Feeling a suffocating energy radiating from the eyes of the painfully thin child in front of her, Allison was initially at a loss for words. The killing intent was heavy. A weight no child should carry within them. For fourteen years, she had been married to a man she hadn't even loved. A marriage that only came to be with a child on the way. Most days, her feelings towards him were more hateful and disdainful than anything else.
She knew from the beginning that he was not a good man. She had witnessed his cruelty every day when he came home. Now, seated in her living room. In the house his misdeeds had paid for was proof beyond doubt that she had always been right. Micky Jordans was a worthless excuse for a man, and he had gotten what he deserved.
A single drunken mistake while she was still in high school had bound her to him for fourteen years. She would occasionally think back on everything that led to her being in that bar on that specific night. She would wish to go back in time and change in.
What was supposed to be a simple weekend with a few friends ended with a party. A party that had a group of Academy students. One of which was Micky. He immediately set off her warning bells but as the night went on, and as he kept pouring her drinks, the bells went silent. The whole world shut off in an instant.
When it turned back on, the sun had already broken the horizon. Her clothes were missing and the bed was unfamiliar. The only thing she recognized in this unknown room was the man beside. Yes, a man. Although she was sixteen, Micky was about to graduate from the academy. He had long since become a man by society's standards.
She quickly jumped out of that bed, scoured the room for her clothes, and bolted before he woke up. She couldn't recall anything after her third drink. The world had spun and gone black. She could guess what had happened. She spent weeks convincing herself that she just couldn't handle alcohol.
That was, until she started to feel sick. Only ever in the mornings. Food tasted different. Smells she had loved a day ago now induced vomiting. She tried to deny the most straightforward answer. God did she try. Until her mother dragged her to the hospital. Apparently, vomiting at random for a week straight isn't normal teenage behavior.
The doctor confirmed her worst fear. A single word hanging between her terrified face and the disgusted look on her mother's. Pregnant. What that doctor didn't know at that moment was she had just delivered a verdict.
Immediately, her mother left the room. She left her in that hospital room alone and terrified. By the time Allison had made it back home, all her belongings were strewn across the yard. The locks had been changed. That single word had caused her prominent family to disown her without batting an eye.
With nowhere else to go, she eventually found herself at the Academy's gates. Even if her parents had disowned her, at least the father would step up, right? Wrong. Micky denied ever being involved with her. Denied any chance of being the father. That was until the Academy got involved.
With a reputation to uphold, they forced him to submit to a DNA test to disprove the allegations. Instead, it proved the claim without leaving any room for doubt. Their twenty-one-year-old senior had conceived a child with a sixteen-year-old high school student. Expulsion was immediate.
Micky never let her forget about how she had 'ruined' his life. How he was destined for greatness after graduation. Never once admitting his own fault. Constantly coming home either on drugs or drunk. Consistently beating her at the slightest inconvenience.
So yes, Allison thought about what she would do if she could have gone back to that day. Everything she'd have done differently. Then, she would remember Elaine. Her beautiful, innocent daughter. The only good thing in her life. She turned her attention back to the boy before her. The one radiating energy no child should possess. Her resolve steeled itself in an instant.
"We cannot change the past. What's done is done regardless of whether it was fair or not. All we can do is move forward. I know this offer will not make up for your years of suffering and I'm not making it out of pity. You did what I had only ever hoped to do. So, thank you. If you have nowhere else to go, would you like to stay and live here? Both you and little Sarah."
Sarah, having been only partially listening this entire time, immediately snapped her head to Joe. Her eyes were expectant and hopeful for the first time in years. With an awestruck look of disbelief covering his face, Joe needed a moment to compose himself. His words a jumbled mess in his throat. Questions racing through his mind. How long had it bed since he had an actual bed to sleep in and a roof over his head? More than that, how long had it been since somebody had made him lose his words?
Four years. Four long, painful years. He struggled daily just to find enough scraps of food discarded in the trash to keep Sarah and himself alive. All of that, every painful struggling moment could end with a single word in this moment. Still, he hesitated. After taking a breath, He managed to voice the single question that had stopped him from agreeing immediately.
"Are you sure we won't be a burden? As worthless as he was, with him gone things will be harder on you. You already have yourself and Elaine to look out for. If it is too much, can you at least take in Sarah? It won't be easy, but I can manage on my own if needed but I want her to have a home to come back to."
With a conflicted look in his eyes, Joe turned his face to the ground once again. Sarah had been family to him for ten years. He didn't want to leave her but more than that he didn't want her to suffer any longer. The next words he heard completely changed his mood and erased all his building depression.
"You won't be a burden to me in any way. We have two spare rooms that we weren't using. You can each have one. Plus, Laine seemed to enjoy your company. I have one condition. In three months, both of you will be going back to school. I would have you start tomorrow if I wasn't worried about how far behind, you'd be. So, for the next three months, I will be teaching you here. We'll get you caught up on everything you've missed the last few years."
Allison was now wearing the warmest she was capable of and she wasn't even trying to. Just the thought of these two in the house with her and watching them grow up beside her daughter brought immediate joy to her heart. Having heard and clung to every word that left her mouth, Joe was again at a loss for words. Instead, he nodded in agreement.
The thought alone that he would no longer need to rummage through trash for anything edible was enough to make his smile bloom. In that moment, he made a vow in his heart. A vow that he would do everything in his power to live up to, and possibly exceed, Allison's expectations. He was also going to protect this new family. Never again would he let something rip apart the things he cared for. No matter what the world threw at him, he was going to strive for greatness. He was going to force his way to the top and ensure she never came to regret this decision.