Excerpt

They’re Always With You

Chapter One
Who is Daniel?
Secrets.  Every family has them and mine is no exception.
They stay fiercely trapped within the walls of our house, as much a part of it as the plaster, wood, and nails.  They’re seen in the looks and eye contact which make the rounds to everyone in the room but me.  They’re found in the whispers late at night as I lay in bed trying to make sense of the jumbled words that float into my ears.
A name, Daniel, hovers in the air.  The voices downstairs lower and soon there is silence.  As the silence swells; it surrounds me.  I pull the blanket around my arms and shoulders.  The name Daniel lingers until its very presence hurts.  I wrap the blanket even tighter.  Who is Daniel thunders in my brain.  I’ll find out if it’s the last thing I do.

It Starts With a Lie

Chapter One

No More Secrets

I really didn’t mean to do it but once it happened i couldn’t undo it.  i thought it was over but it sure wasn’t.

i couldn’t tell my mom, dad, Gramps, or even Aunt Florence.  Worst of all, I couldn’t tell Sally, my best friend since first grade.  Sally and i took a pledge three years ago in sixth grade that we would never, ever have secrets from each other.

My mom always said that the more you lie,  the more you have to lie.  in this case, it was true because I just had to pretend everything was great and fine when it wasn’t.  What was I going to do?