It had only happened a few months ago. The twins were brand new and Andrea had suggested that Callie and Tara come and hang out at their place so that Pete and Mimi could have some time alone with the babies.

‘You two can swim in our complex’s pool,’ Andrea had said.

Callie had been keen, excited. She liked spending time with Andrea, and their harbourside apartment was amazing.

The problem came when Callie was done with the pool and had headed upstairs to change. Tara wanted to keep swimming so Andrea had stayed with her.

Callie hadn’t been concerned when her uncle Tony had followed her into the spare bedroom. She’d thought he must have needed to grab something and that then he would leave her to change. But instead he’d closed the door behind him and stood staring at her without saying a word. Long enough that she started to feel uncomfortable.

And then he moved towards her. Instinctively, she stepped backwards.

‘Don’t be scared,’ he said. ‘It’s just me.’

‘Uncle Tony,’ she said. ‘What are you . . . what are you doing?’

‘I think you know what I’m doing.’ He stepped right in close and the back of her legs hit the bed behind her. She tried to move around him, but he put his hands on her upper arms. ‘I’ve seen the way you look at me,’ he said.

She shook her head, bewildered. ‘No, I don’t look at you like anything . . . I don’t mean to . . .’

He shoved her back onto the bed. ‘Yes, you do,’ he said as he climbed on top of her. ‘So I’m going to give you exactly what you want right now.’

That was when she started to cry, when she started to fight. ‘Don’t! Please! Get off me.’

Then there was the bang of the front door of the apartment and he sprung away from her. Before he left the room, he leaned in quickly and whispered, ‘Keep your mouth shut if you don’t want everyone to know you’re a slut.’ And then he was gone.

Callie was left alone in the spare bedroom, her pulse racing and her chest hurting as she struggled to slow her breathing.

She couldn’t understand it. This was her uncle. Why would he touch her that way? What had she done wrong?

She was left with one certain thought: this was her fault. She must have led him on somehow. Was it the way she acted? The way she spoke? The way she dressed? Dammit, why had she worn that stupid bikini instead of a one-piece today? She had to do better, she had to be more careful.

From then on, she made sure she was never again left alone with Tony.