This chapter may offend some people. It contains briefly described scene of RAPE. I will soon be changing the rating to M but that I will do after a few days so the story is more easily found. To read coninuing chapters, this story will be listed under the M rating.Thank you and please review.
Chapter 2
Ephram held Amy's hand while they waited for Harold to fill out some forms.
"I'm sorry," Ephram whispered. Amy nodded. Ephram took a deep breath and tried again. "Amy, I… I know that I've been really insensitive and what with Europe and all… The thing is that I'm here for you." Ephram looked Amy in the eye. "I love you. I'll do anything for you."
Amy looked down at her hands. "I love you too."
They looked up as Harold stood before them. "Let's go home," he said.
Ephram went over to the Abbots' for a couple of hours. He and Amy distracted themselves by watching a comedy but Amy felt guilty whenever she laughed.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Ephram said as he left.
The following morning, Amy woke up from a nightmare she couldn't remember. It was 7:30 in the morning. Amy suddenly grew antsy in the house her mother had shared with her. Amy had to get outside. Amy decided to leave a note so that her dad doesn't worry about her on top of everything he's going through.
Now fully dressed, Amy left the house without waking the other two occupants and walked to the park. It was about a fifteen minute walk is she walked at her pace. She took the time to let thoughts run through her mind, not controlling them. Just let a thought come, don't avoid it, or make excuses for it, and then let that one go and welcome the next. Her mother said that.
Amy was soon seated at a park bench. She fingered the necklace that Ephram had given her. The sky would normally be fairly well lit at this time in morning but dark rain clouds filled the sky, bringing about a gloomy feeling.
Amy looked up and eyed a tall figure that was approaching her. Amy cautiously stood from her bench and started to walk in the opposite direction, hoping that she was just overreacting. Amy snuck a glance behind her and saw that he was within eight feet from her. Amy's breath caught and she started to run. So did he.
No, no, no Amy panicked to herself. This could not be happening. Not after what happened yesterday. Amy sprinted but she couldn't out fun him. Finally she was toppled to the ground, his weight heavy on her. She shrieked and squirmed but his force was strong. He eased himself up but he maintained a strong grip on her shoulders. He dragged her wreathing form into a more shadowed area.
"No!"Amy yelled with all of her might. "Stop it!"
"Shut up," her attacker growled and backhanded her across the face. The force of his slap knocked her to the ground. He took advantage of this and straddled her. Amy cried as her clothes were torn from her. She squeezed her eyes tight when he unzipped his pants. His pants were disgusting as was his beer breath.
Amy tried to disconnect her body from her mind like they do in the books she read. But she felt every moment of her rape. The thing is that I'm here for you. I love you. I'll do anything for you. Amy closed her eyes and tried with all of her might to conjure Ephram's face in her mind but her rapist's hands on her breasts made this impossible.
When gathered enough energy to try to put up another struggle, her rapist reached over and smashed a good sized rock into the side of her head. Then the world went black.
"Ephram!" Andy called as the boy ran for the door.
Ephram groaned. "I'm going over to Amy's!"
"I know, I just want to talk to you shortly before you go over."
Ephram's shoulders sagged and he slouched into a kitchen chair.
"I understand that you want to be Amy's knight in shining armor, but she is most likely going to reject your attempts." Ephram sat in silence. "After your mother died, you'd barely even say hello."
"Yeah, ok." Ephram tried to hurry his father along. "So do you have any tactics?"
"There's not much you can do it she wants to be silent. But if she's willing to talk, generally expect yelling, and…"
"Dad, I think I can handle her."
Andy shut his mouth and nodded. "Right. Tell Harold I said hi."
"Gotcha, bye," Ephram said as he rushed out the door.
"Hey," Bright answered the door.
"Hey."
"You haven't seen Amy have you?"
Ephram tilted his head at his friend in confusion. "Nooo… she's not here?"
Bright let Ephram inside. "No," he said closing the door. "She left a note, though."
Bright handed him the note.
Dad-
Don't worry, I had to get out of the house for a bit. Went for a walk in the park. I'll be back in an hour.
-Amy
"Okay?" Ephram looked up quizzically. He didn't see the problem.
"Dude, look at the time on the note," Bright instructed his friend. Ephram looked.
"7:30…" Ephram looked at the clock. It read 11:45. "She should definitely be back by now. Did you tell your dad?"
"Yeah, he's checking around town. I was just heading over to check the park when you came by."
"Let's go." And the two boys set out to find Amy.
"Dude, this park is huge," Bright commented. "You don't realize something like that until you're looking for someone."
By now, there were a few families around but not many. No one either of them knew so it didn't feel appropriate to ask.
"I'm gonna check over there," Ephram pointed over to a shady area they haven't investigated yet. Bright nodded at him and stood on a bench to overlook more of the park.
Leaves crunched under Ephram's boots as he stepped out of the line of sunshine. The change in light made seeing difficult. When his eyes finally adjusted, he felt his heart shred into pieces. With a deep intake of air, he bellowed, "BRIGHT!" Soon his friend charged to a stop beside him. After a second of delay, they both ran to Amy.
"Oh, no… no no no no," Bright was whispering. Taking in his sisters half nudity. Speaking was now an incapability for Ephram. Half of him was crumbling and the other half shriveled with pure white rage.
"Amy!" Bright desperately tried to rouse his sister.
Bright didn't care about his ego as he let out a pure hearted wailing sob. Ephram was together enough to take his to fingers to the place under her jaw line. "She still has a pulse," he was assuring himself more than his friend.
Ephram couldn't handle how vulnerable she was to their eyes. He repositioned himself so that he could cover her up. When he realized that her shirt and jacked had been cut and ripped down the front and he couldn't bring the ends to stay together, he struggle to keep it together.
"Give me your jacket," Ephram insisted since he didn't have one to offer. Bright quickly complied and whipped off his jacket. Bright whipped out his cell phone and called his father. He had to turn away because he couldn't stand watching as his best friend pulled his baby sister's pants up on her.
"Hello," his hopeful father's voice sounded in his ear. Bright's bottom lip trembled.
"D-d-dad."
Harold was on full alert at the sound of the tears in his son's voice. "What? Did you find her? Is she okay?"
At the sound of his father's voice, he could barely talk, he was crying so hard. "W-we found her… she, I…." Ephram stood and eased the phone out of his friend's hand.
"She was raped," Ephram spit out before he too chocked himself with his tears.
There was silence on the other line. Harold assumed, hoped, prayed that he misheard the boy. "What?"
"She was raped!" Ephram shouted.
Ephram waited for a while, wondering if Harold had hung up on him, but then he could hear the sobbing. He faintly heard his own father's voice, asking what was happening.
Andy came on the phone. "Ephram, just tell us where you are."
"Will you please drive faster?" Harold shouted at Andy.
"I'm going as fast as I can while still being safe."
"Safe? Safe? You're kidding me right? Andy I don't give a damn about your or my life right now! My daughter needs me!"
Andy swallowed hard at his friend's outburst. Harold never got like this. Andy kept his eyes on the road and stepped up on the accelerator.
The car pulled up ten minutes after Andy hung up. Bright was carrying a limp Amy in his arms.
"Oh, my God," Harold rushed out of the car. Harold stopped a foot from her, drooping in the protective arms of her brother. "My baby" he whispered as he ran his fingers across the scabby bruise on her head. "Is she…" Harold looked into his son's eyes, unable to complete the question.
"Faint pulse. I just hope that she was unconscious when it happened." Although I doubt it, Bright added silently to himself.
Harold helped ease Amy into the backseat. Bright and Ephram took seats by the door, and Amy leaned her weight into Ephram's shoulder. The drive to the hospital seemed to drag on for days. Yesterday's hospital run seemed like it was weeks ago.
"Paging Dr. Sanders, paging Dr. Sanders."
Ephram slowly realized he had fallen asleep.
"Hey," Andy said when Ephram shifted. It took a couple of seconds but soon everything was coming back to him.
"Oh, God," Ephram shifted to a sitting position and then put his head between his knees to keep from throwing up.
Andy waited for Ephram to come up but he seemed to just settle into position, staring beadily at the tiled floor.
"How long have I been asleep?" he asked the floor.
"An hour and a half."
"How is she?"
"She's fine. She's sleeping now."
"Can I go see her?"
"Yes."
Ephram stood and walked to the room he was sitting outside of, not daring to look at his father.
"Hey man."
Bright looked up. "Hey." He stood up to leave Ephram with Amy. "Don't take too long."
"I won't."
When Bright left the room and left the door open a crack, Ephram took a seat at the chair Bright was occupying.
"Hey," he said. "How's it going?" He looked at Amy expectantly, wishing she'd shift or something like they do in the movies. He took her hand in his. "I love you, and I am so… sorry…" He decided stop talking before he started to cry.
Ephram slouched in the chair absent-mindedly rubbing Amy's arm. After a couple of minutes, Amy gave a shudder. Ephram leaned forward, excited.
"Amy?"
But Amy was dreaming. Her head rolled slightly from side to side. Soon, soft little whimpers, filled with desperation and fear, escaped her lips. She was reliving the rape.
Ephram tried to coax her out of it. "Amy, Amy, It's okay. You're safe. I'm hear. It's me, Ephram…"
Amy was non responsive. Well that wasn't completely true. She swatted away his hand on her arm. Ephram recoiled, grabbing his arm and staring at it as though it was the one to rip her clothes off her.
Andy and Bright looked up as Ephram stumbled hastily out of the room, slightly out of breath. Andy was concerned and confused at Ephram's dazed look. Bright understood what was happening. This was exactly what happened to him at her first dream of the afternoon.
"I'll watch her," Bright said. "You need some air. There's a nice flower garden with a fountain if you go out that door," Bright instructed Ephram out of the room.
Andy looked at Bright. "She had another dream," he said, before entering his sister's room again. Andy nodded, his lips forming a thin line.
"Ephram?" Ephram was jolted out of his raging thoughts at the sound of a young female's voice. He looked over and sighed.
"Oh, hi Hannah."
"Bright sent me."
Ephram scooted over on his bench to let Hannah sit down. Hannah didn't ask any questions or say anything, to Ephram's relief. He just wanted some quiet to sort out his thoughts.
He ran his hand roughly on his jeans in frustration. Hannah didn't bother him when he let a few tears roll silently down his cheek as he stared straight ahead. They sat there in silence for a good half hour.
"I feel so selfish," Ephram said finally.
Hannah looked at him like he was nuts. "What?"
"Like, the Abbots, they lost Rose and Amy was… Here I am feeling sorry for myself." Ephram looked at Hannah. "I mean, I'm not even thinking about what Bright and Harold are going through," he gestured with his arm as though indicating them through the walls. "Or Amy."
Hannah stared at him with her mouth slightly open. She snapped it shut and turned to face front. "You act like you're some outsider."
Ephram looked at her.
"For God sakes, Ephram, you're a part of that family. You're hurting nearly as much as they are."
He looked as if he'd been slapped. He sighed deeply. "How are you taking it?"
Hannah shoved her hands deep in her pockets and stood up. "Like shit. Let's go check on them."
Hannah and Ephram walked in to find Andy, Harold and Bright listening to a doctor.
"-stable and she will be released today. We have two officers in with her now to get a description of what happened before her she forgets any little details. I will administer some medication for any pain, but use only when needed. I will give you a tranquilizer that you only, Harold, can give her. Give her that if she has a panic attack or you feel it is absolutely necessary, but not if she has a flash back or is stressed, because it is simply too strong."
Harold walked with the doctor to ask him further questions about taking care of Amy.
"So they're letting her go home," Hannah said. "That's great."
"Yeah," Bright said.
Two police officers emerged from Amy's room. Without noticing the teenager's presence, the male officer asked his partner, "So, you thinkin' it's the same guy?"
"Either that or a copycat. But to think that he'd travel a thousand miles?"
"He could've flown. He knew we were onto him…" and they couldn't hear anymore of the conversation as the officers turned the corner.
Ephram looked to Bright. "I don't even want to think about it," Bright said, voicing Ephram's thoughts.
Amy walked to the car, Bright and Harold on either side of her. She didn't say anything, and soon they all gave up on trying to get her to talk.
"Man," Bright pulled Ephram aside. "I think that you shouldn't come over today. I think that it's best, you know, family."
"I got it. I understand." Ephram slapped his friend on the back and squeezed his shoulder to show his care. "Call me if it gets too much."
"I will." Ephram watched them drive away, feeling useless.
"Hannah," Andy said. "You want us to give you a ride?"
"Sure."
"Hi, honey," Andy greeted his daughter when he got home. Delia did not look happy.
"You were supposed to pick me up from Emily's house at four. No one answered at home and Emily's mom had to drive me hope at 5:30 because they had to go out."
Andy looked at Ephram. Ephram held his hands up in surrender. "I'll be upstairs."
Andy sat Delia down and struggled to fill her in. Delia rolled her eyes when he kept on telling her things like 'just run' and 'yell for help as loud as you can' and 'if anyone's been bothering you, I want you to talk to us'. Delia understood what her dad meant, it just embarrassed her to talk to her dad about it.
Ephram called the Abbot's the next day.
"Hello?" Bright answered.
"It's Ephram."
"Hey, look, I don't think you want to come over today."
Ephram raised his eyebrows even though Bright couldn't see him.
"Amy's not in the best of shape and-" Bright took the phone away from his mouth. Ephram could hear some short dialogue. "Right, I've gotta go and hold her hair while she pukes."
"Is she okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine."
"Tell her I called."
"I will." Bright said.
Ephram hung up and trudged up to his room. He ended up watching TV for the rest of the day.
"Was that Ephram?" Amy asked as he flushed the toilet and slouched against the wall.
"Yeah," Bright said. "He wanted to check in on you."
"Uhg, I don't want him to see me like this."
"That's what you have me and Dad for."
Amy ignored this comment as her father appeared in the bathroom doorway. It almost broke her heart how much they cared for her.
"Here, take a sip of 7-Up."
"I don't want to."
"Come on, it'll make you feel better."
Amy complied and after a few minutes she had to say that it did help settle her stomach a bit.
"Thanks," Amy said as she handed back the still nearly full glass. Bright and Harold helped her into bed.
When Harold left the room, she said, "Bright, can you do something for me?"
"Anything."
"Could you get me Mom's pillow?" Bright looked hesitant but retrieved the pillow without a word. Amy pressed it into her face and inhaled deeply. "Smell it."
"That's okay."
"Come on, smell it." Amy insisted.
Bright grabbed the pillow and pressed his face into it like Amy had and inhaled. It smelt like the shampoo used to use when she had hair to wash. Bright held Amy as she cried herself to sleep on Rose's pillow.