In the Woods When First We Met

123. Bruises

Anne decided she would tell Marilla and Matthew both, no question about it now, and she wouldn't wait to find out if there was a baby first. She'd just push the news out of her- as Gilbert had said, One fail swoop and it's over. If a baby came, they'd find out it was coming at the same time she did. ...And hopefully they'd be by her side as she dealt with that reality. But come what may, she had to do it.

But she did want to wait until after Christmas. She wanted her first Avonlea Christmas to be a happy one, and sharing unpleasant news was not going to accomplish that. But, she decided, she would not wait for weeks after Christmas, like she'd told Gilbert. No, she'd have Christmas and let it be wonderful and then the very next day she'd sit them down and explain it all to them. December 26th, she told herself. That's the day.

Once she had decided this, she felt a strange mix of anxiety and relief. She couldn't reconcile the two. The anxiety came from knowing that she definitely was about to tell them. The relief came from unburdening herself with the secret.

The emotional upheaval was still going strong, even after the effects on her body left her:

Her arms and legs stopped aching, her wrist got better, and she no longer felt the physical pain of Billy forcing himself on her.

Over time her bruises faded, turning from angry purple to a sickly green, and finally a soft brown that gradually melted away.

Anne had decided that as long as she wasn't going to have a baby, then once her bruises were gone, she would be all better...when the bruises were gone, there wouldn't be anything to look at to remind her of the moment she'd been pushed to the ground.

It hadn't worked that way.

But at least with the bruises gone, she could take a bath without closing her eyes.