Life as a Small Imperfect Teenager

Lesson 6- it's better to tell people than keep it inside

Warning
This chapter includes mature themes which some readers may find upsetting. I'd be happy for you to skip this lesson and move straight onto the next one if that would make you feel more comfortable.

So, in this chapter, we'll be talking about mature things as you already know. Anyway...
My mum 'June' own's a sandwich shop in the next village across from where I live. Last month, one of my ex-friends 'Annie' told me that these gypsies had moved into the village where my mum's sandwich shop is. Anyway, this flipped a switch in my head that reminded me of something that had happened nearly a year ago. So it was in the summer of 2018 when it all happened. The gypsies had just moved onto a patch of grass where the two villages that I mentioned before meet. So these gypsies where in the area because some family member had died and they all came for the funeral. So, during this time, I was working in my mums shop and this one gypsy called...fake name...fake name...fame name... 'Ron' was in the shop. This guy kept coming in the shop often. He was 12 at the time and I was 13. So my friend 'Annie' that I mentioned earlier? Well 'Ron' kept asking me for her number and she said no. So then, she began to ask for mine. I said no while I was in the shop because I felt safe but as soon as I walked out of the shop and down the road a little, he was there with a group of about...15 or 20 gypsies. I felt like I had been cornered so when he asked for it, I gave him my number. I regretted doing it before I had even done it. I knew it was a bad idea but I felt like I had no choice.
The next day, I was walking from my house to my mums shop with 'Annie'. 'Annie' and I bumped into 'Ron' and his friend...fake name...fake name... 'Leroy' on the way. 'Annie' began to talk to the gypsies and all I wanted to do was run home but I couldn't. I knew that if I did that, they'd both follow me and then they'd know where I lived so I just stood there. Then, they both began to hang around with 'Annie' and me even though I didn't want them to. We ended up walking to this wooded area. There were some rocks. They all sat on the rock but I didn't. Then, 'Ron' continuously asks 'Annie' to kiss him. She denies him, leading him to then, move onto me. He asked me, knowing I was less stubborn than 'Annie'. I said no but he kept asking me and he was becoming irritating so I agreed to ONE kiss. In Britain, what is a kiss on the lips? Is it when your lips touch someone else's lips? Or is it forcing your tongue down someones throat? Personally, I assumed it was the first option but turns out, he thought it was the second so yeah, I got s tongue shoved down my throat. Then, I pulled away because I didn't expect it. Me and 'Annie' BOTH said that what he gave me WASN'T a normal kiss. So he said 'oh, we can go deeper into the forest is you want' and I said 'nah, I don't want to do that anymore' but he just grabbed my hand and pretty much dragged me down the woodland path. I was scared. I knew that my family had already been in trouble with gypsies so they tole me to strictly stay away from them so I tried but by now, I was stuck. I was panicking and as much as I wanted to rag my hand away and run home, my body wouldn't let me. He just continued to drag me along behind him. When we got more into the woods, he began trying to kiss me again. I tried to back away more this time but he just grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to him. I knew 'Annie' was only around the corner but I wasn't in control of my own body anymore. I couldn't shout for help, I couldn't just leave and I couldn't grab my phone and call for help. I was frozen. Anyway, he carried on 'kissing' me while I just stood there. He then reached for my butt. Thats when I realised how bad it could actually get. I just said 'no' and moved his hand away. He asked why I didn't want him to touch me and I just said 'I just don't' and then he agreed. But shortly after, he tried touching me again in different places. It carried on for a good 5 minutes but my body was kinda frozen so I just stood there, repeatedly moving his hands away. I didn't want 'Annie' to be dragged into the situation so I didn't shout her. Anyway, I finally just walked back to Abby and we had to stay with these two gypsies until they left. I was kinda shook up by it and it made me quite angry that I couldn't be in control of my own body but deep down, I knew it wasn't that bad of a situation and I knew that it could have ended up in a much worse position. Anyway, I just told a couple of friends about what had happened to me. When I told 'Annie' she just laughed and said 'You know how I feel now', which made me feel like a massive idiot. Some of my other friends like 'Nat' didn't believe me. I never told anyone in my family because I thought that it wasn't important so I just kept it between some of my friends. When I told 'Liam' he made me realise how bad and serious the situation really was but this only a couple of months ago so then, I thought about telling someone in my family. Eventually, I plucked up the courage to tell my brother 'Reece' about what had happened. He told me to tell my parents and so I did. Now, a few week later, the gypsies have left and I feel much safer and more understood because I was open about what happened to me. For this reason, I thought that I would share what happened with you guys, so that you all would hopefully realise Lesson 6- it's better to tell people than keep it inside.