Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Rape of An American Virgin

In a small Missouri town, 14-year-old Makayla Breithaupt is left passed out on her porch in the dead of winter. What follows is an investigation into what happened prior to that. Makayla says she and her friend snuck out to party with two seniors from their school and were raped. The seniors say they just wanted to hang out and that the sex was consensual. Based on a true story, this gripping story details what happens when a victim accuses a popular, well-connected young man of rape and how her past destroyed her credibility.

Tauy Creek Quarterly issue 3 is out now. Loosely based on the Daisy Coleman rape case, "Rape of An American Virgin" is the best story yet to be featured. You can order the newest issue here for only $0.99!! A sample of the story is below.

*~*~*

“Makayla Breithaupt, 320 Marion Street, Altoona, Missouri, 62111,” Makayla repeated for the third time.

“Well, she is certainly coherent enough now,” Officer Daphne Littell said. “The nurse taking the rape kit said there was semen inside her but no bruises or any other injuries consistent with rape. Makayla, can you go over what happened last night?”

“She was supposed to be having a sleepover with Cassidy,” Amanda said.

“Mrs. Breithaupt, please,” Officer Littell said. “Now, Makayla, describe your night to me.”

“Cassidy and I were having a sleepover but all evening I was texting Clint Ballinger and getting him to flirt with me. Cassidy and I were about to go to bed when he invited us over.”

“About what time was that?” Officer Littell asked as she scribbled into a notepad.

“Just before one,” Makayla said. “We then got dressed and went downstairs to wait for Clint to pick us up.”

“How long did that take?”

Makayla shrugged. “Maybe ten minutes.”

“What happened after they picked you up?”

“We went to Clint’s house and went inside. His parents weren’t home.”

“Was anyone else there?”

“Just me, Cassidy, Clint and Dalton.”

“Dalton?”

“Dalton Gross. He’s a junior. Clint’s a senior. Dalton was with Clint when they picked us up. We were nervous but I had always wanted Clint to ask me to hang out with him so I didn’t want to not go.”

“How many times have I told you to stay away from Clint?” Ellis lectured. “I’ve told you what he did to Meghan, right?”

“Yes but that wasn’t going to happen. I had everything under control,” Makayla said, rolling her eyes at Ellis.

“Get back to last night,” Officer Littell said. “What happened after you got to the Ballinger house?”

“I talked to Clint. This was the first time that I had been alone with Clint so I kept laughing like an idiot. Maybe he noticed which is why he offered us something to drink,” Makayla suggested. “He said that he had beer, wine coolers and rum. Both Cassidy and I chose wine coolers. He and Dalton got a couple of beers. We drank our wine coolers pretty fast and I remember that we all laughed when I burped.”

“Were the wine coolers open or closed when Clint gave them to you?” Littell asked.

“What?”

“Were the bottles open or still sealed?”

“Oh. Still sealed, and they never left our hands so he couldn’t have put anything in them, Ellis,” Makayla mocked.

“We’re trying to find out if these boys took advantage of you, Makayla,” Amanda sighed. “If you two had consensual sex that’s one thing but he just left you out in the cold. Your hair was frozen to the porch.”

“I am a virgin,” Makayla said and started to tear up, “at least I was, and I was proud of that. Sure, I flirt and find a lot of guys cute but I was waiting for that special guy.”

“Please try to keep it together, Makayla. Did you and Cassidy have anything else to drink after the wine coolers?”

“We each had one more wine cooler and Clint said we cleaned him out. We then started drinking beer.”

“How many of those did you have?”

“I had six—they were in bottles—and Cassidy only had two but she was pretty buzzed. I was actually pretty close to passing out and I mentioned that Cassidy and I should be getting back home and that’s when Clint suggested that I lay down and he took me into the bedroom.”

“Jesus,” Ellis remarked angrily.

“Do you know what time it was when you went into the bedroom? Or how long you’d been at the Ballinger house?”

Makayla shook her head. “I don’t know and after Clint got me on the bed, I fell asleep.”

“So you don’t know what happened after that?”

“It’s all a blur. I was in and out the rest of the night until we were on our way to the hospital. I can clearly remember only seconds at a time.”

“Okay, thank you, Makayla. I’ll go talk to Cassidy and get her information. Do you have her address?”

“1432 Indiana.”

“Thank you, Makayla. Can I speak to you and your son in the hallway?”

Amanda, Ellis and Officer Littell left the examination room and went out into the hallway. “What’s wrong? You seem concerned,” Amanda said.

“I am concerned that Makayla was assaulted especially with all the drinking, but I am also concerned with the lack of rape evidence.”

“Well, I’m sure she didn’t just lie there and take it,” Amanda shouted.

“I’m not saying that but if she was passed out then she couldn’t fight back. Unless Cassidy saw something or one of the boys confess, this may end up being a case of he said-she said. Ellis, what did Clint do to Meghan that you mentioned in there?”

Ellis nervously looked between his mom and Officer Littell. “Well, I don’t know. It was always just a rumor but they had started dating the summer before our junior year. About November, Meghan started acting weird—falling asleep in class, grades dropping, short fuse, skipping school. Clint’s parents weren’t home often so she would sleep over at his place. The rumor was that Clint kept her doped up at night and have his way with her. He also charged twenty dollars for his friends to have sex with her. Again, it’s just high school rumors,” Ellis said.

“Even if untrue, it’s still disturbing to have your name attached to a story like that,” Officer Littell handed Amanda a business card. “I’m going to talk to Cassidy. If you need anything, please call.”