your father sexually abused you for two years. How can we know you weren’t a virgin before you claim the first incident happened?”
My blood boils with rage and my fists clench automatically. It’s like being trapped in the same room with the Lloyds, Blake, and Irving.
“Objection,” Len calls out. “Relevance, Your Honor.”
The judge’s gaze shifts to Gary.
“Prosecution claims Miss Parker was a virgin when my client allegedly began sexually abusing her. Subsequently causing the damage documented by Dr. Black in the medical records they introduced into evidence,” Gary answers.
I want to claw his eyes out.
“Overruled,” the judge states, then glances at me. “Answer the question, Miss Parker.”
I press my lips together and then take a breath. “My parents were so controlling I couldn’t do anything without their permission. Where was I going to have sex with a boy that they didn’t know about?”
“What about at school?”
“They knew when I wasn’t in class. In fact, they grounded me one time for walking out of class before it even started because I was so upset. And it happened to be the morning after one of the incidents,” I say, throwing one of his terms back at him.
“Are you taking birth control pills?”
I stare at him hard and furious. I already answered this. “Yes.”
“But you’re not sexually active?”
“My mother made me take them after the abortion so my father couldn’t get me pregnant again.”
“Why not stop taking it now?”
“I did when I moved in with the Jerichos, but the nausea and cramps from my period were debilitating.”
“Why didn’t you fight your father off when he allegedly sexually abused you?”
Yes, blame the victim once again because holding the perpetrator responsible is illogical. “I tried the first time, but he had me pinned. Fighting made him more brutal.”
“So you willingly let him rape you repeatedly?”
“I didn’t willingly let him do anything,” I say, raising my voice. “I’ll rephrase for you. Trying to defend myself only made the beatings and the rape more painful.”
“Can you tell us why you never reported the alleged rape when the Jerichos took guardianship of you?”
“I was embarrassed after my father told me I was damaged goods over and over again, because I believed him. I thought if they knew, they wouldn’t want me anymore.”
“And your therapist thinks you are mentally stable?”
My stomach churns. He’s trying to tear me down right here. I can’t let him. “Yes.”
“How long have you been in therapy?”
“Since going to live with the Jerichos.”
“Did they force you to go?”
“No. I needed help adjusting and moving on from the abuse.”
“Did your father physically or sexually abuse your sister?” he asks with no segue. Probably trying to throw me off, looking for an opening to pick apart with semantics.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“How am I supposed to know? I wasn’t privy to their decision making.”
He ignores my comment. “Did she witness any of the alleged abuse?”
“I don’t know. I was too busy being beaten,” I say, lacing my words with disdain. “And it’s not something that was discussed openly in the house.”
“That’s all I have for now,” he says, returning to his seat next to my father.
The judge peers down from his perch. “You are excused, Miss Parker.
I rise with all the grace I can muster and make a beeline for the door. I can’t sit in there after that. It’s stifling. Jason follows me as I pass the bench where his parents, Arissa, Damian, and Hunter sit. Rose passes me on her way to the stand, concern marking her face, but I continue on.
Jason engulfs me in his arms in the hallway. I grab his button down shirt in my fists as I scream into his shoulder.
I hate Father.
I hate Gary.
His hands run up my back and into my hair, crushing me into his chest. My anxiety releases through a flurry of tears and my energy rushes out of me like a wave charging the shoreline. My knees buckle and Jason sits on his haunches, rocking me back and forth.
He kisses me and rests his head on mine. “You did it,” he murmurs.
Andrew kneels next to us and strokes my shoulders. “I’m so proud of you, Sara.”
The three of us remain on the floor until the doors open and a surge of chattering people spills into the hallway. Jason wipes my face dry and I release his shirt, attempting to smooth it out.
“Sweetie,” Rose says.
I glance at her with bleary eyes.
“They’re taking a lunch break. Andrew and I have to stay in case they call us after lunch. Do you