A Dance of Life

44

WARNING!!! THIS CHAPTER HAS DESCRIPTIONS, ALTHOUGH NOT VERY DETAILED, CAN BE TRIGGERING TO SOME PEOPLE. I CHOSE TO WRITE IT BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE APPARENTLY DON'T KNOW THAT RAPE CAN BE TRIGGERING AND SCARRING??? So I had Annelise narrate what happened to her, which, unfortunately, can happen to anyone. 

If you don't want to read it, skip to the first time jump, then work a little upwards to when she's approaching her lawyer.

This wasn't easy to write, so I don't think it'll be easy to read.

~~~~

I take a deep breath and look at my family, why do they have to be so far? Mr. James says I have nothing to worry about, I just have to tell my story and it'll be over. But they're too many eyes on me.

"Ms. Allard, your testimony?"

I turn my eyes to Rueben Johnson's lawyer, blinking away any hazy thoughts. 10. That's how many questions the judge gave him, and I was clearly wasting his time.

"Sorry," I croak out, my throat suddenly dry. I reach for the full glass of water in front of me, taking a purposeful gulp before pursing my lips to ready myself. My gaze drifts to Rueben but I stop myself in time; what a simple name for an evil man.

"I was the last person to leave the premises of the diner because I was waiting for my boyfriend, my ex-boyfriend, to pick me up." I'm embarrassed at my slip up but I know I have to continue, so after glancing at my supporters' reassuring faces, I steady my gaze on the court door, not wanting to watch every emotion pass through their faces. "I waited a while and called him a bunch of times-"

"Called who, Ms. Allard?" The defense attorney interrupts.

"Frederic Byrd, my ex," I reply, hoping my tone isn't too harsh. "I called Frederic Byrd about five times every two minutes until ten minutes had passed, but he didn't pick up. Not knowing what else to do, I decided to walk; I didn't want to disturb my friends and I didn't think I was in danger on a path I had taken a number of times before."

"What time did you say this was?"

"Sometime around midnight and one a.m.," I say, biting the inside of my cheeks. "I can't really remember because the whole night was... intense. I had walked maybe half a kilometer when he dragged me into the alley."

I stop, knowing what was coming next and not wanting to say it.

Why am I even here?

"Take your time, Ms. Allard," the judge tells me, nodding in my direction. An elderly woman with kind eyes and strong cheekbones; she reminds me of my grandma. The comparison chokes me up and my vision blurs with tears. I look down to find my fingers pale and shaking, and I realize I must have been wringing them without knowing. My protruding belly throws me off a little, and I remember why I'm in the witness box.

"He, Reuben Johnson, p-pushed me against the wall, and held a knife to my throat," I narrate slowly, scared of choking up from the tears and the memory. I had prayed and meditated all morning, making sure my atmosphere was right; charged with His presence to give me some peace. "He punched me... causing me to fall, but immediately set me upright and pressed the knife deeper into my skin. He started to raise my skirt, slowly, inching upwards to the tip of my underwear."

When my eyes find their way to him again, I'm unable to stop them. His eyes stare unflinchingly back at me, eyes that I pray my children don't inherit. Fear grips me as he curls his lip slightly at me, mocking me from across the room.

Be still, Annelise, I am with you.

I look between Nathan and Pat, their faces are set in anger but the stability in their eyes ground me. "He brought his hand up, encircling it around my neck, and squeezing till my vision started going spotty. He left hand now holding me up, he dragged the knife down to where his hand just was, and I was so scared that he was going to cut me." I swallow the lump in my throat and bite my lip, the events playing in my mind like a movie. I squeeze the bridge of my nose and close my eyes as I take a steadying breath.