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I feel hiainst my skin I jump, startled He pauses for a moment, and then I hear theof his zipper

I whimper

No no no no no no no no

Every lesson we learned in grade school about stranger danger runs through ers Never accept rides froers Never tell strangers you’re home alone On and on and on

Not once did my mom or my teachers tell htme They only explained what I should do after the fact

Garrett touchesas if he’s trying to ood now As if he could As if this is normal Wanted

My hands press flat into the wall, nails clawing at the ers out of o Tears of fear, of sha

This isn’t happening to ers and I propel uard, but he still hasinto my muscles It hurts so badly I nearly drop to my knees He easily maneuvers me back into place He positions me hoants me Stomach to the wall, ars are spread to his liking

I think I ask hi too hard to know for sure I know I’ for my dad For my brother My mother For anyone, anywhere to helpinto ne I feel hi

He thrusts hard once, burying hiroans as if it feels good I think I’ out and pushing in again Each ti my insides apart as he continues to drive into entle

I wish I were dead

He sighs with gratification I want to die and he’shi him to do what he wants to me I don’t kno much time passes It feels endless

His harsh movements stop He says my naes my neck sympathetically

"Don’t tell anyone," he croons "This is our little secret"

Our little secret

I nod I’d agree to just about anything right now

He steps back and I turn slowly, adjusting my skirt to cover myself I still feel bare

I don’t want to look at hi I need to see him leave I watch him tuck his now flaccid dick into his jeans and button up He bends, scooping up my discarded shorts and holds them out to me I don’t move to take them I can’t He shakes his hand, annoyed When he takes a step inmyself forward I snatch the s His hooded eyes roah his head He looks like he wants to do it all over again To hurt ain

I frantically try to think of so I can say or do to sicken hirows louder for just a yhts he was h his hair, and then he walks out the door as if nothing happened

I collapse to the floor in relief My knees throb in pain, but it’s mild compared to the ache inside I only stay this way for a few seconds I’rab the wooden bench and pull erly

I’m halfway to the door when I catch my reflection in the mirror My mascara is s in chunks, half in and half out of my ponytail My sweater is askew, the collar stretched out of place

I stare at the spot of blue I stare so hard it blurs

I can’t walk through the halls like this

Everybody will knohat happened They’ll knohat he did to er brush it as quickly as I can before splashing water on es under my eyes, I come to terms with the fact that I’ve just been raped

I’ve been raped

I’ve been raped

I’ve been raped

The hallway is eainst the shiny linoleum as I hurry toward the muffled voices of two hundred of ht

I look down atmy old cheer uniform? My head shifts to the locker rooym

No No

It’s not real I’ainst a solid chest

This isn’t real This isn’t real This Isn’t Real

I ith a start,in my chest I can feel the salty streaks my tears have left behind Taste the bile in my throat

He’s always there Every time I close my eyes

I’ll never be free of him