I KNOW THE FEELING
DISCLAIMER
Tag for Hell Week. References to my fic "Secrets We Keep". Belongs to Fox and Stephen Cannel.
Tom Hanson sat at the bar drinking a glass of whiskey. Man, he hated cases like this. At least it was all over now. His eyes clouded. He still couldn't people would be so twisted and sick as to make a tape of them raping someone. He blew out a breath.
"So, what are you doing here?" a voice asked. Tom turned his head briefly to see Dennis Booker.
"Drinking. What does it look like?" he responded.
"Hey, give me a beer," Dennis requested, taking a seat next to him. The beer was handed to him a few seconds later.
"Did I invite you to sit down?" Tom questioned.
"You're a barrel of laughs, tonight," Dennis commented.
"Hey, bite me," Tom snapped.
"What's with you?" Dennis wondered sipping his beer as Tom ordered another glass.
"Let's just say I'm tryin' to drown out some memories," Tom commented.
"You're gonna have one heck of a hangover in the morning," Dennis warned. Tom let out a scoff.
"Better than the nightmares," he said. Then, "You see the tape of the rape?"
"Yeah. I saw it. Pretty twisted," was the answer.
"You know, uh---the way she screaming---shoutin' 'No' and everything. I know that feeling," Tom said, taking a drink.
"What do you mean?" Dennis asked.
"She was struggling, tryin' to get them off of her. Just like I was," Tom said.
"Like you?" Dennis repeated. Tom took another drink.
"You know, they all thought I had a hard time dealin' with my dad's death, and I guess that was true. But it wasn't as hard as dealing with…her," he commented, struggling on the last word.
"Who?" the other officer wondered. Tommy stared into space.
"Tommy," a woman called. A woman with dark-hair materialized in his line of sight and Tommy took another drink.
"Tommy," Regina called.
"Get out, skank," Tom snarled, gulping down the whiskey. "Man, I hate this! They're all the same! They think they can get anything they want just because they have a certain status! They're all the same!" he shouted, waving the glass wondered.
"Tommy, cool down," Dennis said.
"Rich frat boys lookin' for a good time! They rape a girl and people are okay with it! A psychiatrist sees a vulnerable sixteen-year old and decides to make him her little boy toy! She gets his head so twisted around that he hides it from his mother!" Tommy yelled.
"Tommy, come on. You're gettin' all worked up here," Dennis soothed.
"'Sit down, Tommy.' 'Make yourself comfortable, Tommy'," Tommy bitterly quoted. Dennis froze. Hanson wasn't saying what he thought he was saying, was he?
"'Relax, Tommy'. 'Make love to me, Tommy'," Tommy continued, his voice cracking.
"Oh, Tommy," Dennis murmured. Dang. I never even thought about this sort of thing happening to a guy, he thought to himself.
"She did it---every time I came. She just wanted to get her kicks in. She didn't care about me. She just wanted to make herself feel good," Tommy said.
"Tommy---" Dennis began.
"I told her 'No'!" Tommy shouted, throwing the glass to the ground. It shattered.
"Hey!" the bartender protested.
"Hey, it's all right. I'm about ready to cut him off anyways," Dennis assured the man. He laid a large amount of cash on the counter.
"This cover everything?" he asked.
"Yeah," the man nodded. Dennis turned to Tommy and pulled him off the stool.
"Come on, Tommy. Let's get you outta here," Dennis said.
"I told her 'No'," Tommy mumbled, allowing Dennis to drag him away.
"Yeah, I know it," Dennis said. He put Tommy in his car and drove off. A few minutes later, they were at his apartment.
"Where are we?" Tommy wondered.
"My place. I'll take you home in the morning," Dennis assured to him.
"I don't wanna do it with you," Tommy mumbled.
"Good. 'Cause you're not my type either," Dennis deadpanned, laying Tommy down on his bed.
"No. No. Don't wanna---" he began to protest, starting to fight.
"Easy, Tommy. I ain't gonna do nothin' to ya," the other officer assured. Tommy stopped fighting and closed his eyes. He breathed rhythmically and soon fell asleep.
"You're gonna have one heck of a headache in the morning," Dennis muttered, taking a spot in front of the wall. He watched as his friend slept fitfully, plagued by nightmares.
THE END