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It was almost summer. The potential of freedom was in the air, and students were laughing and smiling in the heat of the sun.
Most students were, at any rate.
Tara Maclay was sitting in the cafeteria, shaking, and because of that, Willow Rosenberg was sitting in the cafeteria, holding both of Tara’s hands. Their friends were outside, but Tara hadn’t wanted to make a big scene in front of them, so she had sat at their usual table and hoped that Willow would find her. Of course, the instant Willow had gone outside and noticed that Tara wasn’t already there, she doubled back to the relatively empty cafeteria, where she immediately saw Tara, alone and desolate.
So Willow ran across the cafeteria, set her food down, and immediately fell to comforting Tara. “What is it?”
Tara shook her head. She hadn’t been crying before, but she was now.
Willow pulled Tara into her arms. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”
Tara shook her head again. “I— I can’t—“
“Can’t what?” Willow asked, letting Tara out of the hug and taking her hands again.
Tara looked at Willow. “Y— you don’t know—“
“I know,” Willow said. “I don’t know unless you tell me.”
Hair fell over Tara’s face, hiding her from Willow. It fluttered as Tara spoke again. “I don’t— don’t want to be h- home all s- summer.”
“Why not?” Willow asked.
“M— my dad,” Tara said. “He’ll be m- mean, and— and I— I have to take care of L- Laney because sh- she won’t have anywhere to go either.”
Willow squeezed Tara’s hands. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Tara shook her head. “I w- won’t s- see you,” she said. “N- not— my d- dad— h- he w- won’t let me l- leave the h- house in s- summer.”
“Can I help you now, then?” Willow asked. “Do— do you want to come stay with me?”
Tara looked up at Willow. “C- can I?”
“You’d probably have to run away,” Willow said. “But my parents wouldn’t even notice, I swear.”
Tara shook her head. “N- no. I can’t l- leave Laney a- alone with them,” she said.
“You could bring her, too,” Willow said. “It depends how scared you are.”
Tara nodded. “I— I could t- tell my m- mother,” she said. “Sh- she might h- help us.”
“Think about it,” Willow said. “Tell me if you’re going to show up in the middle of the night or something so I can unlock the door for you.”
Tara sniffled. “Okay,” she said. “G- give me some time, okay?”
Willow nodded. “You’re always welcome.”
—
That night, Tara managed to get her mom alone. It was getting harder and harder as her father realized how close they really were, but he was in the bathroom, and if there was one thing Tara could do, it was whisper.
“I really don’t want to stay here all summer,” she told her mother.
“I know,” replied her mom.
“A girl in school said— said she would l- let me stay at h- her house.” Tara looked up at her mother. “Sh- she said I could take Laney.”
“That would mean running away,” her mom answered.
“I— I know. Th- that’s why I’m telling you. Do you— do you think I should?”
Just then, Tara heard the bathroom door open. She and her mother both shrank back, but before her dad could see, her mom nodded discreetly.
Tara left the room before her dad could get angry at her for being too near her mother. She ran upstairs and knocked on the door of Laney’s room. “Can I come in?” she called softly.
The door opened, and Laney stood behind it. “Hi, Tara.” She stepped back, letting Tara into the room.
“Hey, Laney,” Tara said. She sat down on Laney’s bed. “Do you want to not stay here for the summer?”
Laney nodded.
“Okay. Pack some stuff you can’t do without, okay? Maybe a stuffed animal or two?”
“What are you going to do?” Laney whispered. She was standing in front of Tara, looking very small and very alone.
“I’m going to take us to my friend’s house.” Tara stood up and put her hands on Laney’s shoulders. “You’re going to have to be brave, okay?”
“When?” There was a spark in Laney’s eyes that Tara had never seen before.
“Soon, okay? We’re going to wait until school ends so that we don’t miss anything important.”
Laney nodded. “That sounds good.” There was silence for a moment, then Laney spoke again. “Tara?”
“Yeah?”
“Is your friend nice?”
Tara smiled. “Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, she’s really nice.”
—
The next day, Tara went outside for lunch. When Willow got there, Tara was sitting in the shade, talking to Buffy. Willow sat down next to her, and Tara immediately shifted a little bit closer, still listening to Buffy complain about a pair of shoes she really wanted.
When Buffy finished, Willow immediately jumped in. “Are you feeling better today?”
Tara nodded. She looked at Willow. “I— I think w- we need a plan.”
“For the summer?”
“Yeah. I— I told Laney we might— might run. Sh- she wants to come.”
“That’s good, right?” Willow asked.
Buffy looked between the two of them. “Hold up. Who’s running where?”
“Tara has a real jerkface for a dad,” Willow explained. “She’s going to come live with me this summer.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow. “Dad approved?”
“Not exactly,” Willow admitted. “But he’s really bad for Tara.”
Buffy shrugged. “Hey, it’s always better not to suffer. And, you know, if you ever need an extra parent, my mom’s basically already adopted Willow. She won’t mind one more.”
“It’s true,” Willow said, and Tara felt the pressure of Willow’s arm around her waist. “We won’t let anything bad happen, okay?”
“Okay,” Tara said.
—
On the last day of school, Tara clarified her plans with Willow. The whole day, she saw people around her celebrating their freedom, and all she felt was nervous and afraid; she was going to sneak out of the house, right out of Laney’s window, and even then, she wouldn’t be properly free.
She was terrified that evening that her father would notice something wrong. Or her brother, who had just come back from college, and who was almost as bad. Her mother knew what was going on, so that was a relief, but Tara was even less talkative than usual, and her dad hit her for not answering his questions fast enough.
That, if nothing else, convinced her that leaving was the right thing. Watching Laney cry on her mother’s shoulder as Tara’s cheek burned with pain? It wasn’t unusual, but it was the last straw.
Late that night, once she could hear the sound of her father’s snores, Tara stepped out of her room. She hefted her backpack, now full of clothes, books, and toiletries, over her shoulders, slipped on her softest shoes, and tiptoed down the hall to Laney’s room. She opened the door to her sister sitting in the fetal position on her bed, eyes wide.
Tara slipped inside and pointed at the backpack next to Laney’s bed. Laney nodded and stood up. She picked up her bag, and Tara opened the window.
Getting down was difficult, but not impossible. They had to climb down the stone wall, but the stones protruded far enough out that they could get a foothold. Tara went down first, dropping when she was close enough to the ground, and waited for Laney to climb down so that she could catch her if she fell.
Once Laney was on the ground, Tara extended her pinky finger. It was one of their hand signals; this one was, “Are you okay?”
Laney answered with a thumbs up, and Tara took her hand. Together, they ran behind the house, through the backyard of the one behind it, and all the way to a street, where Willow was waiting to lead them to her house
“Is this Laney?” she asked.
Laney immediately hid behind Tara’s legs.
“Yeah, this is Laney,” Tara answered. She took Willow’s hand. “Th- thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Willow said. “Come on. We should get going.”
Tara tried to affect a lazy stroll on their way to Willow’s house, hoping that anyone who saw them would think they had just gone out for some fresh air. Of course, most people didn’t go out for fresh air in their pajamas, carrying a school backpack and towing their ten-year-old sister, but Tara hoped people would forget that part.
No one saw them, though. Or, at least, Tara saw no one. By the time she had gotten to Willow’s house, she was shaking, clinging to Willow’s hand as if it were her only tether to reality. She walked through the door to Willow’s room and immediately dropped her backpack and sat on the bed.
“Do you want anything?” Willow asked. “I think we can share the bed, and I have a sleeping bag and some blankets and stuff for Laney.”
“That’s— that’s enough,” Tara said. “Thank you so much.”
Willow leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re welcome, Tara.”
—
The next morning, Tara woke up with her arms around Willow, clinging as if her life depended on it. She relaxed her arms a little bit, hoping that she hadn’t messed up Willow’s breathing or anything, but she kept hugging. She knew Willow wouldn’t mind, and she really did need the emotional strength just then.
Willow stirred. When she opened her eyes, Tara was startled as to just how close they were; she hadn’t realized that clinging to Willow put her so close to, well, Willow. She immediately let go and moved to the other side of the bed, but Willow took hold of her arm and pulled her back.
“It’s okay,” she whispered.
Tara pulled herself closer. “Thanks. I— I kind of need hugs right now.”
“Well, I am basically a hug machine,” Willow answered.
Just then, Laney popped up at the foot of the bed, where she had been sleeping. “Do I get hugs from the hug machine?” she asked.
“Of course you do, sweetie.” Tara sat up and pulled Laney towards her and Willow. “Hugs for everybody, okay?” Laney curled up in between Tara and Willow, and Tara laid back down in order to put her arms around them both.
“How’re you holding up?” Willow asked. Her chin was just above Laney’s head.
“I’ll be okay,” Tara said. “I’m worried about my mom, though.”
“Because she’s alone with your dad?”
“Yeah,” Tara said. “And my brother.”
“You have a brother?”
“He’s— he’s usually in college.”
“He’s really mean,” Laney said, her voice muffled by Tara’s shirt.
“I’m w- worried that now we— now we’re missing, th- they’ll treat her w- worse,” Tara said.
“Oh, no.” Willow’s eyes were wide. “Did I make everything worse?”
“No,” Tara said. “Y- you saved us. Mom— mom knew what we were g-going to do. She— she approved.”
“Okay,” Willow said. “We can figure out what to do. But in the meantime, does anybody want breakfast?”
Laney wiggled herself around to face Willow. “Do you have pancakes?”
“I can make pancakes,” Tara said. “If you have the ingredients.”
“There’s flour and eggs and stuff in the kitchen,” Willow said. She sat up. “Come on, I’ll show you where everything is.”
“Okay.” Tara sat up too and slid off the bed. “Hey, Laney, you wanna put some clothes on?”
Laney sat up, too. She shook her head.
Tara shrugged. “Today can be a pajama day if you want,” she decided. “Come on, let’s go get our pancakes.”
She followed Willow down the stairs and into the kitchen. Willow started pulling out pans, plates, and silverware. “What food-like stuff do you need?” she asked,
Tara listed off the ingredients, and Willow pulled them out. Tara mixed everything together in a giant bowl that Willow had procured, and finally she started heating up the pan.
“Okay, Laney first. Funny shapes or rounds?”
Laney giggled. “I like funny shapes,” she said.
Tara smiled to herself. “Funny shapes, coming right up.”
—
Later that day, Willow’s phone rang. Tara and Laney immediately fled to Willow’s room, but Willow was forced to pick up the phone.
“Hello, Rosenberg residence.”
“Hello.” The cold voice over the phone made chills run down Willow’s spine. “This is Donald Maclay, Senior. I am looking for my daughter, Tara. Do you know where she is?”
“No, I— I haven’t seen her since school ended yesterday,” Willow replied. “Is she missing?”
“She and her sister both,” Mr. Maclay answered. “I had hoped that perhaps you could provide some insight. Tara’s cousin says that the two of you have been very close recently.”
“Tara has a cousin?” Willow asked. This was a genuine question. She had never met Tara’s cousin, and she could guess why Tara would’t talk about her all that much.
“Yes. Beth. Surely you’ve met her?”
“Nope, not once,” answered Willow. “Do you have any other questions for me? I’m kind of busy enjoying the freedom of no school and all that.”
She heard a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. “Very well, then. I will leave you to your relaxing. Call me if you hear anything.”
“Of course, Mr. Maclay,” Willow said. “Bye.”
“Goodbye.” There was a click.
Willow set down the phone and went back into her room. Tara was playing a handclap game with Laney, but it was obvious that they were both using it to distract from their fear. “Your dad is looking for you,” Willow said. “I told him you weren’t here.”
“Th- thank you,” Tara said.
Willow sat on the bed. “This isn’t going to be a permanent solution,” she said. “I wish it were, but your dad can find you here. You’re not safe.”
“Th- there are— there are processes, right?” Tara asked. “To— to emancipate yourself?”
“I think so,” Willow said. “I guess that would be the logical next step. Um, do you guys mind if I ask Buffy’s mom what to do?”
“Is— is Buffy’s mom— will she understand?” Tara asked.
“I think so,” Willow said again. “I— I really like her. I’m going to call Buffy, okay? Just Buffy. I won’t talk to her mom until you guys say it’s okay.”
Tara looked at Laney. “Y- you can tell her mom,” Tara said.
As it turned out Buffy was kind, and Joyce was kinder.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help,” she told Willow over the phone. “We might be able to let Tara and Laney stay over here, actually. Do your parents know?”
“They don’t care,” Willow answered. She was painfully aware that Tara and Laney were sitting at the table, listening to every word she said. “Thanks, though. I kind of don’t know what to do next.”
“Well, I have a friend in L. A. who likes to take care of abused kids,” Joyce told her. “A human rights lawyer. I bet we could get something lined up for Tara and Laney, and maybe even for their mother.”
Willow glanced at Tara. “Would they have to leave Sunnydale?”
“I don’t think so,” Joyce answered. “In fact, I wouldn’t mind giving them a home, at least temporarily.”
“That’s— I’m not asking for anything near that big, Mrs. Summers,” Willow said.
“I know,” replied Joyce. “If those girls are lucky, we’ll get their poor mother out of there, and she’ll be able to care for them. But, honey, this isn’t going to be easy. Not for you, not for the girls.”
“I know,” Willow said. “I just saw the fear, like they were going to a— a really bad haunted house instead of home all summer.”
“I know. I’ll talk to that lawyer, okay? I’ll call you back if I hear anything.” Joyce’s voice was kind, and Willow was immediately comforted.
“Okay,” she said. “Thanks, Mrs. Summers.”
“You’re very welcome, Willow.”
Willow hung up the phone and sat at the table next to Tara. “She says that she has a lawyer friend who might be able to help. I think we can trust her. But it’s all this legal-type stuff. You guys might have to go to court against your dad.”
“We— we can do that,” Tara said. “It’ll be really hard for us to talk to him, though.”
“We’ll figure something out,” Willow said. She took Tara’s hand. “Don’t worry.”
Tara nodded. “I’m not going to,” she answered. “I’m not— I won’t worry until I have to.” She looked at her sister. “Okay, Laney? No worrying until something happens.”
Laney nodded solemnly.
Tara looked back to Willow. “So, what do we h- have to do now?”
“Just stay put, I guess,” Willow said. “My mom should be back tomorrow, so we should keep Laney in my room just in case. I can tell her you’re a friend, but I’m not sure I could explain away Laney.”
“Okay,” Laney said. It was almost a whisper. “I can hide.”
“She’s a very good hider,” Tara said. “Right, Laney?”
Laney nodded, and Willow tried not to think about why Laney would need to hide. She suspected it wasn’t always due to fun games with her big sister.
That day was edged with anxiety, but also relief. Willow played board games with Tara and Laney, helped them cook dinner (Tara was the one with the real skills, but Willow had mastered all the secrets of the household microwave), and, at different points, let both Tara and Laney cry on her shoulder. When they went to bed that night, there was a general feeling of restlessness, which was only worsened the next morning when Willow’s mom came home.
It was eleven, so fortunately everyone was up, and Willow and Tara had made sure to give Laney a book and some food before closing the door on Willow’s room, but they still both jumped a foot in the air when the door opened.
“Willow, honey?”
Willow stood up. “Oh, hi, Mom.”
Her mom stepped into the kitchen and set down her bag. “Oh, who’s this, a friend?”
“Yeah.” Willow stepped a little closer to Tara. “Mom, this is Tara.” She looked back at Tara. “Tara, this is my mom.”
“Well, nice to meet you, Tara,” Willow’s mom said.
“N- nice to meet you t- too, Mrs. Rosenberg,” Tara answered.
Willow’s mom barely took notice. “Well, Willow, I’m very tired. I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
“Okay,” Willow said. “I’m here all day. And, you know, all week.”
Her mom looked at her. “Oh, is school over already? Time flies.”
Willow sighed. “Especially when you’re ignoring your daughter,” she muttered.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
Apparently out of things to say, Willow’s mom grabbed hold of her bag again and took it with her down the hall and into the room she shared with Willow’s father.
Willow looked at Tara. “Sorry about her,” she said.
Tara shrugged. “Her— she— her lack of care for you has— has probably saved me,” she said.
“Hey, there’s a silver lining to every cloud,” Willow said. “Come on, let’s go check on Laney.”
—
It was a week before Joyce called back, but when she did, it was with useful information. She had gotten in touch with the lawyer, she said, and she left a number for Tara to call. Willow wrote down the number, and when she hung up, she gave it to Tara.
After that, it was Willow’s turn to wait an eternity, listening to Tara’s side of the conversation, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Yeah… yeah. It’s— it’s been bad… my— my mother’s still there… p- please… me and— me and my s- sister. Thank you so much.”
Tara hung up the phone and turned back to Willow. “She says she can help.”
Willow stood up and hugged Tara. “Oh, I’m so glad.”
“Me too,” Tara said, her face buried in Willow’s shoulder. “We’re— we’re really going to be okay, aren’t we?”
“I don’t know yet,” Willow said. “But I think there’s a pretty good chance.”
They went up to Willow’s room to tell Laney, who had become more and more excited about reading all of Willow’s old books over the course of the week. Willow had stacked up all her favorites, and Laney was working her way through them; it helped that she didn’t really have anything else to do. She was getting more talkative, too. The freer environment was obviously helping her and Tara both; Willow had noticed that Tara’s stutter really only came out when she was talking about her family.
The weeks passed, and Tara managed to come closer and closer to success. She had met with the lawyer in Sunnydale a couple of times, once with Willow, and once alone, and they had a trial scheduled for late July. They were charging Mr. Maclay with all sorts of abuse; Willow didn’t know the details. She was technically a witness, but all she had really witnessed was Tara not being able to go anywhere along with a general sense of fear.
The biggest change was when Tara and Laney “moved” to Buffy’s house. There was a whole big thing with child protection services, but really, what it meant was that Joyce promised to take care of Tara and Laney, and they had a permanent place in the Summers residence, but Tara still spent most nights at Willow’s house when her parents weren’t home, which was relatively often. At first, Laney went wherever Tara went, but after a while, Dawn befriended her in the condescending way of a twelve-year-old befriending a ten-year-old, and she liked having a room to herself, so she would stay at Buffy’s house more often than Willow’s. But since, wherever they started, Tara and Laney only ever left either house to go to the other, they didn’t see any family members for the whole month before the trial.
And then the day came. Tara borrowed one of Willow’s best dresses; Laney got a hand-me-down from Dawn. Joyce drove Buffy, Willow, Tara, Laney, and even Dawn, to the courtroom, where she took her seat in the back. Joyce wasn’t a witness, and neither were Buffy and Dawn.
Before she joined the Summers women in the back, Willow scooped up Laney and held her tight for a moment, whispering, “I know you’ll do great,” and then she hugged Tara for as long as she dared. “Come back to me,” she whispered when she pulled away.
“I’ll do my best,” Tara promised. And then she reached down and took Laney’s hand, and with a small wave to Willow, they were off, leaving Willow to sit in the back of the courtroom.
—
Testifying against her father was the hardest thing Tara had ever done. She had to stand up in front of lots of people, most of them judging her, many of them her own family, and answer questions about the most painful moments of her life. Her stutter came back full-force, and she could only hope that it served to prove that she was genuinely terrified; otherwise, she knew she just sounded dumb. Sometimes, her eyes would find Willow’s in the audience, and she couldn’t tell if that made it better or worse, because Willow was supportive, but she always looked appalled at the things that Tara was saying. And sometimes her eyes hit Buffy’s, which was even worse, because she barely knew Buffy; she just knew that Buffy wanted to help, but in this moment, she realized that Buffy had no clue what she was helping with. She might not want to help anymore. Not now that she realized.
Tara was too scared to look at Joyce.
Worse than her own testimony, though, was Laney’s. No eleven-year-old should have to sit through that, she thought. Laney looked terrified, and she barely spoke. The lawyers had to ask their questions two or three times before they could hear the answers. Her eyes were fixed firmly on the stand in front of her, and when she looked up, it was either at Tara for reassurance, or at her family in fear.
And then there was the Maclay family. Her father, her brother, her cousin, and her mother.
Her father was first. He defended everything he had ever done, saying that it was only to protect his girls. It was almost fascinating to hear his rationale, but Tara still couldn’t bring herself to look up. She spent the whole time he was speaking staring straight down.
And then there was her brother, who repeated everything her father said, but it was worse, because Tara remembered when he wasn’t like that. She remembered playing pirates with him when they were little, and then she remembered her dad coming outside and telling her that little girls weren’t pirates.
Her cousin was even worse. Beth had been one of her closest friends as a kid, and then she moved away to Sunnydale, and when Tara moved to Sunnydale, Beth had gone all wrong. She suddenly believed everything she was told, and she had become more religious than was strictly necessary.
After all that, Tara was terrified of what her mother would say. She was expecting something scripted by her father, and she got what she expected, but as Mrs. Maclay talked, tears started running down her face. Finally, Joyce’s lawyer friend asked her, “Has your husband abused you and your children?”
Mrs. Maclay didn’t respond in words. She only nodded her head.
Suddenly, there was pandemonium. Mr. Maclay stood up and started yelling awful things at his wife. The judge started banging his gavel. Tara took Laney’s hand and clung to it, and everyone in the courtroom started whispering to each other. Finally, the judge managed to calm Mr. Maclay down, and then he called a break so that the jury might have time to discuss.
Tara and Laney stood up together, and they walked together out of the courtroom, where their friends were waiting. When the Maclay family exited, Joyce, Buffy, Dawn, and Willow formed a barrier, protecting Tara and Laney from their family.
A moment later, Mrs. Maclay came out and immediately beelined to her daughters.
“I hope you can forgive me,” she said. Her voice was quiet, and she was still crying. “I’m so sorry.”
Tara smiled. “It’s okay,” she said. “It’s not your fault.”
Laney didn’t say anything at all; she flung her arms around her mother and immediately began to sob.
An hour later, the men of the Maclay family had been ordered to stay far away from the women. Tara didn’t know what that would mean for what happened next, but she knew that she had a mother and a sister who loved her, and a Willow and a Buffy and a Dawn and a Joyce who would do their best to help her through anything.
—
It wasn’t over, of course. Tara’s mom still had to get a job, and she wasn’t entirely ready for much. On the other hand, once she found Joyce’s secret stash of paint, she started creating the most beautiful paintings Tara had ever seen; she hadn’t known that her mother liked to paint, but it only made sense. And once Joyce saw the paintings, she immediately gave Tara’s mom the opportunity to show them in her gallery, which at least held the promise of income.
In the meantime, Tara managed to get a job at a local fast food restaurant, and that helped, too. They still couldn’t get their own apartment, but at least they could pay Joyce back, especially since there was pretty much always some combination of Maclays living in her house. Everything was getting better, and by the time school started again in September, Tara knew she had a family.