“Tell me when I’m going to feel
normal again.”

UNDER RUG
SWEPT

BELLA FOX

Played by KATHRYN GALLAGHER

LITERARY MAGAZINE EDITOR, FAST FOOD SERVER, SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVOR, WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVIST, VOICE OF A MOVEMENT

Bella is many things. She is a good student. A loyal friend. An editor of the school literary magazine. An after-school employee of a local fast-food joint. A helpful daughter. A girl who can hang with the boys. She never expected to add “rape survivor” to the list, but the night of Lancer’s kegger, she was assaulted in the bedroom of the most popular boy in school. None of this was Bella’s fault—not how much she had to drink, not what she was wearing, nothing she said or did—but at first she wants to sweep the whole incident under the rug. She knows how vicious her classmates can be, and how little women are believed about what happens to them. And besides she wants to be more than just her worst moments—she knows that sexual assault has a way of following a person around throughout their life. But also, she cannot just stand by and see a person who committed a crime and took away her sense of self go unpunished. With the help and support of Frankie and Jo, she is ready to tell her story. She is ready to stop blaming herself, and start seeing herself as a strong survivor with a valuable voice.

It is important to recognize that Bella does not have an easy road to walk—she doesn’t just speak her truth and walk away victorious. She will deal with trauma, shame, hurt, and confusion for many years. Recovery is a life-long process—but so is survival. Bella is so much more than any label, any one night of her life. But she also wants to make sure that girls like her never have to endure a night like she did. She will keep fighting for justice, keep shouting out her right to say “no,” and keep advocating for a better world.