Description
I squeeze my eyes shut when I feel my throat closing up, suddenly I find myself gasping for oxygen with my arms wrapped tightly around my torso, hugging myself. As I rock back and forth on the heels of my feet, I beg for this to be some twisted nightmare that will go away when I wake up. But it's not. "Please," I muttered, "this isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real. God please let this not be real. Please. Please." I croaked out into the silence, my voice barely above a measly whisper. I cover my ears with my hands, this isn't happening. This isn't happening. This is happening. After a few minutes I open my eyes and slowly uncross my arms. I need help. --- Valerie Ellings. The girl with a smile always gracing her lips and a loving attitude that draws everyone in. Now she's the aftermath of a horrifying sexual assault. The once carefree girl long gone, and in it's place was someone determined to hide her pain from the world now more than ever. The police didn't believe her, her university's president didn't believe her, and if they didn't, who would? The people who were supposed to help her are the ones threatening her and forcing her to stay quiet, leaving her to discover that something bigger and more appalling than she could imagine is going on behind the scenes. Learning to face her traumas and slowly heal, Valerie goes in a journey of self-discovery with a new determination to not be silenced. Trigger Warnings: sexual assault, child abuse, depression, self harm, anxiety [attacks], mature language and themes Started: 3/9/2021
Prolouge
