So what if it was now a table of five instead of ten? Sheenans liked having some elbow room.

Taylor read the text from Troy and it was a very nice text from him. He’d said exactly the right thing, behaved as a gentleman should, but it didn’t make her feel better.

She didn’t want to miss the ball.

She didn’t want to sit and watch TV with Doug, or order a pizza as Kara had suggested. But that’s what she was going to do, because it was the right thing to do.

Kara disagreed. She thought Taylor should still go, and she reminded Taylor that she was at the house tonight, wrapping up some work stuff so she could take off next week to go skiing with friends from law school without worrying about anything. “I’m here,” Kara said. “I’ll keep him company. We’ll have pizza—”

“I’ve already told Troy I’m not going.”

Until that moment, Doug hadn’t any idea that Taylor had been invited to the big ball and he was upset that Taylor was missing the event because of him.

“Why don’t you go?” he asked Taylor, joining his sister and Kara in the kitchen where they’d been trying to decide on what pizza to order. “It’s still early. You can make it.”

“It’s fine—”

“It’s not,” he interrupted. “It’s bad enough I screwed up my probation but I don’t need to screw up your life, too.”

“You’re not screwing it up.”

“All I’ve ever done is screw it up.” He leaned against the counter and dug his hands into his jeans pockets. “Taylor, I’m not going to go anywhere tonight. I’m not going to do anything bad. I’m going to eat pizza and watch TV and crash early. I’m tired. But I’m not dangerous. I’m not psycho. Not a flight risk. I’m not going to do anything stupid tonight. I’ve done enough, walking out of Hogue. I know I’m in trouble.”

“I don’t think you’re in as much trouble as you think,” Kara said. “We’ll take some pictures tonight of your black eye and bruises, and tomorrow if need be, Taylor can take you to a doctor and get a medical exam. The photos and exam will serve as evidence that Hogue isn’t protecting you, and that you’re in danger there. I’m not able to represent you, but Doug, in my opinion, if you’re getting beat up at Hogue, you need to leave, and you have grounds to leave. We just need the right attorney and we’re going to work this out.”

Doug glanced at Taylor and back to Kara. “You really think so?”

“Hogue was never the right place for you,” Kara said. “And it’s time we sorted this out, once and for all.” She gave Taylor a look. “And you… you really should go to the ball. If you stay home tonight, Doug’s just going to worry and feel guilty, and responsible, and there’s no reason for that. There’s no reason for you not to go. Get dressed, do your hair and drive over.