Nineteen

I had no idea where I was or where I was going, I just knew I couldn't be in there anymore. It was too much. I kept running, though slowed to a more sustainable pace after a while, as the forest thickened the deeper I ran. My eyes adjusted easily to the clear night, with the almost full moon shining bright in the sky, and I kept going until the shock began to fade.

I paused at a large, mossy, fallen stump, sitting down and catching my breath. Leaning forward and rubbing at my face, I shivered sightly in the cold mountain air. It was refreshing, at least, helping me thinking more clearly, which wasn't easy at the moment. I understood why Dad had never told me, no doubt he hoped he'd never have to, but it was still an absolute shock, even if I didn't blame him for it.

I felt sick, thinking of what my Mother must have been through. Her own friend had raped her?! And then she'd had to explain it to Dad, and they had me without ever knowing for sure whose I was, before she was killed for