A night I will never forget

It was a dark warm July night when my life was forever changed. I had just finished working a sweaty eight hour shift scooping ice cream. It was about eleven twenty at night when about five of us were cleaning up for the night. All of a sudden I saw my dad and aunt standing at the front doors.


“Do not let them in “I yelled so everyone could hear

I was extremely scared, I went and hid in the back in between an ice cream maker than was about only a tiny bit bigger than me and one of the larger sinks. Nobody was going to let them in.
“Michaela” I heard my dads voice coming through the back doors. My father had torn down the side wooden gate to get into the back of the shop. My aunt saw me hiding and grab me by my left wrist forcefully and took me out through the front out the doors. She pulled me in and wrapped her arms around me as tight as she could. My father did not come out until five minutes after us. Everything was happening so fast for me that I did not have time to react. At that moment then I knew that my family knew I had been raped.

After they put me in the car they started questioning me, at that time I was not ready to speak about it with them. They informed me that they had already taken this to the police station and that I needed to go in to be questioned. I was told that I had to have someone eighteen or older in the room with me but the only person I was comfortable with at the time was my cousin Alex.

At around eleven forty five at night my cousin and I were dropped off at the police station. I sat there in a huge room with tables and chairs all over. It was my cousin, the officer and I. I felt fine with answering the questions that he was asking at first. Then they got a little awkward and personal. My cousin was just there for support, she did not have to say anything. After sitting there for hours I just felt that I was going to explode. I needed to go home and sleep. At three in the morning the officer gave my cousin and I a ride home. My life was about to be forever changed.

The next day I was informed that the man had been arrested. That same day I was taken to the hospital to get some blood test.In the hospital I had to meet with a women in a room that looked like it was a five year old play room, but only that there was a chalkboard with police and detectives behind it listening into the conversation. After this women interviewed me about what had happened between me and this man the police and detectives took me into a office where they explained everything that was about to happen. One of the men there told me that I needed to grow up fast and that this was just the beginning. I felt like I was in a movie.

Next step was meeting my oldest sister. I told her that I did not want to see her until I was ready. It took me about five days until I was ready to look my sister Weslee in the eye. Weslee ran up and hugged me and would not let go, I could barely breathe.
“ I love you and I am happy you’re okay.” Weslee whispered in my ear. The fact that I could not look my sister in the eyes and my father could not sleep, in my heart I knew that my family was destroyed. I was no longer just a teenager.

The first day of school my sophomore year was also my first court day. That was the first time I had seen him since everything had blown up. I stood up in court to speak and nothing came out but tears. I stood there for five minutes trying to catch my breath and regroup myself. Every emotion and feeling you could think of was rushing through my body at this time. Finally I got what I wanted to say out of me. Just when I thought that this court day was going to end things it completely turned around. The judge said that we were going to need to get another day for this to be ended. Between these two court days I went through hell.

Counseling, meetings with my lawyer and depositions. A deposition is hell. I sat in a room with four other people and one asshole for more than five hours. I had a microphone clipped to my shirt and a camera in my face the whole time. I was sitting there being interrogated by a woman about everything from my schooling to what I eat during the day. I would not say that the woman was rude but she was not kind either. The questions that she asked me just made you want to curl up in a ball and never speak again. I thought it was never going to end.

With the help from my friends and family time flew by. Court was there before I knew it. It still broke my heart to see him but I was much stronger and had realized a lot more about the situation. The outcome was he was sent to jail for one year and then kicked out of the country and could not try and contact me until I was eighteen July 12, 2013 was the day my innocent and childhood was taken from me. This event has shaped me and made me the strong women I have become today. I have no regret and no fear, I no longer feel the pain I expected to. Everything happens with a purpose in life.