ME TOO?

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Tina stared at the TV screen; she didn’t notice her hands were shaking. She was back in that room, her back on the cold floor, tears streaming down her face as she cried and begged him for mercy.

She snapped back to the present. She thought she was safe and had moved past it. “He’s running for president?” She muttered disbelievingly as she watched the multitude of faces smiling at him with love and admiration as he gave his speech.

“He is running for president?!” she shouted as the rage took over her. No! People need to know the kind of person he is behind closed doors. This man doesn’t deserve it. He might have fooled people but not her. They don’t know him. She didn’t want revenge. She just wanted people to know. How could she live with herself, watch him smile and fool everyone as president. Then he had told her no one would believe her. Right now, she didn’t care; they needed to see who he was, to know what he had done. She was scared years back but no more. He didn’t deserve it.

Lola threw a handful of potato chips into her mouth, her eyes glued to the TV screen. A lady named Tina had come forward to accuse the beloved presidential aspirant of rape. No one believed Tina. Lola shook her head, her mind filled with rage. She thought about the man that had raped her years ago. Her life was shit. That rape had destroyed her. Men like this did as they pleased and got away with it.

“Look at his lying face. Rapist!!!” she yelled. Lola picked up her tab and searched online for all the info she could get on the presidential aspirant. Yes, he wasn’t the man that had raped her but he would do. He was a man. Tina needed help and she, Lola was going to make sure she got this rapist.

Cece yawned as she rocked her baby to sleep. As a little girl, she’d always thought she was going to be a star, a celebrity, loved and adored by all, travel from country to country in the latest designer wears. She glared at her baby with hate. This was baby number two.  She looked around her tiny apartment that her boring little job could afford and swore beneath her breath.

How had she gotten here? She sighed and put on the TV. Her favorite talk show was on. The sleep left Cece as she listened attentively. The presenter was talking to two ladies; Tina and Lola who said a presidential aspirant had raped them. Wait, she remembered seeing them on a different popular show yesterday.

“I look better and hotter than them. That should be me on TV.” she thought to herself as an idea clicked. She smiled. It was time to fulfill her little girl dream. Who knows? She could do the rounds on shows on TV and radio, magazine covers, movies, music videos, the whole works and make some money too. Her smile broadened.

Gladys laughed her heart out as she watched the TV screen. Three women! He raped three women for something she had offered for free. He had looked at her like she was beneath him.  “So, superstar mini god is a rapist.”

She had hated him after that night. Who the hell did he think he was? She had offered herself to him and he had said no. Nobody turns her down but he had. She watched his face on the screen.

He had battered her self-esteem and self-worth with that no.

She smiled happily and looked up, thanking the universe for presenting her with an opportunity to pay him back.

Jane froze as the lights came on, revealing her near naked body, beneath a boy’s. She tried to button up fast but her fingers refused to work.

“What are you two doing there?”

Jane tried to think. What would her parents and everyone in school think if they heard that she had snuck into an empty classroom on campus to have sex? Her parents would be laughed at by their friends? They would be disappointed in her. They had always taught her that her virtue was important to them.

She wasn’t even dating this guy. She’d seen him on campus once or twice. He was the president of a club on campus, a sports athlete and handsome with a super-hot banging body. They had just met at a party that night.

“Did he rape you? “Are you ok?” the security men asked.

“Rape.” Jane heard her voice croak.

The boy denied it vehemently and begged her to say something. Jane was still frozen.

Weeks passed. It had blown out of proportion. She hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. It was just a small lie to cover up.  Yesterday, a presidential aspirant who had been accused of rape by many women had committed suicide.  Today, her alleged rapist had too.

She cried as the image of his lifeless body flashed in her mind. What had she done?

Tasha counted the bills they gave her. She couldn't believe her luck. Twenty thousand dollars to just come out and lie that she was also raped by a man. She never cared much for politics and she had no scruples being used as a pawn to bring down an opponent. This money and the fame that would come with this was well worth it to her. 

Mabel picked up the bottle of pills. Her body heaved and shook as she cried her heart out. She couldn’t believe it. She had been raped by a popular man. It had been hard for her to do but she had come out to tell her story but no one had believed her.  The people had said a presidential aspirant and a young athlete had committed suicide after rape accusations. Some of the women who had accused them had come forward to say it had all been a lie. Everyone had laughed at her and called her a fame whore, a reputation destroyer.

She wasn’t them. The memory of the rape was still fresh in her mind. She had made the mistake of waiting two months. There was no evidence. She hadn’t lied. That animal had raped her. Her rape was real. It was very real to her.

She opened the bottle, poured the little pills into her mouth and washed them down with a glass of juice.

The world was wicked and she couldn’t stay in it anymore.

Thank you for reading my thoughts. What are your thoughts?

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