Page 175 of Save Room for Us

“I see.” He paced a bit. “Did you try to call the police?”

“I did, but the first few cops that came told me they couldn’t remove him from the home because it was his residence. I would have to file a restraining order. He was mad I called the cops, though, so as soon as they left… um, he reacted.” I cleared my throat. “The abuse went on until I was finally able to get away to try to file the restraining order since he had an on-site job and wouldn’t be able to follow me. But the officer told me someone like Ced—him, wouldn’t be pressed about a restraining order, and it would only upset him further, to which I would have to deal with.”

I caught Cedric’s eyes as I talked, and he looked pissed off. The more I talked, the harder his jaw clenched as he watched me. I saw Asif just as perturbed but for different reasons, obviously. Seeing him and how handsome he looked in his suit brought me some relief though.

“You seem nervous, Ms. Chase. Why is that?” Bashar queried.

“Because he’s right there, and he’s watching me.” I nodded in his direction and watched Bashar give a look to the jury who was already horrified by what I’d said. If that shocked them, I could only imagine if they heard the gory details.

“Can you tell me what a typical day with Mr. Pete was like?” Bashar leaned a hand on the stand.

“Um,” I thought for a second, “usually, I would wake up pretty early before him and be able to go to the bathroom finally. After that, I would brush my teeth, shower, and then check on our daughter, Sophie. If she was awake, I would get her together, make us all breakfast, and by that time, he would be up.

“If he had a job to do, he would eat and then get ready before leaving, but if not, he would basically follow me to drop Sophie at daycare, then to work, where he would randomly roam my floor to keep an eye on me. Pretty much, he would watch meall day and then follow me out when it was time to leave, grab Sophie, and go home. Then after I cooked and bathed Sophie, he would make us all go to bed. He and I would have to have sexual intercourse, and I would have to lie there with him holding me for hours, unable to use the restroom or get up until the morning.”

“You mentioned that he was abusive, was this every day?”

“Every day, yes, but not always physical. Some days it would be emotionally, verbally, and then others, physically. But it would always be something.”

“I want the jury to take note of these photos, please,” Bashar said as his assistant set up the projector, handing him the remote to control it.

The jury gasped seeing some unreleased photos of the injuries I’d incurred from Cedric. I turned away, not really wanting to see them because it would make me remember too vividly. After going through his slideshow, Bashar let us know that was all the questions he had.

At that moment, the prosecutor, Emilia Finley, stood up. She gave me a fake smile as she greeted me. She was young, older than me though, so around Bashar’s age, wearing a brown skirt suit and a hairstyle that was very dated. She looked like the type of woman who gave everything to her job, and it scared me. Just like Bashar, I could tell she was good at what she did.

“Ms. Chase, is it true you practiced at a gun rangemonthsbefore you shot Cedric Pete?” Her brows kissed as she looked at me for an answer.

“Well, I wanted?—”

“It’s a yes or no answer, Ms. Chase. Did you or did you not go to the gun range in order to perfect your skills well before Cedric allegedly assaulted you the night you shot him?”

“Yes.” I blinked rapidly, suddenly uncomfortable.

Emilia nodded with a smirk like that was the exact answer she wanted as she paced in her brown pumps, eyeing the glossy courtroom floor for a moment.

“Did you also drop your daughter off before you went home that night?”

“Yes.”

Wearing a look of confusion, she glanced at the jury, then back at me and asked, “Why? Your child lives with you, yet you suddenly drop her to her grandmother’s?”

“Yes, because my mother wanted to see her,” I lied.

Emilia laughed, letting me know she didn’t believe me.

“So let me get this straight, Ms. Chase. Cedric Pete, this abusive tyrant of a man who wants to control everything, would’ve been perfectly fine with you deviating and dropping your daughter off to your mother after work?”

“Sophie wasn’t much of his concern.”

“Okay, let’s go with that. Why wait until after work? Why not drop her at your mother’s earlier before you went or even the next morning? Was it because you knew you planned to go home and shoot Cedric and didn’t want her to see it? She’d already be safe somewhere else just in case things went awry maybe?”

Yes, I thought. That was exactly why.

“Objection, leading,” Bashar stated calmly, and Emilia put her hand up to say she understood.

“Sustained,” the judge said anyway.

“So, Ms. Chase, you dropped your daughter off and went home hoping to have a regular night? If that is the case, why did the detectives see a half-packed suitcase. Were you planning something?”

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