12.

The day had gone by quickly and they all regretted having to go home. But Olivia had promised her mother she'd be home around dinner time and she didn't want to ruin things now that her punishment had finally been lifted. The group walked her to the bus stop and they all chatted for a while until her bus would arrive. John and Gwen were hanging back and smooching a little and Olivia was happy for them. When she caught Brian staring at her again, she quickly turned around to talk to Elliot.

"I'm glad you're not grounded anymore," Elliot told her. "You think your mom will let you go out in the evenings now?"

"Not on school nights, that's for sure."

Her mother was usually relatively sober during the week because she had to work, but Olivia thought she might be able to sneak out on weekends when her mother went out to drink or was passed out on the couch.

"How 'bout next weekend?" Elliot asked, and she kind of liked how eager he seemed to spend more time with her.

"Sure. I'll just tell mom I'm meeting Beth again."

Beth cleared her throat behind her and Olivia turned around.

"Where are we going next weekend?" Beth asked innocently, making her friends chuckle.

"I was just wondering if we could hang out again next Friday or Saturday night," Elliot clarified, but Beth had a feeling he hadn't planned to ask the whole group along again and so she told Olivia,

"If you need an alibi, I'm your girl. And Pam too, right Pam?"

"And me," Melinda chimed in. "We're all allowed to go out on weekends and if we all say you're coming with us, you can do whatever you want."

Olivia didn't quite know what to say. She was so grateful that the girls were so accepting and she was starting to believe that her life had finally taken a turn for the better. When she looked at Elliot again, she felt a flutter in her stomach. He was so cute and so nice. She knew that nothing bad could happen to her in the city as long as she was with him, no matter what her mother said.

"So it's a date?" Elliot asked, and she saw his blue eyes sparkle.

Olivia giggled when Beth punched her arm. Was Elliot actually asking her out on a real date?

"When?" she asked him, just to be sure.

"Friday night? How about a movie? Just you and me."

"Awesome."

"Is that a yes?"

Olivia nodded and extended her hand.

"It's a date."

Elliot grabbed her hand and shook it, and when her bus pulled up and Olivia had to leave, she waved at him happily. Both teenagers felt light and bubbly all the way home.

…

The next school week seemed to drag on forever. On top of that, Joe Stabler was in a particularly bad mood. There was something happening at work and although he didn't want to talk about it with his kids, Elliot could hear him yelling at his mother at night. He wondered if he should go downstairs once to break the couple up but when his two sisters came into his room to wait out the storm with him in his bed, he had stayed put. On Wednesday night, Joe didn't come home and their mother was very sad. Elliot didn't know what to make of it but his mother seemed to be disappearing in her own little world again, where nothing made sense to anyone except her.

The girls took over the laundry while Elliot took over the kitchen. They had three older brothers, who had already left home while the 20-year old twin girls commuted to college. They wondered if they should send word to their brothers that something was going on with their father. But then on Friday morning, Joe suddenly came stumbling back into the house, smelling of alcohol and cigarettes and with a 2 day beard. The three kids were getting ready for school, but Elliot decided to confront the man and asked him where he'd been.

"None of your business," Joe growled, trying to step around his son to make his way to the stairs.

"Mom's been worried sick," Elliot insisted but that just made Joe laugh.

"That fruitcake doesn't even know what day it is, let alone how long it's been since she's seen me."

"She's been crying, dad," Elliot tried again, still blocking his father's path.

"She always cries," Joe said, and there was a disgust in his voice that angered the youngest Stabler.

"That's your wife you're talking about!" he snapped at his father.

"So?" Joe said, making an attempt to stand up straight so he could look his son in the eyes. "I am your father and you will show some respect."

Elliot scoffed before he could stop himself, suspecting that his father had been with another woman again. That and his drinking made it very hard for him to muster up any respect for the man these days. Joe lunged at his son in anger and Elliot stepped back. Joe lost his balance and in a reflex, Elliot grabbed his arm to keep him from falling over.

"Get your hands off me!" Joe snapped, swinging at him again.

Joe's fist connected with Elliot's jaw but it didn't hurt much. The man was barely able to stand, let alone put in a good punch. Elliot stepped back and let the man pass while his sisters made a beeline for the door. They suddenly couldn't wait to get to school. Elliot hesitated but while his father had a violent streak, he'd never seen him use physical force against his mother or sisters. That was only reserved for him; the baby of the family. Well, he wasn't so baby anymore and his father would find that out as soon as he'd turn 18.

…

Elliot got to school just in time for his first class. He tried to put his parents out of his mind and he felt a lot better once he spotted Olivia in the hallway. She just waved at him, on her way to her next class like him, but he hoped to see her during lunch. He wanted to know if their date for tonight was still on.

It sucked that they couldn't sit together but Olivia was really paranoid about her mother. It made him worry about her being able to get out of the house. But Olivia had told him she'd brought Beth over earlier in the week to meet her mom officially. Ms. Benson already knew Beth from school of course, but it couldn't hurt to actually present her as her friend. And she'd been fine with their plans at the time of catching a movie with the girls, so he hoped nothing was going to get in the way now.

Olivia sat with the girls at lunch but smiled at him a few times from afar. When it was time to head back to class, he passed their table and she told him quickly that she'd meet him in at the theatre at seven like they had planned. He was still grinning by the time he got to his next class and it didn't even bother him that Kathy almost bumped into him on her way into the room.

"Hey," she said quietly and he nodded at her before turning away to find his seat next to John.

He looked at Kathy again and he knew that it didn't hurt so much anymore to see her. He was a lot more occupied with his upcoming date with Olivia, and that could only mean one thing. He really was getting over the blonde, and now a lively brunette was the one who was on his mind the most. It was a good feeling and it was reassuring that there did, in fact, seem to be a life after a broken heart.

After school, Olivia hurried home and started dinner early for herself and her mother. She was anxious to get out of the house before her mother might change her mind. She usually started drinking early on Friday, even before dinner. To unwind she'd say, but Olivia knew what would happen over the course of the evening. She would become loud first. This was actually the most positive stage of her drinking. Later on she'd hit a negative spiral, lamenting her life and blaming everyone except herself, and sometimes she'd even become emotional. Olivia had given up trying to console her long ago; it seemed to have an adverse effect on the woman and would only make her focus on her. And that was never a good thing. So Olivia tried to use the first stage to get out of the house, to stay out of the way for the later stages and spare herself the verbal abuse that was sure to follow. Sometimes her mother would even get physically violent. She'd throw things, at the walls, the TV or at her, or she'd push her out of the way for some reason - or even for no reason. It had been only last Sunday that Olivia had been on the wrong end of a hardcover book flying through the room, hitting her collarbone, hard. She still had the bruise to show for that particular episode.
Once Serena was too drunk to lift anything or make any more noise, Olivia would finally relax. But she wasn't going to wait for that final stage. She'd never make it to the movie theatre by seven if she did.

And so when her mother got home, the apartment was already filled with the aroma of pasta sauce.

"Well well," Serena commented. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I'm going out with the girls to catch an early movie, remember?" Olivia said, trying to sound as chipper and casual as possible.

"Oh right. With that Beth girl?"

"Yep. Her and a few others. You know Pamela and Melinda?"

The lie came easily. It was the only weapon she had to get away from her mother to see Elliot. She had to keep her eyes on the food though, because she knew her mother had a way of reading on her face whether she was telling the truth or not. She stirred the spaghetti one more time and turned down the gas under the sauce.

"Why don't you freshen up and I'll set the table," Olivia offered, turning to grab the plates from the cupboard.

When she didn't get a response from her mother, she looked over her shoulder, and saw Serena take off her coat. She shouldn't lay it on too thick now and didn't say anything else while she set the table and then carefully drained the pasta before carrying the hot pan to the table. Her mother was quiet as well, and they both ate in silence. Serena was having some red wine with dinner and Olivia knew that she wouldn't switch to the stronger stuff until after dinner. It looked like she was going to make her escape without any problems this time but she couldn't quite relax until she was out of the house and hopping on the bus back to Brooklyn. She was actually going on a date with Elliot! Who would have thought?

...

To be continued.