Chapter 12 - The Day They Asked Me to Speak
The courthouse smelled like old carpet cleaner and coffee. Daniel held my hand so tight his watch pressed cold against my wrist. He had told me we would go in a side door so I wouldn't have to walk past everyone, but we still had to go through the metal detector and the guard asked me to put Bunny on the belt. I didn't want to. Daniel knelt down right there, same way he did in the kitchen, and said it would be for two seconds and he'd be watching it the whole time.
My name is Sophia. That morning I wore my blue sweater and jeans, not the red dress. The red dress was in a clear plastic bag with a tag that Ms. Rivera carried.
They put me in a small room that wasn't a courtroom at all. It had a low table, crayons, a couch, and a camera on a tripod. A woman named Denise from the Guardian ad Litem office sat with me. She said Judge Harris would ask me questions through the TV and I only had to answer what was true. Daniel squeezed my shoulder and then he had to leave and sit in the hallway. He said he'd be right outside the door the whole time.
The screen flickered and Judge Harris was there in a black robe. He wasn't scary like I thought. He smiled a little and said good morning.
"Sophia, can you tell me your name?" he asked.
I held Bunny to my chest. "Sophia."
"How old are you, Sophia?"
"Six," I said. My voice was small and the microphone made it crackle.
"Do you know why you're talking to me today?"
I nodded. Denise had told me to use words so the microphone could hear. "To talk about what happened."
"Can you tell me in your own words what happened at home?"
I breathed the way my therapist taught me. My hands were sweaty on Bunny's fur. "Daddy says we have a secret game. It hurts."
I had said it exactly like that before. I pointed to my left arm where the purple mark had been, then down to my knee. "Here and here."
"Did someone tell you to keep it a secret?" the judge asked, soft.
"Mom said not to tell," I whispered. Then I added quick, "But Daniel said I could tell. He said it wasn't my fault."
The judge nodded. "Thank you, Sophia. You're doing very well. Is there anything else you want me to know?"
I shook my head. I was holding Bunny so tight its pink nose was pressed flat. "I want to stay with Uncle Daniel."
Then the screen went black. Denise turned off the camera and said I did exactly right. Through the wall I could hear the courtroom door open and close as they brought Mom in.
They let me stay in the testimony room with Denise, but the speaker was on low so I could hear Mom's voice. She sounded like she had been crying. The county attorney asked her to state her name for the record.
"Lauren Hale," she said.
"Ms. Hale, on the afternoon in December when your daughter showed her bruises to her uncle, where were you?"
"I was in the living room by the Christmas tree," Mom said. Her voice shook. "I heard Daniel talking to Sophia in the kitchen."
"Had you seen those bruises before that day?"
A long pause. I could hear her breathing. "Yes. On her arm. On her leg."
"Had you seen how she got them?"
"Yes," she said, even quieter. "My husband was rough with her. When he was angry. When she wouldn't play the game right."
"Did you tell anyone?"
"No."
"Did you tell Sophia to do anything about it?"
Mom started to cry for real then. "I told her to keep it secret. I told her Daddy would be mad if she told. I thought if we didn't say anything it would get better. I was wrong. It was my job to protect her and I didn't."
The attorney asked, "What are you asking the court to do today regarding custody?"
"I am asking that Daniel be allowed to keep her with him," Mom said. "That she stay with my brother. That he not be allowed near her. I was wrong to protect him."
Denise looked at me and I didn't say anything. Bunny's ear was damp where I was holding it.
After Mom, they called Daddy. His voice was loud even through the speaker. He said he was a good father, that he never hurt me, that any marks were from playing or discipline like any parent would do.
The county attorney's voice got sharper. "Mr. Hale, are you saying Sophia fell and caused identical finger-shaped bruises on her forearm and knee?"
"We play rough," Daddy said. "She bruises easy."
"Doctor Patil took photographs on December 16th. She documented bruises consistent with gripping and striking, not a fall. She noted multiple bruises in different stages of healing. Did you see those photographs?"
"Those pictures don't prove anything," Daddy said.
"No further questions," the attorney said.
It got quiet for a long time. Then Judge Harris spoke and Denise turned the volume up so I could hear every word. He said he had considered Sophia's testimony via closed circuit, Ms. Hale's admission, the medical photographs, and Mr. Hale's testimony which he did not find credible.
He said he was granting temporary sole custody to my mother with primary placement with my uncle Daniel, that the no-contact order for my father would continue, and that the criminal case would proceed to trial separately. He said this was not a final permanent order but a temporary one to keep me safe while Mom completed her services.
Daniel opened the door to my little room right after. He knelt again and I climbed into his lap. I could smell his same gray sweater. He didn't say anything at first, he just breathed with me.
May you like
"It's okay," he whispered. "You did it."
I kept holding Bunny. Outside the window the winter sky was already getting dark.
