“Why?”
“I think … he might have raped me.”
“Porter Andrew Hall raped you? Please. Besides, how could you not know you were raped?”
“When we were in the kitchen getting the food, he might have slipped one of those date rape drugs into my wine. Our health teacher explained them to us and warned us about them. Some are tasteless and clear and give you amnesia.”
She stared at me as if I had gone mad.“Maybe you are spending too much time alone. Your imagination is running away with itself.”
“Well, I have no other explanation for this, Cassie!”
“Really? Will you swear that while I was away working with Daddy, all these past months, that Kent didn’t come around and talk you into doing more than you wanted? He tried it on your first date, didn’t he?”
“Absolutely not. No one’s been here. None of those kids called me again or anything. I have to see a doctor.”
She nodded slowly.“Well, it can’t be our doctor, Dr. Moffet. He would tell Daddy, and we don’t want Daddy knowing any of this.”
“Why not? I need him to know.”
“Are you crazy? You would do that to him now? Why don’t you just sneak into his room late at night and stab him in the heart, Semantha?”
I started to cry.
“That’s perfect. Act like a child just when we need you to be grown up the most.”
“Well, this is hard for me, Cassie. I didn’t have anything to do with Kent or any of them. I swear.”
“Well, don’t you make any wild accusations about Porter. All we need now is another lawsuit.”
“What will we do?”
“It’s not brain surgery, Semantha. I’ll get one of those pregnancy test kits, and we’ll see. I’ll do it tomorrow.”
“What if … if it shows I am pregnant?”
“I’ll find another doctor, and I’ll bring him here to see you.”
“When?”
“Right away,” she said. “Stand up.”
“Why?”
“I want to look at you. Stand up and take off your robe. Go on.”
I did as she asked, and she drew closer, studying my body, my breasts.
“Since Daddy won’t be looking at you naked, we’ll be fine for now. You don’t look big enough for anyone to think anything more than that you gained some weight. If Daddy says anything about that, admit you’ve been a little pig these past weeks, and promise you’ll have more control. Put your robe back on. Go get dressed, and let’s think about dinner.” She left me standing there, still naked, still terribly afraid.
I did the best I could to hide my nervousness from Daddy at dinner. Cassie helped by distracting him with some suggestions about the landscaping, pool furniture, and some other minor problems on the property that she thought needed attention. She pointed out that he had hardly been home and probably hadn’t noticed. She complained about our maintenance people and got Daddy to agree that he could do the things she thought necessary. She thanked him and said I would help. It was only then that he really looked at me and gently suggested I might do with a little exercise. Cassie promised to make sure I did. Her little glances kept me mute.
Late the following morning, she came home with the test kit.
“All right,” she said. “Go into the bathroom and get some of your urine in this cup. This is a good test. The pharmacist told me it’s the same one they use in clinics, and it’s ninety-nine percent accurate. Go on.”
She handed me the cup, and I did as she asked. I stood by waiting as she tested with the strip. The grimace on her face alarmed me.
“What?”