Avenging Amy

TW - Sex, Drugs, Violence, Suicide

Amy Wells bounces as she’s plopped onto the bed. The motion causes the alcohol in her stomach to slosh and rise to the back of her throat. She’s dizzy and disoriented, not sure of where she is or how she got there. She never partied much in high school but decided to cut loose after being convinced by her roommate, Holly, that college was the time to do so. The Alpha Phi Kappa fraternity was hosting a party to kick off the school year, and where better to socialize and make some new friends. Amy was flattered by all the attention she was getting from the fraternity members. She never received such attention in high school. Guys gathered around her, vying for her attention, bringing her drinks and sharing their drugs. They seemed like such nice young gentlemen, treating her with more respect than any high school boy ever had. She was having the time of her life. Now she struggles to lift her limbs and fight back as her clothes are being roughly removed from her body. She tries to protest, but her tongue is unresponsive. She tries to call for help, but all she hears are faint rumblings from deep within her chest. One by one, five fraternity brothers have their way with her.

~*~

TV Director Joe Piscotty enters his 3.3-million-dollar home in Hollywood Hills after a long day of shooting at the studio. He immediately resets his alarm and drops the security shutters on each and every extravagantly large window. His heart is racing. He goes to the bar and fixes himself an Old Fashioned, drinking it down as fast as possible. He reaches into a drawer and pulls out a cigarette case. Opening it, he takes out one of the finely rolled joints and lights it. With a deep pull of the smoke, he feels more at ease. He mixes another drink and heads to the living room to catch the evenings sports highlights. Earlier that evening, while he was on set discussing the next scene with his actors, a light rail came crashing down, nearly crushing him. Upon investigation by the maintenance crew, it was determined that the cables were intentionally cut. This, after a real gun with a live round made its way into the props department. No one was hurt in the live shooting incident, or this lighting incident, but the authorities were called in to investigate this time. The accidents have Joe feeling paranoid that someone was trying to sabotage the show. On the way home, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being followed.

Joe gets halfway through his joint when he realizes that he was not greeted by his dogs when he walked in, two Dobermans named Zeus and Ares. Whistling, he calls their names. Nothing. He puts out his joint and takes a drink before searching for his dogs. To his horror, he finds their heads in his bed, their bodies nowhere to be found. “You’re Next,” is written in blood on the wall. In a panic, Joe turns and runs for the garage, afraid that someone could still be in the house. Frantically, he slides behind the wheel of his Bently and leaves. Speeding away down the windy road, he taps on the brake to slow down as he rounds a curve, but the car does not slow and slides into the other lane. As he descends downhill, the car gains speed. Joe continues to push on the brake to no avail, tires screeching at every turn. He almost rearends a car before switching lanes and switching back again before crashing head-on into oncoming traffic. The next turn is too sharp. Joe ends up sliding off the road and rolling down the hill. When the police find him, he is dead. It is determined that the cause of the accident was intoxication. The house was clean.

~*~

Amy wakes in the front yard of the fraternity house in her underwear. Her clothes are lying next to her. Cold and shivering, she put them back on. She’s sore, ripped in places she shouldn’t be. Her thighs and chest are sticky. Her hair and make-up are a mess. She looks around for anyone who might help and comfort her. She finds no one except for a few passed out drunks. She begins walking back to her dorm. A security officer spots her stumbling along, hugging herself for warmth, crying. He helps her into the car and takes her back to the security office where he calls the police and the dean. The dean arrives first and questions Amy extensively, making her feel foolish for her accusations. When the police arrive, the dean tells them that it is just another case of a girl getting drunk, getting high, having sex, and not remembering everything she did the next morning and now wants to hold the whole fraternity accountable instead of accepting accountability herself. Amy remains silent, certain that she was raped, but scared that there could be consequences for speaking out.

~*~

Casting Director Michael Simmons is awakened by his wife who hears banging outside. Their eight-year-old daughter is wrapped snuggly in her arms. She was the first to hear the disturbance. Michael checks the clock. It’s two in the morning. He grabs a golf club from his bag and makes his way to the front door. He had heard some banging himself, but now he hears something like a motor humming. He pulls back the front curtain with his club to see a tow truck lifting his car. Michael darts outside in a frenzy, demanding to know what’s going on, surely there is a mistake. He has made every payment over the last three and a half years on time. The man ensures him that he is at the right address and has the right car. He tells Michael that if he believes there is an error, then he needs to contact the bank in the morning.

Michael takes his wife’s car and goes to the bank first thing in the morning. The bank manager tells him that their records show that he has defaulted on three payments. She explains to him that his accounts are dry and that if he doesn’t come up with the money by the end of the day, they will begin foreclosing on his home. Michael walks out of the bank defeated and confused. When he went to bed last night all of his finances were in place, he had twelve hundred in checking, and he had a little over eighty thousand in savings. He drives home where he finds his wife furiously throwing his belongings out on the lawn. He rushes from his car to calm her down and find out what’s going on. She is so mad she can’t even talk. She just holds up her phone and plays a video that was sent to her. It’s a video of him having sex with the stripper at his bachelor party nearly nine years ago. He has no idea how she got that, but has a few ideas of who could have sent it, but why? He pleads for forgiveness, begs her to not throw away their marriage and family over something that happened before they were married, but she wouldn’t have it. It was cheating, married or not, and she doesn’t know how she is ever going to be able to trust him again. Michael contacts his friend, David. David picks Michael up, drives him to a hotel where he puts him up for a few nights and gives him some money. The next morning, housekeeping finds Michael in bed, flat on his stomach, dead. There’s a gun on the floor next to the bed and a bloody pillow with a large hole lying against his head.

~*~

When Amy gets back to her dorm, she asks Holly about the night’s events. Holly says she left with some other freshman to get food before going home. Amy goes on to explain to Holly what happened after she left. Holly tells her that from what she saw, Amy was eating up the attention and she figured she would end up in bed with one of those guys before the night was over, the biggest reason she left. Holly felt she was in good hands, and that they would see her home. Holly has her doubts about Amy’s story, not wanting to feel responsible for or involved in something that could ruin her academic career before it even begins. Amy becomes withdrawn, even starts missing classes. She occasionally ventures down to the dining hall to eat, but it feels like all eyes are on her, people laughing and whispering, judging her. She is scared of everyone, doesn’t know who to trust, and feels that anyone at any time can harm her and get away with it. She cries a lot and eventually stops leaving her room altogether. Within the month, her parents drove out to L.A. and moved her back to Sacramento.

~*~

David stands at the edge of Michael’s open grave, a pine casket suspended over it as the Reverand gives his benediction. He glances up to see an old friend standing across from him, Jim Ruebens. He’s wearing a suit but looks rough. He’s unshaven and his hair is a mess. David assumes he’s drunk. This is the third funeral the two of them have attended in just as many months. As friends and family depart, Jim catches up to David and begins rambling in hushed tones about past sins and vigilante justice, pointing out that three of five are dead with one recently being gang raped and beaten to death in prison after being sentenced for tax evasion. He believes he’s being followed and that he is next. David reassures him that everything is just a coincidence and that he’s paranoid. Two weeks later, David is attending Jim’s funeral after Jim dies in a house fire.

~*~

Back home, Amy’s parents encourage her to join a support group for victims of rape. Sheepishly, Amy enters a church Sunday school room. She notices that the women there vary in age but share the same composure. None of them are social, choosing to stay to themselves and avoid eye contact. They are all wearing baggy, discrete clothing with no style to their hair or any effort to highlight their features with make-up. Each one has a nervous habit – chewing their hair, picking at their nails, or bouncing their knees. Amy takes a seat next to a woman who looks like she’s washing her hands. They’re greeted by an older woman who has a wistfully pleasant aura about her. She welcomes Amy as the new member of the group and introduces herself as Dori. Dori tells Amy her story and how she was able to achieve a renewed zest for life after being raped before asking her to share her story with the group. Apprehensively, Amy begins retelling the events of that fateful night. She is surprised by how quickly the group believes her. They share similar experiences with her and share in her outrage and frustration. They encourage her to keep coming back and she does. Over time she makes friends within the group, becoming especially close to Dori. Dori introduces Amy to her son, who is immediately attracted to her and her shy nature. They start off seeing each other in group settings. He’s a kind, gentle, and patient young man who earns her trust and soon thereafter, her love.

~*~

Movie producer David Goldbloom marvels at the size of Senator Raymond Calloway’s estate as he pulls up in front of the mansion. David was invited to a black-tie dinner to raise funds for the senator’s son’s campaign for state senator. He could not pass up the opportunity to rub elbows with some of California’s wealthiest. Dropping a thousand dollars on a plate of food was no big deal to him, especially considering the chances of meeting future investors for his films. David gives his keys to a valet and is greeted at the door by the Senator’s assistant. David is shown to the parlor where all the guests are waiting for the Calloway’s to make their appearance. David is in high spirits as he mingles from one potential investor to another, being as witty and as charming as only he can be. After an hour’s wait, the senator and his wife make an appearance, informing their guests that dinner is ready.

Once seated, the senator introduces his son and daughter-in-law to their guests. David instantly turns ghostly white at the sight of Amy at the senator’s son’s side. He shrinks into his chair as everyone begins to eat, hoping not to be noticed. Throughout dinner he glances at Amy, checking to see if she recognizes him. She never once looks his way. By desert he is sighing with relief and beginning to relax. “She remembers nothing,” he thinks to himself. The gentlemen retire to the senator’s home office after the meal for scotch and cigars while they discuss industry and politics. David finishes off his first scotch and then it hits him. He’s getting lightheaded and disoriented. He’s blacking in and out as conversation continues around him. He comes too as he is being dragged down the hallway, then blacks out again. He comes too again, this time because he just got kicked in the ribs. He realizes he is outside. Amy is kneeling in front of him, watching him intently as the men continue to bombard him with kicks and stomps. David is bruised and bleeding when the men drag him to his feet. Amy approaches him and lifts his head to look him in the eye as two men hold him up. He was the chapter president of Alpha Phi Kappa. She holds him most accountable. With a furious scream she lunges a knife into David’s chest, and hacks away at him like a woman possessed until she exhausts herself and falls to the ground crying. Dori Calloway takes Amy by the shoulders and guides her back inside while the men dispose of all evidence that David Gibson was ever there.

~*~

Amy wakes up the next morning. The day is sunny and mildly warm. Fresh air pours in through the open window and the birds are singing. Amy walks to the window, enchanted by the songbird’s song. She can’t remember the last time she heard birds singing or felt the warmth of the sun on her face. Even after her husband came into her life there was still a part of her that was trapped in darkness. She feels free now.