Prisoner in my Own Body

by Susurrant Voices

Cat Valentine was a talented, optimistic, 17-year-old redhead who loved life, but that all changes after she is abducted and sexually assaulted by two men. After being left for dead, Cat, her family and the gang are left to pick up the broken pieces left from the horrific event. Can Cat ever recover, or will she remain a prisoner in her own body? Possible BeckXCat

1. Chapter 1

I sit there, arms hugged around my knees, curled up in the same position for days, weeks, might even be months. My family is worried. They stand there for hours, watching their traumatised 17-year-old daughter, waiting for a sign that an ounce of the old Caterina Valentine still exists inside my lethargic body, searching for the carefree redhead who told random stories about her brother and couldn't help but laugh at the word 'wazzbag.' But she is gone, ripped away on the night those men devoured my innocence.

I hear my parents whispering in the kitchen, my name is mentioned, not that I'm surprised. This has been the norm since that night. They talk, I listen. They stand, I sit. They live, I don't.

I watch as my mum nervously paces the length of the kitchen, as my dad states something definitive to her, stopping her mid-step. Both my parents turn to look at me but not before I burry my face into my arms, avoiding their eye contact. I feel their eyes burning a hole into the back of my neck, watching me like a wild animal, unsure of my next move. I don't talk anymore, only cry spontaneously and scream at the memories of that night.

I don't know how long I've been sitting there until I hear the approaching, hesitant footsteps of my petite mother, closely followed by the clumsy, clunking of my father's work boots. I look up, making eye contact with my concerned parents, cautiously making their way over to me. My dad sits next to me, placing his hand on my back. I flinch. "Hey Cat, how are you?" he says enthusiastically. I shrug his hand off my back and shuffle further backwards into the wall, making myself as small as can. "Come on Cat. Don't be like that. I know you haven't talked since…" my mum trails off. I abruptly stand to walk away, knowing exactly where this conversation was heading.

I walk away from my parents, ignoring the fact that my legs are completely numb from the position I have been curled up in. I walk towards my room, only to grace my eyes on a handsome young man in his early twenties with long, chocolate brown coloured hair, standing in our hallway. The man takes a step closer to me, "Hey Cat, I'm Beck. I'm a Child and Adolescent Sexual Abuse Counsellor. Your parents invited me to stay with you for a while."