Not So Innocent

Chapter 1 Excerpt

He was one of 7 siblings. No one knew his secrets or so he thought.

Growing up in rural America, you feel safe. The towns are small, the people are nice and everything feels good. You don’t feel the struggles of the world yet. You have a roof, you have food to eat and you have family.

That’s what I have. I spent my summers with my family camping down by the family pond and fishing in the creek. We never wore shoes and I always ended up with poison ivy – never my 6 brothers. It wasn’t until I turned 13 that they treated me any different – and that’s because the boys started looking at me like a girl instead of another friend. I hated that first summer.

Zain was the first boy. He’d tease me then put his arm around me. I was annoyed but then found it comforting. At the end of that summer, he kissed me. Then told everyone. I punched him.

We went back to school and I never talked to him again. He’s married and divorced now I heard – something about a recent affair gone wrong and a fight in the front yard in front of the kids.