Chapter Six: Reunion

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Warning: Contains some nudity. 

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Many days after I had last seen Marty, he showed up again by the side of my house early one morning.

 He told me that he missed me very much and wanted to see me again. His face was covered in dirt and he reeked of sweat and body odor. I tried to invite him into my home to shower and clean his clothing, but he rejected my offer and told me he had to be on his way.

"Thank you, but I must go now. I have some things to do. I will be back and explain things to you again soon! I promise," he said as he started to sprint off.

"I WILL BE WAITING!" I shouted at him as he ran off into the distance.

As the time passed on and the minutes turned into hours, I couldn't help but wonder what to do and if he was actually coming back. He was always disappearing and came back even more dirty and gross than before. How could someone want to live like that? Where did he even eat or sleep?

 Nothing was happening in my life, other than having gained some weight. I had been feeling very self conscious, which for me was strange because I had no reason to feel bad about my weight. It's not like I had friends or family to judge me or anything, plus I was pregnant...

 As I finished my morning routines, I ran a hot bath for myself and tried to relax. Since I found out I was pregnant, I hadn't fully accepted that I was carrying a baby in my womb that someone forced on me without my permission. Even though he wasn't aiming to get me pregnant, either way, conceiving was a possibility.

When I got out of the bath and finished dressing, I began walking into the bedroom. I heard a few stones smack against the glass of the first window in the room. I quickly ran to the window to see what was happening. As I looked outside, lo and behold, Marty was there at foot of the house.

 We stared at each other; our eyes locked as we gazed through the sun-glared window glass. My eyes wandered and focused on his left hand, which glowed a brilliant red and charred brown in the sunlight. He saw me staring at his hand and he called out to me. I heard his muffled cries through the glass and I smiled and we met each other outside near the back of the house.

And he proceeded to tell me a story of a woman and her child...

 "There once was a young woman who had a son, a boy only two years old. They lived in an old house with the father of her son, but their lives were miserable because of that man. He was constantly threatening them because he enjoyed seeing the fear in her eyes," Marty began his story.

 "The young woman, Darla, was just a teenager when she was persuaded by him to leave her home and stay with him. Soon after, she found out that she was expecting a child. She was more than excited to be having a baby, but she was frightened that her baby wouldn't have a good life if she stayed there with the man.

No matter how hard she tried to think of ways to escape, the man was always one step ahead of her and soon she fell into his trap and became his slave," Marty continued.

 "What was this man's name?" I asked.

"The man, Martin, was strong and manipulative. He loved to make people quake in fear and laughed at their pain," Marty answered.

"Martin... Maybe that's his dad? I mean I doubt it's a coincidence that he is telling me a story about a guy named Martin and his name happens to be Marty. This has to be about his family!" I thought to myself.

 "Why was she never able to escape?" I asked Marty.

"She was always more concerned about her son's well being and wanted to protect him no matter what. If she tried to escape and failed, she would lose her son for sure, which was something she couldn't handle," Marty replied.

 "One day, Darla had woken up late and forgot to cook dinner for Martin. When he came home and saw her with their son and not making food for him, he freaked out and pulled out a gun. He shouted at her and demanded that she get to work right away.

'Take the child into the bedroom and get to making dinner now!' Martin exclaimed as he held the gun to her head," Marty said.

"Darla did as she was told and took her precious son to the bedroom. She didn't want anything to happen to him and she prayed that she would be able to rid her life of Martin all together as soon as possible," Marty continued to say.

"However, because she stood up for her son and tried to put a stop to Martin for once, she ended up cursing herself and sealing her fate," Marty stated, "She was doomed."

Marty paused for awhile and sat with me against a log in the back of the woods behind the house. We were relaxing in the nude in the sunlight under the shade of a pine tree.

 As I sat next to him with his cool skin against my breasts, I felt the scar on his left hand moving and flickering like the flame on a candle. He was depressed and upset. He wanted to tell me the whole story, but at that time, he wasn't able to continue. I guessed something tragic happened to his mother and he just isn't ready to talk about it.

 I encouraged Marty to lay on the grass with me for awhile. He laid me down on the cool, dry grass and laid down beside me with his arm behind my head.

 "I wish that you would stay with me forever in this place. I lo-," he tried to whisper to me.

 He sat up and looked into my eyes and whispered, "I loo-ve you."

Surprised, I looked at him and said, "I love you."

He asked me to come over to an old bench over by the lake.

 We sat down on the old rickety wooden bench and he leaned into me, breathing deeply. I could sense he was in pain. In the corner of my eye, I could see his left hand flaming with a bloody color and began to creep closer to his elbow. He was aching and almost in tears, but he still stayed by my side. He wrapped his hand around my back and held me close to him.

And as he kissed me, I felt a sudden thud in my heart, a sharp pain traveled in my chest and I saw a vision of his past...

His mother with the same scar on her left hand, glowing and flaming like bubbling blood...

Chapter Five: Confessions

One day around 9 in the morning, I was feeling lonely and decided to look through my phone list and call someone to come over to visit. I hoped that at least one of my friends or maybe my mom or sister would like to come over and visit me.

I looked through my phone and at my text messages, trying to remember who I had talked to recently, but the list was short, Mom, Sis, Natasha, Dad, Brother...

It was kinda pathetic how lousy my connection with people in my life was. I wanted more friends, but I was too shy to approach people in public and I tended to stay away from the limelight. I wanted to fit in so bad that I ended up further back than before. Overall, I guess, I just got over it, however, secretly hoped to make a friend at some point.

I called Natasha, my old high school friend, hoping that she would like to come over or maybe go out for lunch and catch up. We kept in contact every so often, but it wasn't as often as I had liked. When I called her, it went straight to voicemail...

I called my mom next and the phone began to ring. I got really excited that it actually was ringing this time.

"Hello?" my mom said.

"Hey mom, it's Veronica. I was wondering if you'd like to come over for a visit!" I said excitedly.

"Oh hey, sure darling, I'll come over at 11, okay?" she replied.

"SURE! I will be here! See ya then!" I said with a smile.

"Bye, see you then. Love you," she said with happiness in her voice.

"Love you too mom!" I replied.

As I waited for my mom to come by, I decided I should get some breakfast.

I was feeling mildly queasy from time to time, so I tried to keep my diet to just low calorie foods and light filling soups. I thought I must have had a slight flu bug or maybe a virus or something. I didn't really think much of it at the time.

By the time I had finished sitting down for a meal and cleaning up, I heard a knock at the door. It had to be mom!

Lo and behold, it was my mom! I was thrilled that she actually came over! It had been months since I saw her. She had been so busy with her new job as an artist for the local magazine that she hasn't had much free time, but I was able to catch her on her day off!

"Veronica! I missed you so much! I'm glad I was able to come over today!" she said as she hugged me tightly.

"Mom I have missed you too! So much has happened lately... I really need to talk to you though," I said anxiously. The mood of the happy reunion changed suddenly. I didn't want it to turn out this way so quickly, but I really needed to talk to my mom about what had happened.

"What's wrong, Erin?" my mom sighed as she stared deeply into my eyes with concern.

"I got robbed not long ago, I guess about two months ago. I'm fine, but they never did find the man who did it," I replied.

My mom's face went from concerned to sad within moments of what I said. She was scared for me, I could see it in her eyes. 

"Are you okay? Like he didn't do something else, did he? Please tell me if he did," she begged me to tell her.

"Mom, don't worry... I'm fine! I promise!" I lied.

"I swear, if something like that happens again, you will be the first to know, I was scared before and didn't want to upset you. I mean it did happen right after I moved in. BUT it hasn't happened since and nothing is going to happen to me," I comforted my mom.

"Hunny, if you EVER need anything you can tell me! Remember that okay?" she said to me with her deep orange-red eyes.

"I know mom, I will," I said as I tried to reassure her I was fine.

"Now, is there anything else you need to tell me? I know you are hiding something. I am your mother, you know!" she said.

"Um, there might be, but I don't know," I hesitated.

"Honey, you can tell me anything! I know we haven't really been close since you graduated high school, but you are a young lady and you are still my baby girl! I am here for you whenever and whatever the circumstances be! Okay?" she said as she tried to reassure me.

"I love you, Veronica! You know, I was just like you at your age! I wanted to marry Pay and get away from my mom right after I graduated high school. I didn't think for a second. I also left my younger sisters and brother at home with my mom and moved away. So I do understand how you are feeling about all this. But I know there is something much deeper going on with you and I'm here to listen," she stated.

"Well, I like this guy, but he can't be with me right now and then there was this other guy before who was just there for a short time and he hurt me badly," I said with as straight a face as I could make. I knew I was lying to my mom, but I couldn't tell her I was taken advantage by that robber. It hurt too much to talk about.

My mom grew more concerned as I talked about my problems to her. She tried to keep a straight face, but her face was dripping with emotion. I could feel her wanting to comfort me and protect me. She just wanted her little girl to never have to see that pain again, however, she knew I had to face this myself as a grown woman.

"Oh darling, I am so sorry! You have had it so rough with guys right off the bat! But, don't worry, I am sure that the guy who hurt you will learn to regret his mistake and the one who can't be with you right now, I hope he sees how wonderful you are!" she said as she put her hand on my shoulder.

"Mom, is it weird for a guy to keep his distance and to say he will tell me all about himself when it's the right time?" I asked.

"No way, it's not weird. In fact, that's normal. I know I brought your father to life from a doll, but he is just as much a man as any other. Actually, he had thoughts many times of not being my girlfriend and being my friend instead, but I wanted to badly to marry him. I didn't want to deal with having a dating relationship or having other boyfriends. I guess you could say it was the easy way out. Me and your father get along just fine and we love each other, but we could be closer...," she explained.

"Do you think you and dad will stay together forever?" I asked.

"It's most likely, but sometimes I wish we had spent more time together as a couple, before we had kids, before we got a house. But after your grandfather died, everything changed. Mom wasn't the same and we had to grow up pretty fast. Your dad is my true love and we are going to stay by each other's side one way or another," she said.

"Just promise me one thing," my mom said with a frown.

"What is it mom?" I asked with a concerned face.

"If you find that one you know is for you, stay with him, take it slow, don't let the relationship turn into a stale, but comfortable life. I don't wanta see you suffer or regret anything. I know it might happen, but at least you'd be in a better position that way," she replied.

"I promise mom, I will build a relationship the way it feels right, but the right way," I smiled.

"Oh great!" she said with excitement.

Suddenly I began to feel sick. My stomach started to churn and ache. 

"Mom, I feel sick again. I don't know why I keep having nausea and stomach aches. Do you know?" I asked as I held my stomach.

"You are probably pregnant Veronica," my mom said anxiously.

Chapter Four: Attractions

One morning I woke up early and decided to go for a walk, however, as I stepped outside my door, I heard snoring. I thought it must be an animal or something sleeping near the side of the house, so I decided to approach the noise.

As I walked closer to the noise, I saw a shoe sticking out from behind the column next to the house. I recognized the shoe and realized it had to be Marty!

My heart began to flutter as I thought about him and how I wanted to talk to him again. I hoped that he would talk to me and spend time with me today.

I decided to walk up to him and see if he was waiting for me.

I had to be quiet, so I crept around the column as I was afraid to startle him when he was sleeping.

He was sleeping leaned against the stone foundation of the column. I figured he had waited all night for me and ended up falling asleep right there beside the house. Poor fella was always having to sleep outside. I didn't understand why, but maybe someday he would explain why.

I was afraid to wake him up because he might have thought I was a strange person for staring at him while he was asleep. I guess I was just too nervous to do anything, so I just sat by him and stared for a few minutes.

As I sat there staring at him, my desires for him grew stronger with every second.

I couldn't help myself and felt the need to wake him up with a kiss. It was beyond me, but I couldn't stop thinking about him.

He suddenly woke up and we both moved away from each other. He freaked out and tried to scoot away from me, but he ended up leaning against the stone foundation instead.

"Uh, uh, I'm sorry," I stuttered, "I didn't mean to scare you."

Marty stared at me for a moment and said, "No, you just startled me. I'm fine. But I must ask, why were you staring at me so closely?"

"Uh, um," I started to say as I became embarrassed and began to blush, "Uh."

"Never mind, I think I understand. You don't have to answer that," Marty interrupted.

We stared at each other, awkwardly, before he straightened his back up against the stone and looked at me in the eyes. He grabbed my shoulder and whispered, "I do too."

He pulled me closer to him and our lips met as he held me in his arms. As he and I shared our first kiss, I felt his left hand on my shoulder becoming warm. The sensation began to spread to my right shoulder the longer we kissed. I tried to ignore the warmth on my back, but as soon as we finished kissing, I had to ask.

"Marty, what is wrong with your hand?" I asked as I stared into his eyes.

"Oh you mean the left hand... I'm sorry, did it bother you?" he asked me.

"No, no, I was just curious," I muttered.

We both stood up and he smiled at me. He held my hand and said, "You are beautiful. Some day soon I will tell you more, I know you are curious about who I am. Don't worry, I want to be with you too. Just you wait, it will be worth the wait."