“Please go on,” Camden said when she paused.
“When he yanked off my shirt, I asked him to stop, but he laughed, as if he thought that was real amusing. It all happened so fast. One minute I was on his lap, the next, he was carrying me to the couch. I told him to stop a few times, but he ignored my words.”
“I know this is hard, but I need you to continue.”
“He…uh…we had sex,” she sighed. “It was over really quickly. He didn’t even undress, just pushed his pants partway down. When he was finished, he sat on the couch and pulled me into his arms, cradling my head against his chest. He told me it was all okay, that everything was fine. We were going to be real good together, that I was perfect. He said he’d be back in a couple of hours for breakfast. Then he left. I was so stunned, I didn’t know what to think. He was a cop. Had I done something wrong? Had I encouraged it? I was so confused. I showered and put on layers of clothes and then waited. He showed up and took me out to eat, acting as if nothing was wrong. I thought I had to be the one in the wrong at that point.”
Misty glanced over at Bryson and saw the unadulterated fury in his eyes. This wasn’t easy for him to listen to. She had a feeling that if Jesse were in the room with them right then, the man would find a bullet in his head. She turned away from Bryson’s intense gaze and focused on the table in front of her. It was either that or she’d never be able to finish her story. It only got worse from here.
“I don’t know how it happened, but within a week, he took over my life. He moved me into his place even though I tried to protest. It was like a whirlwind. One minute, I was on my own, and then the next I couldn’t do anything without his permission. The first time he hit me was when I told him I didn’t want to leave my apartment. I only got a black eye from that exchange. It was one of the least painful punishments,” she said, hanging her head.
“Can you tell us a little about your childhood? The jury needs to understand you, understand why he was able to bully you.” There was no judgment in Camden’s voice.
“I was an orphan. My mother dropped me off at a fire station when I was a baby. The only things that were with me was a dirty old T-shirt and a note that said to contact my brother, Damien, when I got old enough. I don’t know how that note stayed with me through the years, but somehow it did. Not that I was able to ever contact him. I wouldn’t know where to start, even if the person ever really existed. No last name, you know. I was bounced around a lot, and life wasn’t easy, but that’s not an excuse…”
Misty didn’t see the way both Camden and Bryson tensed at her words. This wasn’t something Camden had asked earlier. This wasn’t something she told people often. For one thing, she didn’t think the brother really existed. For another, whom would she tell? She had no ties to anyone.
“You have a brother?” Bryson asked, interrupting the deposition and getting a stern look from Charlotte Adams.
“I don’t know. That’s just what the note said,” she answered, looking at him with wide eyes, wondering what she’d said that suddenly had both men so uneasy.
Bryson was glued to his seat as he began putting puzzle pieces together. He’d loved her eyes, the beautiful green color, the shape, everything about them, but something about them had bugged him from the beginning, almost as if he’d seen them before.
Now, he knew. He knew a Damien. It couldn’t be possible, of course, that this was the same man she was speaking of. The world didn’t rotate that way, didn’t connect like that, did it?
“Not now, Bryson,” Camden warned him. “Let’s continue, Misty. Tell me what happened next.”
Misty spoke for a while longer, telling about her time with Jesse. Her eyes filled with tears a few times, but she kept her emotions in check and spoke almost like a robot.
“…and then I couldn’t take anymore. I went to the police and filed a report after he punched me so hard that one side of my face swelled. It nearly left me blind in one eye. I tried to leave him,” she choked out.
“Did the police help you?” Camden asked.
Misty laughed, a chilling sound that dropped the temperature in the room by at least several degrees. “Jesse found me at the hospital. He took me away from there, his eyes colder than I’d ever seen before. No one tried to stop him. He told me he was going to show me exactly what happened to women who betrayed him.” Her voice was frightened, as if she were reliving that horrific moment in her life.
“He handcuffed me and forced me into the back of his car, then drove home to the apartment and marched me up the stairs. My head still hurt from the last beating he’d given me. People watched him take me in. No one said a word to stop him. I was so frightened, I didn’t even try to resist — I knew it would only make it worse. As soon as we were inside the apartment, he forced me to my knees, my hands still handcuffed behind my back. I had to perform…I…he…thrust himself into my mouth, pushing so hard I threw up a little, and somehow my lip was cut and throbbing. I begged him to stop when I could speak… I couldn’t even breathe… But he just laughed. I could see how much he was enjoying it. When I thought it was all over, he pulled me to my feet and took me to the bedroom… He undid the cuffs long enough to remove my clothes, then he cuffed me to the bed. The torment lasted for two days. He took turns raping and beating me.” Misty’s voice came out in a monotone as she forced herself to withdraw, to think of that time as a movie, not her own life. If she pretended she was speaking of some other person, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much.
“This needs to stop,” Bryson demanded, his eyes glittering with rage.
“I know it’s difficult, Bryson, but if you can’t handle it, you have to leave the room. We need to do this.” Camden shot Bryson a dark look.
Bryson looked as if he was going to come out of his chair and throttle his friend. The two had a stare-down and Bryson wasn’t backing off.
“I’m fine, Bryson. I promise,” Misty said. The last thing she wanted was to see a fistfight start.
He didn’t look pleased, but he sat still, arms crossed, as he waited for her to continue.
“I didn’t really know how much time had passed. I went in and out of consciousness. It wasn’t till it was over that I realized it had been two days. He never let me up from the bed. I was lying in my own…urine…”