Chapter Nine
Mia
Mia sat there in the chair at the attorney's office playing with the hem of her shirt. She didn't want to tell a perfect stranger what happened to her, but there she was doing it. “Cole Ambrose asked me to be his date to prom and I said yes. It was okay, I was enjoyin' da music even if I really wasn't interested in hearin' him go on and on about sports. At one point he went to get me a drink of punch. About twenty minutes later I started feelin' weird, shaky, and like I couldn't breathe right so I said I needed some air. We went outside and it got worse, til I felt really weak. He helped me into his car so I could sit...and den...he started touchin' me. I told him to stop, I told him no, but he wouldn't listen.” She looked down at her lap and her cheeks heated in embarrassment and shame. “He put his fingers in me and I was too weak to stop him. Dat was when Gage showed up.”
“You are referring to Gage Delacroix?” At her nod Miles continued. “How did Mr. Delacroix know you were outside?”
“Todd Stevens. He saw Cole put someting in my cup before he gave it to me and...his conscience got da better of him and he went to tell Gage because he knew we were friends.” Mia swallowed. “I have proof dat Cole drugged me and gave me da cup wit' it in it.” She pulled the photos out and offered them to the attorney.
“Where did you get these?”
“Todd was takin' photos of prom for da yearbook and got dem wit'out realizin' it. I asked him for a copy of dem. I knew I had to do someting. If I didn't...the next girl he does dis to, it'll be my fault. In only a few days I had seven different girls approach me at school to tell me I wasn't alone. Dey didn't come forward, for whatever reason, but...I couldn't keep quiet. I couldn't look myself in da mirror knowin' he's just gonna keep druggin' and rapin' girls if he's not stopped.”
Miles Saunders studied the young woman across from him. She was scared, nervous, embarrassed, but despite all of that she was determined to bring a serial rapist to justice. “You need to understand, Miss Lafluer. If this goes to court, you will have to get on the stand and the defense will do everything in their power to tear you down and tarnish your reputation. If there is anything that could be used against you to make you look like you brought it on yourself, they will use it. It's ugly but it's the truth.”
“I know. Dere isn't anyting dey could use to do dat.” Her laugh was almost bitter. “Dis was da first date I'd ever been on.”
“Okay. We'll talk more once I inform the judge I am representing you and I've had the chance to look over the charges lodged against the defendant.”
Mia nodded and followed her parents out. All she wanted to do was go home, crawl into her bed, and pretend none of this had happened.
Within days, word of Cole's arrest and the charges against him had spread throughout school. Attitudes varied depending on who you talked to. The jocks and their groupies thought Mia was making it all up because she'd decided to fool around and regretted it. Those who'd been where she was knew differently. Others just wanted to enjoy the gossip.
Mia kept to herself as much as possible. As the days passed, and a court date was set for Cole's case, she began to notice the looks she kept getting from some of the girls who flocked to the jocks. Whispers would start when she passed them but she rarely caught what they were saying. One afternoon, she was in the girl's restroom when a couple of cheerleaders walked in. She froze in the stall she was in because they were the worst about whispering about her when she walked by.
“Can you believe that little slut? She goes out to his car with him and then she has the nerve to say he 'assaulted' her? And the way Gage went after him? You can't tell me he hasn't been fucking her. He was probably jealous because she was with Cole.”
Mia felt tears stinging her eyes before she wiped them away, squared her shoulders, and stepped out into the bathroom. Both girls fell silent and wouldn't look at her. “You two are such fools. You tink he's so great? He's raped seven girls, at least. I would have been number eight if Gage hadn't come out to da parkin' lot and found us where I was tellin' Cole to STOP and he ignored me. I don't care if you believe me because you know what? I know da truth, I know what he is, and I have proof dat he drugged me. You should consider yourselves lucky you weren't one of his victims, you stupid little bitches.” With that she stomped out of the bathroom.
Mia was nervous. She was waiting to be called to testify against Cole. His lawyer pushed for a trial and now she had to sit there and let herself be badgered by the defense, let her character be called into question. She was grateful there really wasn't anything in her background for him to bring up. She was also grateful a couple of the girls he'd raped had come forward to press charges as well. One of them was Stacy. She was warned the defense would go into detail about her personal life and the fact she was very promiscuous. Mia sat in the court room while the defense attacked her but Stacy didn't break down. She stood her ground even when some of the boys she'd been intimate with were called to the stand to try to tarnish her testimony. It had hurt to see Gage up there on the stand but Mia was good at hiding her feelings.
“Miss Lafluer? It's time.”
The bailiff's voice pulled her from her thoughts and Mia rose to go into the court room. She placed her hand on the bible and swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Then she sat and once again went over what happened that night. At one point, in recent weeks, Cole had tried to blackmail her into dropping her charges by threatening to press assault charges against Gage. She'd gone right to Gage about it and he'd insisted on her following through, no matter what. They'd called Cole's bluff and so far no charges had been brought against Gage.
“Miss Lafluer, can you confirm, for the court, that these photos are of you?”
She blinked and then looked to the screen where photos from both Homecoming and Prom were being projected. “Yes, dat's me.”
“For someone who claims to be innocent of wrongdoing, those are some very revealing dresses. Do you expect us to believe you dressed that way without the sole purpose of attracting attention?”
“Objection, your honor. Miss Lafluer is not the one on trial.”
“Overruled.”
She'd known the defense would try dirty tactics, she'd seen it already, but it still threw her off a little. The judge overruling her attorney's objection made it worse. “Yes, because it's da truth. Da dresses I picked out, I picked dem because I liked dem, not because I wanted attention.”
“Are you accustomed to wearing such revealing clothing, Miss Lafluer?”
“Objection, Your Honor. Miss Lafluer's clothing is not the issue here.”
“Sustained. Counsel will stick to the parameters of the case.”
“Of course, Your Honor. Miss Lafluer, can you tell us what the reaction was when you entered the dance in the green dress?”
“Some people looked or commented, just like dey did other girls' dresses.” She knew she wasn't supposed to do more than answer the questions but she couldn't help herself. “You're married. Are you tellin' me dat if your wife went out somewhere in a fancy dress dat showed some leg, you would blame her if someone tried to rape her for it?”
“Objection. My wife's attire has no bearing on this case,” the defense attorney said.
“Sustained. Miss Lafluer, another outburst like that and I will fine you for contempt of court.”
“My apologies, Your Honor.” Mia glanced at the jury and knew her words hit home.
The defense tried, in multiple ways, to imply that the entire incident wouldn't have happened had she been wearing less revealing dresses, but in the end his tactics failed. When the case concluded, and the jury gave it's verdict, Cole was found guilty on all charges. Mia felt relieved. Because she'd come forward, Cole would go to prison for a number of years and maybe, just maybe, she'd saved others from being his next victims.
Gage
Throughout the trial, Gage was there in the court room to give Mia his silent support. When he'd had to get up on the stand and talk about his sordid sexual past with Stacy he'd been unable to look at Mia. The attorney really tried to dig into details and Gage knew Cole had shared some things that had come out during locker room talk.
The day she got on the stand and told the entire court room what had happened in the car with Cole before he'd arrived was the first time he'd heard exactly what went down. It had made him so angry he'd wanted to jump over the rail and pound the bastard into the floor. He'd barely managed to hold onto his anger and keep his leopard in check.
By the time it was over and Cole was found guilty, Gage wanted to whisk Mia away from everyone and everything and keep her safe the rest of her life. The urge frustrated and terrified him. He was too young to be feeling such intense emotions. On top of that, Mia had already been through so much and he didn't want to scare her, so he shoved the feelings down and pretended they didn't exist.
Several days passed before Gage had the chance to talk with Mia. He found her painting and watched silently for a time.
“I know you're dere.”
He chuckled a little and stepped into view. “I didn't want to disturb you. How are you doin'? Haven't seen you much da last few days.”
Mia shrugged. “Okay. Glad dat nightmare is over.”
“Yeah, me too. I was so proud of you when you got up on da stand. You didn't back down even when dat fuckin' lawyer was tryin' to turn it around and make it your fault because of what you were wearin'.”
“Mr. Saunders prepared me for it. So did watchin' da way he went after da others who came forward. I knew he was gonna try someting like dat.” She averted her gaze from him. Mentioning the others taking the stand brought back the memory of him being questioned. It had hurt, sitting there in the courtroom, listening to him give sordid details about his sexual relations with Stacy.
“I didn't want to do it, you know? Get up dere on da stand. I was subpoenaed and if I didn't testify, dey would have charged me wit' contempt.”
“I know. It's not like I didn't already know you've screwed a bunch of girls, Gage. It's none of my business anyway.” She set her paintbrush down and turned to face him. “Thank you, for being dere at court every day. It really meant a lot.”
“A'course I was dere. You're important to me, Mia. We've known each other all our lives. Where else would I be?”
When he said she was important she had a flicker of hope. His next words made that flicker go out. Ugh, why did he have to be so confusing? “Still, you didn't have to be dere but you were and it meant a lot to me. Have you decided what you want to do after graduation next week?”
Gage let her change the subject. “Uh, yeah, actually.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I got into Tulane. Full scholarship. Guess dey liked my football skills.”
Mia blinked. “Oh, wow, dat's great. Congratulations. Didn't Remy get a scholarship dere too?”
“Yeah, from his wrestlin'.”
“What are you plannin' on majorin' in?”
“Applied Business Studies. Me and Remy, we're gonna open our own architecture and carpentry business. He's gonna focus more on da architecture side of tings. I figure, I like workin' wit' wood, I'm good at it, might as well do it for a livin'.”
“You are good at it. I still have dat flower you carved for me.” It was unique because he didn't carve her a rose, he'd carved a moon flower into a piece of pale wood.
“I didn't know you kept it It wasn't one of my best.”
“Dat's why I liked it. It's flawed, just like real flowers can be flawed.” Mia shrugged. “Are you gonna commute or embrace da college life by livin' on campus?”
Gage grinned. “You know me, I gotta embrace it all. I figure, it's da only chance I'll ever have to live somewhere else, might as well enjoy it. Tulane's close enough I can visit any time.”
“Dat's true. I'm sure your mama will enjoy da break. I swear, you and Remy are worse den all of us Lafluer's put together.” The teasing in her voice was blatantly apparent and she flashed him a grin.
Gage laughed. “True, cher, very true. Our mama shoulda taken lessons from yours on how to keep unruly boys in check.” He knew he and his brother were wild growing up. How Eliza Lafluer kept so many children in line was a mystery.
“Your mama shoulda taken da switch to you more.” Again, the teasing was apparent in her voice.
“Probably.” He shook his head. “I'll let you get back to your paintin'. I still tink you should let others see your work. You're good, Mia.”
She bit her lip. “I dunno. Maybe. I'll tink about it. See you later, Gage.”
“See you later, Mia.” He headed back to the compound with his mind less troubled now that he'd had the chance to talk with Mia. With that done, he could focus on figuring out what he was going to take with him when he moved onto campus in a few weeks.