Page 7 of Escape
Because that man swung his hand out and backhanded her.
I was stunned. Shocked. I didn’t know what to do.
In an instant, everything seemed to fall into place. Josie’s cut lip, the fact she never had lunch with her in school, and the often downtrodden mood I witnessed from her whenever she didn’t think I was paying attention.
Now that I knew what was happening, I wondered what other things I might have missed.
Her father yelled at her again, and as quickly as she could, Josie exited the vehicle. She’d barely stepped out and closed the door when the car sped off.
I took two steps in her direction, feeling confused and horrified.
Josie’s hand was pressed against her face, and when she looked up, she noticed me standing there.
If I thought I felt horrified, it didn’t compare to what Josie felt.
I hesitated for all of two or three more seconds before I moved toward her. When I came to a stop just a few feet away, I asked, “Are you okay?”
Tears had filled her eyes, and she shook her head.
Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her, and Josie’s body bucked with the sobs that overtook her.
For the next several minutes, all I could do was hold her close and try to comfort her. Eventually, she calmed down and pulled herself back from me.
“I’m sorry,” she lamented. “I didn’t mean to?—”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I insisted. “Why don’t we go somewhere to talk?”
“Wha… what about the project?” she stammered.
“We’re way ahead on the project. I couldn’t focus on it right now, no matter how hard I tried.”
Recognizing it was essential to address this, Josie’s shoulders fell, and she acquiesced, “Okay. But how are we going to go anywhere?”
“I have my mom’s car.” The next thing I knew, Josie and I were in the car, and I was trying to decide where to go. “Did you have breakfast this morning?”
“No.”
Glancing at the clock on the dash, it was past breakfast time and still a bit too early for lunch. I decided to take her to a café located in a shopping plaza. I might have been saving up my money that I made from my summer job to purchase a car, but I was prepared to delay that purchase if it meant spending some of it on food for Josie.
By the time we got inside and sat down, I sent an expectant look her way. I didn’t quite know what else to do; I’d never experienced a situation like this before now.
Josie dropped her gaze to her lap and inhaled deeply. After releasing that breath, she returned her attention to my face and said, “I only have a few more months left before I graduate, get a job, and can leave.”
“It’s your dad, right?”
She nodded. “He wasn’t always like this.”
“When did it start?”
“A few years ago. I mean, he used to yell a lot when I was younger, but the physical stuff started in ninth grade. It’s gotten progressively worse, but he never does too much damage, because he knows I have to go to school.”
I asked what I thought was the obvious question. “What about your mom? What does she say?”
“She’s dead. She died during childbirth. My baby sister did, too.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. There was a medical complication that should have been found when she went for ultrasounds, but it was either neglected or simply overlooked,” Josie shared.