“I know how it sounds. But you’ve been working so hard, Mom. I didn’t want to ask you for more money. I thought I could handle one night.”
“Okay, so this boy paid you to go to prom with him, and you accepted so you could pay for extra courses and college applications.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “That doesn’t explain what happened last night. What did he do to you, Ellie?”
Her voice softened.
“He was fine at first. But then he started getting annoyed every time I talked to my friends. Every time I wanted to do something that wasn’t his idea, he got irritated. He said he paid me to look pretty beside him, not to have a good time.”
For a brief moment I felt relief.
Then the anger returned twice as strong.
“I told him his behavior was awful.” Her hands clenched into fists. “That he should be ashamed of himself. And he told me I was being dramatic. Then he drove off and left me there.”
“He left you there? At prom?”
She shook her head.
“We were headed to the afterparty. My phone was dead. I didn’t know exactly where I was. I just started walking.” She pressed her lips together. “Eventually, I found a gas station and the man behind the counter let me use the phone to call a taxi.”
“That’s why you were so late,” I said. Then I lifted the note. “Why he hopes your legs are sore… from walking.”
She nodded.
“That’s my guess.”
I sat beside her and wrapped my arms around her.
I held her while she cried.
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