Muted

Chapter 24

After my delicious lunch of stale chips and processed cheese, I put on pants and a short sleeved shirt. Monroe and I decided to just spend the day playing board games with my sister. She was beginning to gain some knowledge and her verbal skills were getting much better. "My turn?" "Yes. It's your turn. Roll the dice." Monroe said. He was acting so nice with my siblings. I really liked it. "Sadie, you are smiling like a crazy person." Monroe pointed out. I started laughing. "No, it's just you really get along with my siblings and that's so sweet because they are both far from society's normal." He smiled at my sister. "Sadie, they are adorable and really look up to you. I'm just so happy that you're able to talk now because now they have a true role model: strong, smart and loving." He kissed me on the cheek and kissed Carlie on the cheek as well. She started giggling, obviously overjoyed at the gesture.

The next day I walked over to Monroe's house to get him ready for the trial. Monroe was putting on his sports jacket when I walked in to see him. “Ready?” I asked. “I’ve been ready to put this psychopath away for a while, but are you?” He answered. “Yes, I want him to rot in jail until he’s completely skin and bones!” “Then let’s go.”

We walked out the door and my mom met us at her car. “Let’s go.” Monroe’s hand gripped mine securely. I pulled away. “Too nervous?” Monroe asked. I nodded.  As we sat in the car, I felt as if I couldn’t breathe. The anxiety of this whole situation finally got to me and I reacted negatively. “Sadie! Are you okay?” I heard someone scream. I couldn’t tell if it was my mom or Monroe. All the colors and shapes I was seeing started to run together. I felt as if the car was moving at a hundred and eighty miles an hour. I couldn’t speak. ‘What’s wrong with me?’ I thought to myself, but then I remembered: I was raped. I was kidnapped. I was drugged. I was mutilated and hurt by this one man. I was ruined. The rebellious attitude I felt for talking disappeared. I quickly relapsed into my fear of talking. I was done and he had ultimately won.

Monroe tried to hold my hand when we got to the courthouse for the final hearing, but I pulled away. He started to speak but was cut off by the security guard. “All metal in the bucket.” He said. Monroe removed his belt, his bracelet, his wallet and his box cutter. “Why do you have a box cutter on you? It’s not illegal, but I’m curious.” The guard asked. “I was attacked once and my girlfriend twice, I carry it for protection. Plus, I was working and kind of forgot I had it in my pocket.” “Well, I’ll need to confiscate it. You can have it once you leave the building.” After walking through the detector, he put his belt back on. “Let’s go. So, are you nervous?” I nodded. I was so nervous, that I contemplated running and just not stopping. “Sadie, you’re shaking. Here, sit down.” I suddenly couldn’t breathe. I was right next to the chair, when I hit the floor. “Sadie, are you with me.” I saw the police officer over my body. I couldn’t breathe. Someone started pumping on my chest. I was getting CPR. I was in and out of the whole thing. “Someone call 9-1-1.” “I need-” “Stat.” “Stay with me Sadie.” “Put an oxygen mask on her.” I finally drifted away from the situation.

I woke up completely unaware of what happened. “Sadie, are you awake?” I heard a male voice say. “What happened?” I asked. “You had a panic attack and you passed out and hit your head.” He grabbed my hand. “Monroe, I’m sorry.” “Why are you sorry?” I began to cry, not silently like usual, but loudly. I cried about everything that had happened to me. “I put you through hell.” He rubbed my shoulder. He was about to kiss me when a doctor came in. “Sorry, to interrupt, but I see our patient is awake. Sadie, oxygen stopped flowing to your brain. Now, we need to take your blood pressure. We’ve been checking it every few hours or so, to see if it’s improving. We also need to make sure there is no underlying issues that are causing issues.” A nurse came in and checked my vitals. “Your body temperature is back to normal, but your blood pressure is still slightly higher. We are going to have to start you on a medication to lower your blood pressure.” “When can I go home?” I asked. “Very soon.” She left the room. “So, how’s the trial?” I asked. “Well, the jury has been trying to figure out if Ren’s guilty. They have sufficient evidence towards his attempts to murder you and I. As for convicting him on rape and kidnapping, his DNA was found when they did the rape kit. They found a hair that the hospital didn't reveal. If he isn’t convicted, I’d be worried. I’ll protect you no matter what.”

When I got released, my mom took me straight to the court. No underlying issues, but I was to go in for a check up to make sure that nothing is going on in my body. This was the day that they would make their decision on what will happen to Ren and I. I sat next to Monroe and my mom. I held both of their hands. “How does the jury find the defendant, Ren Nherdu, on seven counts of attempted murder?” I almost laughed at how ridiculous that sounded. ‘Seven counts of attempted murder seems like a lot.’ “We find the defendant guilty for six counts of attempted murder against Sadie Dilon and Monroe Randes.” ‘That means they think he didn’t cripple Casey.’ My mom’s hand tightened around mine. “How does the court rule on four counts of kidnapping?” “We find the defendant guilty of all counts.” “How does the court rule on the charge of rape in the first degree?” “We find the defendant guilty of rape in the first degree.” “Ren Nherdu, you are sentenced with six ten year sentences, four twenty year sentences and one five year sentence.” The judge hit his gavel on his stand. “Court is dismissed.”  I started to cry. I was so happy.

As they were leading Ren out of the court, he had a few choice words for me. “You fucking whore, are you happy now? People saw the real me, but guess what, they saw the real you. You’re a scared girl, a little girl with no voice. I hope you’re happy. I’ll never get out of your life. I’ll be that memory that will prevent you from ever getting close to someone. So, I guess my work here is done, bitch.” I turned to Monroe. “You know, what he said isn’t true. You’re much stronger than you let on. For Heaven’s sake, Sadie, you almost died so many times, but you didn’t. I wish I had your courage. You overcame your biggest obstacle and now, you don’t have to deal with him again.” As I listened to Monroe’s words, I felt overcome with so much emotion, that I kissed him. “Can we go back to the beach?” I asked. “Whatever your heart desires, I will give it to you.” He said and we walked out of the courtroom, hand in hand.