Because without her we have nothing.
We can’t use that video without her permission because there’s no way I’d expose any woman if she didn’t want to press charges. “But they drugged, stripped, and groped me, and I know they would’ve gang-raped me if the guys hadn’t shown up.”
“Oh my God.” She joins me on the couch, pulling me into a hug, sobbing. “I’m so sorry. I was afraid of this.”
“It’s not your fault,” I rush to reassure her.
She sniffs, easing back, her eyes drying with firm resolve. “He’s an evil bastard. They all are. And I wish I’d been strong enough to do something about it, but I had no proof. It would be my word against theirs. They have money and contacts on their side, and I knew I couldn’t win.”
“What if I told you we discovered proof?”
“What do you mean?” she stammers, her lower lip wobbling.
I take her chilly hands in mine. “Do you remember a camera in the room when they assaulted you?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t remember, because I was completely wasted from the drugs and booze they’d pumped into me. But Wes told me he had it. He used it to blackmail me into silence. He said if I breathed a word to anyone he would show them the tape and, according to him, it would exonerate them.” A muscle ticks in her jaw. “He said I was begging for it and willingly fucked all of them.” She glances over her shoulder, lowering her voice. I look behind me too, spotting Adam talking in hushed tones with Kim’s mother as they both nurse cups of coffee.
I return my attention to Kim. “He lied. We’ve seen it, and that is not the way it looks.” More tears spill out of her eyes, rolling down her cheeks, and she hangs her head. I squeeze her hands. “We didn’t watch it all. It was too distressing, but it was clear you were barely conscious, and it was not consensual.”
“Who has seen it?” she whispers.
“Just me and Adam and a friend of ours who is the tech genius who found it. I promise you no one else will see it.” I slip the thumb drive out of my purse and hand it to her. “It is your decision what you choose to do with the evidence.” I curl her fingers around the device. “But we are hoping you will help us to put him away.” I peer into her eyes. “To stop him from doing this to any other woman. And, I have a feeling if you come forward that others will too. I can’t make a statement because Adam beat the shit out of him, and we’re afraid he’ll end up facing charges if it comes to light.”
“Remind me to thank Adam for that before you leave.” She swipes at the hot tears coursing down her face, clutching the device firmly in her hand. “I don’t need to think about it.” Steely determination glimmers in her eyes. “They are monsters, and they need to pay for what they did to me. I had to drop out of college and move away because they destroyed me. There was a time when I didn’t get out of bed for a month, and I spent weeks crying for hours every day. My nights were consumed with flashbacks and nightmares. I was in hell. Barely existing. Barely holding on.”
I gulp over the aching lump lodged at the back of my throat. My heart picks up speed, thumping painfully behind my rib cage, as a night I’ve fought so hard to forget prods at the edges of my mind.
“It’s only therapy and the love of my family that pulled me through,” Kim continues, and a pang of envy jumps up and bites me.
No one supported me because no one knows.
If my parents hadn’t been at one another’s throats all the time, maybe they would have noticed the drastic change in me. If they cared enough, maybe, they would have asked why I turned to drugs. But their answer was to pretend the problem didn’t exist. To shove me into rehab and have someone else whip their wayward daughter into shape.
“Hey.” Kim’s tone is soft as she peers into my eyes. She glances over her shoulder again, leaning in close to my ear. “Is that all that really happened with Wes? Because I’m sensing—”
“I was raped when I was fifteen,” I whisper. The most intense pain settles on my chest as I reveal the secret I’ve been hiding for four long years. “You’re the first person I’ve admitted it to.” Quite frankly, I’m shocked I just blurted it out like that. It certainly hadn’t been my intention coming here.
Shock splays across her face. “You haven’t even told your parents or your boyfriend?”
I shake my head. “I don’t have a supportive family like you, and I’ve only recently met Adam.”
“You should tell him.” She drapes her arm around my shoulder. “And you need to talk to someone. I speak from experience when I say keeping it locked up will eat you from the inside out. There is no way to survive if you continually avoid confronting it. I’m going to put that bastard Wes away. For you and me, and the countless other women he has probably done this to. I give you my word. But I need you to give me your word too.”
I force my gaze to her.
“You need to promise me you will go and speak to someone about it. A professional. That you will put yourself first and deal with it before it destroys you completely.”
* * *
“Are you sure you’re okay?”Adam asks me for the third time as we drive toward home.
“I’m fine,” I lie. Since we left Kim’s house, I’ve been in a weird funk. Memories I’ve struggled to bury are taunting me, and I wish I had half of Kim’s strength.
She’s amazing.
To battle on like she did after that horrific assault and to instantly decide to seek justice. She didn’t even need to think about it. She immediately knew taking the evidence and reporting the gang rape to the cops was the right thing to do. She sent me a message ten minutes ago confirming she was on her way to the local station with her mom.
“Did Kim say something to upset you?”
