Sean had done what he could for Craig. He told Ashley, and she was one of the most respectable and responsible people he knew, almost like an adult. He'd told her and hoped she could fix it.
School morning, the day sun drenched and looking almost like summer despite the cold breeze. He found her before homeroom talking to Ellie in the hall.
"Ashley," he said quietly, and she excused herself from Ellie and went over to him.
"How'd it go? With Craig, I mean," he said, shifting from one foot to the other.
"I don't know. Not that great, I guess. He says he can't leave," she said, and watched Sean scowl.
"What? Why not? He can't, he can't stay there,"
"I know. But he's scared,"
Sean was quiet and nodded almost imperceptibly. He knew about fear.
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After school Ashley sat in her kitchen, waiting for her mom to appear.
"Hi, honey," her mother said when she breezed into the kitchen, kissing her forehead. Ashley closed her eyes and smiled.
"Mom," Ashley said, and Kate was immediately alert, recognizing the tone of her daughter's voice.
"Yeah?"
"Mom, what would you do if you knew someone who was sort of, well, having this problem, and you knew what they should do but they won't do it, they won't listen to you…"
Kate gazed at her daughter, the problem vague enough to allude to anything. Anything at all.
"What kind of problem?" Kate said. Ashley leaned her head on her hand and glanced out the window for a second, and then she looked back at her mother.
"Well, like, they're in this situation that's really sort of dangerous, and they should change it but they won't. What can you do to get them to, well, listen to you?"
Kate pressed her lips together, still having no idea what Ashley was talking about.
"Sometimes there's nothing you can do," Kate said, "sometimes people have to come to their own realizations about things. You can advise them and offer them help, but sometimes it's just up to them,"
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After supper, the dark gathering outside, dark twists of clouds floating off toward the horizon. Ashley sat in her room on her made bed and held the phone in her hand, a live wire. She wanted to call Craig. She wanted to be sure that he was okay.
She dialed the numbers to his cell phone, her mind filling with thoughts of his father and his home life and the injuries he described, and Sean described. It made her stomach hurt to think about it. She listened to the tiny ringing in her ear, willing him to answer.