My dad said he did not want me joining so many activities in the next year. My mom didn't want me to join any. They both insisted I must buckle down and start to get serious about my school work.

I thought maybe they were right. I should study harder. We made it through the summer and another assembly. My mom was kind of half-hearted about it. She never said anything against the "truth" and still believed it was, but she pretty much stopped going to meetings and "field service".

My sister was on "reproof" along with two other friends of hers in the congregation for experimenting with "lesbian fornication". What's worse, I was the one who dropped the dime on them. They did this at a sleep over. They were talking about all the cute boys they knew at school and what they wanted to do to them. I was tired and went to sleep. I woke up sometime in the night and noticed what they were doing. I pretended to be asleep. I asked them in the morning what they were doing. They told me. My mom and Sister Ortez heard everything. They asked me what went on. After much pressure from them, I told them what I saw. I also was made to tell that to the elders. Fortunately, my sister was never really caught up into the religion. She really hated it and was looking for any excuse to leave.

My mom pretty much started to become more "worldly" at that point. So did a bunch of other sisters I knew growing up. I guess around 1981 there was a growing group of disgruntled Witnesses. They still believed it was the "truth" at some level, so they wouldn't leave, but they just really weren't into it anymore.

This made my dad happy. We were home more and could spend more time together as a family. We even went to a family reunion in New York that summer. I thought things were going great. Nothing happened between me and Mr Ortez since the summer before eighth grade and I thought maybe that was the last of that. I was wrong.

Since my sister and I were getting too old for babysitters, during summer vacation we would stay at home. One day, my sister was going to the library to meet some friends and I was at home alone. Mr Ortez came to the door. I opened the door to see what he wanted. He said that his wife left her hat over and he needed to pick it up. That was true. She did leave her hat. So as I turned my back to go and get her hat, he came into the house and forced himself on me. I had to fight him off and literally shove him out the door. He tried to rape me. I was afraid of him. As I closed the door, I made sure I used the bolt, too. I could hear him outside saying, "You'd better not tell anyone. You know what will happen if you do. I will kill you and your family. I will get your sister, too."

I was relieved that I actually fought back. I didn't know I had it in me. I was stunned. I thought if I could do that, he would never hurt me again. I didn't tell anyone though. I was very protective of my sister. If he ever laid a finger on her, I would have to kill him.