Desperate Run

by C.J. Riggs

He raped her that night, but gaslit her to believe she asked for it. He was nineteen, and took advantage of a minor.” I sigh and shake my head as my nostrils flare. “She didn’t tell me, but I knew something was wrong. Days turned into weeks, and my Alyson was gone. No light in her eyes, dropped out of sports, began getting in trouble at school, all the normal joy she brought with her: gone. “I confronted her one day, locked her in my car and demanded she tell me what happened. She told me I wouldn’t believe her… that no one would believe her. I just didn’t understand why she thought that. I had always believed her. Always.” My emphasis on the word is sharp, coming through my clenched teeth. Breathe. “She said she would be fine and would survive it, like I survived everything.” I lick my lips, feeling them drying. “No more than twenty-four hours later, she jumped from the Aurora bridge, right into the strait below.”