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[Rachael's POV]
"Jason, why don't you and Rachael accompany Renae and me to our house? That way we can dicuss this matter further without any interruptions or an audience," Renae's mother, the blonde woman my father had called "Roxane" earlier, asked, gesturing toward the growing number of curious onlookers gathering nearby. "Sure, why not? Let's go to your place and explain everything casually," my father said, sarcasm hanging heavily on each word. I grimaced. Usually, when my father would talk this way to a woman, they would hit him, kick him, or worse. But to my surprise, Roxane laughed quietly as she said, "ah, I see your sarcastic manner hasn't changed a bit." "Nope, I guess not," my father said, laughing as well. Renae and I exchanged a confused look, then looked back at "our" parents. "Well, let's get going. We've got some explaining to do, don't we?" Roxane said. I couldn't call her my "mother" just yet. I wondered what Roxane would think if she found out about my father's drinking habits, wild nights out, all of his one night stands with multiple women, and worst of all, his abusive behavior toward me. Well, one thing was for certain. I wasn't about to be the one to tell her. "Jason," Roxane said, "how about we let Rachael ride with me and Renae ride with you? This way we can get to know them better?" My father debated for a minute, then finally agreed to it. "Why not? I've wanted to know how my other daughter has been holding up under your care for some time now." "As have I," Roxane retorted. I heard the squeal of rubber tires against the pavement, and we watched as the vehicle my father had arrived in sped off. Apparently, he'd had Marina drive him here. And Marina's diminutive amount of patience had just expired. "On second thought, why not just ride with you? All of us together?" my dad said sheepishly. I rolled my eyes while Roxane looked a little confused. "Obviously my dad had his girlfriend drive him to get me," I clarified, "and she abandoned us here. That was her that just sped off." My dad shot me a look that said "keep quiet or you'll get it later". "I see, Roxane said. So then we all got into Roxane's silver Lexus. The drive to their home was actually rather silent. I wondered if maybe the questions Roxane had been prepared to fire off at me were too personal to be asked in front of Jason. They were probably about how he'd treated me and if he'd taken care of me like he should have. I only hoped she wouldn't ask me about the bruise he'd given me that I couldn't cover up. The one on my neck, where he'd tried to strangle me yesterday. I grimaced at the memory, and fought to keep my hands from automatically clutching at it, as if to hide it. As the memory worked it's way through my mind, I was still able to feel his hands around my neck, lifting me off the floor an inch or two, clasped so tightly that merely breathing in had become an arduous task. I glanced toward Renae, who apparently had seen my face. "Tell me about that later" she mouthed to me in the mirror. I nodded, and began looking out the window, making it seem I was watching the passing scenery. But in reality, I couldn't focus on it. I was too worried about what questions Roxane had waiting for me, and what answers she was expecting me to give.