“I’m all right.” She took a deep breath. “After Dad shoved Ronnie I got in between them and told Ronnie to leave. After he was gone I started arguing with Dad, and that’s when he hit me and I ran straight over here. I didn’t know where else to go.”
“I’m glad you came,” Ben said. “You should stay the night here.”
“Thanks.” Allison sniffed and sighed. “What are we going to do about this?”
Ben chewed his lip thoughtfully while they considered the situation in silence. Allison didn’t have any other in-state relatives, and the idea of her moving far away was unbearable. But how could she endure living with such a monster? What was to stop something like this from happening again?
“I wish we were already in college,” he said wistfully.
“You and me both. Have you decided yet?”
That was another unhappy topic. Ben wanted to continue his vocal training at an arts college that specialized in music. Allison wanted to pursue a medical career at one of the more traditional colleges. The inevitable separation if they chose different schools was something neither of them liked to think of, and now wasn’t the time to discuss it further.
“I have no idea,” Ben replied. “It’s all so far away. You want your PJs?”
“Yeah.”
Allison had stayed the night so often that she had bought a pair of pajamas to keep in his room. It was a miracle that her father had never figured out that she was actually staying the night with him and not Karen. Their former friendship had been useful camouflage in that regard.
The next day was a school day, which presented an awkward situation. Ben decided to confide in his mother, who wasn’t nearly as sympathetic as he would have expected. The bruise on Allison’s face was twice as ugly now and left no room for doubt as to the truth of her story, but it was clear that his mother wasn’t willing to interfere with someone else’s parenting. There was no point in asking her if Allison could stay with them longer, but she at least granted him permission to skip school for the day.
In the afternoon they decided to go to Allison’s house so she could get a change of clothes, despite the possibility that Mr. Cross might be there when they arrived. He wasn’t, but the house was in more disarray than normal, with food left out on the counter, dirty dishes, and a broken drinking glass on the kitchen floor. Ben helped her clean up before they went to her room.
“You should go,” Allison said. “There’s no point in me leaving.”