(This is part 5 of a series and will make much more sense if you read them in order)
*
The next two weeks are torture. My mom barely speaks to me. I can tell she is furious with me. My parents argue constantly. My father is defending me and my Mom is saying I am obviously disturbed. My therapist thinks I am trying to find an outlet for my anger and my uncle just happened to walk by. I even hear my Mom tell my Dad she thinks I have turned into a slut. "She was fucking him in the hallway!", I overheard her saying. She had obviously talked to Uncle Tony and he was giving her details.
My school life sucks huge. My breakdown got around school and so did the story of my rape. People look at me strange when I walk by and no one talks to me. The boys are disgusting when they look at me and the girls look like they are disgusted with me. Yeah, it is loads of fun. Work is sort of ok. I am able to hold it together most of the time but I spend a lot of time in the alley crying. Max isn't sure what to do, I feel sorry for him, he wants to help me so bad. Sally is sweet but she doesn't want to talk details. They know what happened, the whole town seems to know.
Nothing comes of my accusation. Mom refuses to let the DA pursue the case. She says it is not true and I am just upset so it sorta dies. My extended family doesn't speak to me anymore. The only family member that talks to me is my Dad. He is still sad but not when he looks at me. When he looks at me his eyes light up and he hugs me. He is the only thing keeping me going, my only fan. I wonder how long I can go on but I am just trying to take it one day at a time.
I am at work on a normal Wednesday and he walks in. Denny, but he is alone. He sits in a booth in the corner. It isn't very busy and he is in my section. I take a deep breath and walk over. He looks up at me and nods to the seat across from him. I slide into the booth.
"I heard what happened." He says.
I just nod. Where was this going? Random thoughts fly through my head. Does he want me to become the house slut? That would be fitting. He just stares at me for a little while.
"Tell me." He says softly.
"Tell you what?" I say.
"Tell me everything. That is what hurt you, changed you. I see past that, I see what you were. Tell me about the thing that changed you." He says.
I stare at him. What an interesting creature. That strange line runs through my head. I look over at the counter. Sally is motioning for me to stay and is making hand gestures like she will cover the floor. I look back at him. He shows no emotion, he is just looking at me with what looks like indifference. I figure what the hell.
I tell him everything, from the birthday party all the way through my graduation party and then everything up to now. He sits patiently and lets me talk. He doesn't stop me or even ask any questions. I finish and look at him for a reaction. There is none. He reaches out and takes my hands.
"I believe you and I am so sorry for how I treated you. That was not what you needed. I hope you can forgive me one day." He says and stands up.
He still has my left hand in his and he pulls it to his mouth and kisses it.
"Goodbye Taylor." He says and walks out.
Fuck! Well, that was productive. I'm not even worthy of being a biker slut. Was that what I was wishing for? What the hell was that all about? I am very confused and I slide out of the booth. I straighten my uniform and finish my shift.
Three more weeks pass. School is over, thank god. I am now working full time at the diner. It looks like maybe this is going to be my life. My parents are on the verge of a divorce. The only time they ever talk it ends up in a screaming fit. We still all live together but it is a little weird. Daddy is still in my corner and I think I will be able to make it now with just that. I never see any of my family anymore. I miss my little cousins terribly and I can only imagine what they must think of me. It makes me sad to think of it so I try my best to forget about them.
It is a lazy Sunday. Daddy and I are watching a NASCAR race. Mom is in the kitchen washing dishes I think. She thinks of reasons not to be in the same room with us most of the time. I hear the doorbell and I get up to go answer it. I open the door and Denny is there. I can see there are guys behind him.
He grabs my arm and pulls me into the room. I scream a little and Daddy jumps up. One of the other guys pulls a gun and everyone freezes. I see Mom come out of the kitchen and she stops in her tracks.
"Ok, everyone calm down." Denny says.
"Mom, Dad, please take a seat on the couch." He says and points.
He pulls me over near the couch. Dad looks really mad and Mom just looks incredibly frightened. He pulls something out of his jacket. It looks like a DVD of some sort. He hands it to me.
"Put this in your DVD player, please." He says to me.
I looked at him and he cracks a small smile. I am very confused and I slide the disc in and hit play. He sits me down in the chair and goes to stand behind the couch. All of his guys are arranged behind him. I think that looks a little strange. Did they come here to watch a movie? This is weird. I hear sound and turn to look at the screen.
It is the inside of the biker house. I recognize the furniture. There looks to be around 10 guys sitting around. I hear someone come into the room and hear the guys welcome Denny. He walks into the scene and is motioning to someone. I gasp when Uncle Tony walks into the picture. He looks like he is drunk but he is very happy. He slaps a couple of guys on the back and sits down on one of the couches. I hear Mom say something.
"What did you bastards do to him?" She says to Denny.
