Trechial tossed her Jansport in the back of Yoon Mi Rae's brand new SUV and climbed in. Endometriosis was wrecking her from the inside out, or at least it felt like it. Severe cramps had her in the bathroom stall in tears. By the grace of God, Mrs. Caldwell, the school counselor, had come in to use the restroom and heard Trechial's whimpering from a couple of stalls down, so Mrs. Caldwell called Diana. Trechial figured her mom wouldn't answer the phone only because she was knocked out to the world around her. Night shift really tired out Diana, and Trechial did not fault her for it. Mrs. Caldwell tried calling a second time, but that time Charlie picked up. Trechial flailed her arms in front of her shaking her head and Mrs. Caldwell slammed the phone on the ringer, giving her a peculiar look but didn't push.

Her next option was to try Yoon Mi Rae's mobile phone. Thankfully she picked up after a few rings. and now here she was letting Trechial climb into her backseat. The smell of her new car made Trechial's head spin, but perhaps it had been spinning ever since she woke up on Devin's shoulder that morning. Trechial lay down on the cool leather and shut her eyes as the next cramp brought a fresh batch of tears to her eyes and knocked the wind out her chest.

"Here, take this."

Trechial slowly peered up at Yoon Mi Rae's motherly tilt of her head in the driver's seat. She extended two oval pills out to her. Trechial sat up, accepting her offer, and Yoon Mi Rae handed her a bottle of water. "Make sure to drink the whole bottle of water, okay?"

Trechial did as told while Yoon Mi Rae watched. She handed Yoon Mi Rae the empty water bottle then lay down on the seat holding her stomach and closing her eyes again. The car purred to life and they were off. The closer she got to home, the more her anxiety revved up, twisting in her gut and sending a heartbeat all the way up to her head.

"Yoon Mi Rae," Trechial gripped her stomach.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I don't want to go home," she whispered and began to bawl. Trechial didn't know if it was because of the pain of her cramps or the pain of knowing she'd have to face Charlie if she went home. Perhaps it was both, but either way, she knew what she wanted. What she didn't want.

"What's wrong, Trechial?" Yoon Mi Rae glanced around to the back seat to find Trechial wiping her eyes and covering her mouth to keep in a sob, which drowned out Yoon Mi Rae's question.

"Everything will be okay, hon. I'll run to the store and get you a change of clothes and you can spend the day with me. I'll let Diana know— "

Trechial hiccupped. "No—Momma will come and get me, and then I'll have to go home. I don't want to be around him." She continued to suck in whisps of air.

When her tears slowed, Trechial let silence fall between her and Yoon Mi Rae. She could sense that Devin's mom was piecing together the puzzle simply by hearing the confliction—the desperate calling––in her voice.

"Okay," Yoon Mi Rae said. "I won't' say a word."

***

Two hours later, Yoon Mi Rae made sure the coast was clear at Trechial's house before they rushed into the neighboring home.

Yoon Mi Rae had never witnessed Trechial as distraught as she was in the car. It worried her. What had Charlie done to her to make her fear the home her father bought for her?

She handed Trechial a bag that held a change of clothes and feminine products and sent her on her way up the staircase. Trechial reached the bottom stairs and turned around, silently thanking Devin's mom with a wry smile. Yoon Mi Rae tilted her head forward then watched Trechial until she disappeared up the stairs and down the hall.

Yoon Mi Rae had a bowl of rice porridge and a cup of hot tea waiting for Trechial on the table when she came down from her shower. Trechial ate quietly, her eyes trained on her spoon. Embarrassment masked her blushing face and her tight movements, her lack of eye contact and curious glancing around like normal

Trechial scraped the bowl clean and finished her tea. She then grabbed a blanket out of the hall closet and dragged her tired body to the sofa in the den. Within minutes, snores emitted from her. Yoon Mi Rae sat in the leather recliner in the corner of the room, assessing her. She racked her brain for what could have possibly sent Trechial into a fit of tears. She knew Charlie was not winning any Step Father of the Year awards, but he wouldn't go as far as touching Trechial. Would he?

Yoon Mi Rae tiptoed to Trechial and kneeled eye level with her.

Gently, slowly, she lifted Trechial's arm and inspected it for bruises, though her other arm was tucked under her torso, unable to be examined. Her neck and face were clear of any abrasions, so she peeled the blanket back off her legs. Devin's baggy shorts were practically pants on Trechial, covering the length of her thighs all the way down her shins.

Minus a faded scar on her kneecap and ankle, there was no sign of abuse on Trechial. None that she could see, at least. Emotional and mental abuse wasn't as invisible as people might have thought, because Devin had told his mother stories about Charlie and the words he'd thrown at Trechial. But she was certain there was more he was concealing between only him and Trechial.

Yoon Mi Rae turned over worst-case scenarios about why Trechial didn't want to go home. Charlie was a menace, as the whole neighborhood knew. He held no respect for others. He carelessly blurted out racist slurs toward her family in the past.

I'm surprised at how good your English is, Charlie had said with haughty air in his tone over a game of Bingo at Diana's house.

Diana's face bled remorse and anger, but she didn't correct him, hence him continuing with his childish retorts. If the disgruntled glare Charlie shot her way on Saturday mornings when they both went out to get the paper was any indication of his feelings toward her, then possibly Yoon Mi Rae was missing something. The memory of when Diana first learned about Charlie still haunted her till this day.

Diana had flashed her cheesy grin over coffee and jelly donuts at their favorite café when she said, "Yoon! I met someone!"

Yoon Mi Rae tipped the piping hot beverage to her lips, eyeing Diana with reservation because the guy she had dated just a few weeks prior had a toe fetish.

"Don't give me that look. This guy doesn't have any fetishes, and he's a pillar in the community," Diana had told her.

"A pillar in the community?" Yoon Mi Rae couldn't help the dry sarcasm that clung to her words. There were no pillars in their old and the restless community, only overworked husbands that spent their spare times on their yachts with their secretaries, and bored housewives that ogled and sometimes played with the garden boys when their husbands were away on those so-called deep-sea fishing trips.

"He's a police officer with Willow Heights Police Department."

Yoon Mi Rae remembered letting out an exasperated sigh. Her friend was more delusional than she thought. Lazy policing, racial profiling, and beating up and arresting homeless people that rested alongside the local grocery store were hardly what she would call pillars of the community. But instead, she had plastered her best smile upon her face and congratulated Diana on her dating success.