Her Sweet Betrayal (12 page)

An hour later I was being escorted back to the stand. The only difference was that Honey was not present today and neither was my family.

“Let me make one thing clear before you proceed. What happened yesterday in my courtroom will not happen today. If anyone decides to put on a show today, you will be put in jail…Today is the last day of trial, counselor you may finish questioning your witness.”

“Yesterday after seeing the video you cried on the stand why?”

“Believe it or not it was my first time seeing the video and I couldn’t believe that that was me on the screen doing that horrible thing.”

“Are you saying that even after watching the video, you don’t recall committing the act?”

“Yes that’s actually what I am saying.”

“Have you ever had this problem before?”

“Yes there have been times when I couldn’t remember what happened the day before.”

“How often does it happen?”

“I don’t know.”

“Not often.”

“No further questions.”

Just then Nutella got up with her clipboard and walked up to me.

“Stephan, are you a heavy drinker?”

“No.”

“Do you drink alcohol at all?”

“Occasionally,” I simply replied.

“According to your stepdaughter you drink every day.”

“Every day is occasion,” I replied licking my lips.

“Drinking gin everyday would make you a heavy drinker in my book, Mr. Harris.”

“Well thank GOD this isn’t your book,” I smartly replied.

“Will you say that you have blacked out more than five times in your life?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any medical records to prove such a claim?”

“No.”

“You mean to tell me that you have blacked out five times and haven’t reported it to your doctor?”

“Yes.”

“And why not?”

“Because I have a family to take care of and I can’t do it in a doctor’s office.”

“Blackouts can be a very serious medical condition that if left untreated could leave your family fatherless. And for someone that is such a family man I doubt that you would risk Honey growing up without a father. I mean how could you take care of them if you aren’t there?”

“Okay, I see that I made a mistake, I should have gotten them checked out.”

“I bet that’s not your only mistake…No more questions,” she said taking her seat.

“No more questions,” Seymour said.

“Jurors you will now be escorted to the deliberation room. Please take everything that you saw and heard into consideration,” Judge Brown said as I was escorted back to my holding cell and awaited my fate.

Three hours later I was brought back to the courtroom.

“Jury, have you reached a decision?”

“Yes,” the foreman said standing and handing the bailiff a piece of paper.

The judge read the paper and handed it back to the foreman.

“Counselors approach the bench,” Judge Brown’s voice boomed across the room. “It seems that the jury bought Mr. Harris blackouts and think that jail isn’t the right place for him, but thinks that he should be sent somewhere where he would receive the medical attention he deserves.”

“Okay so send him to prison, and take him to get the much needed tests done at the local hospital. He raped a fifteen year old girl your honor.”

“He unknowingly raped a fifteen year old girl due to his blackouts.”

“Blackouts that can be from heavy drinking that he knowingly lied about.”

“Okay you two this isn’t a pissing contest. Return back to your stations.”

I watched as Nutella stomped away from the judge letting me know that I have just won my case.

“In the case of the People versus Stephan Harris, we the jury find him guilty of Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor in the third degree,” the foreman said instantly sealing my fate.

Damn I wished I took the plea deal Tommy and Bull took. Ten years doesn’t seem so bad right now.

“I’m ready for sentencing. Since the victim of this crime isn’t present we are going to ask the mother to speak on her behalf. Ma’am what would like to see happen to the defendant?”

“I would love for him to receive the harshest punishment he can receive,” she replied teary eyed as she stared me straight in the eyes.

“In the case of Stephan Harris, I am sentencing him to a mandatory seven years with time spent deducted from the years; leaving him to serve six years.”

Just then my legs buckled and the next thing I remember I woke up handcuffed to the hospital bed.

“Where…Where am I,” I asked sitting up in the bed.

“You are at Richland County Memorial Hospital.”

“How long have I been here,” I asked looking around the room.

“You’ve been here for two days. I’m about to go alert the doctor that you are awake,” the nurse responded.

A few minutes later she walked back in with a fine doctor.

“Good Afternoon Mr. Harris, I’m glad to see you are awake. You gave us quite the scare,” she said flashing me her pearly whites.

“Thank you for saving my life,” I said picking her hand up and kissing it.

“Mr. Harris your life was never in any danger. When you passed out in court the other day you bumped your head. While you were knocked out we did run some test to see if we could locate the reason for your blackouts. And it was then that we discovered that you were HIV Positive…”

Everything after HIV positive went in one ear and out the other.

I just wanted to know how long I had it since it has been causing me problems for a while.

“I don’t care about any of that. All I want to know is how long have I had it?”

“Unfortunately it’s impossible for us to tell you when you contracted the disease, but I can tell you what stage you have…You are currently in the second stage.”

“Get out…”

“But…”

“I SAID GET OUT!” I yelled at her.

I am hurt and embarrassed. How can someone like me contract HIV? I’m not gay. Everyone knows that HIV/AIDS is a gay man’s disease.

Hitting my nurse call button, I advised them that I was in pain and needed some drugs.

Five minutes later I was drifting away to la-la land.

EPILOGUE

Honey

I have been living with HIV for a year now and the treatments alone were starting to get the best of me because the medicines were making me sick, so I stopped taking them. 

You see I didn’t start feeling bad until I got on the medication. And after court today I was happy that Tommy and Bull both contracted HIV from me.

Could you believe that those clowns sat in court like they didn’t do anything wrong? I guess Karma and GOD showed them a thing or two, but while my mother was at court I decided to sit down and write her a much needed letter.

Dear Mother,

If you are reading this it means that you have just found my dead body. I’m so sorry that I have to leave you in this cruel world alone, but it’s not a place for a diseased girl like me. You deserve to be able to live your life to its fullness and with me having HIV, I’m sentencing you to a life of an invisible prison. I know to you it wouldn’t seem like a prison, but having to spend every moment taking care of someone else’s needs is prison to me. So mother, take this letter as your key to freedom. Freedom to love again and live your life. And mother, don’t cry, you see I’m in a better place now or at least that’s what the internet says. Always remember that I love you and I did this for us.

Until we meet again,

Honey Bee Jones

As I signed the letter I took the butcher knife I had placed on the table and slit both my wrist, and in slow motion I fell down on the floor and prayed the LORD’S PRAYER, until I awaken in his caring arms.

Tina

Coming home after court I was furious that they only gave that monster seven years.

“Honey!!!” I yelled closing the door to home of all one year. Because of the incident I had to sell my dream home. “Honey!!!” I called out a second time, but once again not getting an answer. Knowing that she was home I knocked on her room door and still no answer. I turned the knob and walked in on the saddest moment of my life. My daughter was lying in a pool of her own blood.

“NO, NO, NO, NO, LORD NO!!!” I screamed as I rushed over to her now limp body. I checked for a pulse and didn’t find one. I immediately began performing CPR. After five minutes of no luck I pulled out my cell phone and dialed 9-1-1.

July 21, 2013 is a date that will forever be imbedded in my brain as I watch them carry my only daughter’s body out the house. The next couple of days were a blur to me. If you let my family tell you I had drunk my life away during those seven days.

On the day of the funeral I wore all black as I stood in front of my daughter’s casket and sang Whitney Houston’s, I Will Always Love You.

Seeing them put dirt on my baby’s coffin caused me to have a nervous breakdown and I spent the next six years in the mental institution.

Stephan

Today is the day I become a free man. I have been taken my meds and life couldn’t be any better.

Walking through the gateway to freedom I was heartbroken to only see Seymour waiting for me at the gate.

“Have a great life,” he said handing me an envelope and getting in his car and driving away.

In the envelope my parents stated that they wanted nothing more to do with me and included a check for ten thousand dollars.

Throwing the letter away I put the check in my pocket and started walking towards town.

About two miles into my walk a car slowed down for me, and man was I grateful for them; my feet were killing me.

“This is for Honey Bee Jones!” the person that favored Tina yelled before everything went black.

THE END