Homework sucks. But you guys rock! Thank you so much for the feedback! Story's getting kinda close to the end. But I've got an idea for a sequel. I'm just waiting to hear back from someone if they're okay with my story (I'm working off her idea).
The chapter might be a little law-heavy, but some of these things need to be done to set up my sequel.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It took me another week before I was able to go back to school. I worked on all the work the teachers had sent for me, and I attended the mandatory counselling. And I had been feeling better. It wasn't so hard to get out of bed in the morning. But going back to school was still harder than I thought it would be. So I made a vow, to myself, that no matter how bad things got, I wouldn't let Dean affect me anymore.
"How are you?" Ash asked sincerely when I met her Monday morning. I had told her what had happened the week before, when I had gotten back from the hospital.
"Okay."
"You look great."
"Thanks." I smiled. The doctors had told me that my weight was getting too low, and I had put on a couple of pounds. I didn't think I looked too hideous after gaining weight, and I finally didn't look so pale. That, of course, would have meant that I had to get a new line of make-up so that I didn't look stupid. At least a year ago. This time, I had just decided to keep away from make-up. I kind of liked the idea of getting to sleep for and extra twenty minutes.
"And you know I'm here for you?"
"Always." We hugged, and I looked up at the school.
"Are you ready?"
I smiled and nodded. It was time that I started to get my life back. I took a deep breath and stepped in.
Things went fairly smoothly. Rumours had been spreading around the school about why I was away. The most popular, that I was pregnant with Spinner's baby. Between Hazel, Ash, Spinner, and Manny (Who I now considered a true friend), the rumour never got too far. And the teachers were pretty cool about it, except for a couple who were walking on eggshells around me. All and all, I made it trough the day pretty smoothly. In fact, it went well until Friday when I got home.
Everything was quiet. Mikey and mom were both at work. I dropped my bag near the door, kicked off my shoes and pulled out a carton of ice cream. I took out a spoon, and took a bite, when I saw the message light blinking on my answering machine. I pressed the play button.
"Paige, it's Officer Collins. Give me a call when you get this."
I took a deep breath and another bite of my ice cream, though I felt sick. I didn't like the tone of his voice. I put down the spoon and picked up the phone, then took several deep breaths before I managed to dial the number that I now knew by heart. He picked up on the third ring, in his usual way.
"Officer Collins."
"It's Paige," I said flatly. "I got your message."
"I'm glad you called. Dean's going to be in court next Tuesday."
"Why?"
"His lawyer has made a motion to sever the charges."
"And in English. . .?"
"His lawyer is asking the judge to try each of your cases separately."
"So what will that change?"
"If he succeeds, then there isn't enough evidence to try your cases. Or anyone's other than Manny's."
I nearly dropped the phone. "He'd get away with it?"
"No. He just wouldn't go away as long if he was convicted."
"How long are you talking about?"
"For Manny, about six years. For you, maybe a bit more."
"He gets more for breaking a window than raping Manny?"
"And your assault."
I had forgotten about that. He had arrested Dean for attacking me the day I had a breakdown. "So he does away for how long?"
"All charges, the maximum is 33 years."
"He's getting charged as an adult?"
"He was sixteen when he committed his crimes. That makes him an adult in court."
"So he can still go away for a long time?"
"Can and will. But we don't even know if the judge will sever the charges. So he could go away for a very long time."
A very long time. I repeated that in my head. A very long time. I smiled. A very long time. This was a very good thing. I said good bye and looked over at the ice cram which was now a blob on the counter and took a bite.
A very long time.
Or no time at all.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Manny and I sat together in the front row of the courtroom. It was Tuesday afternoon and we had gotten out of school to come see the trial. Or as officer Collins called it, the motion. Who knew what all these law expressions meant?
"Are you nervous?" Manny asked, starring straight ahead.
"Yup," I replied, staring ahead as well. At nothing in particular, but just staring in general. "You?"
"Uh-huh."
"Did I miss anything?" A male voice asked from behind. I turned and saw Officer Collins.
"What are you doing here?" I asked as he slid into the bench beside us.
"I wanted to see what happens. I've got a personal interest in seeing that this guy gets put away for a long time. And if anyone asks, I was interviewing you about. . . something."
I smiled, despite everything that was happening. Officer Collins was a pretty alright guy. I saw women piling into the courtroom at the back, all very well made up: perfect hair, fancy clothes. One I could have sworn I'd seen on the news. I felt very underdressed in white jeans and a blue sweater. I had spent hours trying to decide what to wear. I didn't want to look like a slut, just in case the judge saw me. It was stupid, but it was the only hope I had left. Finally, the judge came in, and we all had to stand up. I systematically rose and sat with everyone else. Manny grabbed my hand and I squeezed hers.
The lawyers started screaming at each other using words I had never heard before. They were fast and intense. I couldn't figure out what was going on. My nails dug deep into Manny's hand. She didn't say anything.
Finally, something made sense. I understood what the judge said. "Motion granted."
I turned to Officer Collins. "He got it, didn't he?"
He nodded. "I'll explain what's happening after."
The verbal tennis match continued. Every time one lawyer spat something out, the other lawyer shot back. When the judge spoke again, I understood her. "Charges on victims one through six are dismissed."
But it didn't end there. They continued shooting, and this time I understood something Dean's lawyer said. I hated his lawyer. He looked like the actor Tim Curry. Tim Curry always played a bad guy. I hated Tim Curry.
"All the Crown has in the line of a complaining witness is mentally disturbed teenage who proceeded to have a mental breakdown that after noon."
"They're talking about me, aren't they?" I asked. He nodded. That was me. A mentally disturbed teenager. A mentally disturbed teenager? Was I really that crazy?
"Motion granted. The assault charges are dismissed."
"He just got away with cutting me?" I hissed. Manny hadn't moved or said anything the whole time. I wasn't sure she had even blinked. The judge pounded her gavel, and everyone around me got up. I stayed sitting.
"Paige?" Manny asked. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I said, standing up. "I'm fine." Dean got up and started walking out of the courtroom with his lawyer, then stopped in front of me.
"Oh, look at the Poor Thing," he said, mocking sympathy. I lunged at him.
"You bastard," I screamed. "You . . You Rapist!"
"Paige," Officer Collins said, pulling me back. Dean snickered and kept walking. I kept fighting, trying to pull my arms free from his grasp.
"No!" I shouted. "Why does he just get away with this again?" I asked, still fighting him, but not quite as much. "Why can he do whatever he wants to me?" Now I felt deflated, my arms turning limp in his grasp. "Why can't he just leave me alone?" I felt my legs crumble beneath me, in the now empty courtroom. He caught me, and I leaned my body into his, allowing a sob to escape. Then another. And another. He held me up and allowed me to cry. I stood there a minute, two, five. . . who knows how long? Finally, I pulled back, and I realized that I had broken the vow to myself, the one that said they I would let Dean affect me so much. Immediately, guilt began to consume me.
"What happened?" Manny asked. "What did the judge say?"
"All the rape charges, except yours, were thrown out." He turned to me. "And the judge threw out charges on your assault case."
I didn't want to deal with this anymore. "I want to go home."
The chapter might be a little law-heavy, but some of these things need to be done to set up my sequel.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It took me another week before I was able to go back to school. I worked on all the work the teachers had sent for me, and I attended the mandatory counselling. And I had been feeling better. It wasn't so hard to get out of bed in the morning. But going back to school was still harder than I thought it would be. So I made a vow, to myself, that no matter how bad things got, I wouldn't let Dean affect me anymore.
"How are you?" Ash asked sincerely when I met her Monday morning. I had told her what had happened the week before, when I had gotten back from the hospital.
"Okay."
"You look great."
"Thanks." I smiled. The doctors had told me that my weight was getting too low, and I had put on a couple of pounds. I didn't think I looked too hideous after gaining weight, and I finally didn't look so pale. That, of course, would have meant that I had to get a new line of make-up so that I didn't look stupid. At least a year ago. This time, I had just decided to keep away from make-up. I kind of liked the idea of getting to sleep for and extra twenty minutes.
"And you know I'm here for you?"
"Always." We hugged, and I looked up at the school.
"Are you ready?"
I smiled and nodded. It was time that I started to get my life back. I took a deep breath and stepped in.
Things went fairly smoothly. Rumours had been spreading around the school about why I was away. The most popular, that I was pregnant with Spinner's baby. Between Hazel, Ash, Spinner, and Manny (Who I now considered a true friend), the rumour never got too far. And the teachers were pretty cool about it, except for a couple who were walking on eggshells around me. All and all, I made it trough the day pretty smoothly. In fact, it went well until Friday when I got home.
Everything was quiet. Mikey and mom were both at work. I dropped my bag near the door, kicked off my shoes and pulled out a carton of ice cream. I took out a spoon, and took a bite, when I saw the message light blinking on my answering machine. I pressed the play button.
"Paige, it's Officer Collins. Give me a call when you get this."
I took a deep breath and another bite of my ice cream, though I felt sick. I didn't like the tone of his voice. I put down the spoon and picked up the phone, then took several deep breaths before I managed to dial the number that I now knew by heart. He picked up on the third ring, in his usual way.
"Officer Collins."
"It's Paige," I said flatly. "I got your message."
"I'm glad you called. Dean's going to be in court next Tuesday."
"Why?"
"His lawyer has made a motion to sever the charges."
"And in English. . .?"
"His lawyer is asking the judge to try each of your cases separately."
"So what will that change?"
"If he succeeds, then there isn't enough evidence to try your cases. Or anyone's other than Manny's."
I nearly dropped the phone. "He'd get away with it?"
"No. He just wouldn't go away as long if he was convicted."
"How long are you talking about?"
"For Manny, about six years. For you, maybe a bit more."
"He gets more for breaking a window than raping Manny?"
"And your assault."
I had forgotten about that. He had arrested Dean for attacking me the day I had a breakdown. "So he does away for how long?"
"All charges, the maximum is 33 years."
"He's getting charged as an adult?"
"He was sixteen when he committed his crimes. That makes him an adult in court."
"So he can still go away for a long time?"
"Can and will. But we don't even know if the judge will sever the charges. So he could go away for a very long time."
A very long time. I repeated that in my head. A very long time. I smiled. A very long time. This was a very good thing. I said good bye and looked over at the ice cram which was now a blob on the counter and took a bite.
A very long time.
Or no time at all.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Manny and I sat together in the front row of the courtroom. It was Tuesday afternoon and we had gotten out of school to come see the trial. Or as officer Collins called it, the motion. Who knew what all these law expressions meant?
"Are you nervous?" Manny asked, starring straight ahead.
"Yup," I replied, staring ahead as well. At nothing in particular, but just staring in general. "You?"
"Uh-huh."
"Did I miss anything?" A male voice asked from behind. I turned and saw Officer Collins.
"What are you doing here?" I asked as he slid into the bench beside us.
"I wanted to see what happens. I've got a personal interest in seeing that this guy gets put away for a long time. And if anyone asks, I was interviewing you about. . . something."
I smiled, despite everything that was happening. Officer Collins was a pretty alright guy. I saw women piling into the courtroom at the back, all very well made up: perfect hair, fancy clothes. One I could have sworn I'd seen on the news. I felt very underdressed in white jeans and a blue sweater. I had spent hours trying to decide what to wear. I didn't want to look like a slut, just in case the judge saw me. It was stupid, but it was the only hope I had left. Finally, the judge came in, and we all had to stand up. I systematically rose and sat with everyone else. Manny grabbed my hand and I squeezed hers.
The lawyers started screaming at each other using words I had never heard before. They were fast and intense. I couldn't figure out what was going on. My nails dug deep into Manny's hand. She didn't say anything.
Finally, something made sense. I understood what the judge said. "Motion granted."
I turned to Officer Collins. "He got it, didn't he?"
He nodded. "I'll explain what's happening after."
The verbal tennis match continued. Every time one lawyer spat something out, the other lawyer shot back. When the judge spoke again, I understood her. "Charges on victims one through six are dismissed."
But it didn't end there. They continued shooting, and this time I understood something Dean's lawyer said. I hated his lawyer. He looked like the actor Tim Curry. Tim Curry always played a bad guy. I hated Tim Curry.
"All the Crown has in the line of a complaining witness is mentally disturbed teenage who proceeded to have a mental breakdown that after noon."
"They're talking about me, aren't they?" I asked. He nodded. That was me. A mentally disturbed teenager. A mentally disturbed teenager? Was I really that crazy?
"Motion granted. The assault charges are dismissed."
"He just got away with cutting me?" I hissed. Manny hadn't moved or said anything the whole time. I wasn't sure she had even blinked. The judge pounded her gavel, and everyone around me got up. I stayed sitting.
"Paige?" Manny asked. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I said, standing up. "I'm fine." Dean got up and started walking out of the courtroom with his lawyer, then stopped in front of me.
"Oh, look at the Poor Thing," he said, mocking sympathy. I lunged at him.
"You bastard," I screamed. "You . . You Rapist!"
"Paige," Officer Collins said, pulling me back. Dean snickered and kept walking. I kept fighting, trying to pull my arms free from his grasp.
"No!" I shouted. "Why does he just get away with this again?" I asked, still fighting him, but not quite as much. "Why can he do whatever he wants to me?" Now I felt deflated, my arms turning limp in his grasp. "Why can't he just leave me alone?" I felt my legs crumble beneath me, in the now empty courtroom. He caught me, and I leaned my body into his, allowing a sob to escape. Then another. And another. He held me up and allowed me to cry. I stood there a minute, two, five. . . who knows how long? Finally, I pulled back, and I realized that I had broken the vow to myself, the one that said they I would let Dean affect me so much. Immediately, guilt began to consume me.
"What happened?" Manny asked. "What did the judge say?"
"All the rape charges, except yours, were thrown out." He turned to me. "And the judge threw out charges on your assault case."
I didn't want to deal with this anymore. "I want to go home."