This is a huge disclaimer: This story was inspired by a documentary that I saw and contains a very serious topic with violence and sexual situations. The story is completely fiction but holds a message that I feel needs to be expressed. If you feel that this serious topic and violence may offend you, please skip this story.

Thank you, and enjoy.

Dear Diary,

Today I went to therapy... again. I'm not sure why my mom decided this was a good idea. It's not like a shrink is magically going to cure my suffocating trauma.

Anyways, I'm going to try a new tactic, and that is to keep positive. I know being miserable will only make me crumble deeper into despair, and I'm too young to throw my life away like that... I've been marching in the lane of self-pity and sorrow for too long, and quite frankly, I'm sick of it. I don't want to be stuck like this for the rest of my life, I want to be better. So the plan is to write down the whole event, detail by detail, in this notebook. It's not going to be easy, but I'm willing to try.

Mrs. Theresa Roman, my enthusiastic therapist, assured me that writing out the scenario or much rather saying it out loud will release a huge hole in my chest. Of course verbal release is more relieving, (that's what she says, anyway) but for now, I don't feel comfortable discussing it aloud. It's been six months, not six years, Ms. therapist lady! Sometimes therapists are way too pushy.

I'm not sure if what she recommends will actually help me, but hey, might as well give it a go. I mean, what's the worse thing that could happen? My life is already ruined...

You know what, before I change my mind, let me just start at the beginning...

It started out perfectly fine, a normal night, but I guess that's always how the end begins. Easy, normal, calm. Just another day.

I wasn't supposed to be separated from my brother, but the situation formed itself, and I was stuck. One minute I was surrounded by the company of others, and then next I was encompassed by the darkness of silence and regret.

It was a chilly Friday night, the tingled air pricked at my bones. The sun had just escaped and the stars started to poke out of their holes, their clothes of light reached towards the heavens.

***

"Mia, come on, keep up!" Jordan teases. I don't know the reasoning behind this late night gift hunt when it could've waited until morning, but I do know that I'm too tired to walk at a faster pace.

Jordan tugs on Taylor's hand, bringing her curves up against him. Zachary wasn't too far beside them, his head down and hands tucked in his pockets.

My heart immediately goes out to him. Ever since their friend group became " a sideman and a pair" things have slowly become awkward. Jordan is known for picking up girls, but he's holding onto this one on a tighter rope than usual.

Zach always seems to be third wheeling.

Though there's a huge age gap, Jordan's friends became my friends, or much rather a set of siblings that I never had, and Zachary has been around since forever.

With a huff, I jog to the side of Zach. Taylor giggles about something Jordan said, and I roll my eyes.

"Yep, the view isn't much better from here." My monotone voice cuts the air.

"Stop being jealous. You just wish you had a perfect boyfriend like I do." Taylor snuggles closer to Jordan who carries an extra pack of ego on his back that his smile shows.

"No I don't, considering the person you call a "perfect boyfriend" just so happens to be my brother."

Zach cracks a smile and I rub my chapped lips together. The happy couple ignores the joke.

The streets are filled with silence as we cross a path we all know as "Death Ally" and I didn't realize until now that we were heading this way.

"Uhh guys, I thought we were searching for a jewelry store, not playing Ghostbusters." My voice cracks from the sinking realization that fear creeps around these corners.

"Little sis, don't freak out. There's a store around here that has the finest necklace I've ever seen. I know mom will love it for her birthday. It's got to be around here somewhere." Jordan bobs his head around, searching for this mystery store.

As we trail deeper and deeper into the lonely abyss of darkness, my skin crawls. Usually I'm welcomed with the undoubtful safety and comfort that my brother's aura wraps me in, which is the reason why I'm even allowed out this late. My brother is my protector, and I trust him with my life.

But as this head throbbing ache of worry expands, my comfort fails to remain.

"Jordan, I'm serious. Can't you just get the necklace early tomorrow morning when it's not so creepy outside? I've got a bad feeling about this place." The childlike stir in my tone was evident, but it only makes Jordan and Taylor hoot with laughter.

"Aw, is Mia still afraid of the dark? You think some big scary man is gonna come out and eat you?" Taylor mimics a baby crying.

"Ooo, look at me. I'm Mia and I'm fourteen years old, and still sleep with a nightlight." She drones on and I keep my focus centered around the cracks on the sidewalk, fighting back the tears of embarrassment.

"Look who's acting like the child, Taylor," Zach adds his two cents and the pressure against my stomach lightens. The comment is ignored, but I'm grateful for the comeback.

"Come on, pumpkin, no need to harass my sister like that." Jordan attempts to stick up for me but is unsuccessful while he laughs between words.

"Jordan, why is she even allowed out this late anyway? She's way too young for us." She sneers and her words slash out at me.

Poor Taylor, she still doesn't seem to understand that I will always be put first.

"We're buying something for our mother's birthday tomorrow, so of course she should be allowed to come along with us."

"Still, it's way too late for a little girl to be out and about. She's easy bait. Tell her to stop complaining or we'll attract pervs!" Taylor demands to my brother as if I'm not even here.

He sighs. "Mia, there is no need to freak out, it's all in your head." Jordan tilts his head forward and sends me a wicked smile, my favorite smile. One that lets me know he's on my side.

He's a pain in the butt, but he is my brother. And though I'm still upset at him and his petty girlfriend for always making fun of me, the corners of my mouth react to his gleam, and I send a smile back at him.

Maybe it is all in my head. My mind grows more at ease.

That is until we hit a bump in our mission. We come towards an intersection and Jordan freezes.

"I don't remember which way it was..." he says to no one in particular and Zach agitatedly groans.

"Okay dude, it's really late. Let's get your mom the necklace later. Or better yet, don't be so last minute about it and plan ahead." He kicks a rock in front of him, and it flies towards the abandoned road.

The small town that circles us is raggedy and only tiny sparks of light follow every few steps due to the lack of lamp posts. The sidewalks are in dire need of repaving, and the road is almost like dirt, the pavement rubbed thin into the ground. The buildings of rust lined each side of the pedestrian walkway, but the absence of signs and the quietness of the area leaves me with the conclusion that it's a completely deserted place.

"Bro, are you sure you saw the jewelry store around this place? It's kinda trashy." I pace right, dead in the middle of Jordan and Taylor who are still half cuddling.

"Who cares? I'm done playing follow the leader. Can we just go?" Zach starts to back up when Taylor gives him an eye roll and they burst into an argument.

I stand in silence, unaware of what to say, and Jordan rubs his forehead in annoyance.

"Okay. Okay!" His booming voice echoes through the night, and I swear I see a light flicker from the depth of his voice.

"How about this, Mia and I will go left and walk a block or two. If I don't see anything we'll walk back to this spot. Zach and Taylor, you go right and do the same thing. If you find some place called "Shiny Things" call me. We all meet back here no matter what."

"Babe, that's not such a great idea," Taylor interjects and Zach heavily sighs.

Jordan ignores him and calmly tends to his girlfriend. "Yes, dear?"

"Zachary and I? That's a no go. A plan set for failure." Her finger fiddles with her dyed blonde hair.

"Taylor, I'm not letting my sister out of my sight." Jordan sternly replies, his emerald eyes remaining stiff. This even shocks me.

"Zach is perfectly capable of watching out for her. Besides, him and I fight way too much. What if we are so busy arguing that we miss the store by accident? I'd feel so awful." She pouts, and I see Jordan's mind shifting.

"Hey, I can keep an eye out for Mia. Her company is actually lovely, and she isn't annoying like some people I know." he directs his last words straight at Taylor, and her eye twitches.

The heat of an argument is just about to explode, but Jordan interjects.

"Okay! Fine! Mia and Zach, go left. Tay and I have the right. Be careful and don't be too long." Jordan looks right at me now.

"If you find the store. Look for a necklace with the butterfly that I told you about. Pay for it, and whatever it's worth, I'll pay you back. Deal?"

I pat my back pocket to ensure my wallet is securely in place. My face begins to fall, and I hope he doesn't notice. I like when Jordan and I are a team, but I guess his girlfriend's happiness is more important at the moment.

On impulse, Jordan's hand meets mine and we slap, bounce and slide our hands together like we always do. Our little handshake as our final goodbye.

"I'm holding you to it." I force a grin and turn to the crosswalk where Zach already waits for me on the other side.

"Alright kiddo, you know what we're looking for?" Zach shrugs.

"Yep!

"Then lead the way." His left hand extends to let me lead, and I blush.

Though Zach was the same age as my brother, he holds more respect for me and doesn't treat me like a kid. It's why I like him so much, maybe too much.

The quiet night was filled with our clicking shoes that meet the ground, and Zach glances up at the buildings parallel to us while whistling.

"I've known your brother for many years, and yet he still manages to surprise me. I mean really, Taylor is the best he could do?" Zach vents on about how annoying and clingy she is, but my mind wanders somewhere else.

Something about this place makes me uneasy, and I don't know why.

It's all in your head, Mia. Chill out!

Snapping back to reality, I come to a halt and notice Zach's voice is gone, and the stabbing silence of loneliness has replaced him.

"Zach?" I frantically look around me for his bobbing black hair and navy button-down shirt, but he's nowhere to be found.

"Okay Zach, this isn't funny," I whine, my heart poking through my chest and breath heaving.

"Pss, Mia!" A whisper startles me, and I spin around. Part of Zach's silhouette, the shadows of the night eating the other half of him.

"There was a sign on this building that leads to a whole other side of the premises, maybe the store is over here." He motions me to follow, and I reluctantly step closer to him.

My body temperature doesn't die down once I realize we're entering an alleyway. The tension builds like a grey fog, and my eyebrows crease in worry. The worry bubbles inside me, yet the envelope of blackness isn't what startles me.

With every decision, there's always a time where you can't go back. A fork in the road. When you know once it's done, there's no second chance, and walking beside Zach seems to bring out that nerve in me.

We take our pace slower than usual, and smoldering heat rushes through my head, pounding an alarm that I cannot ignore any longer. The suspense accelerates to the beat of my heart. The alley is gloomy and swirling with ink and shadows. Trails of fear and anxiety seep into my sockets. With my shivering hands and sweat sticking against my neck, I hold the fear inside, hoping it's still my mind playing tricks on me.

"Mia, don't be afraid." Zach's mouth twitches near my ear, and his hand interlocks with mine. My adrenaline boosts extensively.

No, it's not in my head.

My body stays rigid and I stop moving. My eyesight starts to blur and the weight of the world collapses on my shoulders.

"My.. hand.." I flinch and wiggle free from Zach's grip, but just when my hand senses release, restriction engulfs me again, this time with more force.

"Sweetie, what's wrong? Don't act like this. It's all going to be okay." This isn't the Zach I know. His voice is lighter as if he's coaxing a child, and his body steps in front of me, head bent to breathe fire in my face.

"The store... We need to.. Find it...." My teeth chatter and my body aches. I'm completely claustrophobic.

"Shh," he soothes, and his hand travels up my arm, which trembles from insecurity.

"You poor thing, you're cold." His fingertips sting with the razor sharpness of a knife. I back away for a breath of personal space.

"Wh-what are you-"

He crushes me against him, tightly compacting me in his bear hug.

"Mia." His singsong voice trembles my body and each muscle in me shrivels to jello.

"Don't worry, I know how to make you better.." Warm lips trace across my cheek, and instantly I fight into his chest.

"Stop touching me. Stop touching me." I chant ferociously.

I gut his stomach, which allows me to escape his trap and make a break for it. My steps become weightless as every cell in my body screams for dear life. The dim light of the ending alley comes to view, but menacing hands constrict my waist and I'm pushed back again.

"This-this isn't funny. Zach, please stop... stop this joke... please." I'm wheezing now, my asthma adding to the struggle. I don't understand why he craves this immediate closeness.

"Who says this is a joke, little one?" His hands travel up and down my body. Right to my hips straight to my chest, his touch leaves me completely frozen and timid. My curves being non-existence and body more cushion that thin.

"But- bu-bu-but you-you're-" I gag with dread suffocating me. Zach turns to face me, now bending to be height level with me.

And through the thick layers of night, I could distinguish the poison that encompasses his whole being.

"Zach, why are you touching me, you're like thirty-"

"Mia, that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter at all." The outline of Zach darkens more, swallowing my sight.

"Baby," his finger rests on my lips, while his other hands mess with my chocolate hair. The shadows of his features are crisp with lust and insanity.

I have to get away...

Wh- what do you want from me?" I choke back my tears as his hands slowly lift into my shirt.

"I want you."

I stiffen at the contact, the only visible light ahead of me being a post flickering on and off. A warning sign. I jump back and his nails dig into my skin to lock me in place.

"This will be our little secret, don't you trust me?" I don't answer, I have no air left in me.

Straightaway, his lips crush mine. The pressure up against me explodes, and the echo of my heart palpitates through my skull. He moans and groans for his own pleasure, and my stomach concaves with a sudden urge to vomit.

I thrash and shove at Zach with the intention of breaking free, but his weight tackles me down, and I'm pinned to the floor. Resonating throbbing vibrates my head and back from the concrete, yet the pain's the farthest from my mind.

"Stop, stop!" I screech. My instincts tell me to attack and rage in fury at this horrifying wretchedness.

I thrash and kick, blinded by consistent darkness and spots of random colors and shapes. My throat aches from the screams I burst, but it comes out muffled as Zach's hand slams my mouth shut.

"Shh, don't fight it. Just let it happen. It'll all be okay." Zach caresses me with sensual taste, each touch surpassingly alerting. But my mind shuts down, my energy and will to be freed are now hopeless and meaningless.

I'm too weak...

The plump of swelling fire incinerated the flesh off my bones. As if natural, my arms are fastened with his iron hand over my head like a prisoner seconds away from sudden death. His weight on me crushes every idea for escape, and all my chances to survive this. My voice is vacant and mute. All that's left is the grieving desolation my buried soul cries.

His hands snake over me, tips made of fangs that spew venom with a multitude of bites. With the eyes of a wolf, Zach is hungry for me, and no begging for mercy, no whimpers of trembling fear and agony can control his savage desire to enter me completely.

His lips of ice exceedingly penetrate each speck of unprofaned immaculacy. The arctic freeze seeps into everything pure and burns it to obtainable filth.

Though the air of frost is thrilling to my now bare chest, there is nothing more prodigiously frigid than Zach's earnest mind at work. His soft sighs of pleasure, and quick hand that strokes every last place of my flesh, leaving nothing to remain in purity, and infecting my very being to rot.

The sky was my company, as it always has been, with the stars of radiant glow arching into my sight as my only savior. I measure my heart's beating with the sound of emptiness in my head, as its thumping brings to mind the conscious reminder of my life.

Still, Zach moans and groans out of delight, not a single care for my own comfort of the matter. Not asking of my well-being or state of joy. And with that, I weep again. At the plain fact of how irrelevant I truly am as he invades my existence.

But the true torture has just begun. At first, I interpret a gust of violent gasps of air as a sign of the end being in sight, but as the zippers rewind, I trounce with my might, as a last resort.

Suddenly, there's no air at all.

"If you move one more time, I'll be sure to make it hurt!" A mixture of lustful temper flares from his lips that track my face.

With a single thrust, I was drowning in the pits of despair. My stomach pulsating to the rhythm of my heaving. And it didn't stop.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four...

Will the delirium ever stop!?

For the first time in all of my life, I'm sincerely insensible with no recollection of the memories of who Zach even is. This man isn't the same person who helps me with my math homework or picks me up from the bus stop when no one else can. This person is distant from the friend Jordan knows, from the person I know, or used to know. He's a peeling layer of raw evil, a mastermind of creation.

A monster.

With a multitude of sighs, Zach slowly calms his nerves, finally content and finished.

He then rises, adjusts his clothes and beams down at me.

"I'm going to find your brother, but I need you to do something for me." The kindness in his voice has vanished.

I don't reply.

"As I was looking about, a man found you." He sneers.

"You were sexually harassed."

He pauses to wait for some reply, but there's nothing left for me to say.

"I got to him, but he ran away. He was big, tall, muscular, and drunk. Isn't that right?" I can picture his crooked smile above me intimidating shark-like fangs. I have no energy to pay any mind, no will to even care about what story he fathoms.

"But there's one thing I need you to say for me," Zach's figure bends down, and I blink.

"Zach's my hero." His lace of rusty words threaten me.

"Say it!" Zach growls like a beast, and my chapped lips move automatically.

"Zach is my hero..." My words sputter and quack from my cracked windpipe.

"Good." he stands and footsteps fade away from me.

"Oh, and Mia." He purrs.

"We should do that again sometimes." And the footsteps disappear.

I'm alone to reminisce, with my shattered dignity and pride dismantled, violated and eradicated.

I don't know who I am anymore...

***

As I laid there, the stars twinkled at me frantically, only their eyes being a witness to the horror. And though each speck of burning fire didn't move in the slightest, a change was obviously written in the sky. The warmth of the light and cherished hope that was present before melted and carved into something more profound. Something cold and peril. A mocking joke that the heavens shared.

Then the reality sank in. The stars weren't the ones that had changed.

I did.

It was in that moment I was slapped with the cruel truth that life wasn't always what it seemed. It was there, on the bitter cement, that I knew nothing in existence could stay demure forever.

I was virtueless and bare for the world to stare at, just like the stars that endlessly shined down below, never given the choice to either glimmer or be invisible to the universe. I was a brilliantly inflamed star. Though the only shred of sparkle I owed were the shedding tears that shimmered under the lamp posts around me. Each drop represented a loss of what I had, of what I used to be. Each one rolled off my cheek for the earth to devour, destroy and strip away every speck of childhood left in me.

And that innocent girl I was not too long ago; I'd never be that girl again.

***********************

I know this was no happy story, but I hope it opened the eyes of many people and showed a tremendous example of how absolutely sick it is to sexually harass someone. Male or female, a person has a right to their body, and no one should EVER be allowed to forcefully take that right away. For a woman especially, her innocence and virtue is something that should be taken seriously and it's definitely NOT some prize to be won.

I wrote this because I found it necessary to imitate an example of what I've seen and heard from this current generation.

There are no words to truly say it all, but I wanted to at least try and get the message out. Innocence is pure and wonderful. Cherish it, and be grateful for it. Many don't get to say they have it, so if you do, you're very lucky.

For those who have experienced this, don't be shy to speak out. There are people to help and support you through your emotional stress due to the aftermath of the event.

Again, sorry for the rant and difficult topic, but if you stuck around to read it all, thank you so much!