Ralph froze. He wasn't sure how to respond to what he just heard. His inner body was shouting in anger; What sick perverted freak would ever do such a thing? What monster would do a shitty terrible thing? But his outside just reacted to turning the tv off and scooting himself closer to Sue, pulling her gently closer, embracing her sweetly. The only word he could utter out of him, out of all the words and profanities he had spinning in his brain, was, "I'm sorry."
She reacted to it the way she had reacted to it once before. "Its okay. I mean I know its not okay, but its okay." She paused for a second then said, "I was twelve when it happened. Almost thirteen." Sue felt the internal gasp in Ralph.
"Who did it? Do you know who did it?" He asked. She nodded. "Who done it?"
Sue sat up a little but not given eye contact with Ralph. She leaned back into the couch staring at her feet that she had rested on the coffee table in front of her. "My friends bother." She told him. Sue glanced at him and read his face. He was eager to know more information. "What? Want the story, Slick?"
"Only if you're comfortable." He rubbed her back.
"It was back in New York. I grew up in Dobbs Ferry and my best friend Chandler grew up in Terrytown. Chandlers dad was a member of Shyre Country Club and my dad worked at the club as a janitor. My mom was an event waitress and was usually called to Shyre Country for big party celebrations. They all connected well and fired up a friendship. Her parents ended up sponsoring my parents to be members as soon my parents found full time jobs when they graduated high school.
"Anyways , Chandler's birthday was like two weeks before mine, September first, so we always did joint birthdays until she moved. Anyways, Chandler's last birthday was a sleepover birthday party at her house before she and her parents moved to Florida. The school year didn't start until September eighth, since the school had to be cleared for gas that got into the school. Chandler's brother Artie was visiting from college. I had seen him a couple of times over the years but because he's five years older than Chandler he was with his own friends. He binged that Unsolved Mysteries tv series, which is something my Dad and I binged too, so we were hotheads talking about crimes on that show and then nearby real crimes like this dead body they found in a costume trunk in the bottom of the Hudson River.
"My friends and I all went to bed around half past midnight. I woke up around one thirty to use the bathroom then get water from downstairs in the kitchen. Artie was in there eating a pizza her had ordered." Her nostrils cringed as the smell came to her like it was directly in the front of her. "Onion, salami, garlic, black olives, red peppers and feta cheese. God, it was gross. I'm still stunned to this day that the pizza smell itself didn't attach itself to me. Artie and I start talking about that movie Sixth Sense when he offered me a slice. I kindly declined then turned away to get back to sleep upstairs." Sue's voice shifted to a lower, whispery pitch. "Next thing I knew was I walked down the hallway and I felt this muscular, smelly, greasy onion garlic pizza fragrance cover my mouth and squeeze the daylights out of me. I reacted; I screamed at loudly as I could and tried to fight Artie's hand off me."
Sue gripped her teeth onto her mouth, her breathing unbalanced and shaky. "He dragged me up the stairs into his room, locked the door behind and pushed me onto the bed. He got on top. Hand never left my mouth. Im still screaming and trying to fight him off me. He got...He got my pajama pants and underwear down and...went in. I stopped fighting and cried. I didn't want to look at him so I faced away and stared at this digital alarm he had on the table next to his bed. Slowest five minutes of my life." Sue could hear the sounds he was making against her. Gross, older man, perverted moans. She sniffed and rubbed her sleeve against her nose. "When he was done he kissed my cheek and said...some stupid comment about being good. He excused himself and left with my underwear in his hands. I was stuck on then trying to come to terms with what happened, trying to make myself believe that...it didn't happen." Her voice cracked. "I probably stayed in that frozen state for an hour before I got up and put my pajama bottoms on. Artie had left the house. I refused to go get my stuff in Chandler's room and wake her or anyone up. I ran down the stairs, grabbed my jean jacket from the closet and ran out the door in my bare feet walking in the direction of my house."
"How long is the walk?"
"An hour. It's an hour and a half but I was running every couple of minutes so I got there quickly." She explained facing him. She smirked. "Even Flash couldn't reach my house in running from the Mière house to the Dearbon house." Her smile fainted. "I got back to my house close to four in the morning. My parents were off for work stuff for a few days so they wouldn't be back until Saturday."
Ralph's heart ached. He wanted to go track down this Artie Mière and beat the everlasting shit out of him. For Elongated Sakes! Sue was twelve years old! Ralph had no idea what exactly twelve year old girls did for fun (Makeup? Gossip? Truth or Dares?) But certainly not get raped by your best friends older brother! "That sick fuck."
"Chandler called me the next day asking what happened. I said I had a stomach ache and felt sick so I asked Artie to give me a ride home since he was already up." Sue's blue eyes rolled. "Certain luck. She had asked Artie what happened before she called me and he said the exact story; I was sick to my stomach and was going to wake up her mom for a ride home when he offered. I asked her if she could bring my back over and she was confused. She said my stuff was already gone."
"What'd he do? Burn it?" Ralph sneered.
"Hope so. If he didn't and I find it, I'll burn that bag." She scoffed. "When I got home I showered the shame and dirt off me and I threw out my pajamas. I never wanted to see them again. I couldn't sleep for a couple of days. My parents came home and I never told them what happened. I thought they'd be pissed—especially my mom. She had taught me some self-defense moves after always seeing news stories about women being attacked and she got me pepper spray to use against the attacker."
Ralph gingerly rubbed her back and felt himself naturally rocking her. "Do they know now?" Sue nodded. "That's good they know now."
Sue felt so so happy right now, in the moment, but she only had half the truth out. "I didn't tell them until five years after it happened. When I was in college at MIT I shared a dorm with this girl my age, Fiona Kendall. She was the perfect roommate I could had asked for. She invited me to this party on my birthday, just to get me out of the dorm. At this bar that was letting college kids in for the night. We get there, grab a table, order pizza, fries and onion rings and two mudslide drinks. Fiona snuck in a package of Oreos so when our drinks arrived she crushed the cookies and sprinkled them over the drinks whipped cream."
"She sounds nice. You still friends?"
Sue ignored the question. "She applied to work at the bar a few weeks later and got the job October first. She always brought back to the dorm leftover food from the night like pizzas that were pre-made but never got out of the kitchen. She was seriously the sweetest person ever too. She only too morning classes so she'd be free from four to eleven to work so she was up by five and made coffee for us with the coffee brew she brought with her to the campus. By the time I woke up she would had finish making the coffee the way I took it. In exchange I hooked her up with movie tickets at the movie theater job I had got around the same time she got the bar job.
"Anyways in November she was getting ready to go on a date with our friend Scott from the same dorm building, just a different level. He invited me too to the date, saying he could find someone to go with me, but I was going to visit my aunt Deb and uncle Jim in Manchester, New Hampshire. Scott had the keys to his brothers apartment that was vacant so when Fiona didn't come back that night I figured she was sleeping at the apartment with Scott. Next morning I saw Scott in the dining hall and asked where Fiona was. He told me that Fiona had't been feeling well so she left around ten. I didn't see her for the rest of the semester. She hired some people to come and take her stuff from the dorm to some storage garage she bought. In January when I was back in New York my mom and I were watching the news and the local news station in Boston had reported a campus rape that happened at MIT in November. The woman who reported the rape was Fiona. The person who raped her was...Artie.
"The case was going to go to court in March. My mom was going off about how Artie always seemed so shady and weird and perverted. She told me that whenever I went over to Chandler's house she prayed that he wasn't there because she didn't want him to be in the house if I was changing clothes or in or out of a swimsuit for the pool in the yard."
"Right there you told her." Ralph pieced it together. It felt like the right answer.
Sue nodded slowly. "I told her. Everything. She was only upset that I held that secret for so long. She told my dad because I was shit terrified to tell him the most. It was one of those scenario where if my dad hadn't met with Chandler and Artie's dad, this would never had happened to me. We just all held each other that night and stayed closed. Eventually a few days later Fiona contacted me and we talked for hours. She told me briefly what had happened and I admitted to her that Artie had raped me too when I was twelve. Cut to late March when the trial starts. I'm in the court room to support Fiona. She telling her story first. After the first hearing we both leave and she calls me a few hours later upset. Her lawyer told her that the case was weak and he might be set free. I got her lawyers name, went to him and told what happened to me. Even though it was in a different state, the lawyer took the risk and got me to testify in the court." Inhale, exhale. "That was the scariest shit I ever experienced. Having to tell my story, how it happened, what happened, why I held it for so long. Oh best part?" Sue made a face. "Guess who was in the room?"
"Who?"
"Artie's parents and Chandler. I was surprised to see him in the room since when Fiona was on the stand, Dmitri shouted out 'What were you wearing!?' and 'Why out that last!?' too. Crazy fucker. I gave my testimony and then left the room since I nearly threw up five times on the stand having to give detail. When I got out of the bathroom the court was dismissed for another day. I saw Chandler, she saw me. She comes running up to me. Before I could say anything Chandler slapped me. She called me a lunatic and crazy and that I had been raped by someone else and was trying to blame someone else. I screamed back that it was her brother and she kept denying that her brother would do that. She spat in my eyeball and stomped away in a huff.
"Okay so cut to a few days later when the jury makes their announcement on the charges." Ralph noticed her fist ball rightly, turning blood red. "Not guilty. That motherfucker rapist was found NOT. GUILTY." She shouted. "A couple of days later, more women announced that he had raped them too. Ten more women, thirteen if you count the three who couldn't bare with the nightmares he had given them and committed suicide. Somehow that bitch was fount not guilty again."
"What the fuck?"
"In July Fiona, the ten women and I all hangout together in one of the girls Fiona homes in New York. Well somehow we come up with this idea to all get the same tattoo together." Sue sat up and pulled up her pajama top just enough to show the thick, almost cursive black tattoo on the side of her rib cage.
YNOM. I Own Me.
YNOU. We R Free.
"YNOM and YNOU?"
"You'll Never Own Me. I Own Me. You'll Never Own Us. We R Free." She answered. "Look Slick, we were all cheesy twenty to thirty year old women."
"No. Strong statement," He found himself touching it. It wasn't tiny but sized well enough to be seen. "I like it. Your wrist?"
"My parents wrote it for me right before I gave my story at the trial." She held out the wrist. "My mom wrote the first words, top and bottom, my dad wrote the second words, top and bottom." The top read; Survivor. Warrior. The bottom line was Steel Magnolia. "That is one of our favorite movies to watch together."
"How does this go back to Carver?"
"My parents...They were worried that in the future when jobs looked up by name they'd find me connected to the case, see that it was a not guilty and worried that jobs would see me as someone who was crazy. They asked Carver to help my name get removed from the case. He did, then threaten to tell the world what they did to protect me." She turned to Ralph. "I told you. They're good people. I was upset that they did that but...I get it. They were doing what seemed best. They're good people."
She sat back on the couch leaning into Ralph. She felt a lift in her spirit that made her comfortable. "I saw a therapist for a couple of years but I stopped when I started to try and find blackmail on Carver. I started back in July when I had settled into the city. All of that is the reason why September is so strange for me. And why the past couple of times we've shared a bed I'm so uncomfortable."
He found himself playing with her hair. "That's understandable. Whatever happened to that family?"
"Chandler works at some school in New York. Do you honestly think I care to know where that fucker it?"
"Stupid question I asked, got it. Fiona?"
Sue became quiet for a few moments. "She committed suicide that September. September fourth. She left a note. Out of respect I can't say what she wrote, but it all ties back to being raped by Artie and feeling worthless after that. We talked every other day since we got the tattoos. Fiona, the other women and I. Still do. The women and I had a memorial service for her a few days after the college. We try every year to do one either in person or video chatting. We no longer talk about our past, just our present and future."
"That's amazing!"
"Uh. If this," She gestured to herself. "Is too much to handle because of the past I get it and I can move back with Z."
His eyes widen larger than an owl ever could. Move out? "No. No way."
"Ralph—"
"Sue. You aren't crazy. You are the opposite of being crazy. You are one of the strongest people that I have ever met in my life. I have met strong people in my life but you are one of the strongest." He insisted. "There is no other person that I can admire as much as I do to you now. No way. You're intelligent, an excellent actress—"
She cut off with a smirk. "Pretty cute?"
He chuckled "That too. But so strong to go through all of that in a ten year space." Ralph took her hand and held it lovingly. "There is no chance of you moving out if you think I can't handle it. You've got it, I've got this. We got this."
They both felt it. Their heart and the other persons heart not melting like anything was wrong. Instead, matching in happiness together. For Ralph, he had no idea how much of a strong, extraordinary person Susan Audrina Dearbon was until hearing this story of hers. For Sue, this was the first time she told someone her story who hadn't made her feel so dirty, shameful, worthless and feel like used up goods. Ralph whatever-the-hell-his-middle-name-is-she-needs-to-find-out-ASAP Dibny, was her favorite person.
They hugged. They cuddled with arms wrapped around one another feeling the happiness from the other person. Sue leaned back a few small inches to kiss his cheek. She got off of him to use the bathroom again, only to meet with her mirror reflection. "Oh my Elongate, I'm a mess!" She rubbed her swollen red eyes and cheeks.
Ralph stretched his head into the bathroom and stopped to face the same direction of Sue. He studied her appearance and grinned. He turned and kissed her cheek. "Silly girl! How could you ever be more beautiful than you are right now?"
Fin!
Hope you all enjoyed.
PS. The last line of Ralphs? I found it on a wiki page a year-ish ago when the character of Sue was announced to be on the show and I wanted to know more about the character before she got onto the show. It's adorable!
DearDibny.