"Scout, open your mouth, dear." Calpurnia said, as she held a spoonful of soup in front of the girl's mouth.
"I'm tired of soup!" Scout defiantly shouted back.
"Well, for now, it's all you and your brother can eat. It's all I'm cooking until you get better. "
"Darn! What about some crackling bread?"
"Maybe tomorrow. Now, please, eat your soup."
Scout let Calpurnia spoon feed her, despite the sense of unneeded dependence.
Scout pulled up her sheets with her good arm, her right, and saw a gruesome sight on her bed.
Blood. And a lot of it.
"Cal?" She questioned after she ate her last spoonful of soup. "Is that mine?"
Calpurnia lifted herself from the bed and saw the same sight and her eyes widened with fear.
"I think so, honey." Cal was panicked, not remembering if she had explained monthlies to Scout.
She's too young.. No, this can't be happening.
"Have you had any headaches?"
"Nome. No stomachaches either. Just my arm. I don't understand because I don't feel much of anything."
The blood didn't continue to flow, Cal could tell because the color of Scout's sheets was turning darker.
"Did that man touch you, Scout? "
Scout's heart skipped a beat, remembering that night a few days earlier and was brought to tears.
"It hurt, Cal! It hurt! That's all I know!"
"Oh, baby! What are we going to do? "
It was then that they heard footsteps.
Doctor Reynolds was stopping by for his daily visit, so Calpurnia knew that things would get taken care of soon.
"Good afternoon, Scout! Good afternoon, Cal. How are things going?"
"I don't know, doctor. Come take a look at her." Calpurnia moved and made room for the doctor, who checked Scout's vitals.
"Well, it all seems good. I'll change her cast and... "
He stopped. And then, he stared.
"And, I'll call Atticus. There could he something mighty wrong. She's too young, Cal. Does she know that?"
"Yes, I think so, sir. I don't think it's that. It might be something else, down there, maybe.."
"Maybe I was right the other night. I thought my theory was debunked. " He said, as he approached the doorway.
"Right about what, doctor?"
"About Scout.. Being molested. Did you know about that? "
Cal turned her head, "Well, I wondered about that. Call Atticus for me, please."
"I need to determine Scout's condition first, unless you want to do that."
"That's fine by me, but promise, please, you won't hurt her."
"Of course not!" With that notion, Calpurnia walked out the door and called Atticus, almost sobbing.
"Jem won't wake up and there's something wrong with Scout! Yes, sir, please! Hurry! Hurry!"
Atticus arrived home in minutes and anxiously waited outside the door for the doctor.
When the door opened, he ran to his daughter's bedside and grasped her hand.
"What's wrong, doctor? "
"She has some internal damage, Atticus. She won't ever be able to have children.. And she'll probably be psychologically damaged as well."
Atticus sighed, "I knew the last part already. Does this mean our theory was true?"
"Yes. To a tee. Well, I gave her a new cast. We'll see how she gets through these next few days, all right?"
"Yes, doctor."
Scout looked at her father and trembled. "Atticus, what did he do to me? "
"Something horrible, baby. Something horrible he can never take back."
"I still hurt, it's awful! Atticus, I can't stand the pain anymore!"
She was beginning to sob as Jem awoke from his slumber, and was given all of his basic care requirements, including warm soup from Calpurnia.
"Oh, baby, we'll have to wash your sheets. How about we go downstairs and read while we wait."
"Uh huh. " Scout's normally chipper mood declined immediately after the accident, and was replaced by a depressive, quiet demeanor.
Atticus was determined to do whatever he could to give his daughter her happiness back.
Atticus helped his daughter out of bed. He planned on walking her to the living room when she had fallen to the ground, wincing in pain.
"Jem, we'll be back soon, all right?"
"Okay, Atticus! " He called from his bed, and watched as his father carry his weak, tired sister out of the room.
As he stared at the open door they left behind, tears came to his eyes.
How could that man do such a vile thing! Curse him, curse him!
When Atticus and Scout reached the living room, they sat on the couch instead of the normal rocking chair. It gave Scout more room, which she needed with all of her injuries.
She rested her head on her father's shoulder and listened to him read the latest news on the Depression.
Before long, she fell asleep, but Atticus still kept reading aloud.
She woke up before long, screaming again. And Atticus held her close again.
"He's not there, baby, he's not there."
"I just..." Scout muttered, "I just saw him!"
"He's dead, he won't hurt you anymore. I won't let him."
Scout felt his arms around her, and a kiss on her forehead.
"We don't have to worry anymore. We don't have to worry about nothing."
The day went by slower than molasses, as Atticus took off the rest of his work and the children didn't go to school.
By the end of the day, though painfully And with assistance, Jem was able to go up and down the stairway on his own. Scout applauded him as she could, and kept her own sorrows to herself, so her brother could be happy.
When it was time for bed, Atticus moved her cot closer to his bed, and he waited for her to fall asleep before falling asleep himself. He held her small hand and listened to the ticking of the clock.
If she didn't understand rape before, she surely does now. I said I'd keep them from what I could, and I feel that I've failed. I've failed myself , I failed Louise, and I failed the world.. I seem to have been losing in everything lately, both being a lawyer and a parent. I wish I wouldn't let it get my goat.. But it is, and I'm letting it.
The world, to him, seemed to be falling apart right over his head.
Maybe tomorrow, the sky will. Who knows anymore?
His sister had left for home the evening before, and after a phone call during his work in the office, she offered to come back. For the first time, he was grateful for her help.
Maybe she could explain to Scout what had happened to her, and by that, I don't mean the broken arm.
The night was hot, especially for November, and he could barely keep on his covers. He could barely keep his eyes open.
For the first time in years, warmth put Atticus Finch to sleep.
And it wasn't the good kind.