Mary stared at Frankie. She looked awful. She had obviously been beaten. Both her eyes were swollen and she had cuts on her face and her arms. Her clothes were dirty and torn.
"My god, Frankie! What happened?" Mary finally asked, letting her in. They went into the TV room and sat down on the couch. Frankie was crying, but calmed herself down. "You can tell me. My dad can help you if you need him to."
"I called the police yesterday about those phone calls. They came over to my house. My house just happened to be a wreck and Johnny was passed out on the couch. They searched the house and when they found Mercy, they called Child Protective Services. Mercy had touched the frying pan yesterday and had a burn on her fingers. The police took it all the wrong way. I'm a good mother, I really am!" Frankie said.
"So, where is she?"
"They took her away, Mary! They took my baby away!" Frankie started crying again. Mary didn't know what to do. She got up and got a box of Kleenex and handed it to Frankie.
"What about Johnny?"
"He's gone. The police didn't take him away. He wasn't arrested because I convinced the police that he was sick and he didn't want to get me sick. When he woke up he left. He came back this morning and he started yelling at me. He told me I was an awful mother and he didn't love Mercy. He said he wanted out. I told him it wasn't fair, and thats when he came at me. When he was done, he packed some stuff up and left. He took my car. I had to walk over here. He said he would come back and get more stuff and to stay out or he'll hit me again. I don't know what to do!" she covered her face with her hands.
Mary was silent for a few minutes. "Well, for a few days you can stay here. Lucy has an extra bed in her room. You can stay there. I'll have to ask my dad, but I'm sure he'll say its okay. He can get a restraining order on Johnny if you want. He could even try to get Mercy back for you."
"That would be great, Mary."
Eric hung up the phone and looked at Frankie. "Frankie, I can't guarentee that you'll get Mercy back. You'll have to go to court for that and also if you want to put a restraining order on Johnny. They've located him and he'll be at the hearing. I've set the court date; its on Saturday. Until then, you can stay here." Frankie smiled gratefully at him.
After the hearing
"Well, how about looking at some colleges? That would look great on your 'record,'" Mary said. Frankie agreed. As she was leaving, she left a thank you note on Rev. Camden's desk. She was determined to turn her life around, stay clean, and raise her baby right.