Shattered

Marty had stayed in her loft bedroom for four days. She was recovering from being brutally raped. When Dr. Larry and Merrie came to check on her, she told them she was sick. She couldn't admit the ugly truth - that she had been violated by some awful brute in the woods.

*It's my fault!* she thought. *I should have stayed out of the woods. I should have stayed home that night. I shouldn't have gone to Todd. I am to blame for this awful thing!*

When she returned to school, Marty wasn't the same girl. Her body had healed, but her soul was incredibly fragile. She was hurting deeply although no one could see her scars.

Surprisingly, she discovered that Todd was in school. Her eyes did not seek his. She sat quietly and kept to herself.

She couldn't look at him, although he kept stealing glances her way. She couldn't marry him now... not ever. She felt dirty and soiled. Her life was over. It was totally ruined. She would never be a wife to Todd as she had always planned. The life they had planned to share together was tainted. She could never be with a man now... after what had happened.

When the school bell rang, Marty ran out, hurrying off down the pathway toward home. She didn't want to face Todd or talk to him. She didn't want to see or talk to anyone.

Days passed and her grades were failing. She had no interest in school. Marty wasn't herself anymore. It was as if she had lost her zest for life.

Todd didn't understand why Marty refused to speak to him. The only conclusion he could come to was that her baffling behavior had something to do with him. He had been too afraid to tell anyone about Peter's abuse, including his uncle hitting Barbara. Todd knew that what Peter was doing to him and his aunt was terribly wrong, yet he knew that if he told someone, he might be sent back on the train to Boston. He didn't want to be taken away from Marty; they belonged together.

After a few days of trying to decide what to do, Todd walked to Marty's house with a bunch of flowers in his hand. He just had to see her and talk to her. He had to make things right. He had to tell her his reasons and he hoped she would understand.

Marty lay on her bed in her loft. She was fully certain that she'd never marry Todd as they had planned to one day. No man would ever touch her again. It was dirty, evil and vile. As much as she tried to forget that awful incident in the woods, she couldn't. It was haunting her day and night.

Todd arrived at Marty's house. He knocked upon the door. He waited impatiently for someone to answer. He was holding the flowers and feeling hopeful. He just had to make Marty realize how much he loved her.

After a few moments, Dr. Larry came to the door. He gave Todd a smile when he noticed the bouquet of wildflowers that Todd had gathered for Marty. "Hello, Dr. Larry," Todd said a bit sheepishly. "I was uhhh... wondering if maybe I could talk to Marty."

"Come in, son," Dr. Larry said as he moved aside and let Todd enter the cottage. He noticed Dr. Larry's wife, Merrie sitting in a chair by the fireplace, reading to little Danny. "It's good to see you, Todd. Of course you can go on up to see Marty. She'll probably enjoy the company. You see, she hasn't been feeling well for several days now... and well, I was just wondering, do you know if anything might be troubling her?

Todd shrugged. He couldn't say the horrible truth - that Peter Manning, his uncle had been abusing him. He couldn't tell Dr. Larry about the beatings that both himself and his Aunt Barbara had suffered at the evil man's hands. As much as he wanted to scream out the ugliness of the abuse, he had to keep quiet, even though Marty had been urging him to tell. She was probably furious at him. She most likely thought he was a coward, but he wasn't. He was only doing what he thought was best. He didn't want to be sent to the orphanage in Boston. Plus he was afraid of his uncle and what he might do if he ever admitted the truth. Peter had threatened he'd kill Todd if he ever told anyone, so Todd had stayed silent.

"I don't know," Todd said, knowing it was a lie.

He found Marty in her room, lying on the bed when he climbed up to the loft. She was supposed to be reading from her lesson book, but she couldn't concentrate on her studies. Her grades had been suffering, ever since the attack. All she could think about was the rape and how it had effected her life.

When she saw Todd standing there, she became hysterical. "What are you doing here?" she cried.

"Marty, I came to talk to you. These are for you." With a slight smile, he held out the colorful bouquet of sweet-smelling wildflowers as a peace offering. To his sadness and dismay, Marty turned away and the beautiful flowers fell to the ground. She refused to take the flowers as tears stained her cheeks.

"GET OUT, Todd," she said firmly. "I have nothing to say."

"But, Marty..." The pain in his eyes showed that he was baffled and heartbroken.

He was devastated when she said, "I was wrong, Todd... about us. We will never get married one day. We can never be together. It's over. You and me."

"No. You can't mean it..."

"I do mean it. Now GET OUT!"

With pain in his eyes, he walked back down the ladder with a shattered heart. He left the cottage and hurried into the woods as fast as his legs could carry him. There he screamed loudly. "NO!" echoed through the trees, but she could not hear his cry. All she could hear was her own painful sobs as they tore from her chest.