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“What happened next?” Rosie pushed gently.
I looked down at the table and took a shaken breath. I related the nightmare we’d just gotten out of, trying to mince the gritty details, although he could watch the results on our faces. Literally.
As I narrated how he punched me and hurt Mia before Zach stormed in, I tried to ignore Jackson’s escaped curses and Rosie’s sniffing. I finished my tale, and the silence that descended upon us was deafening.
I waited for the verdict that was kicking me out as Zach and Mia gave me a reassuring smile. Rosie cleaned her tears away and offered me more tea, the one I hadn’t drunk yet.
With his shoulders hunched forward and rubbing his face, Jackson looked older than ever. “How are you kids feeling?”
When none of us answered, Zach volunteered. “I wasn’t hurt, Da. But they were. They should be checked out.”
“I don’t need to. I’m fine; just a little sore,” I added quickly. Anything to keep me in that house a little longer. If I set foot outside, I feared I was never going back.
“But you threw up after he hit you on the head. There must be something wrong.” Mia so needed to shut up.
“And you, too, honey.” Rosie grabbed Mia’s chin lightly, leaning her face to the side so she could see the cut above her eye. “This gash is nasty.”
Jackson placed his hands on the table and straightened up. “That’s settled. We’ll go to the hospital. Then we’re pressing charges.”
Another wave of silence came over us.
Mia was the first to break it. Shocker.
“We can’t press charges.”
“Sweetheart, we can’t let this slide, it was criminal. I’m surprised you don’t want us to pursue this.” Jackon’s tone was placating.
“Because if we press charges, we’re all gonna pay.”
“You all acted in self-defense, anyone can see that, and Michael will be held responsible for what he did.”
She shook her head and winced at the motion. “I’m not worried about that, I’m worried about Benny. They’ll take him away from us.” Mia’s voice carried a desperate note, which was unlike her.
We stayed a few more moments in silence.
“He only has his father,” Zach whispered, seemingly understanding whatever it was Mia was saying.
“Exactly. If we press charges and Michael goes to jail, they’ll take him away, because he’s still a minor, and then we’ll never see him again. I know that, I’ve heard you talk.”
I looked back at Rosie and Jackson in surprise, wondering what they’d been saying about me.
“We can’t go to the hospital either.” Mia was on a roll. “They’ll ask questions and call the police.”
“Honey, you need stitches near your eye, your eyebrow is still bleeding. And Ben probably has a concussion.” Rosie was trying to calm Mia, who was shaking her head intensely.
“We’ll deal with it here. We can’t go, and we can’t press charges. Benny isn’t safe anywhere else but here, you all know that.”
Gone was the sarcastic little thing that was so fond of bugging me. This was protective Mia. Still a little thing but refusing to let someone she cared about get hurt. Zach wasn’t behind.
“He needs to stay with us. He can live here, stay in my room. We just grab his stuff and move him in. No one will question us, because we’re always together. I highly doubt Michael will complain.”
Jackson and Rosie looked at each other for a while, talking with their eyes, like only a connected couple could do, until she said in a low voice, “We’ve talked about it already.”
He nodded and turned to me. “From what I see, you were forced to deal with a lot of things no kid should ever endure. We don’t wanna force upon you another situation you’re not comfortable with. We want you to stay. But you’re only moving in if it’s something you really want. We’d hate to make you do something you don’t want to. So what do you say?”
“You’re already a part of this family, honey,” Rosie affirmed caringly. “We just wanna make it official.”
I didn’t trust myself to say anything and not start weeping. I just nodded emphatically, and they all smiled at me.
