His Broken Promise

Chapter 8

The next few months became a blur. Greg had me under his control. He did whatever he wanted, knowing I wasn't going to say anything. He got confident. I was numb with my emotions. I knew it wasn't going to stop. I had constant fear inside of me, and it wasn't going away no matter what I tried. He got closer and closer to me. I took refuge in Smithfield. But even there, I felt like an outcast. I took myself out of social events. I left the teen bible class and snuck into the adult class. My friends drifted away from me. I sat by myself rather than up front with them. I couldn't let my sadness rub off on them, I had to distance myself. I felt hated. Greg started to come to Smithfield more often. I'd stick close to Ashton, as if I were his protector. He looked up to me, and I loved him more than anything. He was so innocent and beautiful; I felt safe with him around. One of the Sundays I sat with him, Sarah asked me why I didn't sit with them anymore. My heart became heavy. I bit my cheek and spoke quietly. "I just...wanted to sit here..." My voice trailed off. Sarah frowned and walked away. I squeezed my eyes shut. I wanted so badly to be with them again, but how could I? I was different. Too different. I cried when I got home that day. I prayed for someone to rescue me from this insecurity. I messaged Rosie again, but no reply. I stretched across my bed and stared into space. I covered my face with a pillow and let it drift me to sleep.

​October 2012. Sandi and Joe had taken their kids to go to Harry Potter World for a nice family vacation. It was hard being away from them, but I was excited for them. Abby and Rosie had told me how anxious they were to see the park and the rides. When they came back, I hugged them tighter than I ever thought I would. The week without them made me feel vulnerable and alone. I prayed for their safety every night. The night they came back, we had worship as usual and then Abby led me to her van in excitement. She fumbled through her stuff and pulled out a sack. She handed it to me with a big grin on her face. "We brought you and Kyrsti some stuff from Harry Potter World!" I smiled and hugged her tightly. I felt really loved at that moment, which was an unfamiliar feeling. I looked into her eyes briefly in gratitude and walked alongside her, back into the building to socialize.

​November 2012. I could hear my mom on the phone with Aunt Barb. They were discussing Thanksgiving until another call came through. "Hold on Barb, I've got Lauren on the other line." She switched calls and after a few seconds, she rolled her eyes. "Sure.....yeah.....whatever." She hung up and went back to talking to Barb. 15 minutes later, Lauren came in through the front door with Ashton and Greg. Mom took Ashton and Lauren walked to the living room and watched TV with my dad. Greg hovered over Ashton and my mom for a few moments before turning to me. He smiled, and motioned me to the front door. He came over and whispered in my ear. "Let me see if I can talk your mom into letting you go for a drive with me." I nodded sheepishly and lowered my head. My mom let us go and we went for a long drive. He let me drive to Sandi and Joe's house which was 20 minutes away. I stopped in front and looked over the house for a few seconds before driving off. Man, I miss them. I shook off my feelings and drove back home. Greg got a call on the way, and put it on speaker. It was his best friend, Nathan. "Hey Greg, how goes it?" Greg laughed and told him of our plans for the night. "Awesome, hey, later do you want to go smoke some-" Greg laughed nervously and interrupted quickly. "Hey Nathan, I'm gonna have to let you go, Madison is driving." They said their goodbyes and hung up. I tried to understand everything but Greg distracted me with his music. I got the courage to ask him what Nathan was talking about and Greg just smiled. "Just a joke we play on each other sometimes, no worries." I shrugged but kept it in my mind.

​We pulled up to Barb's house and as I swung open the front door, I could immediately smell the abundance of food on the kitchen counter. I brought in our side dishes and set them on the stove. I sat at the kids table and waited for permission to dig in. Cameron sat in the chair across from me, and laid his head on the table. I could hear the front door open as I gathered food onto my plate. I heard a squeal and I recognized my nephew's voice. I smiled and took my seat at the table. Greg came up behind me and hugged my waist. "Good to see you, kid."