Everyone loved Bill! He was from a wealthy family, was very handsome, and made us all laugh. We met in home room in middle school, but had no classes together and rarely saw one another for several years. Bill was sent to a private high school due to his poor grades in public school, but he continued to socialize with people from my school.
One night when we were 16, I went to the weekly summer "canteen", our teen dance night, at the rec center. Bill was there and asked me to dance. Oh, I was so excited! Bill! The guy all the girls wanted to date had asked ME for a dance! We ended up dancing all night and even "made out" a little before we left. That's when he asked me on a real date. We made plans for the following weekend and I had several days to brag about him to my friends and plan what I would wear.
Date night finally came and Bill drove his new 1968 Ford Mustang to pick me up. How cool was that? We went to a movie and then he asked if I wanted to stop by his house for a soda. He said his parents weren't home, but I didn't care. I was with Bill, the most popular guy in the 'hood! We had a soda and listened to records and kissed and cuddled. Then he asked if I wanted to spike my Coke with a little bourbon. Sure! That's what 16 year olds did back then. So I drank - and drank some more and got a bit drunk.
That's when funny Bill turned into predator Bill. We were lying on the floor in the throes of passionate kissing when Bill pinned my hands over my head and ripped open my jeans with his other hand. By the time I realized what was going to happen, he had pinned my body down with his weight. I started yelling "STOP, STOP", but he didn't stop. I thrashed and kicked my feet on the floor and screamed, but there was no one around to hear me or help me. He raped me, then left me on the floor crying while he went to clean up. I managed to get my clothes put back together and felt like I was in shock.
Bill was my only ride home, so he drove me there and I slipped into the house without seeing my parents or siblings. It was 1969. We had never heard of "date rape" and I felt ashamed. It had to have been my fault or something I did to lead him on. Back then, girls were blamed for leading a guy on, so I never told anyone until I was an adult.
Fast forward 20 years....Even though Bill didn't graduate from our high school, everyone loved Bill, so he was invited to our 20th high school reunion. I didn't realize he'd be there and I went. One of my girlfriends saw him with a group of guys standing around drinking and talking and she heard him say, "Oh, there's Debbie. I raped her once when we were in high school. HAHAHAHA." I still didn't have the presence of mind or the chutzpah to confront him. I felt humiliated all over again, so I left.
Fast forward again, this time about 15 more years....I owned a retail store in Powhatan VA. A guy came in to the shop, then asked if I was the same person who grew up in Stratford Hills and had known Bill. I said I had and he told me he was Bill's cousin. Without my asking, he proceeded to tell me that Bill had squandered his inheritance, could never hold a job, was a hard drug user, and had been in and out of rehab facilities his entire adult life. And all I could think was, "Gee, karma's a bitch."
Anonymous (Virginia)