“Thank you for meeting with us today, Curtis. Your testimony is important to the county’s case, and we appreciate your willingness to help us after what you’ve been through.”
I stand behind Liv’s chair in Curtis’s room at the rehabilitation center, looking at the bandages covering my friend in the seat across from her.
Curtis sustained a spinal fracture, a traumatic brain injury, and second-degree burns on 40% of his body after Jeremiah’s attack. Before that, before he ever came to Second Chance Sanctuary, his arms were covered in skin grafts from a bombing incident.
The poor kid has been through it in his 25 years of life.
“Tell me what you need. I’ll do what I can to help.” His voice is low and scratchy, his shoulders are undeniably slumped. His whole being is defeated.
“I would like to go over your story and prepare you for the questions I’ll be asking on the stand. If you’re up to it, I’llcoach you on how to respond to some of the defense’s tactics when they cross-examine.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he responds plainly, and it takes everything in me not to turn away. It’s difficult to see him like this. The young guy, so full of life, is nothing but a shell of himself.
“Can you tell me in your own words what happened the night of the incident?”
He clears his throat before adjusting in his seat stiffly. “We were celebrating Jo’s graduation when the smallest barn on the property caught fire. During the commotion, my boss’s niece, Emory, went missing. I, along with some of the others, split off into different directions to look for her. After some time, I stumbled upon a man that I assumed was a volunteer firefighter–”
“And, why did you assume that?” She asks, properly, as if we are in the courtroom.
“He was wearing a fireman’s jacket and helmet. I couldn’t see his face at first.”
“What happened next?” Her voice is soft as she leads him through his testimony.
“Jo called out for me. She was trapped inside the bear enclosure and tied up.” He moves around in his seat again, showing signs of discomfort, but I don’t know if it’s physical pain or if he is having a hard time reliving the story.
“Before I knew what was happening, I was taken to the ground, and we started fighting. Even when I got a few swings in, my hands were too weak to do any real damage because of my scars. He blindsided me, and I got knocked out.” His face twists in pain as he spits the words out. “That’s all I remember.”
“That was great. Thank you.”
The door to his room opens suddenly, and a woman in scrubs stops halfway through. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had visitors. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
“No, wait!” He calls to her, perking up more than he has in the past thirty minutes. The nurse peeks back through the door. “You can stay.”
She nods shyly before walking across the room towards us.
“This is Sienna. She was one of my nurses at the main hospital.”
“Hayes,” I introduce myself, stepping forward to shake her hand. “I worked with Curtis at the sanctuary. This is Liv Greenwood, Prosecutor of Rollins County.”
She smiles at Liv as she sits at the end of his hospital bed. “I recognize you from the courthouse. I’m friends with Natalie. Her little brother and my son, Charlie, are best friends. Dec was there the night the fire at the sanctuary happened. He was pretty shaken up when Emory went missing.”
“Luckily, with Curtis’s account of the events, Dec and Emory won’t have to testify,” Liv tells her kindly.
“Dec and Charlie send me gifts,” Curtis admits, pointing to the wall beside his bed. “Makes the room suck a little less.”
I wander over to look at the pictures taped to the wall and the small LEGO figurines on his bedside table. “Huh, that’s pretty cool.” I pick up the LEGO bear.
“Jackson helps the boys build those,” Sienna says over her shoulder.
“Jackson plays with LEGOS?”
She laughs and nods, but I’m watching Curtis over her shoulder, locked in on her every move. When she turns back toward him, though, he forces his attention out the window.
“I’m totally busting Malec’s balls the next time I see him,” Imumble. Liv clears her throat, obviously trying to reel me back in. “Sorry.”
“Curtis, at any point during the incident, did you know who was attacking you?”
“Yes. I was the rookie at the sanctuary, and I had to go to the junk yard quite a bit to look for parts. Jerry is the owner, so I knew it was him as soon as his helmet came off.”
