“Yes. I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to be formally introduced and go over the evidence together, but the Warden of your school made it all but impossible to meet you before this moment.” Walker frowned before she went on. “However, I want you to know that this trial is in my very capable hands, and I will do my best to obtain the optimal result for all parties involved.”
Of course the Warden had been a jerk about this. As a victim, I should’ve received an interview, along with a thousand other things before this trial, but he’d illegally prevented me from having them.
No matter. We’d get this done regardless. Walker gave me a short nod before she proceeded to the prosecutor's desk, and that’s when the door opened, causing my insides to melt as my darkest nightmare entered the room.
John was escorted by a couple of officers. The feeling that came over me when he entered was akin to being dunked in a tank of ice water and having my insides ripped out all at once— and I knew, because I’d had my organs outside of my body before, and the nauseated, wrecked feeling I’d felt back then was the same I was experiencing now. He was wearing a suit, which was irksome— he’d been doing time in the Kinpago jail while waiting for his trial, and I wanted him to look like the criminal he was, not the clean-cut hometown boy he appeared to be.
He looked down the row of victims, before his gaze landed on me. Horror flooded through my bones, but I told myself I had to hold his gaze. I’d seen scarier things in my day than him. I wasn’t going to allow him to frighten me anymore.
Hesmiled, before he sat down.The absolute nerve of this piece of shit. Did he think this was funny? He probably assumed he was going to get off, but myself, Walker, and the five other girls next to me were going to hold him accountable.
There were a couple whimpers from the audience that sounded pathetic. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that Rosary was here, dressed in all black and looking like she was attending a funeral. My brother’s abusive ex-girlfriend had a hand on her heart as she gazed at John, playing the part of the astonished partner.
I still couldn’t believe she and John were together. I bet she’d bought his story that this was all made up and we were just a bunch of whores who wanted attention. That idea was confirmed when Rosary locked eyes with me, then gave me the cruelest look I’d ever received.
Ancestors, what some women would do for some dick.This was below even her.
The audience rose to their feet as the judge entered. The legal proceedings began, but I couldn’t pay attention to what was being announced. The words fluttered over my head and out the door as my eyes fixated on John. I was as fascinated by him as I was disturbed and disgusted by him. And that terrified me.
Don’t be ashamed. We’re all intrigued by what goes through the mind of a monster, Oberi told me.I’m not sure if we’ll get any answers today. But wewillhave justice, one way or another.
Oberi was right. As much as I wanted to understand the motives, and get to the bottom of thewhythat had happened to me, I wasn’t even sure John knew himself. I could look for answers today, but if none arose, I’d have to settle for the idea that he was a beast driven on by his twisted urgings, and nothing more.
I wasn’t sure if I could live with that. I didn’t want to be anopportunityfor this depraved individual, though perhaps that’s all I had been. Either way, I’d find out.
“We call to the stand the individual known as Victim Number One; Mrs. Ava-Marie Wahkin,” Walker declared. She turned to me, and my hands shook as I went to move forward.
They must’ve been talking for at least forty minutes, maybe an hour, but I’d been so absorbed in my thoughts that it’d gone by in a flash. I took a deep breath as I rolled to the front of the room, up the ramp and onto the witness stand beside the judge.
I reminded myself what I was here for. I wasn’t just doing this for me. I was doing this for Opal, for Ivy, and for all the other people who’d suffered at the hands of a monster. It was time for some payback.
Oberi growled as we passed the defendant’s desk, the hair on his spine standing upright. He bared his teeth in a warning to stay back. John gave my Familiar a look that said he’d kill him if we weren’t in a crowded courtroom.
Yeah, right. I’d rip open his innards and eat each one, and enjoy it, Oberi replied to my thoughts.
The eyes of every person in the room were on me as Walker approached. I didn’t know where to put my gaze. John bore his stare into my body, to try and intimidate me, and the act made me feel slimy. I refused to give him any attention as I attempted to find some other place to look. I tried to look at my family, but I couldn’t hold it. Despite knowing I didn’t have to feel ashamed, I still did, and it was going to be too hard to look at them while recounting my story. I knew they were going to get upset, and I didn’t wish to watch their devastation in real-time.
I ended up holding my gaze with Alexa Walker, and no one else. She was a professional.
“Mrs. Wahkin, can you please state your name, as well as give your account of what happened?” Walker asked calmly.
I did as she asked, then gave the date and approximate time of the event before I dove into my explanation. I tried to keep it simple; said I’d suffered a recent loss at the time, that John had known of that loss, and taken advantage of that, waiting until we were alone to attack. I stated I’d gone to the women’s shelter afterward, and completed an examination to gather evidence.
“Is there a reason you didn’t come forward until a few months prior to this trial date?” Walker asked, although the question wasn’t cruel. She was trying to divert what accusations the defense was going to throw at me.
“Yes. I was afraid of the accused, and concerned about my family, as well concerned for my reputation within the tribe,” I replied.
“You are a daughter of a chieftain, correct?” Walker asked.
“Yes. Liam Mitoh is my father, and the chief of Toaqua. I am not just any child of his— I am his firstborn, which means I’m supposed to take ownership of the Water tribe someday. I didn’t want my father’s position within the tribe questioned because of what happened to me, and at the time, I didn’t want to tarnish my own reputation with the judgements I knew would come. I felt humiliated by what had happened,” I replied.
Walker nodded. “Very well, Mrs. Wahkin. No further questions on my end.”
The defense attorney rose, approaching the witness stand to begin cross-examination. I think I’d heard somewhere during the introductions that his name was Gary Bernard. He looked like a jerk.
The expression on his face was hard as he contemplated what to ask. The DNA in the kit didn’t lie. In order to get his client off, he had to prove what had happened was consensual. Good luck, loser.
Bernard cleared his throat before he set his eyes on me. “Mrs. Wahkin, what were you wearing that night during the encounter between you and Mister Smith?”
