The next morning, Eric went downstairs and waited for Mary to come down as well. He sat at the wooden kitchen table and stared into it, examining the grain as he was deep in thought. He knew that he should at least attempt to do something to help Wilson, but he wasn't quite sure what. Before he decided on a famous "Reverend Camden Plan of Action", Mary moseyed down the stairs and greeted her father cordially.

"I hope you're not mad about last night," Mary said. "I don't know why he was in there really."

"What did you make of it though?"

Mary shrugged her shoulder. "I don't know. I thought it was sweet."

"Did he seem OK to you? You know, like his normal self?"

"I guess so, I was half asleep though." Mary looked at her father questioningly. "Why? What do you know?"

"I don't know anything, that's why I'm talking to you."

"What, did you think he was acting funny?"

"Maybe."

"Dad, tell me the truth," Mary said seriously. "What do you think is wrong with him?"

"He seemed a little depressed to me last night…but maybe he was just tired."

"Depressed?" Mary said aloud. "You know, he could be. He's been through a lot. Maybe it's finally catching up with him. Don't worry, I'll talk to him- try and cheer him up."

Mary left her father alone in the kitchen, forgetting completely that she came downstairs for some breakfast. She went straight up to Wilson's room and sat down on his bed. He was just waking up, and Mary lied down next to him. She put her hand on his chest and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Good morning," he said after a couple of minutes.

"You're not feeling overwhelmed or something, are you?"

"No, not really. Why?"

"Sad maybe?" Mary asked pressing onward.

"No, I'm fine. And right now, I'm happy because you're here next to me."

Something about Wilson's response didn't seem right to Mary. What her father said really stuck in her head, and she was almost convinced that he was emotionally troubled.

"I want to go out somewhere today."

"Tonight or today?"

Mary smiled warmly. "Today."

"OK," Wilson said, "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. Anything you want to do?"

"Not in particular." Wilson thought for a second of where he could take her for a couple of hours. "We could go walk around the promenade."

"That sounds nice," Mary said kissing his cheek. "I love you. Are you sure you're OK though?"

"Why? Do you think that something is wrong with me?"

"You just seem a little down."

Wilson ran his fingers through Mary's hair. "I'm really am fine."

"OK," Mary said only slightly more convinced that Wilson was as "fine" as he claimed to be.

Nearly four hours later, Mary and Wilson found themselves strolling down the sidewalk in the GlenOak promenade. They were holding hands, like the young lovebirds they were, and quietly making light conversation. The day would have been perfect, aside from the fact that they were continually getting unwelcome glances everywhere they went. They both noticed this and decided to sit for a few seconds before leaving. The couple plopped down in a bench with an adjacent bench directly behind it.

Mary leaned her head on Wilson's shoulder as the two of them sat together. Wilson put his hand on Mary's stomach and smiled at her. Mary smiled back, a little embarrassed that Wilson touched her body in public. She looked Wilson in the eye, her boyfriend of nearly six months- over a year if you don't count the little break they took, and Mary usually didn't. Even though they weren't together, Mary still had strong feelings for Wilson and vice versa.

A group of people Mary vaguely recognized sat down in the bench behind her and Wilson. At first, she didn't pay them much attention because she was too wrapped up in Wilson. However, when Mary heard her name being mentioned, she listened intently to the other people's conversation.

"Do you know them?" Wilson mouthed, as he himself had heard them utter the name of his beloved.

Mary shook her head and continued to listen in.

"Did you hear she's pregnant and dropped out of school?" one of them said.

"Yeah, but I heard she was raped and beaten. She was too scared to do anything but have the baby," another one said.

"Well someone told me that she was arrested for prostitution. It's so sad," said the third voice.

"Yeah," said the other two in unison.

Mary's whole body tensed up. She was truly hurt by what they were saying about her. "Whoever said 'sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me' wasn't very smart," Mary thought to herself. She looked up straight into Wilson's eyes and he could clearly see that she was upset.

"Let's go, OK?" Mary said.

Wilson kissed the top of Mary's head and helped her up out of the bench. They walked to the car silently. Mary had her arms crossed tightly over her chest, disturbed by the way everything was turning out. The two of them walked over to where Wilson's car was parked and got in.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Wilson asked Mary.

"Not really," she responded quickly.

"I'm sorry that happened to you."

Mary gazed out the window, watching the cars pass by on the street next to them. "Me too."

(A/N: I know this chapter is kind of short, but I have a slight case of writer's block at the moment, and I didn't want to wait as long as I did before between updates. I hope everyone likes it anyways. Please don't forget to review!)