Together

68. Like there is anyone I'd rather be with

Instrumental solo at minute 3:45-end of the song
Each time you fall in love
-Cigarettes After Sex

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The first portion of this chapter covers how a child/adolescent is typically interviewed after allegations of abuse. Because this is something that is so common I felt that I should warn readers.

There is potential that if you have gone through something similar it may hit you different since this may not have been expected. The process itself is meant to put the child at ease and make telling their story easier but that does not take away from a readers real experiences and how coming forward may have felt.

I will put a ❤️ where you can continue reading if you would like to skip over that portion. It's not super long.

If you have been through something like this my heart is with you. I hope you have been able to find hope and healing.

-Lis 🖤

Shoupe called Darcy the same night JJ said he wanted to give a statement and she arranged for a forensic interview to take place a couple days later. JJ was confused, he thought it'd be Darcy or another officer at the station that he'd be talking to. Shoupe explained that because he was still technically a kid, taking his statement was done more sensitively then is portrayed on TV.

When he got out of the truck he saw they were at The Kildare Children's Advocacy Center. It looked similar to a therapy office honestly. He was brought into a room with a couple chairs and writing materials on the end table.

A woman, who introduced herself as Shannon, came into the room and explained that their conversation was being recorded through cameras that were on the walls and that a detective and Darcy were watching the interview as it happened in another room so they could collect his statement and have it recorded. Any questions either had would be relayed to Shannon through an earpiece and she would ask him for them, so he hopefully wouldn't need to be talked to again.

Shoupe had already told him how it'd go so he wouldn't freak out so, he just nodded his understanding.

And then she just asked him to tell her about what brought him in. It was not at all the interrogation style interview he'd always imagined. She just left it open for him to speak, asking questions kinda like Dani did to get him to give more.

JJ took a deep breath and told her the ugly truth about the interactions he has had with Luke, both in the past and present.

And ugly it was. JJ put on a face of indifference as he told her the experiences he had with his father. It wasn't unnoticed by Shannon how he chose to separate himself from the familial tie by choosing to call his father by his first name.

He spoke of how things with Luke's addiction to alcohol and pills sky rocketed after his mother had enough and took off. He let go of a single tear recounting her departure but quickly pushed those feelings aside to continue his story.

He recounted how he would scrounge for something to eat and be left with nothing for days because Luke would spend money on his habit instead of food. His only option being a slight of hand through a grocery store or neighbor's garden.

He told her how Luke would get drunk or high most days and either pass out if he was lucky, or beat him senseless if he wasn't. Usually over stupid shit that wasn't even a big deal--thank you therapy for working that one out instead of continuing to blame himself.

There were more accounts of physical and verbal altercations than he could really keep track of.  When he began to question how much more she needed to hear, Shannon assured him that he could just give her what sticks out to him. She could see it was taxing to retell.