"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. As most of you know, I am Attorney Paul Purcell and I have been representing my client, Ethan Purcell since the beginning of this trial today. My client was allegedly accused of sexual assault. But I call it consensual sex because all members present at the court today, that's what it is. The incident happened at his home with Elena Stenfield at her own will and approval. You will hear directly from the accused himself of how the incident happened, and um, I hope that you will help me prove that he is innocent. Thank you." Paul said his opening statement as he looked at the jury. He wasn't putting enough effort into it though, since he knew his advantage stood with the judge. Ethan stepped forth, swore by the bible, and began to tell his own testimony.
"Well, it all happened like this..." He turned to Elena picking up words to say, "After the Ingrid incident that she, um, Elena had told you, we went to my home. Elena... we, I... um uh, she started flirting with me. And I wish you could see how she looked that night... she was pretty. She was beautiful. So at first, we kissed, and she seemed okay with it."
Everyone listened on keenly. So did Elena. She knew what the truth was and so far, Ethan was on the right track. But she wanted to hear what he would say; what kind of lies he was going to come up with, after all, he had denied the charges when the session began.
"And soon... things got intense, like um yeah it happened really fast. She took off my shirt and um, started doing things with my chest. I knew she was up for it, and I didn't mind stopping her." Elena's brows furrowed in a 'what the heck' manner. He did not just say that! Her mind plundered into arrays of questions. She wanted to shout at him; to tell him to tell the truth to the court. She sat there though, with the rest of the public gallery as they listened on.
"She told me that she had never done it, you know, have sex before and that the day would be a good one for her to try it out. I knew she loved me so I knew that she wouldn't have a problem with me doing it with her. But out of the love and respect I have for her, which I still do have to this very moment, I turned her down. I mean yeah, Elena's a beautiful and attractive lady, but come on... how could I take advantage of such a friend? A person I've known for the better part of my life? I just wasn't up for that. So I turned her down thinking maybe she was drunk. She continued to insist though. I thought she was joking at first... but then she started flirting with me, then I knew that she was serious about it."
She couldn't believe her ears. Was he really saying all of that? Ethan? Of all the people! Elena cursed him heartily! An outburst of emotions was just a mouth-spattering away and she couldn't take the lies anymore, but what was about to come would be hurting, even more.
"The bedroom where we did it... was still under design. So it was a little bit messy with some ropes and machinery over here and there you know... so there was this nail that was on the edge of the wall next to the door, Elena had accidentally tangled her dress there and when she got it out, it had a tear. I noticed when I was about to get, you know on top... and I asked her about the tear and she um... she told me that she loved that dress so much, or rather the type. So I told her we would buy a new one if she wanted to and she was okay. She started tearing it apart and I asked her why she was doing that. Elena told me she had no plans to return home that night; that she wanted to spend the night with me. So she didn't need the dress for the night and that she'd call a friend to bring her fresh clothes in the morning. So I took the dress myself and I tore it apart-"
"Ethan stop!" Someone's voice cracked inside the silent room.
All eyes shifted to Elena. She was standing tall, brows drew closer, hands turned to fists. On her face, there was anger that could be easily read by anyone who saw her.
"Please stop! Stop lying!" Her voice sounded brittle. Ethan gulped at her as his eyes danced away from her.
"Order in my court!" Judge Freeman spoke up as he slammed the gavel. "Miss," he was referring to Elena, "please remain quiet and sit down. When required to speak, you will be brought forward."
Elena looked at the judge, not surprised by his callout. He was as calm as a candle fire. She turned to Ethan who was still looking away and gritted her teeth to her frustration. Her mother, Lynn, grabbed her hand and pulled her back to sit.
"Elena! What is wrong with you?!" She whispered to her.
"He's lying mom! He's lying! All of it... lies!" She cried out to her in a low voice.
"Elena, don't let his words get to you... let him say what he'll say. You know you said what really happened so don't give a dime about him. Trust me."
"But mom, it hurts... you don't know how he-"
"I said order in my court!" Judge Freeman spoke sharply as he looked at the two conversing. "Do that again Miss Elena, and I'll have you thrown out."
Elena finally shut up and looked at Ethan, the earlier expression still present. Paul smirked solely from deep within. Mrs. Jenna raised a brow as she tried to understand the harshness of the judge to you the young woman.
"Ethan, you may continue." The Judge spoke so calmly at him.
"So when I got the dress off her, we obviously knew where this would end up. She helped me get out of my pants and, off her undergarments... yeah, and then we did it."
Elena wanted to cry. She was sure that the Ethan at the court wasn't the one she had known her entire life. The Ethan she knew would have asked for forgiveness when he had wronged her. And paid for his mistakes. He was honorable, not the coward that she was seeing today. She wanted to ask him why. Why he was doing this. He wasn't of this type. Her eyes started stinging, and she could feel the itch and wanted to rub off the tears that were attempting to come out.
"As soon as I saw the blood coming from her... I asked her if we should stop. She didn't look like she was in pain or anything so I wasn't sure whether to continue or stop at that moment." He closed his eyes as he tried to hide the guilt from expressing itself to the public. He was scared. "She urged me to go on. But I could tell that she was in pain. It wasn't my first time with a virgin girl so I knew what she was experiencing. So I went ahead and asked her one more time if she was really up for it. Elena was okay with it. She was okay with everything."
Elena's emotions were a solder of hatred, betrayal and desperation. Skimpy on their own but just enough to make her feel wrecked when all conjoined together. She was furious at him for making her look like some wretched skivvy whore in front of the public; her own family! She was fuming up at his skullduggery testimony that tore her apart like a small wooden ship on a stormy night in the wild ravaging waves of the ocean.