Karen Bender was mixing together the ingredients for the meatloaf and putting it in the oven. Then just as she was about to start peeling the potatoes she heard the front door open.
"Hey Mom!"
Her son was home. "Hi honey," Karen called out to her son. Hanging up his jacket he walked into the kitchen. "Hey Mom this is Sara." Wiping her hands on a towel, Karen extended her hand, "Nice to meet you Sara."
"You too Mrs. Bender," Sara said shaking the woman's hand gently. "Could I use your bathroom?"
"Sure, it's right through there," said Karen, pointing to the living room. "Just through there."
"Thanks," replied Sara, before heading to the bathroom. As she did, Karen asked her son, "Okay John, what's going on?" John, who had taken a handful of grapes from the fridge, said, "What do you mean Mom?"
Karen started peeling the potatoes and said to her son, "Jonathon Eric Bender, you've never been innocent, so don't even try and start acting like it now. You never bring anyone home, not even your friends from "The Breakfast Club". So start talking."
Taking a potato that his mother handed him and peeling it he said, "She's just here for dinner and maybe some leftovers."
"Uh-huh…"
Bender sighed, "Someone's beating her."
"John-
"Bad Mom, it's bad. I don't think she's eating right neither. Either that or she's sick. She joined us for detention today and threw up twice. She just…she reminded me of when Paul was still here," said John, regretfully bringing up the memories of the man who he shared his DNA with.
Karen let out a regretful sigh at the memory of her ex-husband. After seeing how her son was behaving now compared to how he used to be, she felt bad for not getting rid of him sooner. "Do you know who's been beating her?" she asked her son.
"Frank."
"Frank who?"
Bender just shrugged. "She just said Frank."
Sara's POV...
She went into the bathroom and shut the door, locking it. Unzipping her hoodie, she wondered how bad Frank had messed up her back this time. Turning her head and glancing over her shoulder she winced at the pain that went across her upper back. As she looked in the mirror she saw the fresh wounds that lay scattered across her skin and shoulder blades, and the blood that had gone through her tank top. She peeled the fabric away from her skin and hissed at the pain. One particular section caused her to yelp out.
3rd person POV...
Karen heard the yell. "Stay here and finish peeling the potatoes." She told her son as she went to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Sara, are you okay?"
"I'm fine Mrs. Bender."
Trying to enter the bathroom, Karen realized the door was locked. "Can you unlock the door?"
She knew that Bender probably told his mother about what was happening. She should have been mad but realized he was only trying to help, so she unlocked the door. As Karen entered the bathroom she took a sharp intake of breath when seeing the wounds on this girl's back. Stepping closer she examined the wounds on Sara's back. As Karen was getting the first aid kit from under the bathroom sink, John came into the bathroom. "Hey potatoes are boiling Mom," he told her. Then he saw how bad Sara's back actually was.
As Karen was cleaning the blood from Sara's back, she told her son, "Okay thanks honey. Um, can you finish up fixing dinner?" Not getting an automatic response from her son, she looked at him. "John?" She saw his face, rage so clear on it. "Jonathon!" Her voice raised a bit to get her son's attention. But it also caused Sara to flinch. Raised voices were something she was all too familiar with where she lived. That was one thing she didn't like.
"Sure," he replied, glancing at Sara one more time before going to do as his mom asked. Going back to the kitchen he finished fixing dinner, but not before punching the counter-top a few times in anger. He connected with this girl, not wanting anyone to go through what he had dealt with.
But the fact of the matter was, Sara was getting hurt. Worse than his father had done to him. As he set the table, he wondered what he could do about it, if anything.