ONE WEEK LATER

Emily brought the car to a stop and looked down at me. I was sitting far below her, on the edge of the passenger seat. We hadn’t really spoken on the way here, but it was time to do so now. She held out her hand and I climbed into it. As she brought me up to her face, I just gazed at her. In fact, I could have done so for hours without getting tired of it, but now was not the time. There was someone we had to visit: Diane.

Emily had wanted to go alone, but I couldn’t allow her to do that. I told her that she was more than capable of protecting me, and that I might actually be of some help to her. Of course, I couldn’t go to Diane’s place while I was still weak from my injuries, so we agreed to wait a week. During that time Emily made some clothes for me, so that I didn’t have to be naked in other people’s company. It was just a simple shirt, pants and socks, made from the softest fabric she could find, but I was overjoyed. Once again I felt myself deeply in her debt, but I knew better than to start another argument. She didn’t expect anything in return from me, except my love.

She had also tracked down Diane’s address, based on my descriptions, and with the help of the phone book. And so, one Sunday morning, we decided it was time to confront her. I was terrified, naturally, but I didn’t dream about backing out. As long as Emily kept me close to her, I’d be fine. Still, she was hesitant to get out of the car at once, and spent a few minutes holding me in her hands and playing with me.

“So, this is it,” she said at last. “The big moment. You’re still welcome to stay here, you know. In fact, I’d be happy to take you home first, if it’ll make you feel better.”

“I’m coming,” I said firmly. “I’m not afraid - well, maybe I am a little - but there’s nowhere safer for me than with you. I trust you, Emily.”

“You’re so sweet!” she said, giving me her best little kiss. “Of course you can come, just do as I say, okay? I won’t have you risking your life, just to get revenge, or something.”

“Hey, you’re the boss. Now let’s get this over with, so we can get on with our lives, what do you say?”

She nodded and retrieved her coat from the back seat. After putting it on, she dropped me into her breast pocket, just like she always did whenever she took me anywhere. I couldn’t see anything, naturally, but I didn’t really want to. I heard Emily ring the doorbell, followed by the door opening. And then I heard a voice - a voice I still remembered, and still hated.

“Yes? Can I help you?”

“Oh, er, hi!” Emily answered in a friendly voice. “Are you…I mean, you wouldn’t be Diane Collins, by any chance?”

“Uh-huh. That’s me. And you are?”

“My name’s Emily York. We’ve never met, but I think you know my boyfriend, Alex.”

“Sorry, I don’t know anyone named Alex. You’ve got the wrong person. Goodbye.”

“Wait! Can I just have a few minutes, please? It’s really important that I talk to you. It won’t take long, I promise.”

There was a moment of silence, and I felt Emily shifting around on her feet. I stood up and tried to see her face, but I couldn’t. At last Diane’s voice spoke again:

“Fine, but make it quick!”

“Thank you!” Emily replied breathlessly. “Sorry for intruding like this, but you really need to hear what I’ve got to say…Oh, can I come in? Thank you, that’s very nice!”

From the sound of her footsteps I could hear that she was walking over a carpeted floor. I heard Diane say “In here,” and a short while later Emily sat own on what I assumed was a couch.

“Okay, what’s so important?” Diane asked impatiently. “This’d better not be some bullshit about me stealing your boyfriend…what’s his name again?”

“Alex. And I’m sorry to say, but you did steal him from me. In fact, you tried to keep him here, against his will. Just over a week ago, I reckon.”

“What? That’s ridiculous! There was no-one here a week ago! I live alone, in case you didn’t notice.”

“Are you sure you don’t remember him?” Emily insisted. “He’s about this big.”

Another moment of silence, followed by an outburst of laughter. I recoiled, remembering how she had laughed while sexually abusing me.

“Look, sweetie, if your boyfriend’s got a tiny dick, that’s not my problem! Get someone else, I say! Now if that’s all…”

“I’m not finished! I knew you’d pretend you didn’t know what I was talking about, so I brought someone along. You might not remember his name, but I’m sure you’ll remember Alex once you see him.”

Her fingers descended into the pocket, and I grabbed onto one of them. Carefully she lifted me out, bringing her other hand up to shield me from Diane’s view. She then formed her hands into a bowl shape, with me safely at the bottom. She tipped her hands slightly forward, allowing me to peer over the edge of her fingers. And there, clad in a black leather jacket and wearing her hair loose, was Diane. Seeing her again brought back all the unpleasant memories. I wanted to duck down and hide myself, but it had been my idea to come along, so I couldn’t cop out now. Diane just stared at me in mixed confusion and shock. I could tell that she wasn’t expecting to ever see me again. Slowly her expression turned to anger, and I became a little worried for my safety. I looked up at Emily, and she understood. She placed me on her leg, near her hip, and covered me with both hands.

“So,” she said cautiously. “Looks like you do remember him after all. Good, then I hope we can skip the introductions and go straight to the explanations. Or have you forgotten what you did to him as well?”

“How…how did you…” I heard Diane’s voice falter.

“He came back to me, that’s how!” Emily raised her voice, and I felt enormously proud of her. She was risking a lot by coming here, and she knew it, but that didn’t stop her from standing up for me.

“How could you?” she continued. “How could anyone do such things? You…you practically destroyed his life! Is that how you treat everyone in life? Like worthless pieces of dirt?”

“Listen,” Diane said coldly. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re leaving now! Take that…thing, that freak, with you, and leave!”

“No! Not until you’ve apologized, to me and to him. And he’s not a thing, he’s a human being. And despite the fact that you’ve humiliated, violated, and mistreated him, he - and I - are still willing to forgive you.”

I peeked out through a gap in Emily’s fingers. Diane just sat there, looking so enraged that I thought leaving was indeed the best option. Then, without warning, she leapt from the seat and tried to seize me with her hand. It happened so fast that I didn’t have time to react. However, Emily was a lot quicker. She brushed me aside, and I landed on the couch next to her. Then, with her other hand, Emily lunged forward and punched Diane in the face. She fell back, crying out in pain. Emily quickly gathered me and placed me in her purse. I fell onto a wad of tissues as everything around me rocked and tumbled.

“Fuck!” I heard Diane scream. “You hit me in the face, you cunt! I swear, I’ll call the fucking cops!”

“Go ahead!” Emily retorted. “I bet they’ll be really interested to hear how you abused my boyfriend!”

“Abused? Don’t make me fuckin’ laugh! I did that dildo boy of yours a favour. Now, when you decide it’s time to use him yourself, he won’t be the scared-as-shit little worm that he was!”

“You’re sick! I think I’m leaving…”

“You wanna know what real ‘abuse’ is? It’s when your boyfriend thinks ‘Okay, you’ve got a great pussy!’, then fucks you till the thought of you makes you sick. Then you try to talk to him, and he beats you till you beg to stay alive. So you call the police, and they think you’re just some beat-up whore, and this cop comes up to you, and he…he…”

At this point Diane broke down completely into tears. It reminded me of how Emily had cried after bringing me back from the dead, only now it sounded much worse. Suddenly everything around me tilted horizontally. Emily had put her purse down, and it had fallen over. I saw a little gap, where the purse hadn’t been thoroughly closed, and I decided to take a peek.

What I saw made me gasp in disbelief. Emily was sitting on the floor, her legs curled underneath her, and tears flowing from her eyes. She was hugging Diane, whose face was buried in Emily’s chest, but whose loud sobs echoed through the room. I had heard every word, of course, and I immediately understood. My anger and hate seemed to vanish gradually, to be replaced by pity. Up until then I’d been wondering how someone could be as evil as Diane, but now I saw she wasn’t evil, just disturbed and angry. Emily looked over at me, her eyes full of tears, but, at the same time, full of gratitude.

It was already past noon when Emily returned. She’d taken me back to her car, while she remained behind to talk with Diane. I had offered to stay with her, but we both decided it was better if I remained some distance from Diane, at least for now. She may have had reasons for what she did to me, but that didn’t make what she did right, or even allowable. And I was still scared of her, even with Emily around to protect me. However, once Emily got back, and we were on our way home, I decided it was time to talk.

Emily nodded.

“She’s in a really bad state,” she said. “I managed to calm her down, and get her to explain her story more fully, but it wasn’t easy. She’s still conflicted about you; it took lots and lots of explaining from me to convince her you were really me boyfriend. I believe she is sorry for what she did, even though she might not ever admit it to you directly. I think we should let her be, until she’s moved on and put all this behind her.”