Ali watched Joseph for a moment, opening her mouth to say something before he commented that she wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore – that would be something she would have to adjust to, she had grown up living on a budget. “Do you know what's going to happen to that house? Everything I have to remember my mom and my dad by is still there, all I have is this ring and this necklace she gave me for my sixteenth birthday right before she passed away.” Ali commented softly, she had so many good and bad memories in that house. But it had been her childhood home, and she didn’t know she wouldn’t be returning to pack her things up after the meeting. She bit her lip slightly as he commented that her stepfather was most likely killed, adding that he wasn’t sure if she was upset or not. 

“With everything he put me through while my mom was sick and after she passed, he was never nice – I'm not upset that he’s gone if that's what happened to him. He was a controlling man – one who lied to cover his own skin no matter who he hurt in the process. He wanted to get rid of me as soon as he could, he made that perfectly clear.” She explained softly with a slight shrug, she didn’t have to fear speaking out against him anymore. Ali stood, following Joseph to the kitchen – pausing a moment as he turned and stated he wasn’t pleased with the situation they were placed in either. “It’s not exactly how I saw myself getting married either, given there wasn’t any chance of marrying any other way because Henry made sure not to let me date.” She commented softly. 

“Yea, I turn eighteen in two weeks and then I graduate in two months – so not much longer. Though the thoughts of going back to school after spring break and suddenly being married has had everything that could happen going through my head, I mean – it'd throw a ton of people off if I showed up suddenly married without any word of an engagement and no ring.” She said softly, biting her lip a moment. “And then add in that Henry suddenly disappeared, though that could be easier to explain that he just took off because he was tired of playing stepfather – that he found someone else and ran off with them.” She added softly with another slight shrug, though as her muscles moved over her ribs, she couldn’t stop herself from wincing. 

The last fight she got into with Henry had gotten violent, he had landed more hits than normal on her – most had been the same area of her ribs. He landed a few across her face, left a few bruises on her arms from grabbing her every time she tried to run away from him. He’d come home drunk from a night out gambling, he’d woken her up demanding she cook him something to eat. Since it had been a school night and she refused, it threw him into a rage not only because he’d lost hundreds at the casino but because she wouldn't listen to his orders. He had wasted no time ripping her out of bed and dragging her down the hall and into the kitchen, calling her every name he could think of. She had done her best to get away from him, she ended up not going to school that morning because of how sore she was from the fight – she’d been awake crying until he went to work, and she felt safe enough to sleep. 

“Believe me, like I said – this isn’t ideal for me either. Henry had wanted to get me gone ever since my mother passed away, but it took time for everything to settle down and lawyers to go through her will and try to track down other family members before he got custody of me. But this had been in the works for a while, at least on his end. I honestly wouldn’t have put it past him to do something darker than this.” She admitted softly.