asks, “Sara, how do you know the defendant knew your father was raping you?”
I like that Len uses that ugly word, instead of sugar coating it. Paint it for what it really is. “They were fighting one day and I overheard her yelling at him about it.”
“Lies!” Mother smacks the table with her palm while jumping out of her chair.
“Mrs. Parker, sit down,” the judge orders.
She reluctantly takes her seat and glares at me, daggers poised to throw in her eyes.
It’s a role reversal. At his trial, my father was quiet and in control of the temper he never controlled before. Maybe he knew that even if the facade was broken, he still needed to maintain a cool head.
Now, Mother’s outburst belies the poise she normally uses in public.
Does she have anything left to lose? Maybe this is the one thing outside of our DNA giving us the same hair and eyes that we’ll always have in common. We both know what it’s like to have nothing left to lose.
I want her to lose it all.
“She also knew I was probably pregnant when I told her I had been vomiting for a week. She took me to a gynecologist instead of my pediatrician. She scheduled the abortion at the end of the appointment and told me to tell no one on the way to school. She also had me take the birth control pills Dr. Black prescribed. It was the only time she didn’t scream and yell at me.”
“Did the defendant force you to have the abortion?”
“It was my choice and she was relieved when I voiced my decision.”
He continues questioning me for what feels like another hour. Then, he dips his head once in the direction of the defendant’s table and returns to his seat.
Mother’s lawyer stands, Edgar Thomas. He’s a carbon copy of Father’s lawyer. But his cross-examination is mild in comparison to Gary.
The judge calls for a lunch recess as soon as I’m excused from the stand. I file out of the courtroom with everyone and step away for a drink of water from the fountain down the hall. The cold water passes through my lips, refreshing me.
A hand grabs my arm and spins me around violently. Mother stares me down with a look of malice. “I never loved you. They placed you in my arms after you were born and I felt nothing. Nothing, Sara.”
No surprise there.
“They forced me to hold you before we went home. I hated every goddamned second of it.”
“Why me? Why not Victoria?” I have to know since she’s telling me this.
“She was different. I knew she would grow up to be just like me as soon as I saw her face.”
Sick, twisted, narcissistic. “Maybe you’re the one who needs therapy. Maybe there’s something wrong with you, but no one wanted to tell you because they knew you’d blow up.”
Out of nowhere, the palm of her hand connects with my cheek. I cover the sting with my hand, rooted in place and staring at her, vaguely aware of camera flashes going off around me.
“You filthy, lying bitch!” She raises her hand to slap me again, but a sheriffs grabs it and wrenches it behind her back into a waiting handcuff.
Everyone gawks as Jason runs to my side, trying to lead me away from her.
“You’re going to regret this, you whore!” she screams as the sheriff pulls her away. She fights against him, trying to close in on me. “You wait, Sara. Even if I do go to prison, they can’t keep me there forever. I will find you and make you pay!”
Another sheriff rushes in to help. They hook their arms through hers and drag her away, her shoes falling off in the struggle. My gaze is glued to her fading down the hallway, but her words echo loud in my head.
I will find you and make you pay!
Jason shakes me and I finally hear him calling my name. “Parker! Parker!” He grabs my face and turns it to him. Concern wrinkles his eyes.
The shock hits in a violent wave, my body trembling uncontrollably as tears gush.
His arms close around me. “It’s okay, Parker. She can’t hurt you. She can’t hurt you,” he repeats like a mantra.
I choke back the sobs. “You don’t understand. She always treated me with indifference or contempt.” I sniff. “She’s always composed in front of others. She wouldn’t lose it in public if she didn’t mean it.”
Another hand slides across my back and Len moves into my