The Street Festival: How A Wallflower Became The Hero

Chapter 15

After breakfast, Marty cleared the table and loaded the dishes into the dishwasher. He then headed to the master bedroom where his mom was doing her makeup.

He wanted to know how long she thought she'd be gone.

As soon as he walked in, a local news program playing on the TV, caught his attention. He stopped to watch the story. It was about the Lakeview rapist.

". . . suspect in the attacks has been taken into custody.

A new attack on yesterday brings the total number of known victims to eight. Marion County Sheriff Mike Baxter tells Channel 5 News the details of the attack yesterday are unique and they need the victim to come forward to help them put him away.

We are told the victim injured the perpetrator and left a note explaining what the alleged rapist had done to the victim, but without a sworn testimony, no chargeable evidence of a rape exists. The sheriff gave a press conference earlier this morning and had this to say . . ."

The TV then switched from the studio to a video recording of the county sheriff standing behind a podium with a microphone from every local news station in front of him. Camera flashes were going off all around him as he spoke. 

"We need for this latest victim to come forward and give us his or her sworn statement. We have the perpetrator in custody. Three of the previous seven known victims came forward and gave us their testimony, but days later each one of them came back and withdrew their sworn statements.

"We believe this to have been a result of possible threats to their life by the perpetrator. With the alleged attacker in custody, the latest victim's positive identification of the attacker and his or her testimony will allow us to put him away and may also encourage the other victims to come forward once again with their stories so that we can keep this rapist behind bars for many years to come.

"I appeal directly to yesterday's victim. There are unique circumstances surrounding the incident that will allow you to help us convict him. I want to personally assure you that what you did was self-defense and you will not face any criminal charges . . ."

Oh my, that's terrible," his mom began."If they don't have anyone willing to testify against him he'll continue to go free. And then how many more victims will there have to be before he's finally convicted? Whoever she is, I hope she comes forward."

Marty's heart began to race as thoughts clouded his mind. He became lightheaded and sat down on the edge of his mom's bed.

He knew he had to do something. If he didn't come forward, the other girls that had been raped may never see any justice served. They will probably always wonder if this monster is going to come back and get them again.

Marty knew what the right thing to do was, but he couldn't do it. No way, no how. If he did, his mother would know he had gone out pretending to be a girl while wearing her clothes, and even worse, everyone else would know, too.

They would also know that he had been orally raped. He was already picked on enough at school and he knew this knowledge in the hands of high schoolers would only make it worse, much, much worse.

He knew some of the kids at school would probably say he was asking for it, with the way he was dressed, or worse, deserved it for tricking the guy in to thinking he was talking to a girl. Not only that, but he would forever be tormented by them for being a "cock-sucker."

For the rest of the day, Marty mentally wrestled with the conundrum of wanting to do the right thing, while also not wanting everyone knowing what he had done and what had happened to him.

That night, he tried to sleep, but the thoughts weighed so heavy on his mind he found sleep would not come.

He tossed and turned and wrestled with all the thoughts in his head, until around three in the morning.

Finally, unable to take it anymore, he sat up in bed. After a few minutes he had come to a decision. He got up and headed, in the darkness, to his mom's room.

Marty laid down on his mom's bed, facing his sleeping mother. He knew that she was a light sleeper and the movement of him lying down on the mattress would awaken her.

He was right, as almost immediately she opened her eyes.

"What's the matter sweetheart," she softly whispered in the darkness.

"I-I can't sleep mom, c-can we talk?"

"Of course, sweetie. We can always talk, you know that."

She turned over and checked the time on her phone, before turning on the lamp next to the bed.

"What is it, baby," she asked with her back towards Marty, while simultaneously reaching for her glasses on the nightstand.

Marty sat up on the bed with his legs crisscrossed in front of him.

"Mom," he began, while staring downward to avoid eye contact, "it's that um, that rapist. I-I can't get him out of my head. I have to do something. I have to stop him."

Marty's mom put her arm around his shoulder, pulled him close, and gave him a kiss on the top of his head.

"Why are you so worried about it? Yes, it's awful and I feel so sorry for every one of those girls, but every one of them needs to come forward and testify against him in court, so he can be put away for life. It sounds like his latest victim especially needs to come forward. There's nothing you can do about that."

Marty lay his head against his mom's shoulder, and sat in silence, trying to gather his courage.

Finally, he spoke, "But . . . Mom? . . . W-What if there was?"

"What do you mean?"

Tears began to well up in Marty's eyes before all his feelings about what had happened to him came gushing forth and he started to sob.

His mother tightened her warm embrace around him.

"Honey," she began. "Why has this got you so upset? This isn't like you. Did you know the girl that was attacked yesterday? Sweetheart, talk to me."

"Mom . . .yeah, I know the last victim, the one the sheriff was talking to in his press conference . . . You know them, too."

"What are you taking about? Who? Who was it? Someone from school? And how do you know?"

"Because mom, it's um, it's me. He was talking to me."