The Unforgotten

My name is Amelia Byrony Lansky; I'm currently 18 years old. My story is a complicated one. Not many girls have gone through what I've been through at my age. Here is my story...

It all started when I was seven years old. As a little girl I often feared going over my best friend Elisa's house, because I knew what was lurking behind the closed door. It wasn't what I feared, but whom. Elisa's brother was the problem; I would cower every time he came near. His personality towards me started out as mean and annoyed, but slowly turned into the direction of power. He learned that he could control me because I was so naïve and young. He would look at me funny, but I never thought anything of it. One day when I was over her house, he brother told us he wanted to us in his room. I found this strange; usually we got yelled out if we attempted a peak inside.

When we entered his room, he was sitting on his bed. He looked up and told Elisa to shut the door. As she shut the door she asked, "Why did you want us to come into your room? Any other time you would yell at us for being in your room."

That's when I saw it, the look of pure evil and power flash in his eyes. Right then and there I knew that what he had in mind was not going to be good. He smiled and said, "I want you to take off your clothes."

I stood there, frozen in fear. Why was this happening to me? My parents were always telling me that I had to be cautious of guys, but who would have ever thought that Elisa's brother was like this? Finally Elisa broke the eerie silence, "Why do you want us to take off our clothes?"

It was stupid, but at that point in time that was the only question that was hanging in the air. He was at least four years our senior, so why would he want anything to do with two seven year olds was beyond me. He laughed and said, "I told you to do it, so you have to do it!"

"You can't tell us what to do!" cried Elisa. It was a pathetic attempt, but it was all we had.

What happened next still terrifies me till this very day. He got off the bed and yelled, "Well, if you don't do what I say that I will tell mom about the time you two wrecked the house and I got blamed for it! Do you want her to find out that is was actually you two who did it?"

Elisa looked at the floor angered and defeated, "Well...no."

He laughed, which sent chills up my spine and said, "Good, now do what I said."

If I were to die at that very moment, it would've been better than what happened next. Feeling embarrassed and shamed, I started to take off my clothes. When I finished I stood there frozen and looked at my feet. I guess that wasn't good enough for him because he then started directing us to turn around in every direction, occasionally striking poses. The whole time I just wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Finally, he told us to put our clothes back on and leave his room. We did as we were told and I immediately called my mom and left. Since I only lived four houses away, I walked home. Why God?

When I got home, I went in my room and cried myself to sleep. I never went to Elisa's house after that. From that day forth I vowed never to like a guy in my life, and that I would never let a guy take advantage of me again. I never told my mom, or anyone else for that matter about what happened that day.

I went through Elementary school being extra cautious around boys. While other girls showed who they liked through actions, I avoided eye contact when possible. I had many girls I hung out with, but never had and boys that I talked with.

When Middle school came along, I was one of the few girls who didn't have a boyfriend. Then talk of the Christmas dance came up in my 8th grade year. Of course I didn't plan on having a date; I just wanted to go with my friends like I did in 6th and 7th grade. However, my friends just did not find this suitable. There was a new guy, Ralph, and my friends told me that I should go to the dance with him. At first I refused, but my friends constantly insisted that I go with him. Finally I gave in and went to the dance with him. The whole time he was glued to my side, and never let me stray too far. Why won't he just leave me alone? I found this irritating; I should never have let my friends talk me into this. The fear that was there when I was seven returned, and I felt like I was being controlled. The whole night I couldn't wait until the dance ended.

Finally the dance ended, but the night did not. My best friend Alyssa Salger invited Ralph and me to go out to eat with her and her new boyfriend, Derrick Oliver. I actually had fun at the restaurant, mainly because I ignored Ralph and talked to Alyssa. This night didn't turn out too bad. When it was time to leave, my mom came and picked both Ralph and me up. When we pulled into his driveway, I said goodbye and expected him to just leave. Yet that is far from what happened.

Instead, he roughly turned my head to kiss me. What the hell was he doing? I panicked, pushing him as hard as I could. He wasn't expecting such a mighty blow from someone my size, causing him to fall backwards out of the vehicle. After that night I never talked to him again.

That's the end of Ch. 1 of The Unforgotten. Stay tuned to Ch.2 when Amelia goes to High School and her whole world gets turned upside down even more!