Mary lifted Linda Kate out of her seat and headed to the door, which had just rung. She opened the door, ready to grab a package of candy, but her smile dropped as she saw Brit standing there. Drenched in tears and scratches on her face. "Um…are…are you okay?" Brit shook her head as fresh tears dampened her shirt. "Come in. Come in."
Brit limped her way over to the couch. She plopped herself down, wiping her tears. "I'll be right back." Mary carried Linda Kate upstairs and into her bedroom. "Joey, Brit just rang our bell, she's a mess. She's hysterically crying, she's limping, her clothes are a mess, and she has scratches and bruises all over her body. I'm going to talk to her, just stay up here for a little while."
"Okay…" Joey started, completely confused. "Do you want me to stay with Linda Kate?"
"No…" Mary headed for the stairs. "I'll keep her. She always know how to cheer someone up."
"Okay."
Mary climbed down the steps and sat next to Brit, with Linda Kate on her lap. "What happened?"
"My…my boy…boyfriend Jason. He…he…he thought I was cheating on him, but I wasn't. And he slapped me and kicked me. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. He was too strong. Then…I…I tried to leave, but he…he pushed me on the floor. I got up and ran back to the door, but I fell when I hurt my ankle. I don't know what happened then, but the next thing I saw was him, holding a kitchen knife. He gave me different scratches and continued to slap and kick me. I finally escaped and went home, but…but my mom told me I was an idiot and she kicked me out. I don't know where Bree is, so I came here."
"Do you want to go to the hospital?" Mary inquired, with worry in her voice.
Brit shook her head. "No…I just…I don't know where to go."
"Well, you can stay here for now. I'll go get you something to change into. Maybe you should go take a shower. Or a bath, so you don't have to stand and it'll help sooth you. I'll give you some pajamas you can change into and I'll get some medicine to help with the pain. I'll also give you a cast for your ankle. Can you make it upstairs?"
Brit nodded, slowly standing up. Mary helped her up the steps and into the bathroom. She handed her a towel and pair of pajamas. "If you need anything, just give a shout. I'll be next door in my room with Joey."
"Okay. Thank you so much Mary. And I'm completely sorry for everything."
"Don't worry about it." Mary turned on her heels, bringing Linda Kate downstairs as she heard the bell ring. She grabbed a few packets of candy and opened the door. "Trick or Treat!"
"Trick or treat." A teenage girl laughed. She was with a group of teenage guys and two other girls. Mary knew the girls from school, which she unfortunately wouldn't be attending. Her dream college would have to wait. "That's why you aren't in school. You had a baby."
"Yeah, I'm going through a lot right now." Mary avoided making eye contact during the awkward moment.
"Is that Joey's baby?"
"Um…yeah." Mary agreed, unconvincingly.
"So whose is it?"
"That's none of your business." Mary raised her voice, with a hint of annoyance.
"That's because you don't…"
"I was raped!" Mary whispered in a low, almost husky voice, hating to admit it. "Are you happy now? You found out my deep dark secret. You can go to school and tell everyone now."
The group of teenagers left without another word. Mary closed the door shut and sat on the couch. She glanced at the clock that read ten. She smiled at Linda Kate, before walking upstairs to the nursery room. She laid Linda Kate on the changing table and slid her costume off. She then put her in a Halloween stretchy and walked into their bedroom. "Can you take her, for a minute? I'm going to change so I can feed her comfortably."
Joey nodded, cuddling Linda Kate in his arms. He talked to her in a cheery voice, making her laugh, while Mary changed into nursing pajamas. Mary pulled her shirt down, sat on the bed, rested Linda Kate against her chest, and covered herself up with a blanket. She smiled as Brit walked into the room. "I'm sorry, I've been so distracted with everything, I forgot to tell you, she's adorable. The cutest baby I've ever seen. What's her name?"
"Linda Kate and thanks."
"How old is she?"
"A month." Mary replied. "She was born the first."
"You must make an amazing Mother."
"Thanks. I use to have a great role model." Mary said in a low voice. "I'll get you some medicine and the cast, once she's done eating. And, I'll go get your stuff, tomorrow. I don't want you going back there. You can stay in the guestroom. We have like three guest rooms." Mary leaned back against the headboard of the bed and crossed her legs.
"Thank you so much. Linda Kate is very lucky. Her parents are amazing."
Mary exchanged looks with Joey. "Brit, maybe you should know. I was actually ra…raped."
Brit paused at her words. She stared at Mary with an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry."
"It's ok. I'm coping with it. With Joey and Linda Kate, my life is perfect." She watched as Linda Kate pulled away from her chest. She handed her to Joey, to be burped. She cleaned herself up and pulled her shirt up. She handed the blanket to Joey, to lean on his shoulder. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go get you some medicine, and we'll put the thing on tomorrow, you're not supposed to wear it to sleep. You can go in the room, next to ours. That's wear you'll stay."
Brit limped into her bedroom and sat down on the bed. She looked around, observing everything. She watched as Mary soon came in holding a glass of water and a bottle of Motrin. She handed Brit the glass of water and one pill. "Get some rest. And if you hear her crying at night, just stay in bed. If you need anything at all just give a shout. We're right next door. Don't worry about waking us up."
"Ok, thank you, again. Goodnight."
"Night."
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