Lewis sighed in resignation but nodded her agreement. “That’s fine, I’ve been a defense attorney as well. We can go through this if you want.”
“Shouldn’t take long” Kole scoffed.
Lewis just shook her head over at him before glancing at her notes again, “I suppose we can start with you, Crista since the charges involving you are the least severe.”
“Great” Crista stated sadly, then took a breath and nodded, “go to it. Question me like that Sullivan asshole will, again” she mumbled.
Lewis shook her head once more and took her own breath, “Ok Crista, tell us, in your own words, about the events that took place on Sunday, October 1st of this year.”
“Last Sunday?” she swallowed a bit. “Starting when on Sunday, exactly?” she asked warily as she looked between her lovers. After all, that morning had started with she and Star making love in the wee hours, followed by the trip to the clinic; and then the freak storm that scared off the protesters. Then her and Star’s third intimate encounter shortly before she and Kole had even left the house that night and made their fateful trip to the mall. And she somehow doubted any of that should be mentioned on the stand at all.
Lewis narrowed her eyes skeptically, but continued, “let’s just start with when you and Kole saw the defendant that evening.”
“Curt started picking on us, like he always does---”
“And when you say ‘picking on’ what exactly do you mean?” Lewis interrupted, as she was sure Sullivan would.
“What?” Crista asked.
“Sullivan will want to establish a previously antagonistic relationship between yourselves and Curt to make the jury feel as though the two of you would have motive to lie about the events that took place that evening” Lewis explained.
“But it’s on video” Crista scoffed.
“The video may not be allowed into evidence, which we have to prepare for” Lewis explained.
Crista sighed heavily, “I don’t remember every single thing that was said, but Curt called Kole a knife-wielding faggot” she cast her eyes down, her volume dropping at the use of a word she normally would never use herself, especially in reference to one of her own two male lovers. But she forced herself to try to continue, “and then...”
“Knife-wielding?” Lewis interrupted, as she was sure Sullivan would.
“Two weeks earlier, Curt tried to start a fight with Kole at school. Curt grabbed Kole and Kole defended himself, with a knife” Crista stated sadly as Lewis just gave Kole a slightly accusing look.
“I did warn you, didn’t I?” was Kole’s only response to that look.
Lewis took a breath, “ok, we probably don’t want the jury to hear about that.”
“See last comment” Kole told her wryly.
“Least you didn’t pull a knife on him on the video” Lewis shook her head once more.
“Let’s just fast forward to the real good stuff, Miss Lewis” Kole stated impatiently as he leaned forward, “we’re all gonna be asked to go on that stand and give our opinions on the way Curt behaves, sexually, if you can even call it that, right?”
“More or less” Lewis agreed.
“Which means they’ll want to establish our own opinions on what is right and wrong, sexually, correct?” Kole continued as the other teens tensed.
“Obviously they’re going to...”
“Let me just cut to the chase” Kole interrupted again, “I’m already on record as a statutory rapist because of the fact that I turned sixteen a few months before my girlfriend was going to. You can’t tell me they’re not gonna dig that up. Especially if I have to testify about what happened to Sammi, which I’m guessing is the main reason I’d be testifying at all, right?”
“You were never charged with that though” Lewis argued, though quietly.
“But there is medical proof of me being a statutory rapist” he forced himself to repeat, “so, yes, they will use that and it will discredit everything I say. And you know that” Kole told her pointedly.
“Fine, so we may not be able to put you on the stand, Kole, but---”
Kole interrupted again, “I was with Crista that night. A fourteen year old girl. And I’m sure those damn mall cameras also caught her hugging me, intimately, earlier in the evening. Me being a so-called statutory rapist, they will automatically assume I’m sleeping with this underage girl too. And then they will ask her” he left it at that.
“But...” Lewis took a ragged breath.
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Kole then added, “and if she’s under oath, she’ll have to tell them. And you know what that turns her into in the eyes of the defense attorney, the jury, and probably the judge. And they could also ask her about her other sexual partners. And she’d have to tell them that too. And then all four of us get discredited, or worse. We can’t testify, Lewis. That’s all there is to it” he told her with defeat.
Lewis looked between the four of them with more than a bit of disbelief, “you’re telling me that all three of you have been.. intimate with Crista? And you’re only fourteen, Crista?” she couldn’t help adding.
“Nobody would understand” Crista said softly, eyes down.
“Well, I don’t. I mean, this girl is under the age of consent” she stated as she looked at the three older teens with continued shock.
“But I gave consent. But the law says I’m not capable of doing so for another fourteen months” Crista bit out with a sniffle, “so even though I care about the three of them more than anyone else in my life, and they are only three years older, the law calls them criminals because they think I’m too young and stupid and immature to know what I do or don’t want to do or have done to me” Crista added angrily as she brushed away an offending tear. “So they’ll tell me I’m too young to say yes to sex and then call me a slut in the next sentence. It’s true isn’t it?” she sniffled again.
“I just...” Lewis moved her hands to her face with obvious stress.
“I did warn you” was Kole’s only quiet response.
“Are you going to try to have them all arrested now too?” Crista sniffled.
“Attorney-client privilege” was Lewis’ only response, though it was spoken in a defeated mumble. After another moment to compose herself, “you’re right. We most likely can’t put any of you on the stand because of this; whatever this is” she looked between them once more, “but now I don’t know how the trial is likely to go at all after losing four witnesses like this. And I can’t offer any of you any assurances that Curt will actually now be made to pay and get put away for the things he’s done. This could be” another sad sigh, “this could be what costs us the case” she finished with her own sniffle as she gathered her notes and moved to leave the house and the four distraught teens behind.
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As none of the four teens were feeling particularly amorous after Lewis’ visit and the way it had abruptly ended; they spent the rest of their evening finishing their dinner quietly as they binge-watched the living room TV. Brie and Connor disappeared with their dinner to the TV in their bedroom rather soon after Lewis’ departure as well. Eventually all six of them fell asleep in front of those TV’s sometime after midnight but before five; Brie and Connor in their bed, Sky and Star on the living room sofa, and Kole and Crista each in one of the living room recliners.
When Brie and Connor rose for the day at a little past nine, they gave each other curious looks as they moved through the living room filled with still sleeping teens. After making their way to the kitchen for their morning coffee, Brie spoke quietly to her husband, “ok, for once we know what parents of teenagers are supposed to find their teens doing when they spend the weekend at their friends’ houses?”
“Yeah, they were all even fully dressed. Maybe Sky and Star rewound the world again or something” Connor scoffed.
“Considering you just suggested that our children can indeed do that; I’m guessing no” Brie returned with a slight sarcasm, though almost smiled.
“So, they’re not testifying because of their ‘questionable moral code’ with each other, yet there they are doing nothing morally questionable at all. If Lewis were to drop in unannounced again, she might think they made the whole sex-triangle... err sex-square.... circle?” he shook his head, “she’d probably think they made it all up” he finally decided on.
“I honestly don’t know though” Brie shook her head as she tried to move past that reminder and instead waited on their coffee to brew, “I mean, I’m happy they probably won’t have to get dragged in front of a courtroom and have their entire lives picked apart now; but it also could mean he gets away with it all too. And he can’t be tried for the same crime twice and all. Our kids could be in real actual danger if he gets away with it all. And that’s not even mentioning the possible power-spreading factor of it” she shook her head.
“And even if they don’t testify, if he really is out on bail; he could still come looking for revenge for the stuff they said at the hearing. Or just because he’s a rapist piece of shit with nothing else to do” Connor sighed heavily.
Brie then sadly tried to find some hope, “at least he’s still gonna be in the cast for at least another five weeks. So hopefully that’ll cut down on him trying to physically come after any of them in the meantime.”
“Now we just gotta hope that the trial actually happens before the cast comes off, or before any of Curt’s friends decide they wanna get revenge for him. Hell, if our school starts losing football games now, who knows how many pissed off kids and parents will be looking to blame our kids and their friends? Crazier things have happened” Connor scoffed.
“Thanks, I didn’t even think of that” Brie returned with a sarcasm that was now marred by even further worry. After the coffee was finally done and they each took a few long thoughtful sips as they sat at the counter island, Brie then had to speak again, “this really is all our fault, isn’t it?”
Connor simply sighed, “not denying it.”
“I mean we’re the ones who made them this overly sexual, considering it was the original key to unlocking their powers. And that led to the whole bisexuality thing because they were searching for anyone to keep their minds off each other, cause of who we told them they actually were. And then it was our bosses who took them and damaged them so badly that when we threatened to take away all they had left; they had to reset the whole entire world where this prick was actually dead at fifteen, instead of being the rapist of at least eight people, including our son, at seventeen. It all goes back to what we did to them; what we made them” she sniffled slightly.
That was when Star interrupted, having since made her way to the room to get her own morning beverage, “and if you hadn’t made us, we would have never existed or had any lives at all” she said softly as she moved past them and retrieved a soda from the refrigerator before sighing as she leaned back against the door of the appliance as it shut behind her, “though I guess some people might think that would be better” she finished with breaking voice.
“Star” Brie breathed her name as she and Connor turned sad eyes to her at the sound of such a claim.
“Sky still gets triggered back to that life. I still sometimes find him cutting up his pretty skin to punish himself for the things that happened in that life. And it makes me bleed when he does that too; even if no one can see it. And then there’s everything we’ve done in this life. And now it could cause Curt to get away with everything. And then he’ll just come after us all again. That can’t really be what was meant to happen, can it?” Star whispered desperately, looking down to hide her own tears once again.