truthful?”
Lyla nodded.
“Then how about you tell me what happened, and I’ll try to help you fix it? Okay?”
“Okay.” Lyla whispered. “Keera really likes Brandon, David’s friend, so they wanted to go see what they were doing. I think he sent Keera a text to meet him in David’s room.”
“He . . . they . . . are you kidding me?” Keera is only eleven years old, and Brandon—he was a teenager. Okay, so only a few years apart, but still. The girls were too young for stuff like that. “And Katy went with her?”
Lyla nodded. “Keera wanted him to kiss her.”
“Keera’s too young to want to be kissed.” Alyson couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Tricia must have stopped them . . . she was supposed to keep a close eye on the kids. In fact, she promised something like this would never happen.
“She’s been kissed before.” Lyla said quietly.
“She has?” Kids were growing up way too fast nowadays. Eleven was too young for this stuff. Way too young.
“She said she wanted to know if a boy’s kisses are different than a man’s.”
Alyson’s world stood still.
She did not just hear what she thought she heard. She couldn’t have.
“Is that what she said?”
Lyla nodded.
“No, I need to know her exact wording. Did she say exactly that, Lyla?”
Again, Lyla nodded, but this time Alyson could tell her daughter was a little frightened.
“What man, Lyla? Did she say?”
Lyla’s head shook rapidly. “No. They just giggled, and then left.”
“Did anyone else hear her say this? Was it to the whole group?”
“Just me. They wanted me to come too, but I said no. I didn’t want to get in trouble.”
Alyson closed her eyes. “God help me,” she said under her breath. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Then what happened, honey? What about when they came back? Did Brandon kiss her?” Could it possibly get any worse than it already was? Did her sister know? Did she realize what happened in her own house? And what did Keera mean exactly?
She knew what Keera could have meant, but she prayed to God she was overreacting.
“We started to watch some videos on the computer. First, it was funny kitten videos, and then we started to watch music videos. We all got to pick our favorite song to watch, and then . . .” Her voice faltered, and Alyson could see her struggle with her words.
“And then? Did you see something you shouldn’t have?”
Lyla nodded.
“Do you want to tell me about it?” Scenarios ran through Alyson’s head, and none of them were good.
“Keera picked a song that she knew the moves to, but Mommy, I didn’t like it.” Lyla’s voice was barely a whisper.
Alyson swallowed back the bile that rose in her throat at her daughter’s words. What her daughter meant, and what she was imagining were two different things. Two very different things—they had to be.
“And then Keera wanted to teach us the moves, but I didn’t want to. Katy did though, and then Keera wanted to play a game. Where we’re blindfolded, and we have to guess what she was writing on our skin with a feather.”
Okay, that wasn’t so bad. She remembered playing that when she was young. They would write words on a palm or on the back, and it was all so very innocent.
“But you didn’t want to play that?”
Lyla shook her head. She shifted in her seat and gave Alyson a look that broke her heart. “So I went to sleep. I put my headphones in and listened to music and fell asleep before everyone else.”
“Why didn’t you tell your aunt that you weren’t comfortable?”
“They’re going to be mad at me now,” Lyla said.
“They’re not going to be mad at you, honey. If anything, you should be upset with them. You were there as Katy’s guest. And these are your friends. Friends don’t do things like this to each other. They don’t place each other in uncomfortable situations.” Alyson leaned in and wrapped her arms around Lyla, holding her
Lyla nodded.
“Then how about you tell me what happened, and I’ll try to help you fix it? Okay?”
“Okay.” Lyla whispered. “Keera really likes Brandon, David’s friend, so they wanted to go see what they were doing. I think he sent Keera a text to meet him in David’s room.”
“He . . . they . . . are you kidding me?” Keera is only eleven years old, and Brandon—he was a teenager. Okay, so only a few years apart, but still. The girls were too young for stuff like that. “And Katy went with her?”
Lyla nodded. “Keera wanted him to kiss her.”
“Keera’s too young to want to be kissed.” Alyson couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Tricia must have stopped them . . . she was supposed to keep a close eye on the kids. In fact, she promised something like this would never happen.
“She’s been kissed before.” Lyla said quietly.
“She has?” Kids were growing up way too fast nowadays. Eleven was too young for this stuff. Way too young.
“She said she wanted to know if a boy’s kisses are different than a man’s.”
Alyson’s world stood still.
She did not just hear what she thought she heard. She couldn’t have.
“Is that what she said?”
Lyla nodded.
“No, I need to know her exact wording. Did she say exactly that, Lyla?”
Again, Lyla nodded, but this time Alyson could tell her daughter was a little frightened.
“What man, Lyla? Did she say?”
Lyla’s head shook rapidly. “No. They just giggled, and then left.”
“Did anyone else hear her say this? Was it to the whole group?”
“Just me. They wanted me to come too, but I said no. I didn’t want to get in trouble.”
Alyson closed her eyes. “God help me,” she said under her breath. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Then what happened, honey? What about when they came back? Did Brandon kiss her?” Could it possibly get any worse than it already was? Did her sister know? Did she realize what happened in her own house? And what did Keera mean exactly?
She knew what Keera could have meant, but she prayed to God she was overreacting.
“We started to watch some videos on the computer. First, it was funny kitten videos, and then we started to watch music videos. We all got to pick our favorite song to watch, and then . . .” Her voice faltered, and Alyson could see her struggle with her words.
“And then? Did you see something you shouldn’t have?”
Lyla nodded.
“Do you want to tell me about it?” Scenarios ran through Alyson’s head, and none of them were good.
“Keera picked a song that she knew the moves to, but Mommy, I didn’t like it.” Lyla’s voice was barely a whisper.
Alyson swallowed back the bile that rose in her throat at her daughter’s words. What her daughter meant, and what she was imagining were two different things. Two very different things—they had to be.
“And then Keera wanted to teach us the moves, but I didn’t want to. Katy did though, and then Keera wanted to play a game. Where we’re blindfolded, and we have to guess what she was writing on our skin with a feather.”
Okay, that wasn’t so bad. She remembered playing that when she was young. They would write words on a palm or on the back, and it was all so very innocent.
“But you didn’t want to play that?”
Lyla shook her head. She shifted in her seat and gave Alyson a look that broke her heart. “So I went to sleep. I put my headphones in and listened to music and fell asleep before everyone else.”
“Why didn’t you tell your aunt that you weren’t comfortable?”
“They’re going to be mad at me now,” Lyla said.
“They’re not going to be mad at you, honey. If anything, you should be upset with them. You were there as Katy’s guest. And these are your friends. Friends don’t do things like this to each other. They don’t place each other in uncomfortable situations.” Alyson leaned in and wrapped her arms around Lyla, holding her
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