“You think you’re telling the truth, but in fact… you’re telling only your version of the truth. It happens to me all the time.”

38. Are You in the House Alone? – Richard Peck

Talk about your bleak story of rape…this is one. Gail lives in one of those suburbs where New Yorkers move to raise families if they want to have space and quiet. And this town has its rich family with a psychopath rapist boy child, which to be fair is not as unusual if you watch/read/listen to true crime programming, and this one is named Phil and drives an MG.

Psycho Phil’s girlfriend is Gail’s best friend, so when Phil starts writing Gail creepy notes, calling her wherever she is (even without a cell phone), and then goes and rapes her after knocking her out with a fire poker at her babysitting job – Allison does not believe Gail. Neither do the police and I’m glad to say I do have evidence that sexual assault investigations have come a very long way. Gail’s parents are upset, her boyfriend wants to know who did it, and he and her drama teacher do believe her when she says it was Phil, but even the lawyer explains that since this is the town-funding rich family, Phil won’t have consequences and Gail has to think about what she wants to go through (that I do not believe has changed much, how the law is applied – investigations, yes, law, not so much). Then Phil strikes again and it’s very vague as to what happens or if both his next victim and Phil disappear; Gail ends the story in the language of rumors, which is probably accurate. Yikes.

 

Ozma demonstrates one way of finding short term comfort, eating your favorite things.

 

Ozma does also have the ability to transform a different kind of trauma, the kind from Deep Red.
Threadless
Redbubble