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didn’t say a word about my drinking her blood, for which I was thankful; but still, add that to the yellow eyes and white skin and I would have been running for the hills if I were her. Amazing woman, my mom.
    “Well, after the game I walked home.” No need to get into the humiliating details of how Aidan took out Allison instead of me.
    “I took the, uh, back route.” I looked up at them expecting to be chastised about walking through the woods at night with an attacker at large in the neighborhood, but they were silent.
    “I was almost to the road when some guy stepped out of the shadows and he, he, threw me down.” My mother gasped and reached out to hug me but my father put his arm out to stop her.
    “Go on,” he said.
    “Well, I kneed him and fought but he held me down easily. He pinched my neck and I sort of froze in shock. I kept fighting him and that made him really mad.
    “He picked me up and threw me into the ravine. I woke up and came straight home. I had no idea I was unconscious for two days.”
    I was really embarrassed about what happened to me. Maybe it was wrong to purposely leave out that the Attacker made me drink something. I didn’t feel like having my stomach pumped and besides, if it was poison I would have been dead by now. It must have been something to make me sleep, since two days had passed.
    I pushed my way out of the bathroom past them, where they stood frozen in the doorway, and sat down on the burgundy couch in our family room. I grabbed one of the chenille pillows and hugged it to my chest. This small gesture of normalcy made me feel better. Whenever I was feeling bad, I would cuddle up with a pillow on the couch and try to sort things out.
    They followed me slowly.
    “Is that all that happened?” Dad asked me softly, almost afraid of my answer.
    “Yes, Dad. That is all that happened. Isn’t it enough?” I asked angrily. I was pissed at myself but it seemed easier to yell at him. Dad had broad shoulders; in my state of mind, he could handle this burden better than I could right now.
    “Honey, we need to get you to a doctor and get you checked out,” my father said to the group.
    “No!” The women shouted at once, surprising him and each other.
    It was Aunt Chloe who offered the short-term solution. “I will give her a checkup. I didn’t spend fifty-plus years as a nurse and survive two wars that I can’t manage a common physical.”
    Aunt Chloe stood up and gestured for me to follow her to the spare bedroom. Apparently she had heard of my disappearance and had moved in from the local retirement village to help my family through this tough time.
    “Marilyn, could you please join me? John, you stay here and for goodness sake, don’t call anyone or do anything until we are done.”
    Dad nodded as he sank down in his favorite recliner, dropping his head into his hands.
    I obediently followed Aunt Chloe and Mom into the spare bedroom and sat down on the bed. Aunt Chloe searched through her bag and pulled out a few items. Blood pressure wrist band, stethoscope, thermometer, a large Baggie filled to the rim with pill bottles that rattled around when she dropped it on the bed.
    “Where did I put it?” she mumbled to herself and Mom and I shared a look. Mom patted my hand reassuringly and I smiled at her.
    “Aha, here it is!” Aunt Chloe said triumphantly, brandishing a large magnifying glass in her hand. “Now, dear, let’s get a good look at your neck. Where were you pinched?”
    I was relieved she wanted to start there. I had no doubt if Dad was in charge, he would want to know if I had been molested in some way—and getting a pelvic exam by my great-great-aunt was not my idea of a good time.
    I pulled my hair to the side and showed her the spot.
    “Marilyn, could you get me a warm washcloth so we can clean up her neck a little bit?”
    Mom jumped to do her bidding, anxious to be helping in any small way. When my neck was relatively dirt free, my aunt gazed at it