"What you did to me." I glare at him, the gun tightly pressed in my hand at my side. "Say the word."
"I...I raped you."
And with his admission, I've gotten everything I could have asked for—validation of the truth.
For all these years, I carried the burden of that day with me like a ball and chain, unable to free myself. He had tried to gaslight me, and even convinced my parents that I simply had an accident at the beach. Every single day I wondered what I had done wrong to ask for that, why it happened, but the truth of it is: this is his fault, not mine. And the second the wordrapeleft his lips, that solidified what it really was, what really happened.
It does nothing to erase the torment I’ve held on to, the nightmares that will probably never end, but it offers me something I never thought I would have, something most victims will never receive, and because nothing will change what he did, this will have to be enough.
I turn toward Miller, his expression tense and rigid. "Here." I shove the gun toward him. "I got what I wanted. You can finish him off."
He nods stiffly and without him truly understanding the situation, and the feelings that have haunted me since then, I know he's doing his best to understand why I'm asking this of him. "Do you want it quick or painful?"
"Painful," I say with a sigh.
"Very well." Miller raises his arm without hesitation and pulls the trigger, the first bullet landing in Jerry's stomach. Miller shifts his focus to me momentarily, ignoring the shrieks that Jerry lets out. "Pull up a chair, this might take a while."
Jerry coughs and screams, and it's strange how numb I am to the sound. Perhaps if he hadn't ignored my muffled cries on that fateful summer day, I would come to his aid. But no, he's proven that he doesn't deserve what he isn't willing to reciprocate.
So, I do as Miller suggested, and settle into the cold metal chair near the table of torture devices and watch in awe while one of the men I love brutally assaults the man who hurt me.
Each gunshot rings assurance through me that the end is near, not just for him, but for the torment he's caused me. I will no longer live in fear of Jerry and what he did to me.
Today, I am reborn in the blood of my rapist, stronger than ever and determined to never allow that to happen ever again.
* * *
"Where are you taking me?" I ask Silver the same question I had asked Miller not too long ago. Haven't they figured out that I hate surprises? How can two people claim they know so much about me and yet fail to recognize this one very certain fact?
"It's a surprise," he confirms.
I groan and cross my arms but perk up the second we pull onto a long gravel driveway.
We had been in the car for nearly an hour, driving farther and farther away from town and slipping into a rural area I don't think I even knew existed. Each minute that passed put us deeper into no-man's land and made me wonder if maybe Silver was taking me out to murder me, too, the same way I thought Miller was when he brought me to that warehouse to kill my rapist.
But he didn't, and that surprise turned out great, so why would I assume this one wouldn't either?
"Is this a farm?" I turn toward Silver and take in the expansive pastures all around.
We crest a hill, revealing a gigantic building in the near distance with a massive horse statue in front of it. Silver pulls us up near the entrance of the structure and shifts the car into park.
"I don't understand," I tell him because I really have no clue what's going on here.
"Trust the process, Angel." He climbs out of the driver's side and strolls over to open my door, extending his hand to help me out of the car. "Do you remember that first night we spent together?"
I wrap my hand up under his biceps and walk at his side as we make our way closer to the building. "Yeah?"
"Well, you jokingly said you were tempted to ask me for a horse just to see if I could get you one."
"Okay..."
"I followed it up by asking you if you actually wanted one. Do you remember what you said?"
I recall that evening and the events that led to it, shaking the memory of my boss's murder off, and focusing on the parts that include Silver. "What did I say?"
"You said, and forgive me, I'm paraphrasing here, something along the lines of yes, but that you didn't have anywhere to put it."
A soft-spoken older woman greets us the second we're through the doors. "Hello, welcome in Mr. and Mrs. Franco."
