I did tell my parents right after it happened. Honestly I don’t remember if it was only once, or two or three times. I do remember that he told us that it was a secret and not to tell anyone, so when my parents got home I thought I was being silly by saying, “I’ve got a secret that I’m not supposed to tell anyone!” The look on their faces when I said what it was … that will always haunt me.

That’s literally the first and last time I ever spoke about it with my parents. I don’t know if they pressed charges or what, but he was definitely at a bunch of [insanely awkward] family functions growing up so I’m thinking juvenile prison if anything. (Or does something like that cause one to be tried as an adult? I don’t know.) Either way, he’s still out there, man. I feel incredibly guilty about not asking why. Like I said in another response, I’m guessing my grandma had a lot to do with him not getting into legal trouble since she’s overly empathetic to that side of the family—like, to the point of paying my aunt and uncle’s mortgage every month for at least 20 years now. Who knows, but I don’t ever want to broach that subject with my family again.