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years.
"Family troubles?"
    "No."
    "Boy trouble then?"
    "Something like that."
    She nodded, as if she knew it all along. "I'm sure
whatever he's done, honey, he didn't mean it. Boys just don't think
the same as girls." She chuckled. "We all know that their brains
are in their pants, don't we?"
    I smiled at her.
    "You don't worry about it. He'll be back. If he wants
you bad enough he won't ever let you go."
    The bus pulled up and I watched as the little old
lady got on. As it drove off, I shivered thinking about what she'd
just said to me. He'll be back . For some reason I felt an
ominous shroud cover me. As if something even worse was going to
happen. Although I couldn't possibly imagine what. The
possibilities of what had happened to me were already pretty
bad.
    Pulling my legs tighter to my chest, I started to
shake, with teeth chattering, and I didn't stop until Chloe's car
pulled up to the curb.

Chapter 4
    "Were you, you know..."
    I glanced at Chloe as she drove. It had only taken
her twenty minutes to drive downtown to pick me up. By her
appearance I assumed I'd woken her when I called. She still had on
her PJ bottoms—Hello Kitty smiled at me. "What?"
    She pointed to her crotch.
    My cheeks flushed. "I don't know."
    "Well, how do you feel? Are you hurting there?"
    For a few seconds I gauged my body, detecting the
different places where I was sore and achy. I shook my head. "My
legs are sore. My back and neck hurt. My stomach feels hollowed
out. But that could be just because I'm hungry."
    "If you had sex, you'd definitely be feeling it. I
was sore for three days after doing it with Nick."
    I looked out the side window as we drove. "TMI."
    "Do you want to go to a doctor just to make
sure?"
    I shook my head. All I wanted was to go home, have a
long hot shower and sleep for about thirty-six hours.
    "Are you sure? If you were raped—,"
    "The doctor will call the police. I don't want that
kind of problem." I tugged at my bangs again. "It's too damn
embarrassing. I don't even know if anything happened."
    "They won't, if we just go to the free clinic and you
tell them you want to be tested for an STD."
    I eyed her incredulously. "And that's not
embarrassing?"
    She shrugged. "At least you'd know."
    I looked out the window again and chewed on my thumb
nail. The truth was I wasn't sure I really wanted to know what
happened. Maybe I was better off not knowing. I could keep my
fantasy and my sanity.
    "I just want to go home and shower and sleep. Oh and
eat. I'm starving."
    "Okay, but I've got your back if you need me."
    I smiled at her. She was my best friend and had been
since eighth grade. There wasn't anything we hadn't shared. "I
know. Thanks."
    We drove in silence, well, except for the Sum 41 CD
playing, for the last six minutes it took to get to my place. Chloe
pulled to the curb on the treed lined street.
    She squeezed my hand before I got out. "Call me
later, 'kay?"
    "I will." I opened the car door, slid out and trudged
up the neatly cut front lawn to the light blue bungalow. When I
reached the door, I put my hand on the knob but hesitated. My mom
was going to be on me within seconds of entering. I had to prepare
and get my game face on.
    Taking a deep breath, I turned the knob, opened the
door and went in. After I pulled off my boots, I tossed them in the
front closet then padded into the living room. Our cat, Duchess, a
seal point Siamese, slunk across the hardwood floor toward me. She
squeaked at me as she jumped onto the arm of the sofa so I could
pet her. I ran my hand over her silky fur.
    "Where's mom, kitty?" I murmured to her.
    The cat just purred.
    Then I heard footsteps coming down the hall from the
kitchen. "Salem?"
    "I'm in here."
    She came around the corner, her fierce green eyes
flashing in her little pixie face. "Where the hell have you been? I
called you like five times on your cell?"
    "I lost my cell."
    She stomped toward me, her bare feet smacking on the
floor. "Where did you spend the night? I was worried