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Her face brightens a little bit more. "I love to dance. I'm in ballet class. I want to be one, a ballerina, when I grow up."
"That's wonderful. I admit I have no coordination, and I would not be able to balance on my toes. Or be able to do a Pirouette correctly."
She laughs, "What! That's one of the easiest ballet moves ever. I could do them in my sleep."
I can tell I hit the spot with the ballet talk. She's opening up and getting more comfortable with me. "I don't know about that; I think that might be one of the hardest moves."
"Yeah, maybe to you, but not to me."
"Okay, fine, you got me. I might not be the best ballet dancer."
"It's okay. We can't all be good at everything." I chuckle, "That's very true."
"You want to start talking about what happened, don't you?" This kid is smart.
"Only if you're completely up to it and comfortable talking about it. We can talk about anything else if you want."
"No. I think I'm ready." She puts her hands underneath herself.
"Okay, start at the beginning. You can take as many breaks as you want. This is your story to tell. Start when you are ready. I will be taking notes just to let you know. Is that okay with you?"
"Thank you. And yes, the notes are okay." She takes a few deep breaths, and at this moment, I already know it's going to be horrible. I prepare myself for her to tell me everything. "I'm ready."
I nod, "Go ahead, Kat."
Her hands are still underneath her; it must be a safe place for her. "I just left school when this guy comes up to me telling me that my mom told him to pick me up from school. He was white, blonde, and about five foot seven. He drove a black car. Plates started with 'KG.' He knew the password that we use when others pick us up. I didn't think anything of it. I left with him. We started driving, and he asked me how my school day was. I thought he did a lot of little talk for someone who was hired by my mom. Usually, they don't talk to me. It felt weird but nice to be communicating with someone."
She takes a breath and then continues, "I started getting worried when I noticed that we missed both exits to go to my house. But I figured maybe Mom was in a meeting somewhere, and I was to meet her there. Now I know that he was taking me to his house. I asked him, after ten more minutes, where we were going. He replied that we were going to his house because that's where I would be safe
for now. Yeah, safe, very safe there. I tried to get out of the car, but he had it locked. In response to me trying to get out, he looked in the mirror and said, 'Where do you think you're going, sunshine?' That's when my heart stopped, and I truly started panicking. I tried to hit the window to break it, but that glass was indestructible compared to my meager punches. He laughed like crazy. I decided to save my energy for the fight. I left my phone hidden, knowing that my parents could track me if the lunatic didn't know about it. They would find me sooner or later."
This clever little girl. Nisa told me they found her due to tracking, but she is extremely smart with her survival skills. "Go ahead and continue when you're ready."
"I just want this asshole to rot in prison. We get to his house, and he grabs me. I struggled the whole time. I think I scratched him a dozen times. Thank God I haven't clipped my nails in a while. He started cussing at me when I drew blood. We got in the house, and he told me he already had my room set up. I stopped struggling by then. Knowing it would do me no good if I kept it up, and he killed me because I was too much to handle. I knew then that whatever happened in the house would be inconsequential if I only survived."
She takes a sip of water from the water bottle that's next to her. "He led me to the bedroom. There was only a bed in there with handcuffs on it. Two for my wrists at the headboard and two for my ankles at the footboard. I was quiet when he did it. I didn't put up a fight, hoping it would cause him to leave me alone. But, I guess that invited him because after he did my wrists, he started to pull my pants down. I struggled; I tried to kick him off. But with my wrists constrained, he overpowered me. He slapped me and told me to shut the fuck up, or he would kill me. And like a coward that I am, I did as he asked. I stopped fighting.
He got my pants down and pulled his pants down. He raped me three times. He wouldn't stop. Not until someone was banging on the door saying 'pizza.' Little did I know that it was the police. I was saved, although my virginity wasn't spared a second glance. I cried throughout it all. I cried when the officers came in. I couldn't stop when they took the handcuffs off or gave me a blanket to cover myself. I didn't stop crying until I was in my parent's arms." She looks up at me. "I should've fought more; I shouldn't have just let him take advantage of me. Why didn't I do more?"
My whole body shakes with rage. "You did nothing wrong.
You survived; you did everything that, at the moment, felt right to survive. You are not a coward; you didn't let it happen. That guy took advantage of you. The only one who carries that blame is him. Kat, you did what was right. You are here to tell the story. You were the one who kept the phone hidden. That's what saved you. Do not think otherwise; do not blame yourself."
She starts crying silent tears. "Thank you, Archer. Do you need any more details?"
"No, we are good. Thank you for sharing your story. This guy isn't going to see the outside for a very long time; you can count on that."
"I hoped for that. Can you get my parents now?"
"Of course, I think they are just outside the door."
I open the door, and her parents both rush in. I look behind them to Nisa, finally letting my despair shine through my facade. That was hard.
"Archer, thank you so much for doing this. You have no idea what it means to me." Nisa pats my shoulder.
"Nisa, anytime. I need to go splash water on my face. I need to cool down because I'm this close to finding this guy and ending
him indefinitely."
