Finding Eve

Chapter 13: An Unforseen Appearance

♕ Eve ♕

A lot of my flashbacks were moments from that party: when I chugged that one beer, the one with the drugs inside; when Chad locked the door to the bedroom; when he ripped my shirt off; when he threw me to the floor and beat me like a dog; when the drugs wore off and I ran out of the room with blood dripping down my legs.

Even more of my flashbacks were of the moments after. The adrenaline pumping in my system after I ran out of that party allowed me to sprint a mile, but I then collapsed to the ground and screamed at the top of my lungs. I remember that moment a lot. Every time some cheerleader squeals on campus, whenever Kate's teapot starts whistling, I remember my scream. I remember the way it echoed off the walls and how nobody left their houses to help me, just peeked out their windows.

But most of all, I remember what happened after I picked my body off of the street, and dragged my feet to my house. When I made it to my front porch, I crawled up the stairs and pushed the doorbell, before I crumbled to the floor. It was then that I felt how cold the wind was, how it froze my tears to my cheeks. I could feel the blood drying between my thighs, and my head pulsing from being beaten.

I remember that there was a ringing in my ears, so I could barely hear my sister open the front door and scream. After that everything was kind of a blur. Jenny picked me up, cradled me, and carried me into the house and up the stairs to my bedroom. I still wonder how she was strong enough to do that, carry 130 pounds up the stairs, but she did.

Then she laid me in my bed and called one of her friends, whose parents were doctors. I slipped in and out of consciousness after she made that call. I vaguely remember her taking my party clothes off, washing the blood off of me and dressing me in pajamas. I remember her wiping my makeup off and pulling my hair out of my face. She put a cold washcloth on my forehead, and by that time, the doctor showed up.

I had three broken ribs.

I had three broken ribs. My face was bruised almost beyond recognition, and I heard the doctor whisper to Jenny a few more unpleasant details.

I tried not to think about those details.

I remember Jenny and the doctor trying to convince me to go to the hospital, to file a police report, but there was nothing they could do without me telling them what happened. And I swore I'd never tell anyone what happened to me, who did it to me. Chad told me that he'd do the same thing to Jennifer if I ever outed him, so I could never say anything.

But now he was here, Chad was here, and he knew who I hung out with and where I slept. The holiday and my group sessions helped me forget about him, him showing up with my shoes, for a little while, but I couldn't forget it now.

Because that meant that Chad stalked me. He found out where I moved to, and he found out where I went to school, and he followed Kate and I to that Halloween party. He waited in the shadows until he got Drake alone, and then he gave Drake my shoes and said the one thing he knew would scare me: "You forgot your shoes."

"Um, I'm not quite sure how this works, but I'd like to report something."

The young police officer gestured to a chair in front of his desk, and I tightened my jacket around my body as I sat down. It had been three weeks since Thanksgiving. I told Kate what Chad did at the Halloween party, where she suggested that perhaps Kyle knocking me out wasn't a coincidence, but I hadn't entertained the idea. She did, however, convince me to report Chad for something. If not the.. rape, then something. I dropped Drake off at the mall for Christmas shopping, and told him I had to run an errand but would be there soon.