“She beat the shit out of you because you didn’t empty her ashtray?” he asked incredulously, gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.
“She only hit me twice,” I said, trying to defend her half-heartedly.
“Because you wouldn’t empty her ashtray,” he repeated disgustedly.
I couldn’t blame his disgust. We were white trash. The marks on my face were a glaring reminder of how different the world I lived in was to the one he lived in.
“Yeah,” I said looking down, wishing I was anywhere else. “Um, I’m sure this changes things for us, so we don’t have to go to the dance together,” I said, reaching for the door handle.
“Katelyn, what are you talking about?” he asked, grabbing onto my arm to once again stall my departure.
Anger welled up in me. “Look at me. Do you really want to date someone like me? I’m giving you an out!” I said in a rush as the anger that had briefly filled me dissipated, leaving despair in its place.
“Katelyn, I don’t want an out,” he said quietly, cupping my face so I was forced to look at him.
“You don’t?” I asked in a voice shaky with emotion.
“No,” he said, leaning in to brush a kiss across my lips. “But she can’t do this to you,” he said after our lips parted.
“There’s nothing we can do,” I said miserably.
“Yes, there is. I’m going to have my parents report her,” he said with conviction.
My blood froze at his words. “You can’t,” I said earnestly, grabbing onto his hand.
“Katelyn, you don’t have to fear her. By the time she finds out, they'll have a new place for you to live.”
“Yes, but without Kevin! You can’t report her because they will separate Kevin and me,” I said forcibly, trying to get him to understand.
“You don’t know that,” he said, sounding uncertain.
“I do,” I said in a flat voice. “You don't know how it works, you've never seen it. I have. I’ve met plenty of kids over the years that were placed in foster homes, and in almost every case they were separated from their families. Plus, I’m too old. I'll just wind up in some state facility.”
“You don’t know that,” he repeated in a defeated tone.
“Trust me, they would,” I said softly. “Look, I’m just waiting until I’m legally an adult. I have less than one year to go and then I can take Kevin with me.”
“So you expect me to turn a blind eye and let her do this to you?” Max said in a loud voice, clearly frustrated at the hopelessness of the situation.
“If you want to be with me, then yes, I need you to turn a blind eye.”
Max dropped his head into his hands.
“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling sick that my home life was causing so much havoc.
“How often?” he asked.
I knew what he was asking. “Not that often.”
“How often?” He repeated, looking at me.
“A couple times a month, sometimes more.”
“I want to kill her,” he said, reaching over to drag me into his arms.
I sighed, as he kissed me gently. He pulled back slightly, but kept me firmly locked in his arms. “I’m not sure if I'll be able to handle it if she does this again,” he said, lightly pressing his mouth to the tender skin of my eye.
“You have to,” I said, pulling back so he could see I was serious.