Willow took a big breath and started her story.

"It was 5 years ago. I was only 15. During that summer I had begun to
develop and although I wasn't pretty like most other girls, I was alright.
I met this guy, who said he was 19 and he seemed really into me, I was
flattered because no one had ever shown interest in me before.

"We dated for a while and it seemed too good to be true. He was constantly
complimenting me and buying me pretty necklaces or bracelets, and he'd come
see me everyday.

"After about 3 weeks, he started to get demanding. He wanted me to have sex
with him but I wasn't ready. One night he came over when my parents were
out of town, and he got really angry when I wouldn't have sex with him.

"He started hitting me and forcing me down on the bed..." Willow stopped in
midsentence, tears streaking down her pain-filled face.

Buffy was also crying. She knew what Willow was going to say next. But she
gestured for her friend to go on. Talking would help.

"I-I started screaming because he was ripping off my clothes and holding me
down. He started hitting me again, harder this time, until I stopped
yelling for help. Then he raped me. Not just once. Again, and again until I
passed out. It hurt so badly and all the while he was beating me. He hit me
over and over.

"Once he'd had enough, he slapped me back into consciousness. He told me
that I was a good-for-nothing frigid slut who would never be able to keep a
man. He told me that all I was good for was fucking, and I couldn't even do
that right. He called me vicious names and started hitting me again, not
just in the face but in the stomach and sides too. After that he just left,
leaving me unconscious on the bed.

"I'm told that a neighbor who'd heard commotion came over to check on me
after seeing him leave through my bedroom window and found me. She called
the ambulance and police."

Willow stared into nothingness as she recounted her experience, no
expression on her face, just tears streaming down her cheeks.

"What happened next, Willow?" Buffy whispered thickly, tears clogging her
throat. She hadn't known how much pain Willow carried with her, if only
she'd known...

"I was in the hospital for a month. I suffered a severe concussion,
multiple lacerations and bruising, two cracked ribs and internal bleeding.
That's excluding what the rape itself did to me. I developed an infection
in my uterus, therefore part of it and my ovaries had to be removed to stop
spreading. I can't have children because of that bastard.

"They arrested him a few days after it happened. He was charged with rape
in the first degree and sentenced to 15 years in prison. I just heard that
he got out on parole a day ago. That's 5 years Buffy! 5 years, instead of
what he was supposed to have served. That's not justice. What if he comes
back now? What if he wants to pay me back for sending him to jail?"

Willow broke down into sobs, wrapping her arms around Buffy. Buffy hugged
her friend fiercely. "Nothing will happen to you, Willow. If he comes back,
I'll make sure he will never hurt you again."