Chosen (Damiano David & Victoria DeAngelis)

Chapter 49

He was trembling a bit, presumably because he was scared. Just hearing those words being spoken out loud must have been extremely hard for him. Victoria was sweating quite a bit as well. Saying that sentence had been pretty terrifying but she kept calm, just holding his hand to comfort him. For what seemed like an eternity but was only a few seconds in reality, there was complete silence. Then, suddenly, Ethan got up. He slowly walked to their side of the table and pulled Damiano into a careful hug, though he was still holding on to Victoria's hand. "I'm so sorry, Damiano...I wish I would have known earlier.", Ethan spoke quietly, kinda caressing his back a bit. Damiano seemed quite tense though, probably not comfortable with someone other than Victoria touching him like that. After all, it seemed to always take him a while to open up to people emotionally. She looked at Ethan, a soft smile on her lips to show him her appreciation: "Thanks Ethan but...could we maybe stay away from the hugging for a while?" A shameful blush almost immediately covered his cheeks as he pulled away: "God, I'm so sorry. Of course...no touching unless having asked for consent first, got it. But...could you maybe tell us how to help or at least not make it worse?" She sighed...they were acting like she knew everything when in reality she didn't even know how she had managed to get so used to all of that. Thomas still looked shocked when he spoke up again: "I...I'm sorry if that sounds insensitive but...how does a woman rape a man?" Damiano squeezed her hand a bit harder...that word clearly made him uncomfortable. God, why did everyone have to ask her the questions? She just wanted to go back to their room and cuddle with Damiano until he was feeling better. Nevertheless, she knew they had to talk things through.

"Okay...I'll do my best to explain everything, but keep in mind, I am not an expert." She looked at Damiano to check on him but he was staring down at his hand, which was resting in hers, not looking like he had any intention of talking about it or even looking up. "I know, it's not talked about often enough, Thomas but a woman can rape a man. From what I know, she needs emotional control over him first because usually men are physically a bit stronger than women. But that doesn't mean anything. If she is manipulative enough, she can do whatever she wants to him. I don't know what exactly went on between Carla and Damiano, and I don't think it's my place to tell you about it either. The only thing I know is, that it went on for a year or maybe even a bit more. She was manipulative, emotionally and physically abusive and she definitely forced him to sex and even violently raped him.", she was speaking very quietly. Partly because she didn't want to hurt Damiano and partly because she was uncomfortable with saying it out loud in front of them. Then, she turned to face Ethan: "I really don't think there is much you can do. I can't speak for him but I think that he is most comfortable with me around. Just support me when I need it, don't tell anyone about this and please...please consider the consequences before speaking." Thomas got really pale after that, looking at Damiano, who was still stoically staring at their hands. "Damiano...I...I owe you an apology. I should have never said what I said. Even if all of that hadn't happened to you, I wouldn't have had the right to say something like that. I was just so pissed because you always get all the attention from everyone... you get all the girls, you are the star and everybody just loves you and I always get overlooked. I thought you were acting for attention...I'm so sorry...really...please forgive me." He still didn't look up - she understood why...it must have been extremely embarrassing for him to have everything revealed like that - but at least he answered: "It's okay...I understand that. And...I am not mad at you...I never was. I thought you were right..." After that, Thomas got even paler if that was even possible: "Stop. No, no, I wasn't. Don't you ever believe a word I say...I'm just talking bullshit. You're not an attention whore...we will always have your back."

That evening, she was once again cuddling in bed with him. Both of them were glad that the truth was finally out now because that way it was way easier for her to comfort him in front of the others. Night seemed to be a specifically hard time for him and he often cried himself to sleep or he woke up from nightmares. But she already knew how to handle that now, so they managed just fine. That night, it wasn't different. It was about 11 and just a few minutes ago, he had started to cry again. She figured that it was just harder for him at night because there was nothing to distract him with...plus, she guessed that what had happened with Carla usually had happened at night as well. "It's okay, Angel...come here.", she turned the lights off, got comfortable and opened her arms for him. Nowadays, he trusted her a lot but turning the lights off still seemed to make it easier for him. A few seconds later, she had his head on her chest area and could feel the weight of his upper body partly on hers. That was usually the best position for both of them. That way, he was comfortable and she had easy access to his back, hands and face, so she could caress and comfort him. "Do you want to talk about it, Angel?", she asked calmly, now drawing very light circles on his back, not only with her fingers but with her whole hand. She always asked that question but he never accepted the offer. She didn't want to pressure him into talking about it, so she just kept on asking in hopes of someday getting an answer. She didn't expect him to talk about it...at least not right now but to her surprise, between the soft sobs, he actually said something about it: "When she...well...did IT for the first time...I thought it was normal. I thought she was just a bit too aggressive. I was so nervous because it was my first time...I mean...I was barely 21 years old...I was a virgin. But... I always thought losing my virginity would be loving...slow and special...but it wasn't...and I really wish I could turn back time to change it.", his voice was quiet and you could hear how much he was struggling while telling her that. He also choked up a few times thanks to the tears but she was extremely proud of him for revealing something new to her even though he didn't say anything about what exactly happened that night he was talking about. She gently rubbed his still bandaged wrist, feeling a huge scar forming underneath the cloth form the suicide attempt. Her voice was gentle, soothing and full of love, trying to show him that there was nothing to be ashamed of: "First of all, I am so proud of you, Damiano. You're doing so great and every little achievement is important, no matter how small it is.", she then took his hand in hers, very lightly kissing his knuckles: "And, you didn't lose your virginity, Angel. You are absolutely right, it should be loving and special and wonderful and exactly how and when you want it to happen. I know, it's still hard to hear but the moment she got too rough or forced you to anything or even didn't consider your wishes...basically, the moment she overstepped your boundaries, she started raping you and that automatically means that you are still a virgin. Because it can't be considered sex anymore."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hey ;)

So, what do you think of Thomas' explanation and their reactions in general? Do you think Vic did a good job telling them? And what do you think of the last topic? Is Vic right and he should still be considered a virgin? Let me know in the comments:)

Thanks for reading.

- Thalia