asked. I was desperately hoping the answer was ‘no’.
“I don’t think so. Alec thought Katie was too young to date anyone . So it wasn’t just Ben. But after what happened he held Ben responsible.”
“It’s been almost two years,” I pointed out. “He needs to let it go. He has to be hurting himself as much as anyone else by hanging on to that much hatred.”
Phoebe looked at me hesitantly. I wondered if she was bothered by my wanting to defend Ben. She finally continued. “It’s better than it used to be. Right after Ben was released Alec messed him up pretty badly. Broke some ribs and smashed up his face.”
I felt my jaw clench. That must have been where the scars had come from. One on his cheek and one through his lip, both subtle, faded with time. “After that Alec still gets away with harassing him?”
Phoebe sighed. “Ben never did anything about it. He never pressed charges or anything. Trent was all over in the papers. I think the family just wanted to try to fade away. Not that that ever happened.”
“So Alec just keeps getting away with it?” I was appalled.
“Yeah, I guess. You can’t imagine what school was like after it happened. People were grieving over Katie. People were ready to kill Ben. I mean that literally. Alec was a mess and so was one of his brothers who was still in school at the time. Between them and their friends they managed to keep things pretty riled up. Most everyone just thought Ben deserved it. Like Alec was entitled because a lot of people believed Ben helped Trent. And even if he didn’t, they felt like he handed Katie over to him. Everyone needed someone to blame and that ‘someone’ ended up being Ben,” she said quietly.
I felt my anger start to simmer out of control. “What about you? Do you think he deserves it?”
She glanced over at me. “Can I ask why you’re so defensive when it comes to him? I mean, I understand he’s your Lit partner but…”
I hesitated. Ben had asked me not to tell my friends about us meeting before school. He didn’t want me to admit we’d spoken. Now that we were Lit partners and we spoke almost daily, it seemed that point was irrelevant.
“Do you remember the day at the beach? When I told you about getting hit by the car?”
She nodded.
“Remember how I said someone helped me? Picked me up off the road? Helped me to a bench and brought me my bike?” I let the words hang in the air.
It took a moment and then she gasped. “That was Ben?”
“It was,” I confirmed. “I guess I’m just grateful that he helped me. No one else was around. The lady didn’t stop. He could’ve pretended he didn’t see anything. He could’ve just left me there. But he didn’t. He got me off the road before another car came. I talked to him a few times after that. I mean, I just bumped into him and we talked briefly. It was no big deal.
“It’s not like I really know him. But I just can’t picture him as the horrible person people try to make him out to be. I hate seeing how people treat him. It really bothers me because there is just no excuse for him to be treated that way. And no one does anything about it,” I said with disgust. “I just think it’s wrong.”
Phoebe was quiet for a long time, too. Then she said something that caught me off guard. “I knew her. Katie, I mean. She was a year younger but we were in competitive skating together. So I’d known her for years. We weren’t great friends but we got along just fine. We talked, went out for pizza with our team. We traveled to out of town competitions together. I guess all of that considered, I knew her pretty well.”
“What was she like?” I had to ask. I wanted to know, if only in some small way to honor the memory of a girl who was gone.
Phoebe laughed. “She had a reputation for being a snob but she really wasn’t. She was just really quiet. People took that the wrong way. Once you got to know her, which wasn’t that easy because she was so shy,
“I don’t think so. Alec thought Katie was too young to date anyone . So it wasn’t just Ben. But after what happened he held Ben responsible.”
“It’s been almost two years,” I pointed out. “He needs to let it go. He has to be hurting himself as much as anyone else by hanging on to that much hatred.”
Phoebe looked at me hesitantly. I wondered if she was bothered by my wanting to defend Ben. She finally continued. “It’s better than it used to be. Right after Ben was released Alec messed him up pretty badly. Broke some ribs and smashed up his face.”
I felt my jaw clench. That must have been where the scars had come from. One on his cheek and one through his lip, both subtle, faded with time. “After that Alec still gets away with harassing him?”
Phoebe sighed. “Ben never did anything about it. He never pressed charges or anything. Trent was all over in the papers. I think the family just wanted to try to fade away. Not that that ever happened.”
“So Alec just keeps getting away with it?” I was appalled.
“Yeah, I guess. You can’t imagine what school was like after it happened. People were grieving over Katie. People were ready to kill Ben. I mean that literally. Alec was a mess and so was one of his brothers who was still in school at the time. Between them and their friends they managed to keep things pretty riled up. Most everyone just thought Ben deserved it. Like Alec was entitled because a lot of people believed Ben helped Trent. And even if he didn’t, they felt like he handed Katie over to him. Everyone needed someone to blame and that ‘someone’ ended up being Ben,” she said quietly.
I felt my anger start to simmer out of control. “What about you? Do you think he deserves it?”
She glanced over at me. “Can I ask why you’re so defensive when it comes to him? I mean, I understand he’s your Lit partner but…”
I hesitated. Ben had asked me not to tell my friends about us meeting before school. He didn’t want me to admit we’d spoken. Now that we were Lit partners and we spoke almost daily, it seemed that point was irrelevant.
“Do you remember the day at the beach? When I told you about getting hit by the car?”
She nodded.
“Remember how I said someone helped me? Picked me up off the road? Helped me to a bench and brought me my bike?” I let the words hang in the air.
It took a moment and then she gasped. “That was Ben?”
“It was,” I confirmed. “I guess I’m just grateful that he helped me. No one else was around. The lady didn’t stop. He could’ve pretended he didn’t see anything. He could’ve just left me there. But he didn’t. He got me off the road before another car came. I talked to him a few times after that. I mean, I just bumped into him and we talked briefly. It was no big deal.
“It’s not like I really know him. But I just can’t picture him as the horrible person people try to make him out to be. I hate seeing how people treat him. It really bothers me because there is just no excuse for him to be treated that way. And no one does anything about it,” I said with disgust. “I just think it’s wrong.”
Phoebe was quiet for a long time, too. Then she said something that caught me off guard. “I knew her. Katie, I mean. She was a year younger but we were in competitive skating together. So I’d known her for years. We weren’t great friends but we got along just fine. We talked, went out for pizza with our team. We traveled to out of town competitions together. I guess all of that considered, I knew her pretty well.”
“What was she like?” I had to ask. I wanted to know, if only in some small way to honor the memory of a girl who was gone.
Phoebe laughed. “She had a reputation for being a snob but she really wasn’t. She was just really quiet. People took that the wrong way. Once you got to know her, which wasn’t that easy because she was so shy,
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