Member-only story
*This article will contain details about my own experience being raped. Please read with caution.*
For most people, June 14th is just like any other day. For me, it marks the most traumatic event in my life. I had just graduated high school in the top 20%, I had the second largest academic scholarship that the college I would attend could offer, I was moving out of my parents house and had a whole summer of fun to enjoy. I kicked off my first weekend as a seventeen year old high school graduate with a sleepover at one of my girlfriends house.
I was super excited, not only to hang out with my friend but also because her brother would be there and I had a big crush on him. He was funny, tried teaching me to play Skyrim, went shopping with me and my friend once at Burke’s, and was really smart. We’d been flirting for a while, sending some winky faces on Facebook Messenger and whatnot. I was hopeful that he’d finally make a move on me since I’d be there.
Let me clarify something before we go any further in this story. I was a virgin. Like, never been touched under pants kind of virgin. My parents instilled a deep sense of shame surrounding having sex so I felt like shit and cried for a week after letting a guy grope me over my shirt for the first time. By make a move, I wanted him to kiss me, as I thought all boys did in my naive, fairy tale romance addled brain.