comfortable without
me here. I’ll just be in the lobby; please let me know when I can
take her back home,” Austin requested and Detective Gaines looked
at him closer before looking at me again.
“We’re going to have to go to the hospital…
normally, I’d just take her to Doctor Wayne, but your father wanted
to keep this as quiet as possible… which means going to the
hospital,” Detective Gaines informed him and Austin barely
nodded.
“Am I allowed to go with you for that part?”
Austin queried, glancing back at me, but my wide-eyes made him
chuckle, “I’ll be here when you get back, then….”
He left the room and Detective Gaines took
the chair across from me, waiting a moment longer before she looked
up at me.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Arianna… you
should’ve reported this immediately… there won’t be as much proof
now and it’s going to be a lot harder to put this creep behind bars
where he belongs. But you have some proof. I know you’re wearing
makeup to cover your bruise, but we’re going to have to take
pictures of any bruises and document it. We have to document
everything… details… bruises… we’ll have to subpoena your doctor
records… When was the last time you saw a gynecologist?”
I stared at her blankly for a long moment,
forcing myself to sort through my thoughts and suddenly thankful
for my mother’s obsessive behavior.
“My yearly check-up was last month,” I told
her and saw the relief flood her eyes, “Why?”
“Your father implied a lack of sexual
activity in your life…”
“Oh… I…” I faltered, biting my lip and
taking a deep breath, “I am… was… a virgin….”
“That will show up in your file,” she stated
with a soft smile, “It’s a good thing… because the hospital will
show something different. Do you have a boyfriend?” I couldn’t help
the laugh that escaped me and she looked startled.
“Like Austin would ever let me have a
boyfriend…” I muttered more to myself, “No, Detective Gaines… I’ve
actually never had a boyfriend, and didn’t even have a date to
prom… you can ask anyone at my old high school about that….”
“But you just said: ‘like Austin would ever
let me have a boyfriend.’ Why did you say that? You were talking
about your brother, Austin, weren’t you?”
“Detective Gaines… I guess my Dad never told
you… but I was adopted… they’re not blood relatives at all,” I
mumbled, glancing at my fidgeting hands, “I always thought that
Austin was just being overprotective… but… it turns out it might
have been more than that… he made sure our entire school knew that
I was off limits; he’s always done that, so I’ve never had a
boyfriend.”
“I see… I need you to tell me the details on
what happened with…” she paused and looked down at her notepad,
“Mark Owens? Is that the right name, Arianna?”
She spotted the tremor that ran down my
spine before I nodded and took a deep breath. “It was Saturday
afternoon… I guess right around noon, really… I like to sleep in on
Saturdays… Mom was at her boutique… Austin was at work… Jason was…
down the hall in his room, playing video games or something… he
always plays video games with headphones on, ‘cause Mom complains
about the noise…” I paused and took a shaky breath as I forced
myself to remember, “I’m a very light sleeper… so I heard the door
click closed and it woke me up….” A sob shook my body and Detective
Gaines produced a Kleenex from her pocket and passed it to me.
“I need to know what happened, Arianna… I
know it’s difficult, but take your time and tell me…” she prompted
while I wadded the Kleenex into a ball and unfolded it
repeatedly.
“Mark was at the door… he told me to keep
quiet, but I screamed… that’s when he… he hit me.” My hand
involuntarily darted up to my left cheek, “He threatened Mom and
Jason… and shoved his tie in my mouth to keep me quiet… I
me here. I’ll just be in the lobby; please let me know when I can
take her back home,” Austin requested and Detective Gaines looked
at him closer before looking at me again.
“We’re going to have to go to the hospital…
normally, I’d just take her to Doctor Wayne, but your father wanted
to keep this as quiet as possible… which means going to the
hospital,” Detective Gaines informed him and Austin barely
nodded.
“Am I allowed to go with you for that part?”
Austin queried, glancing back at me, but my wide-eyes made him
chuckle, “I’ll be here when you get back, then….”
He left the room and Detective Gaines took
the chair across from me, waiting a moment longer before she looked
up at me.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Arianna… you
should’ve reported this immediately… there won’t be as much proof
now and it’s going to be a lot harder to put this creep behind bars
where he belongs. But you have some proof. I know you’re wearing
makeup to cover your bruise, but we’re going to have to take
pictures of any bruises and document it. We have to document
everything… details… bruises… we’ll have to subpoena your doctor
records… When was the last time you saw a gynecologist?”
I stared at her blankly for a long moment,
forcing myself to sort through my thoughts and suddenly thankful
for my mother’s obsessive behavior.
“My yearly check-up was last month,” I told
her and saw the relief flood her eyes, “Why?”
“Your father implied a lack of sexual
activity in your life…”
“Oh… I…” I faltered, biting my lip and
taking a deep breath, “I am… was… a virgin….”
“That will show up in your file,” she stated
with a soft smile, “It’s a good thing… because the hospital will
show something different. Do you have a boyfriend?” I couldn’t help
the laugh that escaped me and she looked startled.
“Like Austin would ever let me have a
boyfriend…” I muttered more to myself, “No, Detective Gaines… I’ve
actually never had a boyfriend, and didn’t even have a date to
prom… you can ask anyone at my old high school about that….”
“But you just said: ‘like Austin would ever
let me have a boyfriend.’ Why did you say that? You were talking
about your brother, Austin, weren’t you?”
“Detective Gaines… I guess my Dad never told
you… but I was adopted… they’re not blood relatives at all,” I
mumbled, glancing at my fidgeting hands, “I always thought that
Austin was just being overprotective… but… it turns out it might
have been more than that… he made sure our entire school knew that
I was off limits; he’s always done that, so I’ve never had a
boyfriend.”
“I see… I need you to tell me the details on
what happened with…” she paused and looked down at her notepad,
“Mark Owens? Is that the right name, Arianna?”
She spotted the tremor that ran down my
spine before I nodded and took a deep breath. “It was Saturday
afternoon… I guess right around noon, really… I like to sleep in on
Saturdays… Mom was at her boutique… Austin was at work… Jason was…
down the hall in his room, playing video games or something… he
always plays video games with headphones on, ‘cause Mom complains
about the noise…” I paused and took a shaky breath as I forced
myself to remember, “I’m a very light sleeper… so I heard the door
click closed and it woke me up….” A sob shook my body and Detective
Gaines produced a Kleenex from her pocket and passed it to me.
“I need to know what happened, Arianna… I
know it’s difficult, but take your time and tell me…” she prompted
while I wadded the Kleenex into a ball and unfolded it
repeatedly.
“Mark was at the door… he told me to keep
quiet, but I screamed… that’s when he… he hit me.” My hand
involuntarily darted up to my left cheek, “He threatened Mom and
Jason… and shoved his tie in my mouth to keep me quiet… I
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