Free Teacher's Pet by C. E. Starkweather Page B

you end up in Mr. Hayes's house?"
    I told her about the party and how David had brought me to his house for a cup of tea. I told her about the forced oral. "He said that if I didn't do it, he would kill my parents." I started crying again. "Oh God, my parents. Are they ok?"
    "They're on their way," Officer Ferrell assured me.
    I breathed a sigh of relief.
    I told her how he had starved me. Telling her how I had willingly had sex with him the first time broke my heart.
    "I didn't want to. I didn't know when he was going to come back for me. I didn't know how else to convince him to keep me alive."
    Alex squeezed my hand. "It's ok, sweetie. You're doing great." He whispered.
    "So the sex was consensual?" Martinez asked.
    "The first time."
    "Tell me what happened after that."
    "He asked me to marry him." I frantically pulled at the ring. I needed it off of me.
    "And what did you say?"
    "I said yes." Ferrell raised his eyebrows at me.
    "It was that or be killed," I snapped. I felt like he was judging me, and that made me furious.
    He nodded. "Go on."
    I told her about Amber and how I called out for help.
    "He killed her," I sobbed. "He killed her and it's all my fault."
    "Amber? Amber Lewis?" Ferrell asked.
    I nodded.
    "Amber Lewis isn't dead. She's here in the hospital."
    My heart soared. "Amber is ok?"
    "Well, not quite. She's stable, but we won't know the extent of her head injuries until she wakes up."
    Amber wasn't dead. Alex was here. My parents were on their way. I took a deep breath and found the strength to go on.
    "After he...after Amber was gone, he came back into the room and raped me...anally," I whispered. Alex's jaw clenched.
    The door burst open and my parents came rushing in. "Oh my god," my mom sobbed. "Oh Jadia, thank god."
    I jumped off the table and flew into her arms.
    "What happened?"
    I shook my head and hugged my dad tight.
    "It's ok, princess. We're here," he whispered in my hair.
    "Don't call me that, daddy. Please don't call me princess ever again."
    He nodded. "Ok, sweet pea."
    I laughed through my tears and hugged him tighter.
    Officer Ferrell cleared his throat. "I'm sorry Jadia, but I need you to continue. Do you want your parents here with you?"
    As much as I never wanted to let them leave my side again, I couldn't let them hear what David had done to me.
    "It's ok, honey," my mom said. "We'll be right outside until you're finished." She shot Ferrell a dirty look and they left. I wondered what that was about. I cleared my throat and forced myself to continue.
    "He raped me...a lot. Over the weekend. I can't..." I started sobbing hysterically. Officer Martinez turned off the tape recorder. "Why don't we take a break. Do you want some water?" I nodded.
    "She needs food, too." Alex said. "Look at her. I can see her bones."
    I didn't argue. The officers left and my parents came back in.
    "Jadia, who did this to you?" My mom asked, stroking my hair.
    "Dav...Mr. Hayes," I replied softly.
    "I'm going to fucking kill him," my dad growled.
    "Stand in line," Alex muttered.
    My mom held me while dad paced the room furiously. The two officers came back into the room with a bottle of water and toast. "Where's Mr. Hayes?" Alex asked. The two officers exchanged a look and I felt my heart sink.
    "We haven't found him yet. He might have seen the police activity on his street and bailed. We have an APB out on his car. He won't get very far," he assured me. I shook my head. Until David was behind bars, I wasn't safe.
    A female doctor opened the door.
    "Jadia Galvin?"
    "Yeah," I replied.
    She walked in and closed the door behind her. "I'm Dr. Nguyen. I need to give you what's called a rape kit. Can everybody step outside?" Alex looked at me and I nodded. I didn't want him here for this. I closed my eyes as the doctor poked and prodded at me. She took my vitals and drew blood. I felt like a pincushion. "When did you first have unprotected sex?"
    I thought hard. "Thursday."
    She nodded. "Good. I'm going to give you some