I assumed she was feeling some kind of pity for Mauve. I knew she wasn't going to answer any questions at that moment so I enjoyed my ice cream in silence and patiently waited till we got home.
My phone chimed. It was a message from mum.
'Mum says she will stay over at big uncle Mark's house tonight. I guess it's work stuff.' I blurted out.
'Are you done?' Alicia asked as she dropped her empty cup on the table.
I had finished my cup of ice cream minutes before. Just like Mauve said, it was very nice.
'Yeah.' I stood up. I was itching to go home. I could'nt wait to ask Alicia about Mauve.
The walk home was somewhat better than the walk to the store.
We spoke about dinner and how mum was working too hard. Alicia said she got a job as a website designer but she needed a few things to resume. I
was so happy to learn about her job because I wanted mum to be assisted in any way possible.
I had offered to take up a job in any store around us but mum forbade me and told me to focus on my studies instead.
'Lock the door, please.' Alicia said.
She took off her jacket and made her way to the kitchen.
She returned with a cup of water and sat on the couch.
She looked at me as though waiting for me to ask all the questions I had for her.
'Who is Mauve?' I went to sit beside her.
I kept thinking about how it was unfair that I had to find out everything long after everyone else did even though I stayed at home more than every other person.
'Nate's ex.' That came as a huge shock to me.
Nate was very good looking and his black hair shone whenever he oiled it and combed it out.
His build made a lot of girls in my school crush on him and his honey brown eyes made his face stand out really well but I never expected that someone like Mauve would date him.
'Nate really pulled her?' I wanted to be very sure Alicia was not just making things up. It was quite unbelievable.
'Yes, but he raped her too.' Her eyes fell.
I knew that was the case but somehow, I told myself it was not possible right until Alicia said otherwise.
I felt horrible all over again.
Why would Nate do that to anybody?
Why would he rape his own girlfriend?
Was she his girlfriend at the time?
'When they were together?' I wanted to know if Nate was really just insane.
There was no way to justify his crime and I was going to be the last person to attempt that.
'Yes, Kassy and that disturbs me. Mauve said it was his kink and she had to live with it for two years.' Her voice began to rise.
'But when she discovered he did it to other girls, she became very pissed and after gathering enough evidence, she reported it to the police.'
I was stunned. I did not know how to react.
'Mauve is really a strong woman, she bore with that nuisance for two whole years.' Alicia sucked her teeth. He was very lucky to have Mauve but then, he threw it all to the wind.
He had raped her countless times and still went ahead to cheat.
Nate was a ravager.
He was truly insane.
The next two weeks of my life were filled with very unexpected revelations.
I was stressing my mental health so much and I started feeling like I needed some sort of therapy.
I wanted to meet with all of Nate's victims.
I wanted to understand what they felt and also apologize on his behalf even though it could not change the situation of things.
Alicia told me I was in no position to meet the victims.
She called me a child and only agreed half heartedly because I threatened to go on my own.
Mum had a book of their names and addresses so it was very easy to locate the women who Nate punished for no reason at all.
Alicia said mum was never to find out and she made me swear to never say a word of it.
The first person on the list was Victoria Brown.
She lived a few miles away so Alicia thought it wiser to visit her during the weekend.
That weekend started very roughly for Alicia and I because mum was home.
She said she needed a break from work and we had no excuse to leave the house for long hours.
Luckily for us, she got a call from work. That was the first time I was glad she was called to work.
I felt Alicia and I needed to do the right thing and I did not want anyone in the way of that.
As soon as mum left, we took a taxi to Victoria's house.
The ride was unbearably long.
I kept looking out for signs that showed what town we were in and I almost screamed from excitement when I saw the sign board that had 'Ouray' written on it.
I was too scared to knock on the door of the house whose address we had in our book.
Alicia told me she was not going to help me but I could not help but wonder what sort of person Victoria was.
I wanted to know if she knew me like Mauve did.
Her name didn't ring any bells in my head so Nate had never spoken about her to me.
I knocked and a faint 'coming!' came from inside the house.
A plump lady opened the door.
She was dressed in a basil green shirt that looked very rumpled and a white skirt that was just a few inches above her ankle.
'Hi. Good morning. We're here to see Victoria Brown.' I held Alicia tightly as the words rolled off my tongue.
I was too scared because of my relationship with Nate and I had no idea what this Victoria lady was like.
'I'll go get her.' The plump lady looked Alicia and I over before closing the door.