For the Different Monster - Chapter One

Days before her sweet sixteenth birthday, and after a long three-day criminal court hearing, Brooke sat in the back of the courtroom next to her brother, Jacob. The state appointed defense attorney paced back and forth in front of the judge's bench spewing his closing argument. In his final appeal to the jury, he tried to convince them that Brooke and Jacob's father, Stephen, was not the man they had portrayed over the last three days. Brooked rolled her eyes and hoped that the jury wouldn't buy into the line of bullshit from the attorney. After all, she was his victim. She and her father were the only two people in that courtroom that knew the truth.

Brooke had the most difficult time sitting on the witness stand giving her testimony. She was so nervous that her body was physically shaking, and there was no hiding it. Everyone could hear the quivers in her voice whenever she spoke. She hated answering these questions. It sickened her to tell these strangers about all the perverse details of the sexual abuse that her father inflicted. When questioned, she reluctantly told about the time Stephen hid in the shadows of her room, when she was eleven. She had closed her eyes, but felt her father's hands run all over her underdeveloped body, finding their way into her underwear. She had to explain in great detail how Stephen had called her into the garage one late evening, turned off the lights, and proceeded to use an object as some sort of sex toy on her. Even until the day of the hearing, she had been unaware of what that object was. Brooke endured her father's abuse for years. When her attorney asked her how long the abuse had been going on, her response had been, "God, this has been happening for as long as I can remember."

The jury was dismissed to deliberate. Brooke and Jacob walked out of the courtroom and into the hallway lined with benches and chairs. They sat down to await the jury's decision, and had a brief conversation.

^{“Well, Jacob, this is almost over, how are you holding up?”}

^{“Jesus, Brooke, don't try to be the loving sister. You didn't give a shit about me when you decided to do this, so don't pretend that you give a shit now.”}

^{“If you had any idea of what I’ve been throu…”}

^{“Oh my God, you act like your life was so bad.”}

^{“I’m sorry if I didn't grow up being privileged like you Jacob. You were their favorite.”}

^{“Oh please, give me a break. It doesn't even matter. You've ruined everything, and I hope that they see passed your lies and say he's not guilty.”}

^{“Yeah? Well if they do, you and him can go off and live happily ever after. Fuck you Jacob. You two deserve each other.}

^{“Yeah. Fuck you too, Brooke. Good luck finding another family.}

That had been the last words spoken about their situation. They sat in silence until the bailiff announced that the jury had reached their decision. As they entered the courtroom, Jacob decided to sit behind his father instead of next to Brooke. The betrayal destroyed her, and she realized then there would be no salvaging their relationship.

The judge spoke firmly. “Will the defendant please rise?”

Stephen stood to receive the judgment.

“The jury has reached the unanimous decision that Stephen has been found guilty of aggravated rape of a minor...”

Brooke's eyes were glued to her brother. As the verdict was announced, Jacob hung his head and shook it in disappointment .

Brooke felt a rush of emotions after hearing the verdict. Initially, she felt guilt seeing her brother hang is head in defeat. That single image replayed over and over in her head. She didn't want to imagine what he was feeling at that moment. She felt sorry for her father, who was about to spend the rest of his life in one of the prisons with the worst reputations, the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. He was facing a life of hard time and hard labor. Knowing the bad things that happen to child rapists in prison also gave Brooke a nice, warm, fuzzy all over feeling. She also felt a sense of relief, no longer having to deal with her father's sick and twisted ways... which in turn brought fear. She was stepping into unknown territory. She had always lived under her father's watchful eye and under his control, and didn't know what life would look like without that. Fear of the unknown frightened her.

Brooke and Jacob’s immediate family, the ones who were left, were asked if they would be willing to take them in until a foster family could be found. Brooke figured they would refuse, and she was correct. Since her mother, Maria, had passed away several years ago, the family had been divided. Maria seemed to be the glue that held everyone together. The days of family get-together's were over long before the news of Brooke’s accusations came to the surface.

The social worker who was assigned to Brooke and Jacob brought them to their gender-assigned group homes after the hearing. Jacob was dropped off first. Not a word was spoken between them. When he exited the car, he refused to even look at her, she wondered if she would ever see him again. On the way to the girl’s group home, Brooke felt anxious. She knew a group home wasn't the place for her. They arrived, got checked in, and she was being escorted to her room.

As she was walking down the hall, she felt like she had been sentenced to her own prison. She wasn't like the other girls. They were confrontational; they were troublemakers. She felt as if she were fresh meat for a new set of predators. She knew to keep her head down and mind her own business. She wasn't a fighter and didn't know the first thing about defending herself. In only two years, she would turn eighteen. She didn't have any hope that she could find a foster family willing to invite a sixteen year old, sexually-abused female into their home.

She determined to settle in and start to prepare herself for the two-year stretch that laid before her. If she could make herself as invisible as possible, Brooke could bide her time. She laid her head down that night, closed her eyes and kept reminding herself, “It's only two years, mind your business, you’ll be okay.” She repeated this new mantra to herself over and over until she drifted to sleep. Brooke slept soundly all night, for the first time.

^{Photo Sources
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^{Dear Reader,
I hope you have enjoyed reading Chapter 1. Stay tuned for Chapter 2 and if you've read this far and still haven't read the Prologue, click here and start from the very beginning. Thanks for stopping by y'all!
Love, Monch🐝
I need to give special thanks to my girl @dreemsteem, your impeccable writing and editing skills have helped my story shine. I love you, and hope to be able to return the kind gestures that you've shown to me since joining this platform!}