Chapter 38: Nail The Bastard To The Wall

"Can I talk to you?" Sophia was eating lunch with Jessie; and Meggan, from her peer-counseling group, had approached her at their table.

"Sure. Jess, this is Meggan. She's from my group."

"Hiya, Meggan, nice to meet you. You want I should leave?" Meggan looked at Sophia.

"Jess will leave if you want, Meg, but she knows what I do down in Peer Counseling, lived through my nightmare with me, and knows how to keep a secret."

"OK. Then I don't want her to leave. I feel bad enough interrupting your lunch anyhow." Sophia and Jessie just waved that off. "I need your help, Soph. I think I've got a Warren." Meggan smiled a little bit.

Sophie smiled back. "Tell me more."

"His name is Josh. We take the bus every day. He's a junior." Meggan herself was a sophomore. "We usually sit with each other. He just moved to Oceanview this year, so I was like the first person he got to know, because we're the first two stops on the bus route in the morning, and the last two off in the evening. It was natural that we started talking. So now we talk every day on the bus."

"Do you mind telling me his last name? If you want to keep that a secret, I don't mind. I was wondering if I knew him."

"Blumberg. Josh Blumberg."

"Really?" Sophia exclaimed. "I actually know Josh well. One of my best friends, Karen Laskovich, is Josh's cousin. When Josh first moved into town, Karen got him in with our crowd. I see him at parties all the time. He's a good kid, I like him a lot. One of the things I really like about him is the way he handles himself at parties. He's not much of a drinker and I've never seen him take a drug, but he can go to a party and have a good time-and he's nice but firm about turning down chemicals, so everyone respects his choice. In that way, he's exactly like Warren."

"That's good information, Sophia, I forget that you know everybody." Sophia giggled. Meggan went on, "Anyhow, there have been some days that I've gone to school after-you know-had happened the previous night. He knows something's wrong. He tries to get me to tell him. He's not mean or anything about it, and he's only persistent to a point, but he's figured out that something's wrong with me."

Jessie was listening to the conversation, but wasn't sure what, exactly, Meggan was talking about.

"He's done the old self-esteem-boost thing that Warren told us about-in fact, it hit me while Warren was talking about that that Josh does exactly the same thing."

"I want to tell him. I want to tell him what's happening to me. But I don't think I can get the words out, and I don't know if I want to lay this on him."

Sophia took a deep breath. "First of all, don't drop it on him on the bus. Do what I did-give him your phone number and ask him to call. Tell him you need a friend to talk to. He'll call, I can almost guarantee it. Secondly, you need to lay this on someone. He's almost begging you to. Third, if you don't think you can get the words out, practice."

"What do you mean?"

"Tell Jessie, here. I can tell by her eyes darting back and forth that she's trying to figure out what's going on. Jessie knows I do peer counseling but I don't discuss specifics, because it is your choice who to tell. However, she's a great listener, her word is worth its weight in gold, and her confidence is solid."

"All true, and I'm cute, too." Jessie quipped, getting a laugh out of Meggan. "Listen, Meggan, do not feel compelled to tell me. But if you want to practice, I'm willing."

Meggan took a deep breath, and looked at Jessie. "My boyfriend rapes me at knifepoint." Jessie visibly paled. "And then tells me if I leave him or tell anyone he will cut me into little pieces."

"You got the words out. That's a start. I remember when it took you 45 minutes to say those words to me." Sophia glanced at Jessie. "Jessie, are you alright?"

Jessie said, in a tone of barely restrained murderous fury, "If I ever find out who your boyfriend is, Meggan, I will bring a bigger knife, cut his balls and dick off, and stuff them down his fucking throat until he chokes to death on them." Meggan's eyes just got wide. "You say the word, Meg, and I'll have a posse on this guy's ass so quick he won't know what hit him. Soph, you think Crash, Warren, and Nicky would have a good time bouncing this scumbag off of a few walls? I do." Jessie took a deep breath.

Meggan's eyes just got even wider. "You can't do that. He'll find out it came from me, and he'll kill me."

Jessie exhaled. "I know, Meg, I know. I don't know who he is, anyway. And I know if I were to act too rashly, you could be in danger. I've been through this, with Sophie." She shook her head. "But, I can't help but want to do to him exactly what I said."

Meggan calmed down. "I know. I do, too. I'm just afraid I'm going to end up dead at his hands. I worry about it all the time. I don't know how long I can live with that worry." She sighed. "I think of suicide more and more lately."

Jessie looked at her. "Maybe you need to be suicidal." Meggan just stared at her. Sophia gasped. Jessie just went on. "Get to the point where you're going to do it. Get right to that point where you don't care if you live or die. And, right when you get to that point-go after him. You'd have nothing to lose, right?"

Meggan looked at her. "She makes good points in a very roundabout kind of way, doesn't she?"

"Always" Sophia agreed.

It happened again that night. The next morning, Josh noticed, but Meggan parried his queries as usual. She sat in class all day, barely aware of where she was. This one was brutal-he decided, after he was done with her pussy, he was going to rape her ass. She could barely sit down.

She was in agony all day. She had almost become numb to it, but having her anal virginity raped brought home again how brutal, degrading, and painful this all was.

She decided, it was either take a chance, or kill herself. She took a chance. When she saw Josh on the bus heading home, she waited until they were the only two people left on the bus. She slipped a piece of paper in his hands as she got off the bus. It said, "349-8712. Josh, that's my phone number. I need to talk to a friend tonight. Please call. Love, Meggan."

He called, shortly after eight o' clock. After they said hi, Meggan told him, "You know there's something wrong with me, right?"

"Yeah, Meg, but I don't know what. Some days you walk onto that bus and it's like the night of the living dead. Today was particularly bad. But you won't tell me what it is."

"I decided I want to tell you. I need to tell you. I need help. I'm in counseling, but that's not the same." She hesitated a minute. "Josh, how do you feel about me?"

"I like you, a whole lot. I mean a lot. I care about you more than you know. If you hadn't told me you had a boyfriend, I would have asked you out long ago."

"My suspicions are confirmed," Meggan said. Josh just laughed. Meggan got serious. "I want to tell you about me. I want to tell you. However, I don't know if I can dump this one on you. It's bad."

"If you need to tell me, than you need to tell me."

"OK" She took a deep breath. "My boyfriend has been raping me at knifepoint for six months. Last night, he added a new twist-he raped my ass. And he told me he would kill me if I ever left, or if I ever told anyone."

Dead silence at the other end of the phone.

"Josh?"

Another moment of silence. "Meggan, what's your address?"

"45 Curran St. Why?"

"Will your parents get upset if you have a visitor at this time of night?"

"My parents don't give a fuck what happens to me, Josh. That's another long story, but, let's just say that they had me because 'everybody has kids', and they just go on their merry way. They're actually not here, they're shopping or something..."

"Good. I'm coming over." And he abruptly hung up the phone.

Meggan didn't know what to think. She had, at least, gotten the courage to tell him. And now he's coming over? She'll have to look him in the face? After what she told him? Oh, boy...

Before she knew it, there was a knock on the door, and she opened it to find him. And before she knew it, she was in his arms, crying.

He steered her to the couch. After she had calmed down, Josh asked her, "Who knows?"

"I have a peer counselor at school, and I talk to the psychiatrist there. Other than them, just you. You don't know how long I've wanted to tell you, because I knew you were a real friend."

Josh took a deep breath. "I have a car, Meg. You need to go to the police."

"NO!"

"You need to."

"Josh, he'll kill me!"

"He's going to, anyway, if this keeps up." Meggan looked at him, startled. "You know I'm right. Either that, or you'll kill yourself."

Meggan looked at him. "You're right."

"This can't go on forever. He's killing you, as it is, bit by bit. I can't watch that happen, Meg. I care too much about you. I need to take you to the police."

Meggan sat, and thought about it. Just then, her parents walked in the door.

"Hi, Meg," her father said.

Her mother just looked at Josh. "So, who's this? I thought your boyfriend was that reprobate from Salem? Sleeping around, Meg?"

Josh was shocked. He had his arm around Meg, and he felt her shoulder tighten. He squeezed it, for reassurance. Meg was saying, "This is Josh. He's a friend, from school." She took a deep breath. "And Curtis isn't my boyfriend, not the way any normal person would define it."