No, no, no stopping. No thinking. Just doing.
“We’re almost there. See, right down the road, that white housesee the sign out front?”
“Pine Meadows Sheriff’s Department. Oh thank God. Oh thank God.” Ashley began to weep then, racking sobs that shook them both as Naomi tightened her arm around Ashley’s waist, took more weight, and trudged the rest of the way.
“We’re safe now. We’re safe.”
When Ashley collapsed on the narrow porch, Naomi wrapped the blanket closer around her, then knocked hard on the door.
“Is someone going to be there? I didn’t think. It’s so early.”
“I don’t know.” But Naomi knocked again.
When the door opened, Naomi had a vague recognition of the young face, the tousled hair.
“What’s all this?” he began, and then his sleepy eyes shifted by her, landed on Ashley. “Well, Jesus.”
He shot the door open, jumped out to crouch beside her. “I’m going to get you inside.”
“Help. Help us.”
“You’re all right. You’re going to be all right.”
He looked scrawny to Naomi’s eyes, but he hefted Ashley like she was nothingand flushed a bit when the blanket slipped and the torn shirt exposed most of her left breast.
“Honey,” he said to Naomi, “hold the door open now. Y’all have an accident?”
“No,” Naomi said. She held the door open, had one instant to think whether she should run away, just run, or go inside.
She went inside.
“I’m going to set you down right here. All right now?” His eyes studied the bruising on Ashley’s throat, and knowledge came into them. “Sweetheart, you see that water fountain over there. How about you getWhat’s your name now?”
“Ashley. Ashley McLean.”
“You get Ashley some water, would you?”
He turned as he spoke, then spotted the knife Naomi held at her side. In that same easy tone, he said, “Why don’t you give that to me, all right? There you go.”
He took the knife from Naomi’s limp hand, set it up on a shelf out of reach.
“I need to make some calls, and one to the doctor who’ll come and examine you. But we’re going to have to take some pictures. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“And I’m calling the sheriff in, and there’ll be questions. You up to that?”
“Yes.”
“All right now. Drink a little water. That’s a good girl,” he said to Naomi, running a gentle hand over her wet hair as she brought the paper cup to Ashley.
He grabbed a phone from a desk, punched in numbers.
“Sheriff, it’s Wayne. Yeah, I know what time it is. We got a woman here who’s hurt. No, sir, not an accident. She’s been assaulted, and she’s going to need a full exam.” He turned away, spoke quietly, but Naomi heard the words rape kit.
“Kid brought her in. I think it’s Tom and Sue Bowes’s girl.”
Ashley lowered the cup, stared into Naomi’s eyes. “Bowes.”
“Yes. I’m Naomi Bowes. You need to drink.”
“So do you, baby.” But Ashley set the cup aside and drew Naomi to her. “So do you.”
When she broke, when everything finally broke inside her, Naomi laid her head on Ashley’s shoulder and wept.
Ashley met Wayne’s eyes over Naomi’s head. “It was her father who did this to me. It was Thomas David Bowes who did this. And it was Naomi who saved me.”
Wayne let out a breath. “Sheriff, you better get in here right quick.”
Two
When the sheriff came, Wayne took Naomi into another room, bought her a candy bar and a Coke. She’d never been allowed such indulgences, but she didn’t argue it. He got a first-aid kit and began to doctor the cuts and scratches she hadn’t realized she’d inflicted on herself on that long hike through the woods.
He smelled of Juicy Fruit gumshe saw the yellow pack of it sticking out of his breast pocket.
And she would always, from that morning on, associate the gum with simple kindness.
“Honey, you got a favorite teacher?”
“Um. I don’t know. I guess Miss Blachard maybe.”
“If you want, I could call her, ask her to come in, be with you.”
“No. No, that’s okay. She’s going to know. Everybody’s going to know.” It made her chest hurt, so she looked away. “But I don’t want to be there when they do.”
“All right. We got a nice nurse coming in to be with Ashley, to go with her when she goes to the hospital. Do you want somebody like that? Maybe who doesn’t know you.”
“I don’t want anybody. What’s going to happen?”