, we're stronger and older now, with nothing to lose we are in this together.
*A/N: So what do you think about Hayden's choice to reopen the case? Do you think the charges are going to stick or do you think they will be dismissed again? What did you think of Hayden's thoughts on Atlanta? What did you think of Detective Peterson apologizing to her? Is that a long overdue apology she needed? What do you think about how Roman and Hayden have grown over the years, do you believe they are stronger together than they were when this all began? And what do you think of Roman's support for Hayden? Please review and thank-you for reading.