"Joseph!"

The shriek shook the older boy out of his thoughts, and he reluctantly turned to leave on the heels of his mother. Joe knew it was likely the last time he would ever see his sister, at least for a very long time. Sorrow caused his face to sag as he looked upon her. He had wished to flee with her, but he had a job now, one that would hopefully allow him to move on to better things. He couldn't just throw that away. It was his only means of escape. He wasn't like his sister.

"Goodbye, Billie."

The small girl stood, arms uselessly hanging at his side as she observed the scene unfold before her. She flinched when she thought Gideon was about to grab her mother. The woman would have certainly deserved it, but it wasn't a side of the man she wished to see.

She awkwardly lingered in the silence, a bit grateful for the moment to fully collect her thoughts and half-process what had just happened. She had so many questions, but she didn't voice them for once. When Gideon finally spoke, she blinked at him and offered him a single nod.

"W...well, erm, sorta?"

Carding fingers through her unruly hair, Billie struggled to explain. Instead she blurted out. "'M real sorry for her. She..." But any excuse she had thought she had drifted away. She was just sorry Gideon had to meet the dreadful woman. Nobody should have to deal with her.

"B...but. How come she knowed you?"