Page 95 of Among the Innocent

“He’s lost a lot of blood,” one of the paramedics told her. “We need to get him to the hospital right away.”

She stood beside Ethan as they took him out. “You’re going to be okay. I’ll stop by soon to see you.”

Sam was still standing guard over Aaron while a distraught Marge watched near the door.

Leah touched Marge’s shoulder. The woman who had been her mother looked at her through tear-filled eyes.

“You’re mine, Leah,” Aaron rasped at her. “You’ll never belong to him or any other man. You’re mine. Do you hear me? You’re mine.”

“Go with him to the hospital,” Leah told Sam without looking at Aaron. The man who had been a monster in her memories was no more.

Aaron continued to scream and thrash around as he was wheeled away.

Leah put her arm around her mother. “We’re going to transport him to the hospital. As soon as he’s able to talk, I’ll question him. I want you to come with me.” There was no way she would leave Marge alone in her current state. As much as Leah dreaded having to do it, Marge would need to be questioned about the shooting. But first, she had to make sure Dalton was okay.

Marge leaned heavily against Leah as they left the house. She seemed emotionally drained, maybe from the years of living with her secret. Leah helped Marge into the cruiser and drove toward the hospital while struggling to come to terms with everything that had just transpired.

“I’m so sorry, baby girl,” Marge murmured in a broken voice. “I had no idea he was the one who did that to your family. Ellis toldme it was that Amish boy, but he said that Aaron needed help and he’d taken him someplace to get it. I didn’t know.” She sobbed.

Leah reached for her hand. “Ellis was trying to protect you.”

The stricken woman shook her head. “I wish he hadn’t. I know he was looking out for me, and he knew how much I loved my boy, but look how much pain it caused.”

“Can you tell me what happened? Were you once Amish?” Leah knew the answer already but she wanted to hear her mother’s side of the story.

Marge managed a faint smile. “I was. For the longest time, I couldn’t imagine any other way of life.”

Leah had felt the same way until that night. “Ellis isn’t Aaron’s father, is he?”

Marge appeared embarrassed. “No, he isn’t.” She was quiet for a moment, as if trying to remember. “I grew up in a small Amish community in Wyoming. There were only a handful of families living there. I loved being Amish so much I never wanted to leave my home and family. Even while on my rumspringa, I knew I would return to my Plain faith. And even though I didn’t find someone to marry me, I was okay. I loved being with my parents.”

Leah sensed something traumatic had happened to Marge. She squeezed her mom’s hand. “You can tell me anything.”

Tears fell from Marge’s eyes. “I was ... raped.”

Nothing prepared Leah for hearing this. “Oh, Marge, I’m so sorry.”

Her mother frowned as if she were struggling to pull out the rest of the story. “I was walking home from the store, yes that’s what happened. A man in a car stopped to ask directions. He grabbed me and dragged me into the woods.” She wiped her face. “When it was over, he left. I lay there for the longest time,not sure what to do. Then I got up and did my best to gather my torn clothes. The bag of groceries was still there where I’d dropped them. And so, I walked home.”

She couldn’t imagine how frightened Marge had been. “Did you tell your parents what happened?”

“Oh no. I was too embarrassed, so I told them I’d fallen. I cleaned myself up and thought that would be it, but it wasn’t.”

“You found out you were pregnant.”

“Jah. At that point, I’d given up on marriage. I believed I would live out the rest of my days at my parents’ home.” Marge pulled in a labored breath. “I knew I had to tell them. When I did, it went as badly as I expected.” The strain of how horrific it had been for her was reflected on her face.

“They didn’t believe you.”

“Mamm did. Daed did not. He told me I brought shame to the family.” She looked over at Leah. “I was shunned, baby girl. The bishop and the church leaders took pity on my parents, but I was banned.” She shuddered at the memory. “I never felt so alone before. Mamm was Mamm.She supported me and helped me prepare for thebobbli, but my daed never forgave me.”

“So you stayed there with your parents?” Leah asked, surprised. Did Marge even realize she’d reverted back to her Amish dialect? They reached the hospital and Leah parked out front. As anxious as she was to find out about Dalton’s condition and get the chance to finally speak to Aaron, she had to know the rest of Marge’s story.

Marge rubbed her forehead as if searching for the answer while Leah continued to pray the answers would come. “Jah, I did. Daed begrudgingly took in my boy and helped raise him. All was fine until he was around ten years old and started displaying some frightening behavior.”

Ten. That number lingered in Leah’s thoughts.

“Such as?” she asked when Marge didn’t speak.

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