The Mansion Where it all Happened

Submitted into Contest #51 in response to: Write about someone who returns as an adult to a place they last visited as a child.... view prompt

20 comments

General

Trigger warning: depictions of rape

(The Pain of The Past Part II)

 

Heidi knocked on the tall, steel entry door. She waited patiently, rocking back and forth on the heel of her tan sandal. 

"Are you sure this is the exact place that the 'incident' occurred?" A woman behind her asked. She was short, with blue eyes that blazed almost as bright as the sun.  

Heidi nodded, raising her hand to knock again. Then, the door, revealing an elderly woman. She was shirt, had a gray pixie cut, and stared at Heidi through the thick, rectangular glasses she had on.  

The old woman stated at Heidi, confused. "Hello? Who are you?" The elderly woman asked, her voice dripping with attitude like beehives do with honey. Slowly.  

Heidi's therapist stepped in front of Heidi, as if protecting her. "Hello, sorry to bother you. But this is a place where Heidi here got raped. So I think that if she visits the room where it all happened, she'll be a bit more comfortable telling me what happened during the party." She explained.  

"Yeah, like I'm just going to let some people that I don't even know into my home." The old woman snapped. "Kayla be a dear and kick these people out!"  

"Coming!"

A girl rushed down the stairs, sounding more like Godzilla with every step. She stared at Heidi, her eyes wide. "Oh my gosh, Heidi, is that you?" She asked. When Heidi showed her the pale diamond-shaped birthmark she had in the crook of her arm, Kayla smiled. "It's so nice to see you! Are you still Miss Ambidextrous?" She asked.  

"You know it!" Heidi exclaimed, raising both of her hands in the air.  

The old woman looked astonished. "Kayla, how do you know this girl?" She asked.  

"Mom, she came to my party in college!" Kayla said in a whiny tone. It was true. Kayla had been one of her best friends, and she had tried to help Heidi find the person who'd raped her, but she didn't have much to work with. Every time Heidi tried to describe the boy, she began crying. Yet Kayla still tried, because, as she had told Heidi, 'she wanted to help her.'

●●●●●

Heidi sat on the long white couch, awkwardly clasping her hands together on her lap. She watched as Kayla embraced her boyfriend, and how her therapist was speaking to Kayla's mother. Heidi didn't want to talk to Kayla, because she would feel bad taking her away from her boyfriend.  

Heidi decided to look for the bathroom.

It'll be okay, because there's no party!  She reassured herself.  

●●●●●

A room with grey walls. History books with covers that looked brand-new scattered all over the wood floor. The bed was made, the navy blue covers pulled just below the white pillows. There was a white dresser in front of the bed, and there were seashells, pictures, and candles on it.

"Whoever sleeps here definitely likes our history." Heidi acknowledged the posters on the wall. Christopher Columbus crossed out - with the fake paint blood of the African Americans.  

"Wow! Glad you noticed." A boy exclaimed from behind her, making Heidi cry out in surprise.  

As Heidi turned, she saw the familiar blond hair. A feeling of dread crept up her back, and her chartreuse eyes widened. The smell of pina colada flooded her nose, and she froze.  

"You!" She exclaimed, tears erupting in her eyes. She shrunk into the door, her hands in front of her.

He's going to do it again. I'm going to be raped again. Please, God help me!

"Huh?" The boy asked, his blue eyes questioning. 

Wait, blue eyes?!

Heidi stared at the boy, her eyes wide. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I thought you were someone else." She cried, her body relaxing once more.  

The boy's eyes widened. "Oh, you mean my brother. Yeah, you're the one he, ya know... r-raped, right?" The boy asked.  

Heidi nodded, staring at the ground. "He did rape me, yeah. Wait, your brother?" Heidi exclaimed, feeling the metal of the cold doorknob behind her, just in case he thought of following in his brother's footsteps.

"Yeah. Also, would you feel better if I reassured you that he died years ago?" The boy told Heidi, smiling sadly.

Heidi bit her lip, staring pitifully at the boy. "What's your name?"

"Jace."

"Well, Jace. I'm so sorry for your loss. May your brother rest in peace." Heidi murmured, loud enough for Jace to hear. She didn't want him to think that she was okay with revenge, even though she was.

I think hell would be better. Heidi thought grimly. But she held her tongue.

"Huh. I would've thought that you would be happy?" Jace questioned.

"He might've raped me, but I'm not a sadist." Heidi told Jace, her arms crossed.

Jace took a deep breath, leaning on the small dresser in front of the bed. "On my brother's behalf, I'm very sorry." He apologized, smiling at Heidi.

"You can't apologize for him. He probably isn't sorry." Heidi said, shaking her head.

Jace smiled calmly at Heidi. "I think he is. Besides, you're right. Who'll ever know? Because he's... dead."

Heidi nodded, slowly letting go of the doorknob and avoiding Jace's eyes. "Yeah."

"I hope you accept my apology, and maybe I'll see you later?" Jace asked, staring sideways at Heidi.

"Maybe."

"Okay!"

"Oh, yeah. By the way, who're you preparing this room for?" Heidi asked, although she felt like it was none of her business.

Jace smoothed a wrinkle in the comforter on the bed and closed his eyes. "My younger brother. He's coming here to stay, because Auntie said he could. You see, at home, he's being neglected by our mother, who's always out and about at work, so yeah."

"Well, thank you! I'll see you later." Heidi exclaimed, waving and closing the door behind her.

●●●●●

Jace fumbled with his jeans, finding his phone in his back pocket. He smiled, dialing a number. The phone let out repetitive beeps, and then a man picked up. He was grunting, and his breaths were short.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Jace asked, his eyes wide.

"Nothing."

"Oh, okay."

"What do you want, Jace?! I'm on the treadmill in the gym, idiot!"

"I think I found the girl. Does she have cocoa colored skin, green eyes, and long black hair?" Jace asked.

"That's her."

"I gave her a fake name, and she believed me. I got her." Jace said in a gruff voice, still smiling. His mouth twitched. "Just like I did six years ago."

July 21, 2020 21:28

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20 comments

Debbie Teague
23:15 Aug 06, 2020

Thank you for putting in the warning, this is very well written. I hope the guy gets what's coming to him and the girls recover.

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Raquel Rodriguez
01:54 Aug 07, 2020

Lol, thank you for reading! Rest assured, he will get what he deserves. :D

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Rayhan Hidayat
07:22 Aug 04, 2020

“her voice dripping with attitude like beehives do with honey” Now that’s a simile! I can see the plot is really thickening, wow. Can’t wait to read more! I especially love the depiction of PTSD, it was really chilling, and it will be cool to see how Heidi comes to terms with it. Maybe I missed something, but I’m a bit confused about Jace’s relationship to the people in the house. Was he the boyfriend from earlier? Because I can’t think of any other reason he’d be there. Solid stuff, overall! Keep writing 😊

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Raquel Rodriguez
14:55 Aug 04, 2020

So, Jace was staying with the people because that cranky woman is his aunt. Hope you understand, and thank you! :)

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Rayhan Hidayat
15:29 Aug 04, 2020

Ok, I think I get it. Thanks for replying

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Raquel Rodriguez
16:44 Aug 04, 2020

:) Hope you enjoyed the story!

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Dallas A
21:15 Jul 29, 2020

Your story moved along nicely. I was intrigued to keep reading, and I appreciate how you didn't over detail and give too much background to where the reader would become bored. The ending was great too. Nice work!

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Raquel Rodriguez
01:12 Jul 30, 2020

Thank you so much, Dallas! I appreciate all the nice things you said.

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Imane Sah.
10:14 Jul 26, 2020

I really likre it! good job... 🤞🤞🤞

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Raquel Rodriguez
15:12 Jul 26, 2020

Thank you so much, Imane!

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Daryl Gravesande
03:24 Jul 23, 2020

THis is GOOODDDDD! I love the premisssseeeeee! :)

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Raquel Rodriguez
18:22 Jul 23, 2020

Thank you, Daryl! I didn't know if people would like the whole thing with Jace being evil, so thanks for the support!

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Daryl Gravesande
16:43 Jul 24, 2020

Nah, it flowed well and worked really nicely with the prompt. Props!

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Raquel Rodriguez
17:20 Jul 24, 2020

:) Glad you liked it!

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Christina Steele
16:23 Jul 22, 2020

Interesting premise. I wonder why your villain does what he does. If I had a criticism, I'd say watch your dialogue. It sounds a bit unnatural at times. Keeping writing.

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Raquel Rodriguez
16:40 Jul 22, 2020

Thank you, Christina! Your advice means a lot to me, and I will try to use it for future reference. Hope you're safe! :D

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Deborah Angevin
10:52 Jul 22, 2020

You got me at the ending! I truly believed in Jace; I thought he was innocent :o Also, would you mind checking my recent story out, "Red, Blue, White"? Thank you!

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Raquel Rodriguez
16:41 Jul 22, 2020

Haha, in the beginning, I wanted to make Jace a good guy. But then I wanted to surprise you guys with a twist, so yeah. Thanks, Deborah, and I'll check out your story! Have a good day/night!

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Ariadne .
22:57 Oct 16, 2020

I couldn't help but read this as well. You portrayed the horrors of rape so well. Well done! Done upvoting this one!

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Raquel Rodriguez
22:58 Oct 16, 2020

Oh my gosh, you are a reading machine, lol.

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