"Morning," Carrie said quietly as her daughter walked down the stairs. She knew that her daughter was going to be upset after their argument yesterday but she figured that Kennedy would at least talk to her. "Why won't you talk to me? Kennedy, I am trying to help you." Carrie asked, watching Kennedy take a seat at the island in the middle of the country style kitchen.
"You're not trying to help me. I told you nothing happened. He didn't do this." Kennedy shrugged, causing her mother to let out a deep sigh.
"Are you scared of him, Kennedy? I am so confused as to why you're letting this happen." Carrie took a seat beside her daughter.
"Because nothing is happening. I'm leaving." Kennedy sighed, standing from the seat without eating any breakfast, her mother following her. "I'll be home later. I um, I have to stay to take a test." Kennedy said, forcing a gently smile before walking out of the house, pacing Mike on the way out.
Carrie rested her arms on the counter and then rested her head on top of them, tears falling from her eyes. She promised she wouldn't allow something like this to happen to her daughter, something that'd happened to her when she was a teenager. It broke her heart to see the bruises on Kennedy's face, on her wrist.
Soon enough, Mike was knocking on the door and Carrie was trying to dry her face and get her emotions under control. "Hey," she forced a smile, opening the front door.
"Everything okay? Honey, are you crying?" Mike asked, causing her to look down at the floor. She didn't know what to say; she was terrified of loosing him.
"I um, Mike we've only been together for five months. I don't want to scare you off." She shrugged, pressing her lips together like she had been doing multiple times since she'd opened the door, a sign that she was nervous.
"Honey, what's going on?"
"Kennedy's boyfriend, Ethan, is abusing her. She has bruises on her face, her wrists. I don't know what to do." Carrie shook her head, another tear falling from her eye. "She thinks that he loves her." She added, causing Mike to let out a sigh, pulling her into his arms. "I'm going to the school." Carrie said, wiping her face.
"Are you wanting me to go with you?" Mike questioned, following her into her house and up the stairs to her bedroom.
"Yeah, I'm not sure what I'm going to say or do. I love her so much. I can't watch her go through this alone Mike. He's brainwashed her. This isn't okay." Carrie said, licking her lips.
"Look at me, honey. It is going to be okay. We're going to get to the bottom of this, I promise." Mike said, placing both hands on the side of her face, knowing that the last thing that Carrie needed was to stress about something else, someone else.
"Thank you, Mike. I love you." She forced a smile, him kissing her forehead.
"I love you too." He replied, before she picked up her purse from her bed and the two left the house.
Carrie was more nervous than anything. She wanted her daughter to see that what Ethan was doing to her was not out of love, that it wasn't love. She was scared mostly of Kennedy not believing her and thinking that what Ethan was doing was okay.
"Ethan Henderson, I um, I'm just so worried about her. There are bruises. I know he goes to school here." Carrie said, becoming confused once the principal began to shake her head.
"Mrs. Underwood, Ethan Henderson graduated seven years ago." Mrs. Grier said, causing Carrie's voice to catch in her throat.
"I, I'm sorry. Are you sure? He um, he has dark hair and,-"
"Bright blue eyes? Yes, ma'am I'm sure. I was his teacher. He graduated the year that I became principal." The woman nodded her head in response. "How old is your daughter again?" The woman asked, taking a deep breath, nervous for the woman sitting in front of her.
"She is sixteen. She is a junior." Carrie struggled to get out, gripping Mike's hand tightly. "You mean to tell me that Ethan is 25?" Carrie's words struggled to come to her, the anger rising inside of her.
"He will be turning 26 this year." Mrs. Grier nodded, biting her lip. "Ma'am, we're going to have to alert the authorities." Carrie nodding immediately, before lowering her head in disappointment.
"I can't believe this." She leaned against Mike, a tear rolling down her face.
How could Kennedy be dating someone that was almost ten years old than her? What Carrie was most afraid of was if they were having sex. Carrie had instilled in her daughter that sex before marriage was wrong and against their religion but she felt like that was something that she needed to worry about, in this situation.
Keep voting! Do you think Kennedy will trust her mother and leave Ethan?
