Cold State Line

"Miss Lewis, will you take the stand?" Alvin asked gently.

We could all tell she was nervous. She kept popping her knuckles and smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles in her slacks. Haylee wanted to be somewhere else, and I imagined that was on her horse. She seemed so out of place here, and the worst part was the way she kept looking down at the floor like she was afraid she had done something wrong.

I knew that those feelings boiled down to Clay and his prick of a father insinuating that Haylee was a liar and a crazy person. She had been sucked into that narrative a few years ago, and she believed it. She thought she had deserved what Clay had done to her.

Now more than ever, I wanted to lunge across this court room and strangle him. I wanted to inflict on him all the pain he had inflicted on Haylee. No woman ever deserved to go through what she had. No woman ever deserved to be treated like they had no worth. Hell, no person deserved that. But to do what Clay had done was disgusting. I wanted his head. I wanted his heart in my hands.

Haylee carefully took the stand and placed her right hand on the Bible. She said the whole swear to tell the truth thing and then waited, nervously, for Alvin to begin questioning her. Today was going to be the hardest day because he was going to take her through everything Clay had done, from the beginning.

"Miss Lewis, how long had you and Clay been dating?"

Haylee cleared her throat. "We met each other in high school and started dating our junior year. I was about seventeen and we dated until I was twenty-three. So that's about six years?"

"And what was your relationship like?"

"It was normal," she said and looked up, her eyes red. "In the last two years of high school, it was like every stupid romance movie. We were lovesick, I guess. It was like we never left the other one's side. We went to each other's sporting events and family functions.

"When we were out of high school, we were still close. The thing was we were both aiming for the professional rodeo circuit now. We went on less dates, but I liked to think we were still in love. I cared deeply for Clay." Haylee paused to take a deep breath.

"Please continue when you're ready." Alvin was always gentle with his clients.

"We were good at twenty as well. There was a definite shift in our relationship. We were training more, seeing less of each other. But the days we did date felt like old times. Clay said he loved me, and I believed him. At twenty-one, we moved in together.

"The first year together was bliss. It was so nice to go work and train and come home to each other. But things changed shortly after that." Haylee stopped, her voice was shaking now.

"Can you elaborate, Miss Lewis?"

"A few months before my twenty-second birthday, Clay verbally abused me for the first time. He called me a bitch because I was late to dinner. I had told him I was training late, but he accused me of cheating."

Alvin motioned for her to stop and held up a file. "We would like to present Evidence A, a recording of the conversation between Mr. Anderson and Miss Lewis on the night in question."

The judge nodded and looked back at Haylee. She twirled her thumbs a bit. "We were okay for a few weeks. But the verbal abuse continued until my twenty-third birthday."

Alvin once again introduced more evidence. He said this was all to establish a pattern. The entire time Haylee was talking, I kept an eye on Clay. It was clear from the look on his face that he had not expected Haylee to keep records of what went on. Even his father seemed shocked. I could almost see the steam coming off him.

"Miss Lewis, can you tell us what happened once you were twenty-three?" Alvin asked.

Haylee's eyes started to water. "I can." Her voice was a whisper now. "Can we have a break first?"

The judge looked at Alvin. I could tell Alvin wanted to keep it going, but Haylee looked like she was going to bolt out of the seat. "Judge, a quick ten minute recess?"

"Granted. Make it quick."

Haylee stepped down from the bench and stared at the ground as she made her way to me. I quickly brought her against my chest. She instantly unfroze and the tears flowed. We weren't even at the hardest part yet. She needed to stay strong. I knew she could do it.

Notes

Boring stuff for a bit but the excitement is about to happen. So much more of what Clay did is going to be revealed. Who the fuck is ready?