keeping items gifted by her abuser on her bedside for years

my(M26) friend(F26) just told me a trauma she's been holding for about 4 years. she told me that her friend(M26), took her v card through a nonconsensual sex back then. she refused to go into details but it went something like, he invited her to drink with him alone in his room. she never drank previously but she said she was curious to try and thought it would be a fun experience. they both got quite drunk and she told me she was in-and-out of consciousness and that's when it happened. she told me that she had no power to refuse and that she regretted it the next morning but at that moment she felt like she's not sure if she can be mad at him for what happened, because she thought she had a part to blame too.

​

she said that they had sex again several times, she told me that there were times she felt forced but also there were times it was consensual. this happened for about half a year and stopped when she got into a relationship with her current boyfriend. she and her abuser were close friends throughout college and remained that way (or so i thought) until her graduation. she told me that the last time they met was on her graduation ceremony and i saw them interacting just like a normal friend would be. he gave her a graduation gifts, it was a painting and some kind of plastic flowers.

​

i know for sure that drunk sex without prior consent is straight up SA and to think that happened to one of my closest friend makes me extremely mad. but the one that i've been having a hard time wrapping my head around is that she still keep the gifts that he gave her on her bedside until now. when she told me the story she was crying so hard and told me that she's still heavily traumatized by the incident. i'm not trying to invalidate her experience just asking this makes me feel like an awful friend, that's why i refrain asking her directly. i'm just curious what might be the reason for it and confused by the contradiction, i think if i was an SA victim the last thing i want is to be reminded of the incident in my every waking hour.

​

i'm sorry if it's triggering for some people, English is not my first language so i might have phrase the sentences wrong. i just want to know if it's common or if you know someone who does something similar.