Gee, I didn’t knowthatquestion was going to come up.I resisted rolling my eyes as I responded, “What I was wearing has no consequence to this case.”
“Is there a particular reason you refuse to answer the question?” Bernard asked.
“Because what a woman’s wearing when she’s attacked doesn’t matter,” I responded shortly.
“Or is it because you’re seeking to evade responsibility?” Bernard turned to the judge. “Mrs. Wahkin is someone who has, as I’m sure the court knows, a particularly long record. She is a convicted criminal who has been caught lying under oath more than once. Why should we believe her testimony now?”
“I’m not lying about this,” I hissed.
“I’m sure that’s what you want the court to believe, Mrs. Wahkin, but the judge is aware that you’re currently serving time at the Darke Institute for Supernatural Offenders on multiple charges,” Bernard stated. “Meanwhile, my client has never been accused, let alone convicted, of a crime in his life up until this trial. Why should we believe your story over my client’s?”
“No one has to have faith in anystoryI might be telling. The evidence shows what happened to me,” I said. It took everything I had inside of me to remain calm. “It’s your job to prove that the evidence is insufficient, not mine. So far, you seem to be doing a poor job of that.”
Bernard flushed, and Judge Tellus said, “Please refrain from being antagonistic with your answers, Mrs. Wahkin.”
“Yes, your honor.” I folded my hands in my lap. A wave of glee rushed through Oberi and to me as Bernard clumsily flipped through a few pages of his folder, then changed angles.
“How did your parents not know what happened to you?” Bernard asked, intensifying his tone. “The so-called injuries you sustained would be impossible to hide.”
“I’m very good at applying makeup. I went to Cosmetology school. I was able to cover up the markings,” I replied.
“Do you really expect us to believe thatmakeupis enough to conceal these kinds of markings?” Bernard asked skeptically.
I wasn’t going to play this game. “Well, the evidence is there, so you tell me.”
“Why would you feel the need to hide something so horrific from your parents? Seems strange you wouldn’t tell them straight away,” Bernard said. “The only reason I can think to hide this from your family is because you didn’t want them to know about it— because you were compliant. And if you’re as good at disguising your injuries as you say, all that proves to the court is you’re exceptional at twisting the truth.”
I heard the sound of Daddy starting to get up. I knew it had to be him. But I rushed to answer before he could say anything. “Do you want to know the first thing I thought— the first thinga lotof girls think after they’ve been through something like this?” I demanded. “I wanted to make sure no one ever told my father. He was the last person in the world I wanted to know about this, because I knew he’d be heartbroken, and I was afraid that after he discovered the truth, I’d feel like I’d let him down, even though what happened wasn’t my fault. I couldn’t take the thought of making my father— mychief— be in that kind of pain, no matter what I was personally going through. I hope everyone here can understand that.”
There were a few nods from the audience. I saw dottings of sweat break across Bernard’s brow as he rushed to say, “Or perhaps, Mrs. Wahkin, you injured yourself during a psychosis episode. You have a well-known diagnosis of bipolar depression. Thisassault, as you call it, might have been a conjuring of one of your delusions, and you could’ve harmed yourself as a result of this psychological fantasy.”
“That doesn’t explain why John Smith’s DNA was found inside me. Try again.” My voice was flat. This lawyer was a joke. Was this really the best John could do?
“I’m not suggesting you didn’t have sexual relations with Mister Smith,” Bernard rebutted, and I felt my insides curl up and wither at the suggestion. “I am merely implying that youdidagree to have an intense sexual escapade during one of your psychosis episodes, don’t remember agreeing to it, and are now cryingrapehereafter.”
Oh, great, he was trying to make the court think I was crazy. And that wasn’t a hard stretch.
“Idohave a bipolar diagnosis. But I was in my right mind, and able to consent, the night of my assault, and I didnotgive consent whatsoever. John Smith didn’t care, and proceeded to attack me,” I replied.
Bernard took a step closer to the stand. “You are married, is that correct, Mrs. Wahkin?”
“Yes.” Why did that matter?
“In your estimate, how many sexual partners have you had?”
I bunched my hands in my lap as I replied harshly, “I’ve only been intimate with my husband.”
“Is that something you’re willing to stick to under oath?” Bernard challenged. “It’s difficult for the court to imagine that a girl with your criminal background and struggles with mental health isn’t promiscuous.”
What did this guy want to portray me as, a loony or a whore? Pick a lane, for ancestors’ sake. I frowned and said, “Well, I have to say, a violent sexual escapade wouldn’t have been my first choice, seeing I was a virgin at the time of my assault.”
“Can you prove it?” Bernard asked.
“Your honor,please,” Walker said, cutting him off. “This is out of line.”
“Stick to the facts of the case,” Judge Tellus said.
“But your honor, thisisa fact of the case,” Bernard replied. “To gain a full understanding, we must have a full picture of Mrs. Wahkin’s life.”
