Callie POV-
I awoke to the rays of bright sunlight, burning my eyes. I preferred to just lie in darkness. Never seeing the light again. What is the point?
I don't know if I'm more angered by Quincy opening the blinds or me waking up. I would have much preferred to just die. I already felt dead. Everything I believed in shattered.
I was always taught that "God" would never leave you or forsake you. That's what it said in his word and its supposedly true. And I believed it with every ounce in my being.
Until...I woke up to this man pounding inside me and I was too weak to get him off. No matter how hard I fought. And this god, who doesn't even deserve an uppercase g anymore, never showed up. Never came. Never gave me strength. Just let him take what this god is so adamant about his "children" saving.
How could I be so stupid to believe in someone who I worshiped with my entire heart, obeyed with my entire being and advocated for with my entire voice, and wouldn't even show up for me in my time of need. I've come to believe that he's just about as real as Santa Claus and the Easter bunny.
"Close the blinds." I looked at Quincy as he removed some of his clothes from his chair.
He ignored me. "Your breakfast is over there. Well lunch. It's 3."
He pointed to a tray with a burger , drink and some fries from Burger King on the night stand next to the bed.
"Close the blinds." I told him again.
He looked at me, then put his clothes in his hamper.
I got up and ripped the blinds close so fast.
"Hey, don't break my shit cause you want to stay in the dark." He looked at me as I got back under the covers.
"Staying in the dark ain't gon solve nothing." He reopened them.
I put the covers over my head.
"Now you need to eat something. I can't really cook, so I bought you some Burger King."
I ignored him staying under the covers.
"Callie." He called my name.
"Callie." He ripped the covers off my face.
"Just leave me alone! Leave me alone!" I screamed in his face.
He tucked his lip for a short minute looking at me. Then said...
"Are you finished or are you done?"
I rolled my eyes and put the covers back over my head . I just wanted to be covered in darkness and for him to leave me alone.
I felt him sit on the bed.
"Cals I know you hurting. What he did to you, you didn't deserve. But you can't let that stop your life. If God ga--"
"Don't talk to me about god." I ripped the covers off my head and stared angrily at him.
"You was talking crazy yesterday and I let it slide but you taking things too far. If anybody is going to help you through this he will. God loves you Callie."
"Bullshit!" I yelled. "If he loved me why did he let me get raped huh? Huh?" I got in his face.
He sighed and put his head down. "I don't know Cals. I don't know." He quietly said.
"It's because there is no god. He's a fairytale. And we do all this worshipping. And all this praying. And all these following rules and when we need him, he's never there. He's never there." I broke down into my hands.
"Eloi eloi lama sabachthani." Quincy said. "Jesus said those words on the cross. My God My God, why have you forsaken me. Here was a man the son of God. Did everything right. Healed people. Taught people. Never hurt a soul only did good in the world, but was left to die hanging on a cross with his hands nailed to it. He felt forsaken too. He felt hurt too Cali. No, I can't tell you why. And I wish I could. But if we look at what happened to Jesus we know his story didn't end on a cross. And neither will yours. You gotta believe that."
I raised my tear stained eyes to look at him. He held his hand out to mine. I looked at it a moment, then grabbed it. We bowed our heads. Quincy began a prayer.
"Father God we come to you right now on behalf of your daughter Callie LaBranch. We pray your blessings upon her life. That you heal her mentally, spiritually and physically from this trauma. We're confused right now God because we feel like you've foresaken her. She has been faithful to you in every way and yet, what was most precious to her was taken from her. We know that being a Christian does not immune us from struggle. It didn't even immune your son who died a brutal death on a cross. But we know his story didn't end there. He rose three days later with all power in his hands, so that we might live. And we ask
That you do the same for Cali. Resurrect her in some way oh god. That something great may come from this tragedy and of her life. Let her know that you haven't given up on her. That you love her and you see her. Let her know that she is valuable to you still. And god we know that revenge is yours, so please let her rapist be caught and brought to justice. If anybody can right a wrong it's you, so we put this entire situation in your hands. In your mighty and matchless name. Amen." He concluded and let my hand go.
I wiped my wet eyes. I was impressed by Quincy's prayer. You don't expect someone so young to say such a powerful prayer. It showed he was a praying man. Religion for him wasn't a joke or a cool pick up line to get church girls.
"Thank you Quincy. I don't want to give up on God, I'm just hurt."
"You ain't got to explain. We'll get through it together." He hugged me and kissed my forehead.
"Eat." He pointed to the food. "I got to run some errands, but I'll be back."
And with that he left out the room.
Quincy POV-
Amiri opened the door and closed it in my face when he saw it was me.
"Ignore him." Morgan shook her head and welcomed me in.
I know Callie didn't want me to say anything, but if we were gonna to bring down this professor we needed all hands on deck to get her justice.
"So what's up?" Morgan asked me.
"I think y'all need to sit down for this." I looked at her and Amiri.
"What's wrong?" Morgan asked.
"What you do to my cousin?" Amiri got in my face.
"Amiri please let him talk." Morgan pulled him back.
"So after y'all left, Callie called me. She asked me if I could pick her up."
"Okay get to the fucking point." Amiri barked.
"Amiri." Morgan yelled.
"I'm saying he talking around shit. Is Callie okay or whAt?"
"She's alive and she's at my apartment. But when I went to pick her up she had been..." I waited trying to get the words out.
"Drinking?" Amiri asked.
I shook my head no.
"Then what the fuck is it? Stop beating around the bush." He yelled.
"she had been raped man." I said quickly with my head down.
Morgan's mouth hung open.
Amiri was standing there biting his bottom lip.
"So you knew this and didn't tell us?" Amiri said.
"She asked me not to man. I was trying to respect her wishes and just make sure she was okay."
"Who did it?" He asked with his fist balled. The anger evident on his face.
"Professor Jordan."
"The speech professor?" Amiri asked confused.
"Yeah he gets these female interns and..."
"Callie was interning for him?" He asked.
"Yeah. You didn't know?"
"No she told us it was some club." Morgan said.
"I told her he seemed off." Morgan said crying.
"So you knew he was talking to her outside of school and didn't tell me?" Amiri asked her.
"Amiri--"
"I'm going to kill him. Tomorrow in class I'm going to kill him." Miri interrupted her and said matter factly but calmly.
"I think we should think about legal and administrative steps." I said.
"Fuck legal and administrative steps. He raped my fucking cousin. I'm not letting that shit slide."
"Amiri, I've been to jail. You don't want to go there. Quincy is right." Morgan said.
"You knew she was talking to this creep and didn't say shit. It's your fault." He looked at her and went out the house slamming the door.
I don't know how this is gonna turn out. I just pray for the best.