Anelisa had spent the past two weeks obsessively trying to recall every detail of that night. It was all she could think about; it followed her around like a shadow; she couldn’t escape it.

Only, she couldn’t recall anything past the moment Given handed her a drink. Everything after that seemed to have faded into darkness. Not knowing what had happened was suffocating. She felt trapped in a body that had suffered a trauma her mind couldn’t remember.

Trying to scrub two layers of skin off her body in the shower didn’t help wash off how dirty she felt. His hands still felt like they were constantly touching her in a slow, agonizing caress. She smelled him on her braids so she took them out.

She spent all her time shut away from the world; her grandmother had given up trying to get her out of her room. Anelisa was afraid that once she left the house people would be able to see the parts of her that were broken.

She blamed herself because, had she not been drinking, she would have kept her distance from Given and would have been spared from feeling violated and scarred for life.

She considered telling someone that she’d been raped, but what would she say? ‘I was raped but I don’t remember what happened because he drugged me or I was too drunk.’

So she decided to just stay away from the club and slowly try put herself back together again.

There was a soft knock on her bedroom door and her grandmother came in and sat on the bed. “Your friends are here to see you Ane.”

When she heard Thuli and Sibahle say “Hello” in unison she sat up on her bed and her gran left them alone. She hadn’t seen or spoken to her friends in the two weeks and she knew they were here to find out why. But all she wanted was to be alone with her thoughts and the cold, empty, lingering feel inside her.

Thuli climbed into bed with her and pulled her into an awkward embrace. Sibahle sat at the edge of the bed and gave her a wary look.

“So, to what do I owe the pleasure babes?” She tried for casual wit but failed miserably.

“Mntase what’s going on? You have been MIA for weeks and you don’t answer calls, texts, nothing,” Sibahle said, as she watched her with expectant eyes.

“We’ve just been very worried about you and we are missing you so much. I mean, just up and quit your job without a word.” Thuli squeezed her arm as she spoke.

“I’m fine really.” She could hardly recognize the soft, shaky voice that escaped her lips.

“Come on Ane this isn’t like you. Tell us what’s wrong. Who knows, once you do, you might feel better.” Sibahle had her ‘I’m not letting this go’ look on her face and Anelisa knew that they would press her until she fessed up. But she wasn’t ready to talk to anyone yet.

“Look … I just needed space and I was over working as a waitress … in a place like that … so I quit.”

“Well you quit just in time. Didn’t you hear? Two nights ago Given got shot in the middle of his birthday party at the club. The place has been closed since,” Thuli said

“What?! Who shot him? What happened? I mean, do you know why he was shot?” Anelisa exclaimed, all the while feeling the pain she had been carrying rapidly leave her body at the shocking news.

“Turns out he drugged and raped one of the new girls who just started work at the club. The girl told her father and the man walked into the club and asked for Given. Stef showed him to the VIP section. When he saw Given he pulled out his gun and shot him in the face. Hectic ne?!”

As Sibahle spoke Anelisa felt relief wash over her body. He couldn’t ever touch her again. She felt hyped up now; wanted to know every detail of the revenge attack. It was horrible; but it felt like justice.

“With the bad comes the good? I’m glad we are out of there. Sibahle and I have interviews next week. Hopefully no more waitressing gig like that from here on out. The guy had it coming,” Thuli said trying to lighten the mood.

Anelisa had stopped paying attention. All she could think about was Given probably being dead. She got up and took her phone out of the top drawer of her dresser, to check if there was something in the news about the incident.

 ***

Tell us: Are you surprised that this should happen to a man like Given? Why or why not?