“He told me I was faking the pain just to get out of chores.”

I knelt still on the tile floor, holding the edge of the yellow bench.

“When did he say that to you?” I asked.

“Last night,” she said, her voice barely carrying over the noise of the afternoon hallway.

“And two weeks ago.

He said if I complained about my side again, he’d take away volleyball.”

I stood up, took her canvas backpack, and slipped my arm around her waist to help her up.

“We’re going right now,” I said.