Me Too

28

I was raped a month after my engagement to the man-

No. People will know that it was Ryan. I can't say that.

It was a few months after I turned 20.

It was Ryan.

Ideas bounced around like ping pong balls as Sofia and I relaxed on Cameron's porch. Sofia sat in a wicker lounge chair, playing with my boot laces while I sunk into a metal patio chair, staring off.

"Should we run lines?" Sofia asked, bored.

I had tore the last page from the packet and I had it folded in my jacket pocket. I picked up the pages and looked them over. "Me too is more than just an internet tag for attention, to capture rapists, or to acknowledge secrets in a semi annonymous manner. It is also a way we can express circumstances we hope nobody ever goes through."

"You can always help someone. Repost this tag to show your support, and let yourself become part of a bigger change. Together, we can make this world a more united community."

I pursed my lips and set the sheet down. "That's it."

"Maybe instead of just reading it, we should say something about it. Like, why does it piss you off so much? Explain how it sickens you. And say how the tag might change someone's life."

My phone buzzed on the crystal table. I pick it up, the caller ID shocked me. I slid the icon and put my phone on my shoulder, twiddling my thumbs on my stomach. "Hello?"

"Hey. You called?" Ryan reminded.

I clear the lump from my throat. "Yeah. Are you busy?"

"I have a minute. What do you want, Dove?"

"I wanted to talk to you about meeting up," I say, taking a deep breath and watching the cloud leave my mouth. I can't do this. Maybe I can... No.

He hesitated. "I thought you said-"

"Ryan," at the mention of his name, Sofia dropped my black laces and looked at me. "I know what I said. I can't get any of it out of my head, and that's why I want to talk to you. And it needs to be face to face."

Ryan talked off speaker, in the background I heard a woman's voice. "Look, it's not such a good idea. I've got a girlfriend now."

"I'm aware." I tug at my lip with my teeth. "I will send you my address, I want you to come over Thursday."

"I'm not going to your house, Chloe." His phone shifted and a door shut in the background. "Chloe, Samantha will lose her shit if we have sex-"

"Okay, who said anything about that? Holy shit! What? No."

"You're calling in the middle of the day on a Thursday to tell me you just want to talk?" He questioned.

On my end, I roll my eyes. "Yes. Not everything in my life is about that, Ryan."

"If I agree to this, can I promise my girlfriend that you won't pull anything?"

"I'm not the one she should be worried about," I huff.

He groaned. "Will we be alone?"

Hell no. "No, we won't be."

"Is your little boyfriend going to be there or something?"

Sofia laughs as I continuously toss my eyes. She slapped my ankle, I'm being "disrespectful", but it makes her giggle. "What did he say?" she whispered.

"No, Thomas and I broke up." I answer them both.

"Oh, yeah," Ryan said, "I remember hearing about that. Did you get knocked up or something? Is your baby the other person in the room?"