I own nothing.
"Did you hear about Melinda Sordino?"
At the mention of her name, my head snaps up to look at my locker neighbor. "What about her?" I ask "She was raped last year by Andy Evans at a party" she says
I freeze
She keeps talking but all I hear is her last words echoing in my mind. Raped. She was raped. Melinda, my Melinda was raped. I feel time slows down as my mind works to process the news. It explains why she almost never talked. Why she refused my offer to come to the celebration party.
"Sorry I have to go" without waiting for an answer I close my locker and leave. I need to find Melinda.
After looking around for what it seemed hours, I find her in the art room talking to a teacher. They seem to be engaged in a deep conversation so I decide to wait outside until she's done. That gives me a few minutes to gather my thoughts. I can't believe how stupid I was to have never asked her about why she acted like that. I had known her for a year and it never occurred to me that she was going through probably one of the worst things that could ever happen to anyone. It had been a few weeks since I realised my feelings for this girl which made it much harder learning that some complete asshole had hurt her like that. Just as I was thinking this, Melinda walked out of the art room and found me waiting for her.
"Hey, I- Well I heard what happened to you and I just want to tell you how truly sorry I am for not helping you through this. I know you must hear this a lot but.. you really are my hero" I scan her face for any trace of anger but instead she surprises me buy giving me one of her rare beautiful smiles that never fail to leave me breathless.
"Thanks for worrying David, I should be the one thanking you. I mean you were my friend when everybody hated me and I never thanked you for that." There's something different about her voice. It's stronger, more confident and that makes me smile. "Well you're a wonderful girl of course I wanted to be friend." She blushes at my words and that makes me smile even more.
I want nothing more than to hug her but I remember I heard something about how rape victims don't like being touched by men. I want to tell her so many things but I can't find the right words. After a moment of silence she says "Thanks I guess I'll see you around" and just like that she's gone.
I watch her walk away and I wonder if I'll ever have the courage to tell her how I feel now.
