They talk to each other while Prue just nods along. She is wearing a light blue turtleneck and jeans. My stomach knots, scared there might be new bruises for her to cover.
They order and she turns, resting on the wall by the pickup counter. She still just nods along to whatever the other two are babbling about. Clearly, she is trying to seem interested, but her face tells me she is miles away. She glances around. Her eyes skim over me, dart away, then come back to me. I watch as her face drops and eyes widen.
I offer her a smile, beckoning her to me with my finger. She shakes her head, quickly looking at the girls beside her. That’s how she stays until their drinks are ready and they disappear out the door.
I shouldn’t be surprised she couldn’t get away to talk to me, but it still makes me mad. If her father and Charles think they can keep me from her, they are wrong. I’m not letting them control her fate. That should belong to her.
So, plan B it is.
I sit in my mother’s office, waiting for her to finish up her next class. I eye the picture frames on the wall. So many of her with my father and with me. And of course, her sister, my Aunt Martha.
Judging by how few of these pictures are of me older than the age of 10, I know I should be a better son. I should spend more time with her, but she should’ve picked up on the fact that once Ihit eleven, I suddenly wanted nothing to do with the family. That didn’t just happen for no reason.
I glare at the copy of the photo I have in my apartment. Knowing that is the reason makes me sick.
“Ben,” my mother says when she walks in. “It’s good to see you.”
“I need a favor,” I blurt out, turning toward her.
“What kind of favor?” She studies me. Her eyes take in the bruise on my cheek, but she won’t ask.
“I need you to find out what classes Prue Ward has and have one of her teachers ask her to stay after class.” Her face scrunches up as she tries to make sense of what I’m asking. “Then I need to use that time to talk to her.”
“I don’t understand,” she says. “You want me to get a teacher to keep some girl after class just so you can talk to her? Why?”
“Because it’s the only way, I can be alone with her that doesn’t end up with a dead body.”
“A dead body?” My mother gasps. Her concern is apparent. I’ve done my best to keep her out of the dark parts of my life, unfortunately for the both of us that ends now. “What is going on, Benjamin? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“No more than usual.” I shrug. “Though I did spend the weekend in jail.”
“Jail?” She is stunned, shocked, terrified. “For what?”
“Don’t worry about it. The charges were dropped.”
“What is happening?” She sits back on her office chair. “You weren’t always this wild.”
“Yeah.” I nod. “You should ask Aunt Martha about that. I’d be curious what she has to say about my wild behavior.” Her name feels like poison on my tongue, but I’m in too much agony to care right now.
“What does she have to do with this?”
“Good question. Ask her that too.”
“Ben,” my mother says, staring me in the eyes. “Just tell me what’s going on, please?”
“I met a girl who has an abusive ex, who I happened to beat up, with or without a deadly weapon, and this girl decided to trade her freedom for mine. That doesn’t sit right with me, so I need to talk to her, without her prick of a soon-to-be fiancé finding out so he can’t hurt her before I have the chance to end his miserable existence.”
She sighs, her eyes dropping to a picture frame on her desk.
“I can’t help you,” she says, glancing back up. “You had me for a moment until the last part. I’m proud that I raised you to take care of people in need, but I can’t let you kill a man to protect her. I won’t help you if it puts you at risk of ending up hurt. As your mother, I just can’t do that, Ben. I won’t fail to protect you, even if that means someone else’s daughter has to suffer. That will be my burden to live with, but I won’t fail you.”
“Already have, Mom,” I say, walking to the door. “Ask Aunt Martha about that too. Or don’t. She probably wouldn’t tell you about it anyways, but I would like her to know I haven’t forgotten. Can’t forget.”
“Forget what, Ben?”
I glance back at her as I open the door. Her face is etched in worry, and a kind of love only a mother could have. She deserves a better son, one who doesn’t stress her out. One who isn’t about to destroy her whole world like I am.
“That she is a fucking rapist.” I shrug, turning and walking out of the room.
