Trying Not To Love You

Part Thirty Nine

Chapter Thirty Nine

Martha never realised that Aunt Lucy could be so understanding. Once she recovered from her breakdown the two women, sat on a bench at the side of the yard, Lucy’s arm around her shoulder.

                “Sonny told me when I got back, though I’m not exactly surprised.”

Martha looked up at her, “about Ethan? You’re not?”

Lucy shook her head, “that night, I only hear what other’s told me, but...you disappeared, it was months until we heard from you, and longer until we actually saw you again.” She stroked Martha’s head, “I wondered if he’d beaten you, hurt you...I don’t know, that you wouldn’t come back to us until you were recovered...But then you never came back, not really, and I wondered if you were hiding something, maybe a baby - it did enter my head, but I didn’t think realistically you could keep it from us.”

She looked up at her wise aunt and sighed, “it’s been hard.”

Lucy looked stern, “but it wasn’t just that, he hurt you too. I can tell. Why else would you be SO scared?”

                “Don’t tell Dad Aunty, I really don’t want him to know that. At first I was scared, about coming home, but that settled, I’m not scared of him hurting me again, not really. I only stayed away to protect Ethan, imagine if he knew about him.”

Lucy stroked her hair again, “he’s a lovely boy. You’ve done well.”

Giving a watery smile, she leaned on her shoulder, “I just hope Dad forgives me.”

                “He’s an emotional man Martha, he’ll be angry, upset, guilty, you name it, but he’ll come around, I know him.”

                “And you?”

She smiled, “I understand what fear does, you look more relaxed than I’ve seen you in years today. Either a weekend alone with our lodger was just what the doctor ordered,” Martha hid her face not wanting to even think of that at the moment. “Or coming clean has been quite cathartic.”

Instead of facing her aunt, she nodded into her shoulder.

Sonny was confused, Lucy had walked in and he’d told her, he had no qualms about explaining how there came to be a really cute boy in their lounge. What he didn’t expect was that boy to disappear into the lounge with Carl when he arrived back without so much as a word.

Turning he looked out the window, sat on the bench body shaking with anguish was Martha, Lucy comforting her.

Carl hadn’t understood, hadn’t realised all that she’d been through.  As he made to storm into the lounge to confront the man, he paused. He’d been angry himself when he found out, he’d wanted to punish her, it wasn’t until he thought about it, saw her side that he understood, really realised. And he’d only known her six months.

Instead of doing the impulsive thing with her father, he opened the back door, and stepped outside.  Martha looked up her face ravaged by tears, “you said he’d understand. You told me to do this.”

He held out his hands and pulled her to her feet, wrapping his arms tightly around her, and Martha gave up the fight falling in to him.

Lucy stood and studied them for a moment, when she raised a questioning eyebrow; Sonny stopped whispering words of support into Martha’s hair and gave her a discreet shake of the head, “don’t ask”. With wide eyes, the wise woman headed into the house.