Page 78 of Commit
“No, worried. She loves you, Kate.”
“I know.” She bites her lip. “What happened to the person who hurt you?”
“There was more than one person. My story’s a little different than yours.”
“Do you still think about it?”
“Sometimes. But I don’t think about them. I think about myself. I think about the little girl who had so much potential. I miss her. I grieve for her as if she died because, in a way, she did. I think about her a lot. Grief’s like that, you know? It sticks with you, gnaws at you. I haven't accepted it and probably never will. But I'm learning to live with it.”
“Are you still scared?”
“Yes. Because I know monsters are real. I’m scared every day, but I don’t hide under the bed anymore. I remind myself that despite everything that happened to me, I’m still here. I survived because I never stopped holding on.”
She files those words away before she goes back to eating her now-melted ice cream.
No more words are exchanged until the door opens, and a frantic-looking woman hurries in. She scans the room, and when she spots Kate, she rushes over and tugs her up into her arms.
“You’re okay? You’re okay,” she repeats, reassuring herself.
“But I’m not okay, Mom,” she whispers, looking at me. She sits back down, and I watch her summon all her courage as her mom sits beside her and takes her hand.
The next twenty minutes are like watching a movie play out. There are tears, horror, anger, and guilt until, finally, they hug.
Kate’s mom looks up at me over her daughter’s head. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. It was all Kate.”
“What happens now?” Kate asks quietly, looking up, unsure.
And that’s when this small, wary woman turns into a protective mama bear with fire in her eyes and vengeance in her heart.
“We go to the police. We get that motherfucker out of our home, and we set fire to anything he leaves behind,” she snarls.
Kate flings her arms around her mom again, and I take that as my cue to leave. I slide out of the booth and head for the door, slipping out when a couple around my age opens it and walks through hand in hand.
I’m halfway across the parking lot when I hear my name being shouted. “Starling!”
I turn just in time to catch Kate as she barrels into me, wrapping her arms around me and squeezing me tight.
“Thank you.”
I fight back my tears and hold her, knowing she’s going to be okay. She pulls back and looks up at me as I notice her mom standing near the door, watching with her hand over her heart.
“Can I call you sometime? You know, if I need to talk or I?—”
“Yes. You can call or text me anytime. Do you have your phone?”
She pulls it from her pocket and hands it to me. I quickly add my number and hand it back as her mom walks over and wraps her arm around her daughter.
“Can I drop you off anywhere?”
I open my mouth to say no, but I hesitate; I’m not sure my legs will carry me all the way home. “That would be great, actually. Thank you.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
“No, you don’t owe me anything. Knowing Kate has a mother like you is more than enough. Actually, you both helped me figure something out—well, you and another mom and daughter I met today.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”