Repressed

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I sat in a courtroom, after being put under arrest for possession of a weapon on school grounds, intent to kill, and murder in the second-degree. The prosecution lawyer questioned me, while my lawyer sat at a table at the front of the courtroom.

"Oliver Myers, did you knowingly bring a gun onto school property?"

"Yes."

"Did you shoot Scott Landon?"
"In self-defense. He shot my - a person who was right next to me."

"Did you bring the gun onto school grounds with the intention to shoot Scott Landon?"
"No. I didn't know who he was, or what he would do."

"Why did you bring the gun onto school grounds? Was it with the intention to shoot someone else?"

I hesitated.

"May I remind, Mr. Myers, that you are under oath?"

"I don't know."
"You don't know why you brought the gun? Was it to shoot Lewis Campbell?"
"No!"
"Were you going to shoot someone else?"
"I don't think so."

"Why did you bring the gun, then?"

"I don't know."

The lawyer sighed. "Mr. Myers, were you the boyfriend of Mr. Campbell?"
"Yes."

"Is it true that he sexually abused you when you were both younger?"
I looked down. "Yes."

"Do you suffer from PTSD?"

"A psychiatrist has said that I do."
"Isn't it true that people who suffer from PTSD have a higher rate of violence?"
"Objection!" my lawyer called. "My client is not an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder."

"Sustained," the judge answered.

The lawyer questioning me straightened his tie. "Your witness."