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“I’m sorry. I know this is really hard. But we can’t wait for too long to handle the exam.”
“What exam?”Ash asked.
“Maybe rape,”I whispered.
To her credit, Ash kept her face schooled and looked over at the doctor.
“She’ll need that as evidence to prosecute this motherfucker, right?”
“Unfortunately, rape cases tend to be he said, she said cases. Physical evidence gives power to the victim to ensure whatever the attacker tries to claim isn’t given weight. The evidence issomething you should want to obtain, Ms. Reeves.”The doctor reached down and carefully laid her hand on my leg in comfort.
I looked over at Ash, not sure I could make the decision on my own. My mind understood the practical need, to ensure that Lyle got whatever punishment possible. But I wasn’t sure I could put my body through the process of an exam.
“I’m right here, honey. I’ll stay the whole time. This is important. I know it’s hard and scary. But Lyle needs to be nailed to the fucking wall.”
The sound of curse words coming from Ash was almost comical, and if we were in any other situation, I would have laughed. However, the determination on Ash’s face gave me enough courage to nod my head slightly to the doctor. The woman squeezed my shin slightly before leaving the room to get a nurse. Ash sat back down, holding my hand the whole time while we waited in silence.
Some time later, a nurse came back into the room with the doctor. They had a bag and a number of instruments, including a camera. I stared at it, wondering what the point of that was, and the doctor caught my attention.
“We need photos of the injuries, Ms. Reeves.”
My body shuddered as I thought about the documentation of the worst moment of my life. Ash squeezed my hand and brought it to her face to kiss my knuckles kindly.
“Do you want me to get any of the guys?”She said.
I shook my head forcefully.“I don’t want them to see any of this.”
“Sweetie, they are down in the waiting room. I don’t think they’re going to leave.”Ash reached up to brush my hair out of my face, but the doctor quickly asked her not to.
“I can’t…I don’t want to see the disgust on their faces.”Tears began to slip down my cheeks again.
“Oh, Brooklyn. They aren’t going to look at you like that. You know that. I’m pretty sure those men love you.”
“They won’t anymore,”I said, my voice barely audible.
Ash didn’t respond, but I knew she had heard me. Her face took on a hard look for a moment, but she clearly knew the argument wasn’t what I needed at the moment. The doctor and nurse collected the bloody clothing I had put around my wound, as well as Aiden’s shirt. Both went into an evidence bag and were sealed.
“The shirt, it wasn’t from…”I tried to say. I was worried about Aiden’s DNA getting mixed into the investigation.
“I know. We’ll note that. But just in case anything carried over from you to the shirt, we want to be sure we have it,”the doctor said.
I nodded and watched them proceed. First, the doctor took photos of my leg and I turned to squeeze my eyes closed. Ash let me squeeze her hand as I tried to ignore the click of the camera shutter. The doctor asked me to look straight, as she wanted to get photos of the bruises around my throat. She carefully moved my matted hair away, and the camera began to click again.
When it was time for the pelvic exam, I laid back as instructed, with Ash by my head. The doctor talked to me quietly as she opened swabs and took the samples she needed. Then she prodded my vagina in ways that caused me pain, and I began to hyperventilate and cry. Suddenly, I was back in the warehouse and Lyle was touching my body, causing tearing and pain. I tried to close my legs, but the doctor called my name a little louder this time.
“Ms. Reeves! You’re ok. You’re safe. I know this hurts and I’m sorry. I just need to make sure you don’t need any sutures. I will give you an antibiotic ointment to help prevent any infections. We’re also going to test for STDs.”
I covered my mouth as I cried out, realizing that illness hadn’t even entered my mind.
“Ash…I’m going to throw up.”I pointed toward a small bowl they had sitting at the side of the bed.
My friend hurriedly grabbed the bowl and brought it to my face. I started to dry heave, nothing but bile coming up in a burning wave. Between the heaving, I sobbed, thinking about the implications of what Lyle could have done to my body, things that would last the rest of my life.
“Can you tell…if he…”I couldn’t spit out the words, I could barely allow the image into my mind.
“Unfortunately, there’s no way to know that at this moment. The swabs will be tested for semen and we can make sure you get those results.”The doctor spoke quietly, as if she was trying to keep me as calm as possible.
My heart pounded in my ears and I couldn’t understand how I couldn’t know what had happened to my own body. How strong had the drugs been if I had stayed passed out while my body was violated? Having to be tested for STDs caused another thought to pop into my head. Though I had an IUD and had unprotected sex with the Knights, I realized I couldn’t risk anything.
