The year was 1992. I was a music major in the second semester of my first year. I had a room by myself in the poshest dorm on campus, and all was well in my world. I had great friends, and I wasn't doing too badly in my classes. In fact, I was an active member of my church choir and the gospel choir on campus. As a result, I wasn't really going out a lot...mostly to gigs and hanging with my peeps. As far as guys were concerned, there wasn't anyone special. I had given up all my playthings to dedicate my life to Christ. And while I did get caught slipping on occasion, I made it a point to get that under control with a quickness.
There were a couple of guys in my classes that kinda caught my eye, though. They were commuter students, which meant they didn't live on campus. One in particular took two classes with me...class piano and music history. Even though he wasn't exactly my type, there weren't many folks who looked like me around, so we tended to gravitate to each other.
One day, he asked if he could come by my room after class. I didn't mind because I knew he didn't really have a spot to relax on campus, and I had a room to myself. He came by, and before I could get my bearings, he was making moves on me. I wasn't too worried about it because we were in my room alone...what else was he to do? After that happened a couple of times, I told him that I couldn't let him come by anymore because he'd be detrimental to my Christian walk. He was cool with it, but he made it a point to tell me that he'd catch me slipping one day. I didn't think anything of it.
Fast forward a couple of months. It's Greek Show weekend. While that was a highlight for most students, I didn't go. To me, it was pointless for me to spend my hard-earned $8 on something like that. Instead, I turned in for an early night.
My phone rang at 1:30 in the morning. I was knocked out, but I answered it because in those pre-Caller ID days, you couldn't know who was on the line prior to picking it up. It was Commuter Boy, wanting to stop by for a visit. Since it was after curfew, I decided to go to the gate and meet him. I was in the process of finding something to wear when someone started banging on the door. My suitemate was also my Resident Assistant, and the last thing I wanted was for her to wake up and find a man at my door. So I quickly got up, let him in, and got back in the bed. I did that to cover my state of undress.
He sat on the bed, and started trying to kiss me. I wasn't completely opposed to that, and since I still wasn't fully awake, I let him. What happened next was a scene out of the world's worst nightmare. He positioned himself on top of me to get a better angle. I laid there with my legs closed so he couldn't get too close. He said, 'Open your legs.' I still laid there closed. He said it again, but with more force. 'OPEN YOUR LEGS!'
Even though we were in my room, and the RA was right next door, I got scared. He was bigger than me, and I didn't know if he'd been drinking. In hindsight, I guess I should've screamed. But I was afraid I'd get in trouble for having a man in my room after curfew, so I was quiet. And I opened my legs. And I let him have his way with me against my will. I cried the whole time.
When it was over, I asked him, 'Why did you do that?' He told me that he liked me and was just expressing himself. I was like, 'Couldn't you have bought a Hallmark card?' I tried to make him understand how horrible it was, but he didn't get it. I said, 'How would you feel if someone did this to your sister...or your mother?' No response. He left.
I was never the same. On the outside, I was cool, but something inside of me died that night. I never reported him because I knew that the first and only question that would've mattered was, 'Why did you let him in your room in the first place?' Let's face it...rape is the only crime where the victim is punished.
Another reason I didn't report it was that I didn't want him to get in trouble. A rape case would've meant he'd get kicked out of school. Even though I was hurt, I didn't want to take his future.
And that was that. I went about my life and he went about his...until this past weekend. I'll continue this post later...
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