Thicker Than Water - 59. Chapter 59

“Mr. Parker, how many more witnesses do you have left?” Judge Arthur asked.

“Two officially, including my client, and I plan to recall Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, so a total of four.”

“Mr. Clarke, do you plan to recall any witnesses?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“Very well,” the judge said, taking some notes, “Mr. Parker, please call your next witness.”

“The Respondent wishes to call Mr. Diego Padilla to the stand.”

Diego stood and made his way to the stand, trying to calm his nerves. Judge Arthur didn't appear to be in any better mood than they left him the day before. As Diego climbed into the witness stand, he looked over to see Calvin, which both pleased and annoyed him. Calvin's left eye was heavily bandaged, but in such a way it looked like it was hastily done, suggesting to him at least that, though Calvin might have needed a bandage after getting hit, the extra padding was more for sympathy points than actually helping the wound.

After he gave his full name and was sworn in, Diego took his seat and filled the nearby glass with water. He took a quick drink, noting the heft of the obvious glass container. Noting the weight and texture only irritated him more, since there was no way Bryan could've mistaken it as plastic. He also made a note to take the new information into consideration for Bryan's official punishment.

“Mr. Padilla,” Billy started off, “Could you tell the Court, in your own words, how you came to know the Petitioner, Mr. Johnson?”

Diego recounted, again, the same story he had told Billy, Charlie and Steve. That they met through an ex-boyfriend of Diego's, and how, after the break up, he and Calvin remained friends and grew close.

“What was it like being friends with Mr. Johnson?”

Diego rolled his eyes and was glad the judge hadn't seen it. “When things were good, we had fun. We would hang out, watch movies, go to arcades, play video games, and just have fun. When it was bad, I was catching Calvin in lies, mad at him for trying to manipulate me, and of course, sexually assaulting me. Most of the time, though, Calvin acted like I didn't exist unless he needed something.”

“How did that make you feel?”

“I don't know. When things were good, it was great, almost like having a boyfriend again. When things were bad, it was stressful and irritating. The rest of the time, to be honest, it was lonely.”

“What do you mean by lonely?”

“Maybe 'lonely' wasn't the right word, but it's as close as I can get. I'd want to have a conversation with him or even just ask how his day was to show some kind of interest in his life, and I'd largely get grunts. Of course, if he was in a bad mood, he'd give me one word responses like, 'Fine,” always with an attitude. If I followed up on it, he'd accuse me of always being in his business, which would start a fight.”

“Can you describe a typical fight? Were they ever violent?”

“They were never violent, though there were a few times I wanted to punch him. However, a typical fight would start with me asking how he was or if he had any plans. He'd then passive-aggressively give excuses with an agitated tone. If I didn't ignore it, he'd accuse me of being obsessed with him, that his life was none of my business and that I needed to leave him alone.

“I would, of course, defend myself. Anytime I'd ask about his plans, I was trying to make plans of my own or make plans for dinner. I didn't want to make food for both of us if he wasn't going to be home, and being gay, it can be difficult to invite some guys over if you have a roommate, especially if you have to share a room with that person. A lot of gay men are in the closet and won't even take a chance of being outed, so living with anyone is often a huge turn off.

“I tried explaining all of this to him, but he'd dismiss everything I'd say and still accuse me of wanting to control his life like his mother supposedly had...or he'd flat out accuse me of wanting to be in a relationship with him, despite me constantly rejecting him over and over again after each sexual assault.”

“If possible, could you describe the assaults for the Court?”

Diego sighed and took another quick sip of water. “Calvin had told me that, while his ex-wife—Donna—was pregnant with Bryan, she had fallen, leaving Calvin to lift her up and in the process, hurt his back to the point he had to wear a back brace. With that in mind, and since we were sharing limited space, I offered to share my bed with him, so he wouldn't have to sleep on the floor. I insisted that we have separate blankets and pillows, since I slept naked and didn't want to deal with a blanket hog.

“Calvin protested at first. The only place he could sleep was on the floor, which had limited space, as it was. I don't know if he was expecting me to give up my bed for him, but that wasn't going to happen, either. I eventually told him that he had three options: 1) Share my bed, 2) sleep on the floor and get stepped on, or 3) go to a shelter. He opted for half of my bed.

“It took awhile, but eventually, we got used to sleeping next to each other. For the first few months, everything was fine, but then, one night, I was facing his direction, and he was facing away from me. I sometimes get heartburn, and would lay on my right side for comfort. As I was trying to get to sleep, Calvin rolled over facing my direction. I didn't roll over, since I was finally comfortable, but, as I continued to lay there, Calvin shifted closer. Then I felt his hand on my hip, rubbing it. I was too shocked to move, and started trying to dismiss what was happening. Then he pulled back the blanket, the next thing I know, his hand was briefly on my inner right thigh, then slammed into me. Before I could get my head around what was happening, he started to rub his thumb between my legs. He did that for a few seconds, then he started to rub my testicles. He suddenly stopped and rolled over as if nothing had happened.”

“How did that make you feel?'

“Confused, scared and unsure. Calvin always asserted he was straight and never into men, though I know of a few times he let a couple of really effeminate men perform oral sex on him when he was in his early 20s. I had made jokes about 'why them and not me,' which usually irritated him, so for him to do what he did was so unexpected and frankly, uncalled for. I rolled over and tried getting to sleep, which took several hours to do.”

“Did you confront Mr. Johnson about what happened?”

“Yes, the next day. He tried denying it, of course. I wouldn't let it drop, so he told me that he had been known to do that sometimes with the people he slept next to, and his ex-wife would always let him do it to her. He claimed to be asleep the entire time, like he was sleep walking or something, and he had no recollection of ever doing it.

“I told him that I didn't believe him. I had slept with a lot of people in my life and not once was I ever sexually touched by anyone who was asleep. He apologized for it, but still maintained that he was asleep and didn't remember. So, I let it go.”

“Was that the only time?”

“God, no. There were ten separate encounters and one attempt.”

“Can you describe any other encounters for the Court?”

“Yes. Two clearly come to mind.

“The next time was a couple days after the first incident. I was trying to get to sleep, when I felt Calvin roll over towards me, then against me. Now, prior to this, I made jokes about Calvin and I cuddling, which he would get very pissy about and protest against, so him basically spooning me was unusual to say the least. Then I felt his right hand rubbing my hip, again. Then, he pulled my blanket back, and he pulled my mid-section against his. He rubbed my thigh and ran his hand over my scrotum. He continued to grope me there, then slid his hand to my penis and squeezed it, before rolling back over away from me.

“The other time occurred the second time we lived together. The bed was pushed against the wall, and I was on that side of the bed, leaving Calvin on the outside. I was facing the wall when I felt Calvin roll over and press against me. He put his around me and held me. I woke up and thought that it was nice that he was spooning me...then he pressed his pelvis against my buttocks and proceeded to dry hump me with such force, he literally moved us both in the bed, hitting my head against the wall. He thrust us two or three times, until I grabbed his hand. He let go and rolled over.”

“What was so significant to those events that made them stick out to you?”

“After the second assault, I told him that if he wanted to have sex with me, he didn't need to pretend to be asleep. That we could have sex all he wanted, even if it meant that he didn't have to do anything more than just lay there. However, I made it abundantly clear that I did not want to be in a relationship with him, and I specifically expressed that I thought we'd be toxic together. I flat out told him that he lies too much for me to trust him and given his history of cheating on his partners, such as Donna, that there would be no way for me to ever trust him that way, which would only make things bad between us.”

“How did he take it?”

“He was mostly quiet, still denying touching me on purpose, claiming to always be asleep. He also claimed that he wasn't into me, either, but didn't understand why I thought we'd be toxic together. I followed up asking if he wanted to be in a relationship with me, and he said absolutely not, to which I retorted that my opinion about us being toxic was irrelevant, then.

“After the last incident I told you about, he started sleeping on the floor, which was his choice and didn't really try to stop him. I was honestly scared that he might try to rape the next time.”

“You mentioned there was an attempt. Would you tell us about that?”

“Yes. It was a couple of months after he started sleeping on the floor. I've suffered night terrors off and on since I was a little kid, so I can lash out in my sleep, especially if I think or feel the bed moving. This is something that Calvin was made well aware of before we started sharing a bed.

“Well, one night, I was asleep and felt the bed move. I woke up instantly and was ready to start kicking. I opened my eyes and saw a shadowy figure hovering over me. I called out and Calvin answered; he was the shadowy figure. I asked what he was doing. He told me to never mind and go back to sleep. Even half-asleep I didn't trust him, so I began to protest, demanding answers. He said that he was just putting his shoes under the bed, which my brain knew was a lie, and I called him out on it; however, he maintained that story until the next day when we talked.

“He said he was sleep walking, which I knew was bullshit given all the time we lived together. It was in that conversation that he admitted that he hadn't done anything like what he did to me to anyone else, except for Donna. I never asked her about it, though, since she and I didn't get along.”

“And he never did anything like that ever again?”

“I wouldn't necessarily say that. After he and the boys moved in, he went to a bar and came back drunk. The boys were in their room, and I was in mine. Calvin had been sleeping on the couch unless his back was really hurting, in which case, he'd sleep next to me. The night in question, he came into the room, and I woke up to him sitting on the bed, but I didn't open my eyes. Then I felt his hands cup my face and he moved my head. I opened my eyes stunned and he was giving me a look that made me feel like he was about to kiss me. I was frozen with fear then just as quickly and gently, he let go and got under his blanket.

“And just before he left for Pennsylvania, he kissed me in my sleep. We had been in my bed again, and somehow, we had our faces against each other. The previous few times we slept together, we found ourselves like that, but nothing happened, until one night, he leaned in and kissed me on the lips before rolling away from me.”

“Did you talk to him about either of those incidents?”

“No, I didn't. I figured he would've denied it again or would try to blame me for sleeping too close to him. After all the other times, those last two were pretty tame. Of course, he fled shortly after, so what was the point, right?”

“Why didn't you go to the authorities about the assaults?”

“Lack of evidence. It was always just me and him, and I clearly didn't record us. It would've been my word against his.”

“Why didn't you kick him out?'

“I've been asking myself that question for over 14 years, and I still don't have an answer for you. I guess I wanted to believe him at first, even though I knew deep down that he was lying. The first time might have been some kind of accident or habit with his ex-wife, but all the other times couldn't have been.”

“So, after all of this, why did you let him move in with Bryan and Caleb?”

“I didn't want to see those little boys homeless. As for Calvin, I couldn't have cared less about, but those boys needed a place to live. I was in a bigger place by then and was making good money after taking over my father's restaurant. Calvin told me it was only until he could get a place of his own, but wasn't supposed to be more than a couple of months. Almost 10 years later, I still have the boys.”

“Did you ever conspire with his mother to keep him from Bryan and Caleb?”

“Not really. When she had custody of them, she asked me to not let him contact them. Since I didn't have custody, I didn't see that I had a right to go against her wishes. Once I gained custody of them, I tried to get him to call and talk to the boys during reasonable hours, but he'd only call in the middle of the night or when Bryan was at school and Caleb was in daycare. Eventually, I stopped answering his calls when it was during unreasonable hours, and soon, he stopped calling altogether.”

“Did he ever send any form of child support, clothing, food or gifts for the boys?”

“Never. I know his mother asked for it in the custody hearing, but she never got a dime. When I filed to adopt them, I didn't ask for anything, knowing I wouldn't get a penny, and I also wanted his parental rights stripped, since he hadn't bothered talking to them in years by that point.”

“How would you describe Bryan and Caleb's emotional state since Mr. Johnson's return?”

“Objection, Your Honor.. Calls for speculation,” Mr. Clarke finally spoke up.

“Your Honor, this isn't speculative. Mr. Padilla isn't being asked to give a diagnosis, but only to give a father's opinion based on his own observations and not guessing what's going through his children's minds.”

“Overruled. Please proceed, Mr. Parker.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. Please answer the question, Diego.”

Diego sat for a minute then said, “Bryan has become much more aggressive, angry and bitter with frequent outbursts, as we saw yesterday. Caleb has become more withdrawn, sensitive and worried about making mistakes, and is constantly afraid of being yelled at for the smallest things.” He looked towards Calvin to see if the piece of shit had any kind of reaction but didn't see one.

“Thank you, Mr. Padilla. No further questions, Your Honor.”

Judge Arthur looked at the clock and said, “We'll break here for lunch, and Mr. Clarke, you'll start us off with your cross examination. Mr. Padilla you may exit the stand but remember that you are still under oath when we return. Court is adjourned until 1pm.”

Diego sighed heavily and stretched. He looked over his shoulder as Calvin, Ashley and Mr. Clarke left the courtroom.

“That little bastard of yours is going to pay for what he did to Calvin,” Ashley spat.

“That's enough,” Mr. Clarke said, annoyed, as he tried ushering his clients away.

Diego went to say something but was silenced by Billy. “Don't even give in to their bullshit. As part of the deal we made, they won't go after you or Bryan for damages or seek criminal charges.”

“What's to stop them from doing it after all of this is said and done?” Diego asked.

“They could face a civil suit that they can't afford, and I'd make sure they couldn't afford it.”

“That's good to know, but that they still could take off with Caleb and bull some bullshit.”

“You're not going to lose this case, Diego. If you can get through the cross, we'll be good to go. I will only have one more witness to call before I recall Calvin and Ashley. You've got this.”

“I wish I had your optimism.”

Billy laughed. “I wish I had it, too, but I'm just stating that I know.”

With that, Diego took Billy out to lunch to discuss the potential questions Mr. Clarke might ask.