Page 122 - It Ends with Us

My mothe r stepped inside an d quickly shu t it, locking it behi nd he r. I’ll

never forget what she looked like. She had blood coming do wn from he r lip. Her
eye was already star ting to swell, an d she had a clump of hai r just resting on
he r sho ulde r. She looked at Atlas and the n me.
I didn ’t even tak e a moment to feel scared that she cau ght me in my room
with a boy. I di dn ’t care ab out tha t. I was just wor ried ab out he r. I wal ked over
to he r an d grab bed he r han ds an d wal ked he r to my bed. I brushe d the hai r of f

he r sho ulde r an d the n from he r forehe ad.
“He’s gonna go cal l the police, Mom. Ok ay ?”
Her eyes grew real wide an d she star ted shak ing he r he ad. “No ,” she sai d.
She looked over at Atlas an d sai d, “You can ’t. No .”
He was al ready at the windo w ab out to leav e, so he stopped an d looked at
me.
“He’s dr unk, Li ly,” she sai d. “He he ard your do or shu t, so he went to our

bedroom. He stopped. If you cal l the police, it’ll just mak e it worse, believe me.
Just let hi m sleep it of f, it’ll be better tomor row.”
I sho ok my he ad an d could feel the tear s stinging my eyes. “Mom, he was
tr ying to rap e you!”
She du cked he r he ad an d winced whe n I sai d that . She sho ok he r he ad
ag ai n an d sai d, “It’s not like that , Li ly. We’re mar ried, an d sometimes

mar riag e is just . . . you’re too young to unde rstan d it.”
It got real ly quiet for a minute, an d the n I sai d. “I ho pe to he ll I never do .”
That ’s whe n she star ted to cr y. She just he ld he r he ad in he r han ds an d she
star ted to sob an d al l I could do was wrap my ar ms around he r an d cr y with
he r. I’d never seen he r thi s upset. Or thi s hu r t. Or thi s scared. It broke my
he ar t, Ellen.
It broke me.

Whe n she was finishe d cr ying, I looked around the room an d Atlas had left.
We went to the kitche n an d I he lped he r clean up he r lip an d he r eye. She never
di d say an ythi ng ab out hi m being the re. No t one thi ng. I wai ted for he r to tell
me I was grounde d, but she never di d. I real ized that may be she di dn ’t
ac knowledg e it becau se that ’s what she do es. Thi ngs that hu r t he r just get swept
unde r the rug, never to be brought up ag ai n.

—Li ly

Dear Ellen,
I thi nk I’m ready to tal k ab out Bo ston now.