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Tara Basara had never intended it to go this way. Never intended to be thrown into jail for ten years on an attempted murder charge.
Which, she has to admit: she’s guilty of it. She tried murdering her third child, Akira, about a year ago. They hit her over the head with a pole and knocked her unconscious. From then, someone gathered up evidence against her. Her eldest daughter she knew for sure was one of them, given that she and Akira’s best friend testified against her in court.
She, however, was never found guilty of child abuse, which amuses her. She never took that creature (as she called Akira and Kaeto, her youngest) to the doctor, so there was no doctor’s analysis proving that she was beating them, and Akira themself was God-knows-where and couldn’t testify against her. Without physical evidence, it was treated as a he-said-she-said situation.
Which is fine with Tara. Child abuse is only illegal if you’re caught.
It’s the same with murder, she supposed.
But being thrown in jail wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that her face was plastered all over the local news - and even in areas outside of Hampton Roads! At this point, the entire state of Virginia probably knows her name and face.
And all Tara can think about is how infuriating that is. She wanted to be known as a sweet woman with faith in God and a happy family. Now her family has fallen apart, and God hasn’t answered her prayers for release.
Speaking of God, her best friend’s (Amanda) husband (John) is a priest. Amanda sent a letter to Tara shortly after she was thrown in jail, detailing how disappointed she is in her. John added onto it, saying that she’s no longer welcome in his church and has been diminished in the eyes of God.
Tch. As if.
Each day, the other women glared at her. Whispered about her whenever she walked by. Most of those women were in jail for misdemeanor crimes or drug use, so Tara shows up with an attempted murder charge. Yeah, it became big news.
She can’t stand it. All those eyes staring at her. People mocking her for what she’s done. Being hit by the security guards every day.
She feels their eyes on her, piercing into every part of her like spears. It makes her heart rate quicken.
She slams her arms against the wall, starting to breathe heavily. She’s not sure if that’s because of her heart issue or something psychological going on. Either way, she feels like she was just put in a blender and spun around in the mix; the room is spinning around her as her fight-or-flight instincts kick in.
She can vaguely hear the other women starting to laugh at her.
And that’s all it took.
Her heart pounds out of her chest; her heart rate is so high, the electrical rhythm has been thrown off, and it causes her to hit the floor. Hard.
The other women stop laughing for a moment. Then, one of them speaks.
“Who wants to do to her what she did to Akira?”