Breaking Conviction by Greer Rivers

Chapter Twelve

“You ready for this?”

Nora’s bottle green eyes watched her from behind round rose gold wire-frame glasses. On anyone else, they’d be reminiscent of a 1970s octogenarian. But normal fashion rules didn’t apply to Nora. She looked cute as hell in them.

Naomi ignored her mental ramblings and nodded, refraining from telling her new friend that no, she was certainly not ready to console a sexual assault survivor in a hospital.

The truth was, she felt woefully unprepared for her first case as a volunteer victim advocate. She’d worked with victims at the clinic, but this was only her second time meeting one right after they’d suffered the trauma. Nora had tried to encourage her, insisting that no one was ever prepared. But hell, it’d only been two months since she’d needed Sasha Saves herself.

The only other time she’d come close to directly working with a victim was when one came for their help a month ago. The poor woman had literally stumbled into the store, but it’d been closing time and Naomi had to leave to go pick up Thea from the church night program. Naomi had panicked about how to help her, and instead of calling the on-call volunteer, she’d called Ellie to go with the woman to the hospital as support.

At that point, Dean had still been lenient. He’d gotten snippy with her after she’d helped Wes and Nora with the scholarship list a few weeks ago, but after she’d been able to calm him down by reassuring him she’d been working for the nonprofit, he’d apologized and immediately become remorseful. For a few days after that, he returned to his angelic facade.

But true to form, he’d slowly gotten more and more irritated with her. Everything she did was wrong in some way. She’d answer his calls, but not fast enough. She’d text him, but it didn’t count if he’d had to prompt her. She’d leave volunteering early, but would still get the silent treatment or snide remarks if she came home a few minutes late. He was disturbingly calm every time Naomi ‘accidentally’ fell asleep with Thea every night while they watched a movie with her stuffed bear, Angus. He’d beaten her bloody the last time he’d tried to ‘encourage’ her to have sex. Perhaps the leftover guilt was why he hadn’t insisted on it again.

But he hadn’t blown up again. Not yet anyway. It was almost as if he was waiting for something. Hell, she didn’t know which she hated more. The waiting game was almost as scary as when it was game over. Maybe he was just irritated with work and it was just her own paranoia and stress kicking in. The party she’d been both helping plan and sabotage was in two days. Playing double agent was enough to make anyone crazy.

As Nora and Naomi walked into the hospital, Naomi couldn’t help the jitters trembling her hands. The past two months had flown by, but she was excited to finally be able to talk with victims face to face. Even though she was still stuck in her situation, for some reason it felt like by helping others, she was helping herself, too.

“‘Kay, doll.” Nora whipped around to face her and Naomi stopped short. “Just remember, above all else, listen. No judgments, ‘kay? For all we know, this survivor has just been through the most traumatic moment of her life. Our job is to minimize the fallout the best we can and to help her feel like she’s in charge of her own body again. We’re basically the best friend she needs right now.”

“Got it, got it.” Naomi blew out a breath as they navigated the halls to the ER. “What if the victim—”

“Nope, nuh-uh, survivor only, capisce?” Nora’s tone was firm, but not harsh, and Naomi slammed her lips shut. “She’s here, taking control of her life. She’s a fuckin’ survivor...” She glanced at Naomi. “Just like you, doll.”

Naomi’s cheeks warmed. “Our situations are completely different.”

Nora shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe. Maybe not. But like recognizes like. I have a feeling you’ll find more in common with this woman than you think.”

Naomi felt a scowl in response but swallowed back her rebuttal. Sure, she had an angry baby daddy at home who couldn’t control his temper, but that was nowhere near the type of trauma this poor victim had gone through. The two situations didn’t compare… right?

She sat in her thoughts while Nora approached a nurse. They were escorted into a room where a woman sat up on the examination table, much like Naomi had just two months ago at Sasha Saves. But that wasn’t what made her halt in her tracks.

“Sophie?”

Naomi’s friend lifted red-rimmed onyx eyes and gasped. She tugged a loose strand of fine black hair behind her ear and pulled at a loose thread on her cardigan lying beside her before crossing her arms over herself.

“N-Naomi? Wh—” She looked around the room as if it held the answers to her questions. “What’re you doin’ here?”

“I-I—” Naomi couldn’t for the life of her figure out the right thing to say as she took in the light bruising down her friend’s pale skin.

Thankfully, Nora stepped in, glancing between the two. “Hi Sophie, we’re from Sasha Saves. We got the call that you were interested in talking to someone and having someone with you during the exam? I’m Nora and it seems like you’ve already met Naomi?” Nora paused, waiting for one of them to find their words.

“We went to college together—”

“—before Naomi dropped out. God, girl, I haven’t seen you in forever.” Sophie turned to Nora but nodded to indicate Naomi. “She met her dream guy and ghosted us to go live her perfect life.”

Naomi opened her mouth to argue but snapped it shut, feeling like she’d been slapped. Sophie hadn’t said it with derision or judgment, more… envy? It made Naomi feel sick to her stomach.

Sophie wasn’t wrong about the ghosting part, but the rest of it…

When Naomi and Dean met at a college bar years ago, she’d been a sophomore and he’d been a police officer like her daddy. His wide smile and bright green-brown eyes drew her in like the final shot of whiskey right before last call. She’d felt like shit the next day, but she never realized how long the hangover from that night would last. A positive pregnancy test and a few months of ‘trying to make it work’ later, Dean’s true nature finally revealed itself. That was when she began to realize his smile had a bite to it and his eyes reminded her more of dead leaves than a gorgeous autumn day.

Five totally not perfect years later, getting cut off from her momma for having a child out of wedlock, and having to drop out of college, she’d gotten her associate’s degree and a job at a global charity that made her feel like she was doing something worthwhile.

But even with that, Dean liked to remind her she only got her foot in the door with that job because of him. She’d tried for years to make a life she could be proud of and to have a happy, loving home for her daughter. That hope would never fade, but she was still on the fence with her ‘dream guy.’

As soon as she thought the words, a set of piercing blue eyes behind black rectangular frames and a smile that warmed her soul flashed across her mind.

Nora cleared her throat, clearing Naomi’s thoughts with it. “Well, we’re here to answer any questions you might have, listen to whatever you might want to tell us. Keep you company during your exam... We’re here for you and whatever you need.”

Sophie sighed and bowed her head. It seemed like she was taking in soothing breaths until they developed an unsustainable rhythm and sobs soon racked her body. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He was supposed to be one of the good ones.”

Naomi’s heart cracked in half. What had happened to her friend while she’d been too caught up in her own relationship? Naomi couldn’t even think if Sophie was with anyone, couldn’t even remember the last time they’d spoken. What had happened to her over the years? The woman she remembered was a ball of swirling energy and defiance, loving life and kicking men to the curb when they didn’t treat her right.

Naomi grabbed a chair from the corner of the small room and nearly tossed it toward Nora before climbing onto the bed beside her friend. She tucked Sophie into her arms and let her friend cry on her shoulder, trying not to hate herself for not being there when she’d needed her.

“Soph... what happened, girl?”

Sophie turned and wiped her face with the back of her hand. “God, I’m embarrassin’.”

“No, you’re not, doll.” Nora reassured her. “Take your time, or say nothing at all. We’re here for you whenever or however you need us.”

Sophie sniffed at Nora’s words, but straightened. “There’s not much to tell, really. There’s a guy I’ve been seein’. I thought he was one of the good ones, but I found out last night he’s not. End of story.”

Naomi and Nora sat in silence, taking cues from Sophie, hoping she’d talk more if she was ready. Sure enough, Sophie closed her eyes and cursed again.

“He’s one of the ones who can’t hear ‘no’ when he’s had a couple whiskeys in him. When he didn’t like that answer, he took matters into his own hands. I woke up this morning not remembering how I got in his bed but knowing sure as hell that I didn’t get there just on one glass of wine. It took all day for me to get enough courage to get here.” She covered her face and spoke through her fingers. “And what really sucks is that I know that type all too well. I dated one in college—”

“Jeremy?” Naomi couldn’t stop herself from questioning her.

“Naomi,” Nora hissed and shook her head minutely. They were supposed to be silent listeners until given the right cues and never interrupt, but she hadn’t been able to keep her shock to herself.

Sophie groaned. “Yeah, fuckin’ Jeremy. He got that way after we graduated. He never went as far as… he did last night. But I was so glad I got rid of him when he moved outta Ashland.”

Naomi was floored. How had she not known what her friend was going through? Naomi searched her brain, only vaguely remembering seeing Jeremy and Sophie together. She’d thought they’d been happy. Was that how she and Dean looked from the outside? Had she really been so caught up in her disaster of a relationship that she’d forgotten all her other good ones?

Of course I did.

Naomi mentally chastised herself. Getting pregnant, in a new relationship, dropping out of college, and having a baby all in one year was a whirlwind for anyone, but it was no excuse to leave her friends by the wayside. Especially not to leave them to fend off predators by themselves.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know, Soph.”

Sorry.She resisted the urge to grimace at her own apology. She knew better than anyone how empty it sounded in the face of reality.

Sophie waved her hand. “It’s whatever now. The point is, the guy last night wasn’t much different. I’m just mad it took a repeat of the past to make me realize it. He’d asked me out on a date. We went back to his place for drinks and I guess he thought that meant I was an automatic yes. I should’ve left as soon as he got handsy, but it felt good to be wanted again for a little while. Until he wanted more than I was willing to give him. I don’t remember much after that… I think he might’ve done something to my glass of wine.” She covered her face with her hands again and let out a muffled sob. “God, I’m such an idiot.”

Anger crashed into Naomi and she braced herself for the impact right before she let it out. “You are not an idiot. The one who’s in the wrong here is that asshole last night. Not you, Soph.” Naomi leaped up off the examination table, adrenaline coursing through her. “Who is he? Are you gonna prosecute? This guy needs to go down.”

“Naomi—”

“I-I wanted to do the rape kit… just in case, but…” Sophie’s eyes were deep, dark pools of confusion, but Naomi could only see red. “I-I’m not sure I want to prosecute yet.”

“That’s okay, Sophie,” Nora interjected. “The hospital keeps rape kits for up to a year, so you have plenty of time to decide what’s best for you.”

“No, screw waiting a year. How could you not be sure about reportin’ him? This guy laid his hands on you, Soph!” She pointed to the light bruising dotting up and down Sophie’s arms and Sophie tugged on the cardigan. “He drugged you and left bruises, Soph! He needs to pay!”

“I don’t know, Nay, I just, I feel like maybe I didn’t make it clear? Maybe I should’ve been more upfront? I can’t ruin this guy’s life.”

“Ruin this guy’s life? Sophie, he forced himself on you after drugging you.” She was one excuse away from having steam blow out her nose. “Soph, you have to press charg—”

“Naomi?” Nora popped up out of her seat. “Sidebar, babe?” She tilted her head toward the door and Naomi bit the inside of her lip and nodded once. “We’ll be right back, Sophie. Naomi and I are just gonna have a quick lil’ chat.”

As soon as they stepped out into the hallway, Naomi opened her mouth to light into Nora for interrupting them, but Nora held up a finger.

“Naomi, stop. You’ve got to chill. You can’t be going around telling survivors how to live their lives—”

“Nora, she’s gonna let that guy get off scot-free—”

“Maybe!” Nora raised her voice before lowering it again. “But maybe not.” Nora backed away, creating space between them as Naomi concentrated on breathing in measured breaths. “This woman has just gone through what sounds like yet another traumatic event in her life. You can’t go in there telling her what to do with the life she already feels like she’s lost control of.”

Naomi turned away from Nora, closing her eyes before massaging a temple, a soothing gesture that was not doing its job at the moment.

“But, Nora—”

“No Naomi, I know this is hard, but our job is to listen, explain her options, and let her know she’s not alone and that we’ll be with her every step of the way—” Nora tugged Naomi by the arm to face her. “No matter what direction she decides to take. That’s our job.”

“But this is my friend, Nora. Or was. Damnit, she has us to help her get through this if she wants to prosecute and this guy deserves to pay for the bruises he’s made on her.” Naomi threw her hand in the direction of the small examination room. “She’s making a huge mistake.”

Nora’s lips tightened before she nodded and spoke in a low voice. “It’s hard to watch... isn’t it?”

Her quiet whisper barreled into Naomi like a freakin’ freight train. Naomi’s eyes widened and she stared off into space as she collapsed against the wall.

“Did I sound like that?” she finally asked, afraid to hear the answer.

“Honestly, babe? You still do.” Nora placed a light hand on Naomi’s shoulder and squeezed. “At some point, you might wanna think about why it’s so much easier to downplay your own trauma when you’re ready to crusade for your friend’s. But right now, that friend needs you. We’re gonna go in there, listen, and hold her hand through this sexual assault exam. We’ll present all her options with all the possible outcomes. It’s important that she knows she has agency over her life right now.”

Naomi nodded before shaking her head slightly and exhaling on a slow breath. “Okay… yeah… I get it.”

Nora patted her shoulder. “You ready for take two?”

Naomi snorted. “Yeah, I promise I’ll try my best to keep it together this time.”

She was greeted back with a small smile. “Our best is all we can do.”