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A knock at her door ended the debate. She turned the television off and went to see who was there. She hadn’t heard a car pull up. Looking through the peep hole, she was surprised to see Races’ daughter, Liza, standing on her porch. She unlocked the door and opened it up.
“Hey, Liza. What brings you over today?” She glanced across the yard to see if anyone else was coming but didn’t see the others. “You want to come in?”
“Yes, please.”
“It’s so good to see you. I was just getting ready to make me some hot chocolate to go with the peanut butter cookies I made. Would you like some?” Bellamy couldn’t help but notice that Liza wasn’t acting her usual chipper self. She wondered if maybe she’d gotten in trouble with her dad or a fight with one of her siblings.
“Yes, please. That would be great.” Liza stood inside the living room at the door, looking unsure as to what she should do.
“Why don’t you take your coat off and have a seat.” Bellamy motioned toward the couch. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
She hurried through making hot chocolate, shoved a ziplock bag of cookies in the crook of her arm and returned to join Liza on the couch. She handed Liza her drink, then placed the cookies on the table. She took a seat and turned sideways so that she could better assess Liza’s behavior.
“So, what brings you to my door on a Sunday afternoon? Are your brother and sister coming over?” She blew on her hot chocolate before taking a drink.
“No. Derrick and Shannon are playing a video game.” She brushed her hair out of her face.
“And your dad knows you’re here?”
“He made a run for KFC.” Liza took a drink from her cup, then accepted a cookie when Bellamy offered her the bag.
That didn’t exactly answer her question. If she had to guess, Liza waited for her dad to leave before she came over here. She wasn’t sure how long they had before Race returned, so Bellamy cut to the chase. “What’s wrong?”
That got Liza’s attention. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Bellamy set her mug down, “I love having you and your brother and sister over here anytime you want, but you aren’t acting like yourself. Something’s wrong. Want to tell me about it?”
Liza’s face crumpled and tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Oh, Liza.” Bellamy didn’t know what to do so she gathered her in her arms and hugged her. It took a minute or two before Liza was able to gather herself and pulled back.
“I’m sorry.” She wiped at her cheeks with her hands. Bellamy reached behind her and grabbed the box of tissues, handing them to Liza. “Thanks. I didn’t mean to cry all over you. I was just so upset.” She dabbed at her eyes and took a deep breath.
“It’s quite all right.” Bellamy patted her leg. “Now, do you want to tell me what’s got you so upset?”
“Remember when we were having dinner over here with you and Derrick was talking about that junior in my chemistry class?”
“Yes.” Bellamy was getting a sick feeling in her stomach. Was she going to have to track the little bastard down and teach him a lesson?
“Well, the counselor asked if I’d tutor him after school. At first I didn’t want to but she said his dad would pay $25 an hour. So I said yes. Who wouldn’t want to make $25 an hour?” Liza turned more fully to face Bellamy. “I would meet him at his house at six o’clock on Tuesdays and Thursdays and his parents would be home.”
“And were his parents home?”
“Yes. They watched television in the living room and we sat at the dining room table. Derrick would pick me up at seven. He didn’t want me to do it, but I was stubborn and said I was going to anyway. How many opportunities does a freshman have to make any money?” Liza fiddled with her fingers in her lap, avoiding meeting Bellamy’s eyes.
She imagined Liza was thrilled to be making money on her own despite the fact that if she’d ask either of her parents for money, they’d give it to her in a heartbeat.
“So, Derrick picked me up Tuesday. On Thursday, he texted that he was running late. Clay said he would give me a ride home. I didn’t want to go with him, but I really didn’t want to be at his house any longer than necessary. I text Derrick back and told him Clay would just drop me off. He didn’t like that, but what could he do? He wasn’t there.”
“Liza,” she reached out and covered her hand with her own. “Did Clay do anything to you? Did he hurt you?”
“No! That’s just it. He’s never done anything to me. He’s always polite around his parents and we barely spoke in the car. He never touched me or said anything inappropriate, but now he’s spread all over Facebook that we had sex!” Liza broke down into tears once again.
“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. What an asshole.” Bellamy hugged her close. “When did all of this happen?”
“Friday night from what my friends are telling me. I don’t even have Facebook because Dad says no social media until after high school because of all the drama. I guess he was right.”
They sat together in silence. Liza thinking her world was coming to an end and Bellamy wondering what she could do to get even with the little shit and not end up in jail. “Do you have a picture of this kid?”
